"I..." The man with the serpent's head was momentarily stunned. He wanted to choose an answer but found that any response would be futile.
"Hahahahaha!"
Suddenly, the snake-headed figure burst into laughter, bending over with amusement. Moments later, the laughter ceased, and he said, "You really are interesting."
"Interesting?" Qi Xia looked coldly at the snake-headed man. "What's so interesting? Haven't I already won?"
The snake-headed figure slowly moved to the wall and pulled down a lever.
Everyone felt a sudden drop as their bodies descended slowly.
Qiao Jiajin, filled with confusion, turned to Qi Xia. "Fraud, what do you mean? How did we win with that?"
Qi Xia noticed that the rope was indeed lowering them and let out a quiet sigh of relief. "Think it over. As soon as that question is asked, no matter the answer, we are saved."
"If my next question is, 'Will you pull the lever?' will your answer be the same as this one?" Qiao Jiajin repeated the question, still puzzled.
"I see now..." Dr. Zhao nodded thoughtfully. "If he answers 'yes,' then the next question must also be 'yes,' which means we're saved. After all, the next question would be, 'Will you pull the lever?'"
"But what if he says 'no'?" Qiao Jiajin felt he'd found a flaw. "Wouldn't he just need to say 'no'?"
"If he says 'no,' then the next question must be 'yes,'" Han Yimo said weakly. "The brilliance of the question is that if he answers 'no,' he admits that his answers to the two questions would be different. Remember, he said he never lies."
Qiao Jiajin was stunned. He turned back to Qi Xia, asking, "Did you come up with this just now... What kind of monster are you?"
"I wouldn't call myself a monster," Qi Xia replied, shaking his head. "I'm just a wandering conman."
As he spoke, they gradually touched down on the ground.
Their hands, raw from hanging for so long, stung, and the two injured members were in dire condition.
"Congratulations, you've survived the 'interview.' Push open this door, and a new world awaits you." The snake-headed figure stood aside, gesturing toward a wooden door.
"You scoundrel..." Qiao Jiajin stormed forward, seeming ready to unleash all his frustrations with the masked figures onto the snake-headed man.
But the snake-headed man watched him coldly, unmoved.
"Are all of you insane?!" Qiao Jiajin shouted, grabbing the figure's collar. "Wearing these masks and trying to kill us over and over. Now I've got you!"
The snake-headed man sneered. "While you're alive, I suggest you let go."
"What did you say?!"
Qiao Jiajin raised his fist, ready to strike, but Officer Li grabbed his arm.
"Hey, have you forgotten the man who had his skull crushed?" Officer Li said in a low voice. "If they're all like him, how do you plan to beat them?"
"I..." A look of frustration crossed Qiao Jiajin's rugged face. He gritted his teeth and spat, "But these damned...!"
"Calm down. We're almost out of here," Officer Li interrupted. "Once we get out, I'll make sure they pay."
No one spoke further. They moved toward the snake-headed figure.
Up close, he was even more unsettling.
The air around him was colder, his old suit reeking of a pungent stench mixed with the metallic mask on his head.
His eyes peered from within the mask, unmistakably human, yet his aura resembled that of a long-dead snake.
"Welcome to the new world," he said in a muffled voice, opening the door.
With a creak, light poured in.
Qi Xia frowned; it wasn't outside but another corridor.
"What's outside?" Qi Xia asked.
"As I said, the new world," the snake-headed man lifted his arms. "The future 'god' will be among you! In this new world! Isn't it exhilarating?"
"Another god..." Qiao Jiajin asked sharply. "What are you planning?"
The snake-headed man seemed intrigued by the question. "An all-powerful god...! One who can realize any desire!"
"All-powerful?" Qiao Jiajin's brow furrowed deeply.
Dr. Zhao subtly motioned for Qiao Jiajin to remain silent, then spoke. "We understand. Now let us leave."
The snake-headed man paused, then stepped aside.
Qi Xia led the group into the corridor, everyone eager to escape.
The moment they stepped through, an overwhelming odor filled the space.
How could one describe it?
Heavy, as if billions of people had died, their bodies decaying in open air, attracting countless swarms of insects. These insects multiplied and died in turn, their corpses rotting.
Imagine that pungent, pervasive smell distilled over time, becoming less sharp but denser. That was this scent.
Qi Xia steadied himself, then opened his eyes to a more despairing scene.
They stood in an endless corridor with a low, oppressive ceiling, stretching out endlessly.
On either side, countless wooden doors were slowly opening.
Just like the one they had stepped through.
Figures began appearing from behind the doors.
Most were masked and blood-soaked, but a few doors revealed exhausted, trembling survivors.
Like Qi Xia and his group, they had survived.
"What's happening..." Han Yimo asked weakly. "We're not the only nine captured?"
Qi Xia's expression darkened; this went far beyond his imagination.
Was this organization capturing countless people for death games?
"But... so few survive..." Zhang Chenze muttered, dismayed.
Out of thousands of doors, only a handful emerged alive.
Qi Xia's group seemed to be the only ones who survived together.
"This way, please," the snake-headed figure gestured them forward and stood at the door, making no move to follow.
"Let's go."
Knowing they shouldn't linger, they formed a line and moved away.
Passing door after dilapidated door, they got a close look at those wearing the animal masks.
There were oxen, horses, dogs.
And the familiar sheep and snake.
Each exuded an eerie presence, permeated with the stench of decay. Inside the rooms, bodies lay strewn, victims of unknown "games."
After a dozen steps, they encountered two startling figures.
To the left, a man wearing an enormous rat mask leaned against the wall; to the right, another wore an oversized rooster mask, arms crossed.
These masks weren't artificial. They were real animal heads.
But where would such enormous rats and roosters exist?
Like the others, these figures only glanced at Qi Xia's group without moving.
"What are these animals..." Lin Qin asked, edging away instinctively.
Qi Xia frowned as if piecing together a thought.
Sheep, dog, snake, rat, rooster...
"The zodiac," he muttered.
Everyone turned to look.
The masked figures indeed represented the animals of the Chinese zodiac.