Chapter 19 Omnipotent
"I..." Mortal Snake was momentarily taken aback. He wanted to choose an answer, but realized it was futile no matter what he said.
Mortal Snake suddenly burst into laughter, so hard that he almost lost his balance. After a while, he stopped laughing and said, "You are truly interesting."
"Interesting?" Qi Xia coldly regarded Mortal Snake. "What's so interesting? Didn't I already win?"
Mortal Snake slowly approached the wall and reached out to pull the lever.
Everyone felt their bodies lurch, then began to slowly descend.
Qiao Jiajin was perplexed. He turned to Qi Xia and asked, "Swindler, I don’t get it. Why is this considered a win?"
Qi Xia, noticing the ropes were indeed descending, exhaled a quiet sigh of relief. "Consider it carefully," he replied. "Once that question is posed, we're saved regardless."
"I understand..." Doctor Zhao nodded thoughtfully. "If he answers {yes}, then the next question must also be answered with {yes}. That guarantees our safety, because the next question would be {Will you pull the lever?}"
"But what if he says {no}?!" Qiao Jiajin exclaimed, feeling he had found a loophole. "Wouldn't it be fine if he just said {no}?"
"If he says {no}, then he must answer {yes} to the next question," Han Yimo interjected weakly. "The brilliance of this question lies in its trap. If he answers {no}, he admits he would give different answers to the two questions. Remember? The snake-headed figure promised he wouldn't lie."
Qiao Jiajin was stunned. He turned to Qi Xia and asked, "Did you really come up with that in such a short time? What kind of monster are you?"
"I wouldn't call myself a monster," Qi Xia replied, shaking his head. "I'm just a swindler who goes where the wind takes me."
As they conversed, the group gradually descended to the ground.
After hanging for so long, everyone's palms were raw and burning with pain, and the condition of the two injured members was even more severe.
"Everyone, congratulations on surviving {probation}," Mortal Snake announced, his hands clasped behind his back as he stood next to the wooden door. "Open this door; a new world is waiting for you."
Qiao Jiajin approached aggressively, as if he intended to unleash all his pent-up frustration with Mortal Goat and Mortal Dog on Mortal Snake before him.
Mortal Snake turned around coldly, meeting Qiao Jiajin's aggression with an unmoving stare.
"Are you all lunatics?!" Qiao Jiajin shouted, stepping forward to grab the Mortal Snake's collar, "Wearing these strange masks, you all have tried to kill us again and again! I've got you in my grasp now!"
Mortal Snake scoffed and said in a low voice, "While you're still breathing, I suggest you release me immediately."
Qiao Jiajin raised his fist, ready to strike Mortal Snake's head with all his might, but was abruptly restrained by Police Officer Li.
"Have you forgotten the man whose skull was crushed?" Police Officer Li reasoned. "If they're all alike, how do you plan to beat them?"
"I..." A hint of reluctance creased Qiao Jiajin's rugged face. He clenched his teeth and uttered, "But these damn..."
"Don't worry, we can leave now, can't we?" Police Officer Li cut him off, whispering, "Once we're out, I'll make sure they get what's coming."
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent and began to approach Mortal Snake slowly.
Up close, they could finally grasp the peculiarities of this individual.
The air around the snake-headed figure felt chillier compared to its surroundings. His shabby suit and the mask atop his head emitted a peculiar, fishy odor.
Glimmering through his mask, his eyes were unmistakably human, yet he exuded a scent akin to that of a long-dead snake.
"Everyone, welcome to the new world."
The muffled voice of the snake-headed figure emanated from his mask as he turned and opened the door.
With a faint creak, light spilled in from beyond the door.
Qi Xia frowned as he realized that beyond the door was not the outdoors, but a corridor.
"Where are we?" Qi Xia asked.
"I told you, it's a new world," the snake-headed figure replied, slowly raising his hands. "A future {God} will be born among you! {God} will arise in this new world! How exhilarating!"
