Chapter 16 A New Wave Emerges
Although the collective lacked medical expertise, they grasped the essence of Doctor Zhao's explanation. Removing the harpoon was easy, but the challenge laid in properly tending to the wound.
"The writer's life has been spared for now. Our next task is to vacate this place swiftly and locate a suitable environment for treating his injury."
Dr. Zhao's words snapped everyone back to reality. If they couldn't find a way out of this peculiar room, their fate would inevitably parallel Han Yimo's.
"But how do we leave this room? Is the {game} over?" Lin Qin queried, her voice muffled by the hand shielding her mouth and nose.
Qi Xia pondered deeply and shook his head. The mask plainly stated that the entity identifying themselves as {Mortal Dog} wished for their survival, mentioning {Until after the rain}. Logically, after enduring this deluge of harpoons, the purported {Mortal Dog} would emerge, potentially ushering in the next phase of the game. But why hadn't he appeared?
"Hey, swindler," Qiao Jiajin approached Qi Xia slowly, his expression serious. "You have the means of survival, right?"
"And what if I do?" Qi Xia retorted coldly. "What concern is it of yours whether I survive or not?"
"I'm not as smart as you, so I can only find someone to cooperate with." Qiao Jiajin proposed, seeming to suggest a partnership. "You have brains, I have strength, let's team up."
Before Qiao Jiajin could respond, a question suddenly emerged from Police Officer Li, "What is this?"
At the sound of his inquiry, everyone turned their heads to see Police Officer Li carefully examining the harpoon in his hand.
"What's the matter?" Doctor Zhao approached Officer Li cautiously and inquired.
"There are words inscribed on this," Officer Li replied, handing the harpoon to Doctor Zhao.
Doctor Zhao accepted it and examined it closely, his expression shifting. Indeed, there were minuscule words etched onto the tail of the finger-thick harpoon:
"I am {Mortal Goat}. If you can read these words, it means you've survived."
"But how many of you made it?"
"Are there any injuries among you?"
"I'm truly concerned for all of you."
"I cannot simply stand by and watch you perish."
"In a quarter of an hour, death will befall once more."
"Evade them and seek a means of survival."
Doctor Zhao gritted his teeth and immediately threw the harpoon to the ground. "Taking me for a fool? It's relentless!" he roared loudly, as if seeking to unleash all the pent-up emotions.
"Calm yourself!" Police Officer Li's voice resonated deeply. "If you cannot manage your emotions, how do you expect to survive?"
"Survive...? But we are already dead!" Doctor Zhao's frustration reached its peak. "We're already dead, yet we're still tormented by the specter of death. What do the {organizers} want? Can't they just end our lives or set us free?"
The atmosphere grew tense as everyone's expressions darkened. Indeed, faced with incessant waves of deathly threats, what were the true intentions behind it all? Was it truly as the goat-headed figure had claimed, that one of them will be chosen to become a {God}? Could it be that only one individual would become {God}, while the others would be consigned to hell?
"Everyone, we've endured two {games}. Do you believe it's because of our intelligence? No!" Doctor Zhao's fists clenched tightly. "We've merely been fortunate! But what about the next time? And the time after that!? In this ever-shifting room, how long can we possibly persist?!"
Police Officer Li pursed his lips, stepped forward, and reached out to grasp Doctor Zhao's collar. "Hey... buddy! At this crucial juncture, the most vital thing to hold onto is our {morale}! If you don't wish to survive, you can meet your end alone! But don't undermine the morale of the group here!"
"I...!" Doctor Zhao's lips quivered slightly. "But how do we escape? Do you have a method to lead us out?"
Police Officer Li pondered for a moment before stating, "I don't possess a definitive {method}, but I am resolute about surviving! As long as there's breath in my body, there's always hope." Releasing Doctor Zhao's collar, he moved aside, retrieved the harpoon, and examined it. Then, he approached Han Yimo's side and inspected the harpoon lodged in his shoulder, noting that the words on both harpoons were identical.
It appeared their luck was exceptionally fortuitous. In the preceding round, they not only had to evade fatal assaults but also had to retain at least one harpoon to obtain clues for the subsequent round.
"Regardless, we've been provided with explicit clues this time," Police Officer Li remarked, scrutinizing the words on the harpoon. "In contrast to before, this time the assault will solely be set from above." He gestured towards the inscription {death will befall once again} on the harpoon.
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire room underwent another transformation. All the holes in the walls were gradually vanishing, while the multitude of perforations in the ceiling began to reposition.
Ultimately, only nine openings remained. Three holes in each row, three rows in total.
"It appears the game is becoming more manageable," Police Officer Li remarked, gazing at the nine holes on the ceiling and sighing. "This is a stroke of luck in disguise."
"But why is it {Mortal Goat} again?" Lawyer Zhang queried, gesturing towards the shredded remains of the body on the ground. "Wasn't Mortal Goat already killed by us?"
Qi Xia pondered for a moment, sensing the peculiarity of the situation. The goat-headed figure who had perished had identified himself as {Mortal Goat}, yet the inscription on his mask proclaimed {I am a Mortal Dog}. It was 'goat' one moment and 'dog' the next, a perplexing inconsistency. Could this be one of the clues?
"There isn't much time remaining," Police Officer Li addressed the group urgently. "It's already 1:23. The harpoons will rain down from the nine holes in the sky shortly. Everyone, gather the table pieces and take cover against the wall."
Most of the table shields scattered on the ground lay shattered into fragments, leaving only a few small pieces intact. Fortunately, the nine holes on the ceiling were clustered in the center, suggesting that areas near the wall were relatively safe. Quietly, everyone stooped to retrieve the shattered remnants of the table shields from the ground, then positioned themselves against the wall, away from the central hole.
In contrast, Qi Xia remained motionless, closing his eyes once more.
From every angle, the third game reeked of suspicion.
Because the {organizer} provided an overly explicit solution.
In Qi Xia's view, this hint seemed superfluous. Were they intended to perish or survive? Why do they specifically mention {Mortal Goat} and {Mortal Dog}?
If {Mortal Goat} and {Mortal Dog} were not merely names, what do they represent?
"Hey, swindler, hurry up and come over here!" Qiao Jiajin yelled. "You'll die if you stand beneath the hole!"
"Die?" Qi Xia gazed coolly at the openings in the ceiling."I cannot perish here. There's a purpose driving my escape."
"What's going on... is the smartest fella of the bunch turning into a ji-ng zai[1]?" Qiao Jiajin was perplexed.
Qi Xia extended his index finger and lightly tapped his temple.
"Just wait... just wait... give me a bit more time."
Everyone's breathing seemed to slow as they turned their attention to Qi Xia, standing calmly in the center of the room. They were all somewhat bewildered as to why such a seemingly straightforward game required such prolonged contemplation.