Chapter 375: Belief

Di Gou thought for a moment and then said, "Now, I will... take the first action."

Su Shan knew that Di Gou had no other choice.

He slowly took out a lot, as if choosing a direction, and after thinking for a long time, he finally aimed it at Qin Dingdong.

"This time, the 'Zai E' is named—'Shan Huo'."

He slowly inserted the lot into the hole in Qin Dingdong's direction.

"Ah?!"

Qin Dingdong was greatly shocked and reached out a hand as if to scold Di Gou, but before she could speak, several small tubes extended from the ceiling, and flames instantly shot out.

Fortunately, she was soaked with water, so the suddenly falling flames didn't hurt her, but they forced her into the water.

Qin Dingdong covered her mouth and nose in the water, painfully closing her eyes.

"Please, first person, 'Chou Qian'."

Su Shan was already prepared. Without waiting for the "plain lot" in front of her to fully surface, she quickly drew it out and threw it aside, then accurately inserted "Si Hai Wu Xian Tian."

Zhang Chenze waited anxiously, and Di Gou took several seconds before slowly saying, "Please, second person, 'Chou Qian'."

"Damn it! Don't drag this out!!" Su Shan slapped the glass. "I thought you were an upright person, but now you're using such a despicable tactic..."

As Su Shan watched Di Gou, he kept glancing at Qin Dingdong with his peripheral vision.

Since she had entered the water too hastily, she hadn't had time to take in enough air, and now the situation was worse than imagined.

In her room, the lower part was filled with cold water, the upper part with scorching fire, and the surrounding glass—made of some unknown material—didn't even have a single crack under these harsh conditions.

Qin Dingdong felt the water around her heating up, and her lungs, already damaged by the poison gas earlier, hadn't recovered. Now, holding her breath, her entire chest burned with pain.

In the time to come... would she be boiled alive or drown?

Zhang Chenze hurriedly brushed away the fluttering suit in front of him and pressed down the floating "Chu He Ri Dang Wu," but Di Gou fell silent for a few more seconds.

She and Lin Geng also noticed something was off and were now pounding on the glass.

This time, Su Shan's strategy was completely correct. If they had just resolved "Hong Lao," there would only be a small amount of broken ice in Qin Dingdong's room, and the flames from the ceiling would have already burned her to death.

It seemed that the rules set by Di Gou prevented him from delaying indefinitely, but he could stretch it out for about five seconds each time—this was likely his "limit time."

He probably knew that "Bao Yu Gun Piao Po" was in Zhang Chenze's hands, so "Shan Huo" falling in the autumn season would have no effect. At most, after ten seconds, summer would save her.

As for "spring" and "summer," there was no need to mention them—these two seasons would act quickly from the start. Once they played their "lots," even if she died, Di Gou would still lose the game.

Taking everything into account, Di Gou could only drop "Shan Huo" in Qin Dingdong's room.

Then, he resorted to the most unsightly tactic—delaying time.

Qin Dingdong's room was the only one among the four where the "Shan Huo" with the delay wouldn't result in her being burned to death. Now, the only hope was that she could hold on.

"Second person 'Xu Yuan' complete... Please, third person, 'Chou Qian'..."

"You son of a... " Zhang Chenze clenched his fists in frustration and pounded the glass hard. "This is unfair!! We've given it our all! You won't die if you lose, so why keep delaying?!"

Lin Geng had been waiting by the hole, and as soon as "Dao Hua Piao Feng Nian" floated up, she pressed it down.

Now, everyone's eyes were fixed on Qin Dingdong. She was tightly furrowing her brows, kicking her legs constantly in the water, clearly on the verge of suffocation.

"Hold on..." Su Shan was so tense that his palms were sweaty. "Dingdong... you're our only hope..."

But fleeting hopes often lead to despair.

Although Qin Dingdong was covering her mouth and nose in the water, everyone clearly saw a large mouthful of fresh blood burst from between her fingers. Due to the rising water temperature, the blood didn't spread like ink but bloomed like fireworks, dyeing a large area red.

She had reached her limit.

"Third person 'Xu Yuan' complete... Now, please, fourth person, 'Chou Qian'..."

The "lot" in Qin Dingdong's room slowly rose, but she couldn't even open her eyes. At that moment, she was using both hands to clamp her mouth and nose shut. Having just spat out a mouthful of blood, if she let go, she would gulp down water.

"This is bad..." Su Shan's heart was in his throat. He knew that once the "lot" floated to the surface, it would be trapped between the flames and the cold water, making it hard for Qin Dingdong to reach it.

At that moment, the girls in the room all held their breath with her, able to hear only their own heartbeats.

Qin Dingdong slowly opened one eye, and the murky, icy water stung her eyes painfully.

She couldn't hear the broadcast. Lowering her head, she happened to see something unusual on the table below.

Had the "lot" come?

"But I..." Qin Dingdong gritted her teeth and let her body sink slowly, though her vision was darkening and her whole body was in excruciating pain.

Now, her only option was to press down the "lot" as soon as her hands left her mouth and nose. Even if she choked on water, it would end the game.

Sinking to the table, Qin Dingdong spotted the "lot"'s position and reached out to grab it, but misfortune struck again. Just then, the "lot" detached from the table and shot toward the surface at high speed.

She inhaled a large gulp of water, feeling an intense burning in her mouth and nose, but she gritted her teeth and extended her hand. Closing her eyes, she groped toward the hole's position from memory and thrust it in forcefully.

This time, she was betting everything on her "belief."

The others stared wide-eyed at Qin Dingdong. They clearly saw the "lot" drifting toward the surface, yet she had inserted one on the table.

Would they win?

Qin Dingdong had completely lost consciousness by then, her body relaxing in the water like another "lot," quietly floating upward.

The brief seconds of waiting felt like an eternity to everyone.

Finally, a light on Di Gou's head went out, and cheerful music suddenly blared.

It was another year of abundance, completely driving away the "Nian Shou."

The doors to all five rooms opened at that moment.

The game was over.

The accumulated water in Qin Dingdong's room poured out instantly, and she was carried by the flow, slamming into the glass walls several times before collapsing on the ground.

Su Shan rushed over to her. Lin Geng was also worried, but her right leg was completely numb, so she could only support herself against the wall and inch her way out step by step.

Zhang Chenze roughly shoved the moving suit aside, stepped out, quickly shut the door behind him, and then shook his body wildly, causing the locusts all over him to scatter on the ground.