Su Lei also scratched his head frantically, filled with despair.
All the mice were going to be killed by that bald man, and now the dog collars had fallen into the old cat's hands, what were they to do next?
Hide and seek? Could this attic really block the old cat? Everybody already knew they were here! It was so hard to come by! It was all over!
However, Gao Xin stared out of the window for a moment, then heaved a sigh of relief and said, "He's gone upstairs."
Upon hearing that he had gone upstairs, Su Lei sprang up: "We're doomed, he's come to kill us."
But Gao Xin gritted his teeth and forced a smile: "No, this isn't the worst-case scenario, not by a long shot."
Meimei said in astonishment, "This isn't bad? Are you implying... he didn't wait for the two dogs to be 'killed on spot,' then betray us?"
"But he deliberately walked away, leading the hidden mice to deliver the collars, then ambushed and snatched them, it's the same thing."
Gao Xin stared intently at the bodies outside: "It's not the same, this guy was careless, we still have a chance."
"What chance?" Meimei asked, surprised.
"He didn't take the mice's collars..." said Gao Xin.
"Eh?" Meimei was startled and began to think rapidly.
Su Lei then asked, "Ah? I thought we couldn't turn into mice, could we?"
Gao Xin said solemnly, "I said mice most likely can't turn into cats or dogs, I never said cats or dogs can't turn into mice..."
"And those two people outside, they aren't dogs either, have you forgotten? They don't have any identity right now!"
Suddenly, hope surged once again in their eyes.
Those two people were identity-less, and the rules only stated there were to be twenty mice, not that others couldn't fill in for the dead ones.
"Exactly!" Meimei said excitedly: "Right, right, right, we just need to throw the two sets of mouse collars out, and we can save those two brothers."
"Even though we're down two mice and one dog, their combined strength is definitely overwhelmingly stronger than Silver Hand's, it's practically the same for us."
"I finally understand why the rules were phrased so weirdly, using phrases like 'once the game starts, mice can enter the playing field', 'twenty minutes after the game starts, the old cat may enter the playing field' and the like."
"Actually, there aren't really any restrictions on when each identity can enter the playing field, as long as it's after a certain time."
"Theoretically, players can even choose not to come in right away! They can wait for others to play for over an hour before entering!"
Su Lei exclaimed, "Doesn't that mean, the real path to survival, is for the mice to simply not come in at all?"
Meimei pouted, "How could that be possible? If someone kills you outside, there's no reward, but they can throw you in and then kill you."
Su Lei scratched his head sheepishly, realizing that such a delay was only possible for the strong.
Theoretically, the old cat could just block the entrance, wait till the mice were nearly starved to death, and then go in for the harvest...
Of course, the dogs wouldn't allow it, everyone wants to be the cat, and could simply kill the cat right outside the door. Hence, in reality, Silver Hand came in right away, a moment later, and he might have been ganged up on and killed.
After all, the strong come to this game for redemption tickets, not just to survive, otherwise why not just avoid participating in the game at all? There's no master forcing them to come.
As for all of us weaker ones, we may wish to survive by any means, but we don't have the power to take that path to life.
What's called a low-level game is only so for those Radiations, but for them... it's all very difficult.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, a scream came from downstairs.
The fifth death had occurred, this time on the third floor!
Then came the sixth, the seventh, the eighth, the ninth!
With a few booming sounds of destruction, running footsteps intermingled with screams, creating chaos as five people died in quick succession on the third floor! It was all too fast.
Meimei swallowed and said, "The old cat is too strong, he easily found five upon reaching the third floor."
Su Lei urged, "Gao Xin, aren't we going down yet? It might be too late, we can't see the time, the identity-less could 'kill on spot' at any moment."
Gao Xin said solemnly, "He knows we're in the attic, waiting for him to smash our door."
"After that, we split into three groups, going down from three different windows, to get the collars on the mouse corpses..."
Meimei continued, "And then rush to the courtyard door without hesitation, throwing the collars out, we can't afford to negotiate, getting those two brothers inside would be a blessing."
"Thump!"
Suddenly, a heavy thud sounded, someone was banging on the door of the attic.
The force was immense, like thunder exploding in their hearts, making the three of them shudder.
He was here! The old cat had come!
The person outside seemed equally surprised by the door's sturdiness, pausing for a moment before delivering a second blow.
"Thud!"
This blow was even heavier, causing the entire attic to shake!
Luckily, the three had been waiting for this moment and had quickly dropped the ropes, descending from the three windows.
Descending from the fourth floor with a rope sounded simple, but in practice, it was exceedingly difficult.
Gao Xin was already giving it his all, yet his hands still trembled with pain, he gritted his teeth and tried to descend as quickly as he could, but it was not fast enough.
He even had the wild thought of jumping down directly.
But when he looked back, he saw that Su Lei had already reached the ground, peeking out from the corner of the wall, craning his neck to see why Gao Xin hadn't descended yet...
"What the hell? So fast?" Gao Xin was astonished.
He had noticed earlier that the young fellow was wiry and had explosive muscle power when undressing.
Later, when climbing the chimney, the difference in their physiques became evident.
Now, Su Lei had swiftly descended from the fourth floor to the ground using the rope, in no time at all, quite adroitly.