Chapter 434: The Mole's Fear

The four people once again discussed and finalized their tactics, waiting for the door of the second round to open.

During this time, Qi Xia and Luo Shiyi each threw a fruit into their own burrows, bringing their satiety levels back to two units, while the others remained at one unit.

With a soft "click," the door lock disengaged, and the four people exited their rooms one after another.

"Zhou Liu, once you enter the room, whether or not you step on the 'Buo Shu Jia,' make sure to send a telepathic message to Qiu Shiliu right away," Qi Xia said. "Luo Shiyi and I will only start the 'rescue' after you send it."

"Tsk, I got it."

Zhou Liu and Wang Ba headed toward the first room and the second room respectively, but just as they were about to enter, Qi Xia suddenly felt uneasy and stopped them.

"Hold on..." He reached out to halt their movements. "Wang Ba, switch with someone."

"Me...?"

Qi Xia nodded and pointed toward the fifth room with the brown wooden door.

Wang Ba sighed and slowly walked over.

Qi Xia felt that the first room and the second room were simply too close to each other. If Di Shu anticipated their anticipation, he might focus his attention on rooms other than the third one.

If the "cat" in this round used not "Buo Shu Jia" but "patrol," the two people so nearby would likely be caught together, which would be the worst-case scenario for the entire game.

But thinking it over, the "cat" not using "Buo Shu Jia" in the previous round was the right choice, because this round was the best time for catching people.

In other words, it's highly likely that a "Buo Shu Jia" is in any two of the rooms one, two, four, or five, so the probability of each person stepping on one is one in two.

"Be careful," Qi Xia whispered. "Warm up a bit beforehand, so you don't get cramps later."

"Ah?" Wang Ba clearly didn't understand, but seeing that Qi Xia wasn't paying him any more attention, he pushed the door open with a hesitant expression and entered the room.

At this point, Luo Shiyi noticed Qi Xia's expression growing even more complex, and he felt a strange sensation.

The man in front of him seemed truly exceptional. Like Qian Wu, he had a uniquely distinctive aura, as if he could be a leader in his own right.

"You follow me," Qi Xia said expressionlessly. "We're going to the 'Mao Wu' to take a look."

Luo Shiyi quietly nodded and followed Qi Xia forward.

"Hey, you know what? I really like people with ability," Luo Shiyi said in a low voice.

"What do you mean?"

"In this world, only impressive people can make me submit." Luo Shiyi let out a cold laugh. "I thought in this city, only Ge Wu could keep me in check, but I didn't expect you to have some skills too."

Qi Xia acted as if he hadn't heard Luo Shiyi's words at all and arrived at the side of the "Mao Wu," where there was a button on the wall.

Above the button, it read "Press to initiate rescue."

"I'm really afraid of failure," Luo Shiyi continued. "You might not be at my age yet, but once a man hits thirty, there's no time left for failure, so you have to follow the right people..."

"No telepathic message yet?" Qi Xia frowned.

"Hey... are you even listening to me?"

"The lack of a message means there's something in her room, which means she's been delayed by something, and that something can only be 'Buo Shu Jia'..." Qi Xia stroked his chin as he deduced. "As I expected, the 'Buo Shu Jia' is in the first room. Next..."

"Hey... I was saying..." Luo Shiyi was about to say something when a bell suddenly rang in the distance.

"Dong!"

The bell arrived quietly, and "Chi Yan" descended.

Qi Xia's eyes widened, and he quickly pressed the "rescue" button on the wall. At the same moment, a heart-wrenching scream came from the "Mao Wu."

"Qi Xia! You're asking for death!"

Before the words faded, Qi Xia kicked the door open.

Qiu Shiliu, who was howling at the sky with blood-red eyes, froze in place at the sight.

Di Shu nearby seemed startled by Qiu Shiliu's rage and was huddled motionless in the corner.

"Huh?" Qiu Shiliu was stunned. "Wait... you... what?"

Qi Xia saw her like this and let out a long sigh of relief. "The intel was wrong. I'm here to save you."

"You..." Qiu Shiliu's eyes blinked, and the anger in them had mostly dissipated.

"Save me...? Wh-what's going on?"

"Never mind that for now. You come with me first," Qi Xia said. "Let's head back, just the two of us."

Luo Shiyi, listening from the side, felt something was off. "Hold on... what do you mean, just the two of you go back? What about me?"

Qi Xia didn't answer; he just scanned the walls of the room and nodded to himself after a moment. "Luo Shiyi, you stay here."

"What?!"

Seeing that Luo Shiyi didn't understand, Qi Xia leaned in close to his ear and whispered a few words.

Those words made Luo Shiyi's expression turn quite interesting.

"You... are you crazy?" Luo Shiyi asked. "Is that even mentioned in the rules?"

"It's not mentioned, but it's not prohibited either," Qi Xia said. "Since it's set up this way, it means the method works."

Luo Shiyi still looked skeptical, but he carefully examined Di Shu's collar and suddenly noticed a pomegranate on the room's table, which made his mind tense up.

"Did you think of this step way ahead... or just after entering the room?" Luo Shiyi asked.

"Why do you think I arranged for myself to do the rescue?" Qi Xia replied expressionlessly. "I said I had something to confirm in the 'Mao Wu,' and now everything matches what I thought."

With that, he turned to Di Shu. "What I said before—aren't you going to reconsider? The three of us are standing together in the 'Mao Wu' now, which should prove what I said wasn't false. Do you want to join the 'Hong Liu'?"

Di Shu's pitch-black eyes glanced at the ground with a hint of complexity, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking, but Qi Xia knew his attempt to sway him had likely succeeded.

"This leader... you're joking," Di Shu said with a bitter laugh. "I just simply want you all to die. You're giving me too much credit. How could I do something so treasonous? I don't deserve it."

"Is that so?" Qi Xia furrowed his brow. "Are the people above you really that formidable?"

Di Shu stepped closer to Qi Xia, met his gaze, and opened his mouth. "So, leader... why don't you just mind your own business and die quietly? I only want to humbly watch your collar explode and your brains splatter, not climb up by joining your 'Hong Liu.' I'm not worthy."

The complexity in his eyes was beyond Qi Xia's imagination.

Di Shu wanted to die, to escape, to win, to lose, and to live.

He had worn his camouflage for so long that even he didn't know which of his words were true.

Yet Qi Xia had seen many "Di Ji Sheng Xiao," but he had never encountered anyone so afraid of "Tian Long." Could it be that above Di Shu wasn't "Tian Long," but someone in between?

"If 'Ren Long' is the manager of all 'Ren Ji Sheng Xiao'..." Qi Xia muttered to himself, "then are you afraid of 'Di Long'?"