While continuing to push the table, Qi Xia said, "The positions of 'Ningxia' and 'Shandong' form a horizontal line."
"'Inner Mongolia,' 'Sichuan,' and 'Yunnan' form a 'slash.'"
"And 'Guangxi,' 'Guangdong,' 'Shaanxi,' and 'Jiangsu' form a square—this is the character 'right.'"
"No matter where Han Yimo's hometown is, as long as it's either Guangxi or Taiwan, they will form a 'mouth' character. So the answer was set from the very beginning."
As the group accelerated their efforts, they exchanged strange looks. Qi Xia's thinking was unconventional, yet he had already solved two riddles in a row, causing the others to begin to doubt him.
Qi Xia was aware of their growing suspicion. He spoke up calmly, "Don't get me wrong. If the next game forces us to abandon each other to survive, I will not hesitate to ensure my own survival."
Hearing this, the others fell silent, gritting their teeth as they continued turning the table.
The nine of them sat around the table, continuously pushing it to the right.
"How many turns has it been?" asked Qiao Jiajin.
"Twenty-six," Lin Qing replied.
"You can count it?" Qiao Jiajin blinked. "This table all looks the same."
"I counted the bloodstains on the table," Lin Qing said seriously. "Counting is crucial for us psychologists."
Qi Xia frowned. "Not yet thirty. We need to hurry."
The group fell silent, working faster.
But as they moved the table, it became harder and harder. It seemed like the internal chains were tightening with each turn.
"Damn, what's going on?" Qiao Jiajin gritted his teeth. "This table is too heavy."
"Keep going… Maybe it's connected to the door!" Sweet Sweet gritted her teeth, her words giving everyone a glimmer of hope.
The door.
If the room could manifest holes out of nowhere, why couldn't it manifest a door?
Despite their arms aching, the group continued rotating the table, one turn after another.
"Don't give up! Only five more turns!" Lin Qing shouted.
At this point, everyone was gritting their teeth, not daring to slacken their efforts.
"Crack, crack!"
With the final turn, the table was clearly fitted into something.
Everyone sighed in relief as the pain in their arms started to set in.
There were only three minutes left until 1:15.
"Where's the door?!" Qiao Jiajin shouted in a panic.
The walls remained unchanged. The cold light of the harpoons still shimmered in the black void.
"Damn it! There's no door!" Qiao Jiajin's voice was tinged with despair.
"We were wrong! We guessed wrong!" Xiao Ran screamed. "We should have turned left, right?! We shouldn't have trusted that liar! We're all going to die here!"
Qi Xia frowned slightly.
Wrong?
Before anyone could react, something unusual happened with the clock on the table.
It trembled slightly, and then fired eight laser beams.
The eight beams shot out from the clock, moving toward the edge of the table before stopping.
To everyone's confusion, the clock then sliced the table into nine equal-sized segments, as if cutting a pizza.
"Crash!"
With a loud noise, the table shattered into pieces.
The clock now stood atop a small wooden stump.
Time was running out, and everyone scrambled in a panic.
"What is this?" Han Yimo screamed. "Why did the table shatter?"
Officer Li noticed that each segment of the table had a handle on the back. His professional instincts kicked in, and he instantly understood.
"It's a shield!"
He grabbed one of the table segments and held it up in front of him.
"We can use these shields to block the harpoons!"
The others quickly followed suit, raising their own table segments.
But only a few seconds later, they realized the problem.
"How are we supposed to block it?" Lawyer Zhang Chenze, rarely showing panic, said, "If harpoons are coming from all directions, we can only block one side!"
"We need to cooperate," Qi Xia said, snapping out of his thoughts. "Let's form a circle and protect each other's backs."
The group quickly adjusted their formation, silently waiting.
At this moment, all they could hear was each other's breathing.
Nine strangers, now allies, all depended on one another.
Qi Xia casually glanced at Han Yimo, who was trembling, his face covered in a fine sweat. He seemed extremely nervous.
Outside the room, a bell rang from a distant place.
"Are you okay?" Qi Xia asked.
"It's... It's nothing..." Han Yimo shook his head.
"Hey! Doctor Zhao, flip your shield!" Zhang Chenze suddenly shouted.
"Why?" Doctor Zhao looked at his shield. Its point was facing downward and the wider side upward.
"You won't be able to block my legs!" Zhang Chenze said in panic. "I'll get hit!"
"If I flip it, I won't be able to protect my head!" Doctor Zhao shot back, unwilling to budge. "Which is more important, my head or my legs?"
Hearing this, some of the others agreed with Doctor Zhao's reasoning, and one by one, they flipped their shields over.
With the points facing down and the wider sides up, this created a strange situation.
The harpoons would only be blocked at the upper half of their bodies, leaving everyone's legs exposed to injury.
"Is this really okay?" Xiao Ran said, her voice uncertain. "Even if we can hide our legs behind the pointed end, what about the harpoons coming from behind? Or the ones from above?"
"I'll block the top!" Officer Li raised his shield. "Everyone get closer, I'll protect you."
Lin Qing thought for a moment and said, "The others should be arranged in alternating top and bottom positions. We can stagger our shields!"
"Right! That makes sense!" Qiao Jiajin agreed.
"No." Qi Xia interrupted. "If all the shields are vertical to the harpoons, they'll just be pierced."
"Well then, what do you suggest, handsome?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
Qi Xia's gaze lingered on the sheepskin mask on the floor.
"Why aren't spring bamboo shoots afraid of rain?"
The last clue made Qi Xia stop and think.
"Wait a minute... Give me more time," Qi Xia muttered, his brows furrowing.
The others held their breath, watching as the time ticked down. Less than a minute remained before the harpoons would be fired.
"Forget about it!" Doctor Zhao snapped. "Let's just follow Lin Qing's suggestion and arrange them in alternating positions!"
"You idiot, shut up!" Qiao Jiajin shouted. "I trust what the liar says."
"You!" Doctor Zhao gritted his teeth, swallowing his retort.
"Got it!" Qi Xia suddenly exclaimed, his eyes widening. "Everyone, point your shields upward!"
Though the group was still uncertain, most of them, with blank minds, could only comply.
Doctor Zhao thought for a moment before turning his shield as well.
"Everyone crouch down!" Qi Xia continued, "Move the pointed ends backward and huddle together. Officer Li, you don't need to block above, come with us!"
Under Qi Xia's direction, the group slowly positioned all the shields, aligning them into a conical shape.
No one had expected that all the shields would fit together so perfectly, sealing off every gap, even from the sides and above.
From a distance, it looked like a spring bamboo shoot, waiting for the coming storm.
In the dark room, the group's hearts pounded in their chests. Only their breathing echoed between them.
"It's coming..."
Qi Xia silently counted the time, then whispered his signal.
The next moment, they all heard the sound of the wind howling as an unseen object slammed into the shield in Qi Xia's hands.
Immediately after, the sound of harpoons crashing from all directions filled the room like a violent storm.
The power of the harpoons was overwhelming. The group felt their arms being rattled with immense force, struggling to hold onto the shields.
Fortunately, all their shields were locked together, forming a delicate balance.
"Ah!"
Xiao Ran screamed as a harpoon pierced the shield in front of her.
Qi Xia turned his head and saw the harpoon stop just two or three centimeters from her eye.
If the shield hadn't been strong enough, she would have been dead.