Chapter 18: True or False

At this moment, the nine people were like chandeliers on the ceiling, swinging back and forth pulled by a rope.

Lin Geng looked down and felt his heart sink.

Below was a cavity about ten meters deep.

If they hadn't grabbed the rope, they would have definitely fallen to their death by now.

"Hey, writer, hold on tight!" Qiao Jiajin noticed that Han Yimo was sliding down continuously and felt anxious. "How can you be so weak at a critical moment?"

Han Yimo's face showed he was struggling, but his left hand was still loosening.

Qiao Jiajin was close to Han Yimo, so he quickly let go with one hand, grabbed his rope, and wrapped it around his waist. However, with only one hand, he couldn't tie it securely no matter what.

Officer Li saw what was happening and reached out to help. The two of them, each with one hand, tied the end of Han Yimo's rope around his waist.

Just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, they heard a muffled groan.

Turning their heads, Tian Tian couldn't help but cry out, and only then did the others remember that her hand was also injured.

Yet, this girl seemed incredibly tough; she didn't make a sound until her blood soaked the rope.

She let go with her right hand and held on with only her left, but as a woman with naturally less strength, supporting her entire body weight with one hand was extremely difficult, so she suddenly slid down.

Qi Xia's expression changed, and he immediately reached out to grab her injured wrist.

Upon brief contact, he noticed that Tian Tian's slender body was trembling slightly and her wrist was very cold.

"Well, liar, you're not a bad person after all." Qi Xia sighed helplessly and said, "I just don't want to see any more bodies. Don't overthink it."

Time passed second by second, and everyone's arms began to ache.

Hanging like this for a long time was no easy task for anyone, and even Officer Li's forehead started to sweat.

"How long do we have to hang here?" Lin Geng asked Qi Xia beside him.

"I don't know." Qi Xia replied in a low voice.

He knew there were no hints for the next game, yet the group still couldn't see any hope.

If the organizers were truly ruthless, they could just leave them hanging, and death would only be a matter of time.

But...

Was there really no hint for the next game?

Qi Xia felt a bit uneasy.

Could there be some unknown hint hidden somewhere invisible?

He looked down at the ground below; if there was a hint, it had to be somewhere down there.

"Hmm?"

As he scanned the area, due to the ground collapsing, a new wall had appeared at the bottom, and in the farthest corner of that wall, there seemed to be a door.

However, that door was completely out of reach for them.

They were still about ten meters from the floor below, and jumping from this height would make it impossible to land safely.

Lin Geng followed Qi Xia's gaze and looked for a while, eventually spotting the issue.

"Is that a door?"

After hearing this, everyone looked down and indeed saw the shabby wooden door at the bottom.

Just as everyone was in stunned despair, the door slowly opened.

A black figure walked in from the shadows. Qi Xia looked closely and saw that the person was also wearing a black suit, but his mask was completely different from the Sheep Head Man's.

He was wearing a massive ink-green snake head.

"Long time no see, everyone. I am Ren She." He spoke slowly.

"You son of a—!" Qiao Jiajin shouted angrily. "After the sheep and the dog, now it's a snake? Do you believe I'd kill you right now?"

"Please, don't get agitated." Ren She's voice was steady. He looked up at the group and then said, "You are currently undergoing the final round of trials. Next to me, there is a lever. If I pull it, you will slowly descend, and no one will get hurt."

Everyone followed his gaze and saw an inconspicuous lever beside the wooden door. Earlier, due to the dim lighting, no one had noticed it.

"Then... then can you pull it now?" Xiao Ran asked timidly.

"I..." Ren She gave a barely noticeable smile and said, "I'll play a game with you. Whether you survive depends on your own performance."

"Another game..." Zhao Yisheng's hair was disheveled, and he gritted his teeth as if he wanted to devour someone.

"Listen carefully, everyone. This game is called 'Yes or No'." Ren She stepped forward slightly and said to the group hanging and swaying in the air, "From now on, all of you together can ask me a total of three questions, and my answers will only be 'yes' or 'no.' Remember, I won't lie. After the three questions, if I agree to save you, I'll pull the lever. If I don't agree, I'll lock this door and leave you to your fate."

Qi Xia frowned.

Three questions?

And only answers of "yes" or "no"?

This game was far too tricky.

In any case, the group's goal was to get this snake-headed person to let them down, so they had to ask questions around that topic. But would he agree?

While everyone was thinking, Xiao Ran, the kindergarten teacher, acted decisively and asked:

"Hey, can you let us down?!"

"Don't!" Qi Xia was startled and quickly tried to cover Xiao Ran's mouth, but the girl spoke too quickly, and her question had already reached Ren She's ears clearly.

Ren She chuckled coldly and said:

"No."

"Hey! Girl?!" Qiao Jiajin yelled. "We only have three questions—don't mess this up!"

"I..." Xiao Ran lowered her head, looking extremely upset.

"Two questions left." Ren She stepped back casually, positioning himself closer to the wooden door.

It seemed he had already given up on them.

Xiao Ran's inadvertent question had turned this game into a nightmare.

Of course, Ren She wouldn't let them down so easily.

If he wanted to save them, why set up this game in the first place?

But on the other hand, if he didn't want to save them, how could they make him agree to pull the lever?

Even if they asked, "Won't you let us down?" his answer would just be "yes."

"Liar, do you have a way out of this?" Qiao Jiajin turned to look at Qi Xia.

Qi Xia closed his eyes slightly, his thoughts in turmoil.

A way out, a way out.

As a person, how could he have so many solutions?

Every step since entering this room had required Qi Xia's ingenuity. Why should he bear the lives of so many people?

But then, he felt a sense of despair.

If he gave up, did the group have any other way to survive?

"I can't die here..." Qi Xia's eyes lit up with a faint glimmer again. "She's still waiting for me..."

A gentle female voice echoed in Qi Xia's mind: "Xia, do you know? There are many paths in this world, and everyone has their own."

He opened his eyes slightly, and his thoughts suddenly became clear.

That's right; his mistake was following the other person's path completely.

"Ren She." Qi Xia called out softly.

Officer Li was startled and turned back to ask:

"Hey, what are you going to ask? Let's discuss it first to avoid another mess like before."

"It's fine. I've already thought of a way to survive." Qi Xia said confidently, lowering his head to look at Ren She. "Don't say anything. This will all be over soon."

"Do you really have a way?" Zhang Chenze asked.

"Probably." Qi Xia took a deep breath and carefully considered the next two questions.

No, to be precise, just one question.

He only needed one question to end this game.

This game had been unapproachable from the start because they were fixated on making the other pull the lever, instead of thinking about the logic of "yes" and "no."

Ren She seemed interested in Qi Xia; his eyes peered out from the slits in the snake-skin mask.

Qi Xia paused and asked:

"Ren She, if my next question were 'Will you pull the lever?' would your answer be the same as for this question?"