Chapter 361: The Disaster Begins

“What's going on...?” Su Shan really wanted to ask Zhang Chenze what kind of qian he had played, but she couldn't make out the text on the qian or hear what he was saying.

The second phase of the first round had ended.

Both Zhang Chenze and Su Shan, having gone through the round, were completely baffled. Although Su Shan didn't know Zhang Chenze well, she could roughly guess his personality.

Out of rationality, Zhang Chenze must have played the qian that seemed most effective at the moment, but unfortunately, it was swallowed up and had no effect.

“What exactly are the detailed rules...?”

Su Shan realized that this game was different from the "Weapon Cards" she had played when she met Qi Xia before. In that match, the rules were fully explained from the start, and the rest was just a battle of wits between players.

But why didn't the "Di Gou" game fully explain the rules?

From the most straightforward perspective, it was because Di Gou was participating, and he wanted to win.

Not clarifying the rules would help him gain an advantage in the game.

“So, every prefecture-level game in the 'Zhongyan Zhidi' is this difficult...” Su Shan nodded slightly. “Qi Xia, you're really something else. After going through these games, maybe next time I face you, I'll have a fighting chance.”

In the third phase of the first round, it was Lin Gen's turn to "make a wish" in the orange room.

Her expression was the same as everyone else's—she had no idea which qian to use for the wish.

Everyone's wish was for the "Nian Beast" to die, but no one knew how to extinguish the light on its head.

Soon, Lin Gen's turn passed. She threw in a qian, and still, nothing happened.

Su Shan's face showed frustration. She had confidently entered the first room, wanting to figure out the rules for everyone, but now the first round was almost over, and she hadn't come up with any strategy or way to communicate her thoughts.

Meanwhile, Qin Dingdong on her right was "drawing qian." She held three qian in her hand, stared at them for a while, then moved her lips, clearly muttering a one-word curse.

Noticing Su Shan watching her, Qin Dingdong stepped closer and pressed the qian against the glass, as if seeking help.

Su Shan squinted to look, but the spotlights were all focused on the center of the glass rooms, and Qin Dingdong was in the shadows near the wall, so Su Shan couldn't see the words at all.

She could only try to read Qin Dingdong's lip movements, which seemed to say something like, "Little Shan, help me out."

Su Shan pointed to the lights overhead and shook her head.

Qin Dingdong understood and had to think through the contents of the three qian on her own before randomly throwing one in.

This time, things were a bit different. After Qin Dingdong played the qian, Su Shan saw thick smoke suddenly billowing in Lin Gen's room directly across from her.

The smoke was pitch-black and seemed to erupt from above, tossing Lin Gen around. The qian on her desk scattered everywhere in the swirling smoke, and it took her a lot of effort to grab them back.

After about half a minute, the smoke in Lin Gen's room dissipated. She stood up dazed, covering her mouth and nose as she coughed nonstop, her face a mix of pain and confusion.

Wasn't it said that only Di Gou's "Zai E" could harm the participants? So what was this nearly suffocating smoke all about?

The one who had played the qian was Qin Dingdong—was she behind this?

A thought flashed through Lin Gen's mind: Did she want to kill someone?

But Lin Gen knew Qin Dingdong wasn't part of the "Jidao," so there was no motive for her to suddenly kill.

Lin Gen frowned and glanced toward Qin Dingdong, only to see her staring back with the same look of bewilderment.

Although the two had known each other for a long time, they had never truly trusted one another.

The first round ended with all four participants looking puzzled, and now everyone's eyes were fixed on the central Di Gou.

After all, he had said he would play a "Zai E Qian" at any time during the round. Now that everyone's phases were done, only he hadn't acted yet, so it seemed he would play it at the end of the round.

Su Shan leaned against the glass and carefully examined Di Gou, noticing he had many qian in front of him. Though they were far away, she counted about seven or eight.

If she guessed right, his rules were different from the participants'—he didn't need to draw qian each round; instead, he had all eight rounds' qian from the start.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this Zai E is called 'Sandstorm.'”

Di Gou's broadcast voice echoed in everyone's rooms. He drew one qian from the many on his table, showed the text on it to everyone, and then inserted it into the hole on the left side of his desk.

Only then did everyone notice that Di Gou's desk had four holes, one on each side: front, back, left, and right.

The hole where he inserted the qian was directly facing Qin Dingdong's direction.

As soon as the qian was played, a huge mechanical sound filled the room. Everyone cautiously looked around, remembering that Di Gou had said his Zai E could kill participants, and no one wanted to die pointlessly right then.

Sure enough, within seconds, something strange happened in Qin Dingdong's room.

The grid on her ceiling shifted, and fine sand began to fall like white silk, quickly filling the room with yellow dust that made it impossible to keep eyes open.

Su Shan could only see Qin Dingdong flailing her arms in panic inside the glass room, trying to wave away the sand, but it kept falling faster and faster, piling up around her feet within seconds.

“So that's it...” Su Shan frowned and muttered to herself, “This is the 'Sandstorm'?”

Qin Dingdong's hair soon turned the color of soil, and sand rushed into her mouth, making it hard for her to breathe.

Su Shan furrowed her brows, sensing that Qin Dingdong was probably beyond saving, especially since she was trapped in her own room and couldn't help.

The cruelest part of this game was likely the "glass room" setup—everyone had to watch helplessly as others died, which could severely disrupt the survivors' thinking and lead to one mistake after another, resulting in total defeat.

But Su Shan also knew that to become as strong as Qi Xia, she couldn't afford to care about others' lives. Qi Xia had hinted as much before—even if they were teammates, it didn't matter.

“The second round begins,” Di Gou's broadcast voice rang out again. “Player number one, please draw qian.”

Su Shan turned her head to look at Qin Dingdong. The sand in her room was still falling rapidly, already burying her legs. She kept shifting her body, trying to pull her legs free from the sand.

But every time she lifted one leg, the other sank even faster, and after several attempts, she failed. So, she retreated to the corner of the glass room, trying to avoid the drifting yellow dust and keep breathing.

In the next moment, her eyes met Su Shan's, full of panic.

Her mouth opened and closed, clearly begging for help, but Su Shan acted as if she saw nothing. With a blank expression, she turned back to look at her newly drawn qian.

Qi Xia had said that to win the game, these people's deaths were insignificant.

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