Chapter 478: Penglai

The robust Di Tu paced back and forth in the room. He first went to the door on the left and took a look, then to the door on the front and took a look.

“Now...” He stretched out his sturdy arm and scratched his large head, “Do you remember which direction we came from? Does anyone have a compass?”

“Are you kidding?” Chen Jun Nan said while picking his nose, “A compass for what? We're in a hurry here.”

Jiang Shi slowly opened his mouth and yawned, “Yeah... we're in a... ahhh... hurry.”

Di Tu turned his head in confusion; he had never seen these two acting so urgent.

“Then maybe you all wait here...” Di Tu gestured awkwardly to the group, “I'll go find the way myself... and come back once I find it, okay?”

Song Qi was about to agree, but Chen Jun Nan suddenly stepped forward, “How could we let you do that, Fat Rabbit bro? Since we've already entered your game area, we should stick together.”

Although Di Tu had a rabbit's face, the group could clearly see the change in his expression.

“Together?”

“Yeah, Di Tu bro.” Chen Jun Nan nodded and pointed to the darkened walls around them, “Every room here is covered in blood, it stinks to high heaven... How many people have you killed in here?”

“Ah... not that many...” Di Tu said, “Before you all, at most a hundred or so.”

“Oh, really.” Chen Jun Nan nodded, “If the game only allows six people at a time, and you've killed a hundred or so, that means you've played at least ten rounds, right?”

Di Tu's eyes turned noticeably colder at those words.

Seeing that Di Tu wasn't speaking, Chen Jun Nan continued, “So, even if you killed sixty people... that means the game has run at least ten times... And yet you're telling us you're 'lost'?”

“Oh...?” Di Tu slowly crossed his arms over his chest, his muscles nearly bursting through his suit, “If I'm not lost... then what do you think I'm up to?”

“You're messing with our sense of direction, aren't you?” Chen Jun Nan said bluntly, “I wasn't totally sure until just now.”

“Heh...” Di Tu's gaze grew increasingly cold, “You don't seem like the type to be so sharp-minded...”

“Yeah, I didn't want to be this sharp.” Chen Jun Nan nodded, “But you were about to ditch us and go find the exit yourself... What if you suddenly announce 'game start' at some point? We'd be lost, not knowing which way to run.”

“Isn't that the point?” Di Tu sneered, “If you knew the way back to the start, why would you follow me and waste all this time?”

“Because I want to see what you're really up to.” Chen Jun Nan sneered back, “You probably don't know, but I grew up in the *hutongs*, and I've always had a great sense of direction. Your straight-north, straight-south tricks won't fool me.”

“You...” Di Tu's large head twitched slightly, feeling like he'd been outmaneuvered before the game even began.

In the past, every time he brought in “participants,” he'd lead them in circles through the rooms. After a dozen or so rooms, most people would be completely disoriented—since all the rooms looked identical—and then he'd pick them off one by one.

“What a sneaky yet unremarkable little rabbit you are.” Chen Jun Nan reached out and patted Di Tu's muscular chest, “Don't waste any more time. My team members are about to fall asleep, so let's get going.”

“Heh.” Di Tu let out another humorless chuckle, then went to the door on the left side of the room and pushed it open, “It doesn't matter if you know the way out; I'll slaughter you all anyway.”

It seemed Di Tu really did know the way; he kept turning left and right, leading the group forward.

Song Qi whispered from behind, “Chen Jun Nan, you're really sharp-minded. You've been observing the directions since we entered the room... If it weren't for you...”

“I wasn't observing crap.” Chen Jun Nan frowned and whispered back, “I got lost ages ago.”

“Ah?”

“That whole analysis was just me bullshitting like Lao Qi does. Didn't expect it to actually work.” Chen Jun Nan covered his mouth and whispered, “I got lost in the *hutongs* as a kid like seven or eight times, and neighbors always had to bring me home. Do you think I'd get lost that many times if I had a good sense of direction?”

The other “Cat” team members nearby overheard Chen Jun Nan's muttering, and any admiration they had just felt turned into sheer speechlessness.

As they moved forward, the group sensed that this building had once been a medical facility; the floors were painted blue-green, but all the equipment inside had been removed, leaving only empty rooms.

After passing through about eight or nine rooms, Di Tu finally reached the last one.

This room was different from the others; only two adjacent walls had doors, confirming it was indeed in the “upper left corner.”

“Everyone...” Di Tu steadied himself and turned back to the group, “My game is very simple; it's called *Peng Lai*.”

“*Peng Lai*...?” Chen Jun Nan scratched his head, thinking the name had nothing to do with the game in front of them.

“Basically, it's a kind of 'sixteen-grid chess,' but the board is made of rooms. There are sixteen rooms in total, four per row and four rows altogether. Each of us is a piece on the board. You just need to move from this room to the farthest diagonal room and escape, and you'll win.”

“Got it.” Chen Jun Nan nodded, “So, mainly tell us how the pieces move?”

“As I said before entering the area.” Di Tu scanned the six people in front of him and explained, “As the 'prey,' each of you gets three actions per turn. Actions include 'opening a door,' 'closing a door,' 'unlocking,' 'locking a door,' or 'moving,' but note that 'locking a door' and 'moving' each take up two actions.”

“Hold on a second, let me wrap my head around this.” Chen Jun Nan interrupted, raising his hand, “I'm already getting confused.”

He turned back to the group and asked, “Did you all get that?”

Jiang Shi opened his mouth, “I didn't... ahhh... get it.”

“Tsk...” Chen Jun Nan furrowed his brow at Jiang Shi; every time he talked to this kid, he felt like yawning too—that was really annoying. “Another goal in my life now: besides getting Zhou Mo to stop starting his sentences with 'tsk,' I need to get you to stop throwing yawns into yours.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Jiang Shi nodded indifferently, “Good luck.”

“I think I mostly get it.” Song Qi said, “But I'm still a bit unclear.”

“Go ahead.” Di Tu stared at Song Qi, “I'll answer any questions before the game starts. Once the killing begins, I won't care about your survival anymore.”

“Okay.” Song Qi nodded, “You said we can 'open' or 'lock' a door—does that mean if we lock it, you can't open it?”

...