Chapter 360: Making a Wish

Zhang Chenze nodded. "Green symbolizes peace. I want green."

Lin Qin listened and nodded. "I want an orange-yellow room."

"Then I guess I'll go last." Qin Dingdong stretched lazily. "I'll take blue."

The group each stood in their respective rooms, in front of their own desks, then turned one by one to close the doors.

Qin Dingdong had just closed the door when she suddenly remembered something. She quickly fiddled with the door, trying to open it.

"Oh no..." She looked uneasy, realizing she had forgotten to mention something very important.

Although the "game rules" were generally known to everyone, the rules of "Zhong Yan Zhi Di" had been overlooked when explaining to Su Shan.

In her ancient memories, this woman could be extremely dangerous when serious; she would kill anyone without hesitation for the greater good.

But in this game, that absolutely couldn't happen. If Qin Dingdong's guess was right, there were only two possible outcomes for the four players—

Either everyone dies, or everyone survives.

After all, this was the game of "Di Gou," which symbolizes "unity," and internal strife would only accelerate destruction.

Qin Dingdong pushed hard against the door several times, but seeing it had no effect, she finally gave up.

Su Shan was smart, but could she figure out these unspoken rules without any explanation?

Unfortunately, in the games they played during the day, there was no "dog," so there hadn't been a chance to explain the "dog" game type to this clever newcomer.

"Su Shan..." Qin Dingdong glanced at her through the glass, then tapped on her own wall.

Su Shan noticed Qin Dingdong's gaze and turned her head to the right to look at her.

Qin Dingdong pressed against the glass, pointed at the Di Gou, and mouthed two words.

"Loyalty."

Su Shan wasn't sure if she understood; she just furrowed her brow.

Qin Dingdong sensed something was off, so she changed her mouth shape and mouthed two more words.

"Unity."

Su Shan saw Qin Dingdong's mouth movements and nodded ambiguously.

Qin Dingdong's worries eased a bit. With Su Shan's intelligence, as long as she had a hint, she should be able to piece together the attributes of "dog" games.

At that moment, all the locks on the glass rooms clicked shut with a "ka-da" sound, and the broadcast announced the voice of Di Gou.

"The game officially begins. Now, everyone will 'Chou Qian.' Each person gets two."

Su Shan looked at the small hole on the table in front of her and saw a "Qian" slowly emerging. She quickly reached out and took it.

It was written with five characters: "Fine rain drizzles down."

Below this "Qian" was a right-pointing arrow.

"This..." While Su Shan was trying to understand the meaning on the "Qian," she saw a second one float up from the table. She picked it up and saw another five characters.

"Four seas have no idle fields."

This "Qian" had a left-pointing arrow.

Su Shan narrowed her eyes at the two "Qian," feeling completely puzzled. How were these supposed to be used to kill the "Nian Shou"?

"Fine rain... idle fields...?"

Before she could figure it out, Di Gou's voice rang out again: "'Chou Qian' is complete. The round now officially begins. Each person will get another 'Qian' during their turn."

Su Shan listened to Di Gou's explanation while examining the two "Qian" in her hand. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't imagine what effect they would have. Based on just the five characters on each, the rest was pure guesswork.

Now that her turn was about to start, she decided to wait and see what the next "Qian" said, then combine the three to make a decision.

She watched as a new "Qian" slowly emerged from the hole on the right. Su Shan glanced at the text and instantly raised her eyebrows.

There it was—this was the one!

She reached out and took this "Qian," which boldly wrote the five characters most harmful to "Nian Shou"—

"Firecrackers bid farewell to the old year."

The only difference with this "Qian" was that instead of an arrow below, there was a drawing of a beast resembling a lion.

"Please make your 'wish,' number one," Di Gou announced over the broadcast.

Su Shan nodded and picked up the "Qian" that said "Firecrackers bid farewell to the old year." In legendary stories, people lit firecrackers to drive away the "Nian Shou," so among these three "Qian," this one was surely the one that could harm the "Nian Shou."

But as she was about to insert it into the hole, she felt a vague sense of unease.

Yes, the more straightforward something seemed, the more suspicious it was.

Why would the way to harm "Nian Shou" be so easy?

Everyone needed to extinguish the three lights of "Nian Shou" within eight rounds, but this was clearly the first round's first phase.

Could it be that whoever drew "firecrackers" could extinguish one of "Nian Shou's" lights?

If so, what were the other "Qian" for?

Su Shan hesitated for a moment but decided to insert the "Firecrackers bid farewell to the old year" one. After all, it seemed the most effective for now, and it was better not to use the others until their meanings were clear.

Su Shan placed the "Firecrackers bid farewell to the old year" into the hole on the right and watched as it was slowly swallowed up.

In the next instant, Di Gou's glass cylinder lit up with colorful lights, accompanied by cheap firecracker sound effects. The flashing lights lasted a full ten seconds before gradually fading.

But to Su Shan's confusion, after the lights flashed, the three incandescent bulbs above Di Gou's head were still all lit, with none extinguished.

"What...?" She was slightly stunned, feeling like she had overlooked something.

Did "firecrackers" have no effect on "Nian Shou"?

Su Shan suddenly thought of something—in the legends, "firecrackers" were meant to scare away "Nian Shou," so they only scared it off, not actually harming it.

Or perhaps... all the damage was only calculated at the end of the round?

"Number one's action is complete," Di Gou said. "Now, number two will 'Chou Qian.'"

Su Shan hadn't fully processed it yet, and her phase was already over. The next phase went to the person on her left, Zhang Chenze, who was in the light green glass room.

Su Shan glanced at Zhang Chenze and saw that she looked quite troubled. Because of the distance, Su Shan couldn't make out the words on her "Qian."

When a new "Qian" appeared in front of Zhang Chenze, her expression grew even stranger.

She seemed completely baffled by the role of these three "Qian" and, after a moment, tossed one onto the table, as if abandoning it. Then, holding one in each hand, she alternated looking at them left and right, pondered for a few seconds, and finally inserted the one she had abandoned into the hole.

This time, the situation was even weirder.

After Zhang Chenze inserted the "Qian," nothing happened in the room, as if the "Qian" she used was blank.