Chapter 13: A Rain

As Qi Xia strained to turn the table, he said,

"The positions of Ning Xia and Shan Dong can connect into a horizontal line."

"Nei Meng, Sichuan, and Yunnan can form a 'pie' shape."

"And the four points of Guang Xi, Guang Dong, Shan Xi, and Jiang Su can connect into a square, which is exactly the character 'you'."

"No matter where Han Yi Mo's hometown is, as long as it's in Guang Xi Province or Taiwan Province, it will form the character 'kou', so the answer was determined from the beginning."

The group sped up their movements while exchanging puzzled glances.

Qi Xia's thinking was too unconventional, yet he had uncovered the solution twice in a row, making everyone start to suspect something.

Realizing this, Qi Xia spoke up to the group: "Don't misunderstand me—if the next game requires sacrificing yourselves to save myself, I'll unhesitatingly choose to save myself."

Hearing this, the others fell silent, gritting their teeth as they continued turning the table.

The nine people sat around the table, steadily rotating it to the right.

"How many turns is that?" Qiao Jia Jin asked.

"Twenty-six turns," Lin Geng replied.

"You can count that?" Qiao Jia Jin blinked. "The table looks the same every time."

"I'm counting based on the bloodstains on the table," Lin Geng said seriously. "Counting is important for us psychological counselors."

Qi Xia frowned. "Not yet thirty turns. We need to hurry."

The group quieted down and accelerated their efforts.

But as they went on, the table became harder to move, as if the internal chains were tightening more and more.

"What the hell?" Qiao Jia Jin gritted his teeth. "This is way too heavy."

"Come on… maybe it's really connected to the door!" Tian Tian said through clenched teeth.

Her words sparked a glimmer of hope in the midst of despair.

The door.

Since this room could conjure holes out of nowhere, why couldn't it conjure a door?

Everyone's arms were starting to ache, but they kept rotating the table circle by circle.

"Don't give up! Just five more turns!" Lin Geng shouted.

At that moment, everyone was clenching their jaws and exerting all their strength, not daring to slack off.

With a "click-clack," as the final turn ended, the table clearly locked into something.

Finally, they let out a breath, and the soreness in their arms began to set in.

There were only three minutes left until 1:15.

"Where's the door?!" Qiao Jia Jin shouted anxiously.

The walls around them showed no changes, and in the dark voids, the cold glint of the harpoons was still visible.

"Damn it! There's no door!" Qiao Jia Jin's voice carried a hint of despair.

"Wrong! We guessed wrong!" Xiao Ran screamed. "We should have turned it left, right?! We shouldn't have trusted that liar! We're all going to die here!!"

Qi Xia furrowed his brow slightly…

Wrong?

Before anyone could react, the clock in the center of the table suddenly acted strangely.

It vibrated lightly and then shot out eight laser beams.

The eight beams extended from the clock and stopped at the edge of the table.

In their confusion, the clock precisely divided the table into nine equal sectors, like slices of pizza.

With a loud "crash," the table shattered into pieces.

The clock now stood alone on a small wooden stump in the center.

Time was too pressing, and everyone was in a panic.

"What is this thing?" Han Yi Mo exclaimed. "How did the table break apart?"

Officer Li noticed that the back of each sector had a handle. His years of professional experience made him realize instantly.

"It's a shield!"

He picked up a sector and held it in front of himself.

"We can use these shields to block the harpoons!"

Hearing this, everyone quickly grabbed their own table pieces.

But within just ten seconds, they spotted the problem.

"How are we supposed to block them?!" Lawyer Zhang Chen Ze rarely showed panic. "There are harpoons from all directions—we can only cover one side."

"We need to cooperate," Qi Xia said, snapping back to attention. "Form a circle and cover each other's backs."

After hearing this, the group hurriedly adjusted their positions, waiting quietly.

Now, all they could hear was each other's breathing.

Nine strangers had become teammates, each one indispensable.

Qi Xia glanced back at writer Han Yi Mo and saw his face covered in fine sweat, his whole body trembling with tension.

From somewhere far outside the room, a bell tolled again.

"Are you okay?" Qi Xia asked.

"It's… it's nothing," Han Yi Mo shook his head.

"Hey! Dr. Zhao, turn your shield around!" Zhang Chen Ze suddenly spoke up.

"Why?" Dr. Zhao looked at the shield in his hands, with the pointed end down and the wide end up.

"This way, you can't cover my legs!" Zhang Chen Ze said tensely. "I'll get hit!"

"If I turn it, I won't be able to cover my head!" Dr. Zhao retorted. "Is the head more important or the legs?"

Some people overheard the argument and found Dr. Zhao's point reasonable, so they turned their shields around.

Pointed end down, wide end up.

This created a strange situation.

Any harpoons flying from all directions would only be blocked on the upper part, leaving everyone's legs exposed.

"Is this really right?" Xiao Ran hesitated. "Even if we can tuck our legs behind the pointed end to block the front, what about the harpoons from behind or from above?"

"I'll cover the top!" Officer Li raised his shield. "Everyone huddle closer—I'll protect you."

Lin Geng quickly thought it over and said, "The rest of you, arrange yours one high and one low. We can stagger them!"

"Yeah! That makes sense!" Qiao Jia Jin agreed.

"No," Qi Xia interrupted. "If everyone's shields are perpendicular to the harpoons, they're too easy to pierce…"

"Handsome guy, then what do we do?" Qiao Jia Jin asked.

Qi Xia's gaze lingered on the sheepskin mask on the ground.

"Why aren't bamboo shoots afraid of the rain?"

The final hint made Qi Xia ponder.

"Hold on… just give me a moment," Qi Xia frowned.

Everyone held their breath as time ticked away, with only a minute left until the harpoons launched.

"Forget him!" Dr. Zhao snapped. "Let's go with what Lin Geng said and stagger them!"

"You pink sausage, shut up!" Qiao Jia Jin yelled. "I believe what the liar says."

"You!" Dr. Zhao bit his lip and swallowed his words.

"Got it!" Qi Xia suddenly widened his eyes. "Everyone, point the tips upward!"

Though doubtful, most people, with their minds blank, followed suit.

Dr. Zhao thought for a moment and turned his shield as well.

"Now, everyone crouch down!" Qi Xia continued. "Shift the tips backward and press them together. Officer Li, you don't need to cover the top anymore—just join us!"

Under Qi Xia's direction, the group slowly aligned all the sectors side by side, forming a cone.

No one expected the sectors to fit perfectly, sealing off the gaps from all sides and above.

From a distance, the cone resembled a bamboo shoot, waiting for a downpour.

In the dark space, everyone's hearts pounded nervously, with only their breathing echoing among them.

"It's coming…"

Qi Xia calculated the time and whispered a warning.

In the next second, they heard a whistling wind as something invisible slammed hard into Qi Xia's shield.

Immediately after, sounds erupted from all directions like a storm.

The force of the harpoons was extraordinarily strong, making everyone's arms ache as they struggled to hold on.

Fortunately, with all the shields pressed together, they achieved a delicate balance.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, a harpoon pierced through the shield in front of Xiao Ran, making her cry out.

Qi Xia turned and saw the harpoon stop just two or three centimeters from her eyes.

Thankfully, the shield was sturdy enough, or Xiao Ran would have been dead.