Chapter 99: Harpoon?

If possible, Qi Xia really wanted to ask Ren Yang for clarification. Why did the card he received have that particular sentence? But if Ren Yang survived, the "participant" in this game would lose. That meant he could never understand Ren Yang's intentions, and he didn't know if Officer Li had received the same card.

While everyone else was excitedly trying to stand up again, Qi Xia was fixated on another issue. "What important information was Ren Yang trying to convey?" Wait, Ren Yang was a liar—could he have passed on false information? Qi Xia could never quite decide whether to trust him.

Now that the "Liar" game was over, would there be any problems if he let others know about the "game strategy" for what came next? To be safe, Qi Xia decided to follow Ren Yang's lead for now, since it wouldn't cost him anything. Even if he kept everything hidden, he could still lead everyone out of this room.

Qi Xia tried to act just like last time, guiding the group to discover the text hidden under Ren Yang's mask. But this time, he also made an effort to gather any clues they had missed before. As everyone examined Ren Yang's mask, Qi Xia and Officer Li approached the body at the same time.

Officer Li gave Qi Xia a meaningful glance and opened his mouth as if to speak, but said nothing. Qi Xia stayed silent too, as if they shared some unspoken understanding, and they began searching Ren Yang's body together. Last time, they had only looked at the mask and hadn't checked the body.

To Qi Xia's surprise, Ren Yang didn't have a single "Dao" on him. This made him even more certain that Officer Li remembered everything, because the gun Ren Yang had used to commit suicide was right there, yet Officer Li didn't even glance at it.

"What's this?" Officer Li pulled a piece of paper from Ren Yang's pocket, quickly scanned it, and handed it to Qi Xia.

Qi Xia took it naturally and read it carefully, instantly looking puzzled. It was a signed contract. The document started with the title "Sheng Xiao Fei Sheng Dui Du Hetong."

"This is..."

"You should keep it for now." Officer Li patted Qi Xia's hand. "We'll look at it later, once we're out."

Qi Xia knew this wasn't the place to talk, so he folded the contract and put it in his pocket. It seemed they had stumbled upon something major—Ren Yang had this contract but no "Dao," which meant he was fundamentally different from the other Sheng Xiao.

When the harpoons came, everything in the room would be destroyed. Last time, Qi Xia had been too focused on escaping to notice these clues.

"What does 'rain after spring bamboo shoots' mean?"

"And what about 'turning one hundred circles toward your hometown'?"

The group chattered questions from afar.

For Qi Xia, what he needed now was top-notch acting skills to lead everyone out smoothly, just like last time.

"If you're feeling too strained, I can tell them the answers for the next game." Officer Li whispered.

"I don't distrust you, but you can't handle those 'moral experts.'" Qi Xia whispered back. "I'm unburdened, so it's easier for me to deal with them."

Qi Xia walked over to the table and slowly positioned himself next to Qiao Jiajin.

"Qiao Ye, I need your help," Qi Xia said.

"'Qiao Ye'...?" Qiao Jiajin was taken aback, then broke into a proud smile. "You sure know how to talk, kid. I'll look out for you from now on. What kind of help do you need?"

Hearing that, Qi Xia felt oddly reassured. "Later, give it your all and help everyone stay alive."

"Oh?"

Just then, the group noticed the walls changing like rubber, revealing rows of holes. As they moved to check, Qi Xia stopped them.

"Everyone, ignore the walls for now," he said to the group. "I've figured it out. 'Turning one hundred circles toward your hometown' means finding something and turning it one hundred circles to the right."

"To the right?" The group turned their attention to Qi Xia. "Why to the right?"

Qi Xia picked up a piece of white paper and quickly sketched a diagram, then patiently explained it to everyone.

"I see, you're so clever." Lin Geng nodded. "But what are we supposed to turn one hundred circles?"

"Could it be us?" Tian Tian blinked and asked. "Do we turn ourselves one hundred circles to the right?"

Qi Xia shook his head. "Let's all look around the room for anything besides ourselves that can be turned."

Han Yimo was the first to notice that the tabletop could rotate and quickly shared the news with the group.

Under Qi Xia's guidance, they began turning the tabletop to the right in an orderly manner. Everything seemed under control. This time, Qiao Jiajin was especially energetic, shouting encouragement as they rotated the table.

After one hundred turns, the tabletop was divided into nine pieces by lasers, and this time, everyone got their board pieces nearly five minutes earlier than last time.

"Next, I'll explain what the second part of the hint, 'rain after spring bamboo shoots,' means."

He had everyone hold their board pieces and described how to form a cone shape. Drawing from his experience, he warned them in advance not to let any gaps form between the boards, no matter what happened.

Qi Xia was still a bit worried, since the harpoons had caused Han Yimo's death last time, and if possible, he wanted to save him.

As the group marveled at Qi Xia's cleverness, they couldn't help but feel suspicious. Why was this person so organized? Not only had he solved the game, but he also seemed to predict what would happen next, as if he had designed it himself.

"Why are we arranging the boards like this?" Qiao Jiajin asked. "Is it really going to rain soon?"

"Not exactly. Once we set up the boards, we'll..."

Before he could finish, Qi Xia glanced at Han Yimo and noticed sweat beading on his forehead; his body was trembling uncontrollably.

"Han Yimo, are you... okay?" Qi Xia asked.

Han Yimo smiled and shook his head. "I'm fine... I'm just a little scared."

Qi Xia frowned. "Scared of what?"

"I..."

Before Han Yimo could answer, a massive bell tolled in the distance.

"Dong!"

Qi Xia's eyes widened in recognition—this was all too familiar.

Han Yimo echoed the sound.

He grabbed Han Yimo's shoulders, his voice urgent and suppressed. "Han Yimo, I've already explained everything to everyone in advance. What are you so afraid of?"

"I... I..."

"Tell me!" Qi Xia was genuinely anxious, a bad feeling creeping over him.

"I'm afraid of those harpoons..." Han Yimo looked truly terrified, sweat dripping down his forehead. "I feel like they're going to pierce right through me..."

Qi Xia's expression turned cold and stern.

"Han Yimo... when did I ever say the things shooting out of those holes were harpoons?"