Chapter 362: Eight Calamities

However, Su Shan’s qian this time was even stranger than before, with five characters still written on it.

"Wan Min Qi Zhen Zai."

Below this qian, there was an arrow pointing left.

"Zhen Zai...?" Su Shan looked at the qian and felt the same as with the two she had held earlier—she could understand the characters written on it, but not their meaning.

If she made a wish for "Zhen Zai"... what would happen?

"Wait a minute..." Su Shan suddenly realized something. "'Zhen Zai'... doesn't that mean 'relief for disasters, aiding the afflicted'?"

That could be a way to counter "Zai E"!

She knew this qian was likely a "life-saving talisman." If Di Gou directed the disaster at her, the content of this qian might just save her life.

Su Shan set aside "Wan Min Qi Zhen Zai," then picked up the other two qian and examined them.

"Xi Yu Mian Mian Luo" and "Si Hai Wu Xian Tian."

One had an arrow pointing right, the other pointing left.

With one round now over, only seven rounds remained in the game. If they couldn't extinguish the three lamps within those seven rounds, the game would end, and Qin Dingdong's death would have been in vain.

Speaking of Qin Dingdong... Su Shan turned to look at her. The fine sand had already risen above her thighs, and it would probably bury her completely in a few minutes.

Her face was covered in sand, showing a look of utter despair. Her mouth was moving constantly, as if repeating a two-word phrase, but with the sand swirling in the glass room, Su Shan couldn't make it out clearly.

"I'm sorry..." Su Shan said, "I don't have the confidence to save you."

She took out "Si Hai Wu Xian Tian" and looked at it, then placed it at the hole. Since "Bian Pao Ci Jiu Sui" had already been tried, it was time to test "Si Hai Wu Xian Tian."

But a moment later, Su Shan's hand froze in mid-air.

The lip movements Qin Dingdong had made at the start of the game flashed back into her mind.

Su Shan hadn't paid much attention at first, but now she realized that the two-word phrase Qin Dingdong was repeating seemed to match what she had said earlier.

Frowning, Su Shan pushed through the sand and carefully observed the shape of Qin Dingdong's lips.

If she wasn't mistaken, the two words were "He Zuo."

"Cooperation?" Su Shan was stunned, then lowered her head in thought. "Does that mean this game requires cooperation?"

But how could they cooperate when the four players were each in their own rooms?

A few seconds later, Su Shan remembered the strong wind in Lin Qing's room.

"Hold on... could these qian...?" She glanced at the qian in her hand, each with arrows on them. "Does that mean...?"

These arrows indicated the "direction of effect"?

An arrow pointing left meant the qian's content would take effect in the room to the left, while one pointing right meant the room to the right.

"That's the cooperation..."

Su Shan felt like she had grasped a faint clue. Her "Xi Yu Mian Mian Luo" had an arrow pointing right, meaning if she used it, it would immediately affect Qin Dingdong's room on her right.

But the qian were too scarce—each person had at most three.

The real question now was... was Qin Dingdong's life more important, or the qian in her hand?

Su Shan pondered for a few seconds, feeling her mind in turmoil.

How could she think as decisively as Qi Xia, betting their lives and winning the game?

"My thinking isn't refined enough..." Su Shan slowly closed her eyes and began reconstructing the entire game in her mind.

Assuming her understanding of the qian was correct, what other rules had she not figured out?

What else seemed like a "rule" that she hadn't grasped?

Looking at it this way... there was indeed one obvious "rule" she hadn't deciphered.

That was the color of each glass room.

Based on the order of play, the four rooms were pink, green, orange, and blue.

The "Nian Shou" room was bright red.

If they inferred the others' room meanings from the "Nian Shou" room's color, then "bright red" likely represented "firecrackers."

So, what did her own room's "pink" represent?

With her eyes slightly closed, Su Shan quickly brainstormed in her mind.

When she thought of "pink," the first thing that came to mind was "flowers."

"Flowers...?" Su Shan's lips moved slightly. "Blooming...? Is that it...?"

Su Shan suddenly opened her eyes and inserted "Xi Yu Mian Mian Luo" into the hole in the table.

The next second, the sand in Qin Dingdong's room stopped rising, and fine droplets of water began falling from above.

Before she could fully process it, the iron grate beneath her feet changed. The double-layered floor slowly rotated, revealing numerous holes that allowed the sand in the room to fall away amid the gentle rain.

Qin Dingdong slowly lifted her head, staring at the water droplets raining down like a shower, her expression even more puzzled.

After a moment of thought, she cupped a little water in her hands, wiped the sand from her face, and turned to look at Su Shan.

Su Shan nodded at her, and Qin Dingdong, after a few seconds of shock, showed a grateful expression.

"So it really works..." Su Shan's lips curved into a smile. "We really need a broader perspective on this game... After all, 'winter's' sandstorm can only be resolved by 'spring's' gentle rain."

The four colors represented the "four seasons."

Pink for "spring," green for "summer," orange for "autumn," and blue for "winter."

Just like the game’s name, "Zai E Nian," it was a game spanning "eight years," with a disaster striking each year.

The only way to break it was for the seasons to support one another, safely passing through spring, summer, autumn, and winter to welcome the "Nian Shou" with abundance.

Su Shan looked down at "Si Hai Wu Xian Tian" in her hand, now mostly understanding its meaning.

As "spring," she should use this qian in her phase. Since its arrow pointed left, it would affect Zhang Chenze's room, which was "summer."

Once spring sowed the seeds, summer would bring labor, autumn would yield harvest, and winter could then face the "Nian Shou."

In other words, though there were four people here, only "winter" could truly harm the "Nian Shou."

After all, how could winter survive without food stored from the year?

As long as the other three seasons passed smoothly, "winter" would find a way to act.

Su Shan nodded, feeling her idea, though far-fetched, was very close to the truth. After all, as "spring," using "firecrackers" had no effect on the Nian Shou, proving it was "the wrong timing."

However, Su Shan also realized this was all based on the assumption of no disasters throughout the year.

Di Gou was the one who could bring disasters, and he wouldn't let them pass each year peacefully.

Add to that the rule limiting each person to one qian per round, and with Su Shan having two types—one for "sowing" and one for "saving"—the dilemma was clear.

Sadly, saving someone meant not sowing, and sowing meant not saving.

So, at the critical moment... should they abandon a teammate?

Based on the current situation, "summer" could be abandoned.

As long as "spring" sowed the seeds and "autumn" reaped the harvest, theoretically, they could survive "winter."

Su Shan turned to glance at Zhang Chenze, who represented "summer," and many thoughts raced through her mind.

At that moment, Di Gou's broadcast slowly began:

"The first player's 'wish' is complete. Now, the second player will 'draw qian.'"