"On with the God spiel again..." Qiao Jiajin asked fiercely, "What are you people planning?"
Seeing someone interested enough to question, the snake-headed figure grew animated. "An omnipotent God who can manifest all ideas!"
"Omnipotent?" Qiao Jiajin's brow furrowed even deeper.
Doctor Zhao calmly waved to Qiao Jiajin, signaling the latter to cease his inquiries. He then addressed the snake-headed figure, "Alright, we understand. Let us through."
The snake-headed figure paused briefly, then nodded and stepped aside.
Qi Xia took the lead and exited. The others hurriedly followed suit, showing no desire to linger in that place any longer.
As soon as everyone stepped into the corridor, a peculiar scent enveloped their senses.
How could one describe such a smell?
Dense. Incredibly dense.
The air bore an odor so foul, it seemed as though the combined essence of billions of human corpses, left to decay openly, had permeated it. This putrid stench lured swarms of insects to swarm over each other in their frenzied quest for sustenance.
These insects multiplied exponentially, yet also met their demise in droves, contributing to the pervasive decay. The omnipresent stench lingered in the air, until its pungent odor no longer overwhelmed the nostrils. What remained was the lingering dense odor that now assailed their senses.
It took Qi Xia considerable time to regain his composure. As he surveyed his surroundings, another scene of despair unfolded before him.
They stood in an interminable corridor, its low ceiling pressing down oppressively as it stretched endlessly ahead.
To either side of them, countless wooden doors creaked open slowly.
Just as the wooden door through which they emerged.
Before long, figures began to emerge from behind the wooden doors.
Most were masked, drenched from head to toe in blood. Scanning their surroundings, Qi Xia noticed only a handful of ordinary people stepping out.
And those supposed {ordinary people} appeared equally worn out, on the verge of stumbling.
Like Qi Xia, they too had managed to survive.
"What is happening..." Han Yimo murmured weakly, "Are we not the only ones who were captured?"
Qi Xia's expression darkened considerably; the unfolding situation far exceeded his worst fears.
Had this organization captured countless individuals, compelling them into perilous games?
"... So few have survived..." Zhang Chenze lamented.
Where thousands of doors stretched as far as the eye could see, only a scant handful emerged.
So scarce, in fact, that there wasn't another instance where {every participant survived}, akin to what had happened in Qi Xia's room.
The snake-headed figure gestured with a sweep of his hand, signaling the direction for everyone to follow. He then positioned himself by the door, hands clasped behind his back, clearly indicating he would not be joining them.
Aware of the inadvisability of lingering in the area, everyone formed a queue and began to depart slowly.
As they passed through the decrepit wooden doors, they came face to face with the other figures adorned in animal masks.
Among them were oxen, horses, and dogs.
There were also other figures adorned with goat and snake masks.
Without exception, they all emitted a peculiar odor—a scent of decay. Each masked figure remained stationed beside their designated doors. Peering inside, most scenes revealed floors strewn with corpses, leaving others to wonder what games the occupants had been involved in.
After walking several dozen steps further, everyone was startled by the sight of two animal masks ahead of them.
The figure on the left leaned against the wall, sporting a large mouse mask, while the figure on the right stood with arms folded across his chest, face concealed behind a massive rooster mask.
These two masks were evidently crafted from real animal heads, not synthetic replicas.
But where in the world could such enormous mice and roosters exist?
Similar to the other figures donning animal masks, these two merely cast brief glances at Qi Xia and the others, without showing any inclination to move.
"What are these animals..." Lin Qin murmured fearfully, instinctively distancing herself from the two masked figures.
Qi Xia frowned slightly, a sudden realization crossed his mind.
Goat, dog, snake, mouse, rooster...
"They’re the Earthly Branches," he uttered, barely moving his lips.
Everyone was startled at the revelation and took a second look.
Indeed, the animal masks worn by those figures in tattered suits represented the twelve animals corresponding to the Earthly Branches.