"I..." Basic Aquarius paused for a moment, wanting to choose an answer but realizing that no matter how he answered, it would be futile.
"Hahahahaha!"
Basic Aquarius suddenly burst into laughter, laughing so hard that he almost toppled over. After a while, he stopped and said, "You're really something."
"Something?" Elliot Hayes coldly looked at Basic Aquarius. "What's so interesting? Haven't I already won?"
Basic Aquarius slowly walked over to the wall and pulled down the lever.
Everyone felt their bodies drop, and then they began to descend slowly.
Vincent Moretti's face was full of confusion. He turned to Elliot Hayes and asked, "Scammer, what does this mean? Why is this considered winning?"
Elliot Hayes saw that the rope was indeed lowering and let out a quiet sigh of relief. He replied, "Think about it. As long as that question was asked, no matter what, we're saved."
"If my next question is 'Will you pull the lever?' would your answer be the same?" Vincent Moretti repeated the question silently, still unable to understand.
"Now I get it..." Dr. Clarke nodded thoughtfully. "If he answers 'Yes,' then the next question can only be answered 'Yes,' and we'll be saved. After all, the next question is 'Will you pull the lever?'"
"But what if he says 'No'?" Vincent Moretti said, feeling like he had found a loophole. "If he says 'No,' wouldn't that work?"
"If he says 'No,' the next question can only be 'Yes,'" Damien Reid said weakly. "The brilliance of this question lies in the fact that if he answers 'No,' it would mean that he gave two different answers to two questions. Do you remember? He can't lie."
Vincent Moretti was stunned and turned to look at Elliot Hayes again, asking, "Did you just think of all this... what kind of genius are you?"
"A genius? No," Elliot Hayes shook his head. "I'm just a scammer."
As they spoke, the group had slowly descended to the ground.
After the long suspension, their hands were sore, and the condition of the two injured people was even worse.
"Congratulations, everyone. You've survived the 'interview.' Push open this door, and a new world awaits you." Basic Aquarius placed his hands behind his back and stood beside the wooden door.
"Damned bastard..."
Vincent Moretti walked up with a fierce expression, seeming to want to vent all his frustration with Basic Gemini and Basic Cancer onto Basic Aquarius.
Basic Aquarius turned his cold eyes towards Vincent Moretti but stood still, unmoving.
"Are you all freaks?!" Vincent Moretti shouted angrily, stepping forward and grabbing Basic Aquarius by the collar. "Wearing these strange masks, trying to kill us again and again, and now I finally got you!"
Basic Aquarius sneered and said coldly, "While you're still alive, I advise you to let go."
"What did you say?!"
Vincent Moretti raised his fist, about to strike Basic Aquarius in the face, when Officer Logan grabbed his arm.
"Hey, did you forget about the guy whose skull was crushed?" Officer Logan whispered. "If they're all the same, how do you plan on beating them?"
"I..." A reluctant expression appeared on Vincent Moretti's tough face. He gritted his teeth and slowly muttered, "But these damned..."
"Relax, aren't we getting out of here?" Officer Logan interrupted, whispering, "Once we're out, I'll make sure to deal with them."
The group fell silent, slowly approaching Basic Aquarius.
Up close, they realized how bizarre he looked.
The temperature around Basic Aquarius was colder than the rest of the room, and the old suit he wore, along with the mask, exuded an eerie, foul stench.
His eyes glowed from the mask, clearly human. But the smell around him was like a body that had been dead for a long time.
"Welcome to the new world," Basic Aquarius's muffled voice came from behind the mask, and he turned to open the door.
With a creaking sound, light from outside the room flooded in.
Elliot Hayes furrowed his brow. He realized that it wasn't the outdoors beyond the door, but rather a corridor.
"Where is this place?" Elliot Hayes asked.
"I told you, it's a new world," Basic Aquarius slowly raised his hands. "The future 'God' will emerge from among you! It will be born in the new world! How thrilling!"
"Another God..." Vincent Moretti growled, "What are you really planning?"
Seeing someone ask, Basic Aquarius seemed interested. "A God who is omnipotent...! He can make any idea come true!"
"Omnipotent?" Vincent Moretti frowned deeply.
Dr. Clarke subtly waved at Vincent Moretti, then turned to Basic Aquarius. "Okay, we understand. Now, let us out."
Basic Aquarius paused, then nodded and stepped aside.
Elliot Hayes took the lead, and the rest of the group followed quickly, not wanting to linger any longer.
As they entered the corridor, a strange odor filled their noses.
How could one describe the smell?
Heavy. A very heavy scent.
It was like the entire population of the world had died, their bodies left to rot, attracting countless insects to feed on them. They multiplied in large numbers, then died, and rotted as well.
If you let this overwhelming stench settle for a while, it would eventually become this heavy, non-abrasive odor.
Elliot Hayes took a long time to compose himself and opened his eyes, only to find that the scene before him was even more despairing.
They were in a long corridor with a low, oppressive ceiling stretching on endlessly.
On both sides of the corridor, countless wooden doors were slowly opening.
Just like the door behind them.
Soon, figures began to emerge from the doors.
Most were masked figures covered in blood, and only a few normal-looking people stepped out.
The so-called "normal people" were all exhausted, trembling, and looked just like Elliot Hayes—survivors.
"What is going on..." Damien Reid asked weakly. "Are there more than just the nine of us being captured?"
Elliot Hayes's face grew grim, realizing that the situation before him far exceeded his expectations.
This organization had captured countless people and was playing a deadly game?
"But... there are so few survivors..." Vivian Hart sighed softly.
Looking around at the thousands of doors, only a handful of people had emerged.
Elliot Hayes hadn't even seen a single room where everyone survived.
"Please," Basic Aquarius gestured toward the path ahead with a wave of his hand, then stood by the door, hands behind his back, seemingly unwilling to leave.
"Let's go," everyone knew it wasn't a place to stay long and slowly began to leave in a line.
As they passed one door after another, they came face to face with those wearing masks.
Among them were Taurus, Leo, Libra, and even the earlier seen Basic Gemini and Basic Aquarius.
Without exception, they exuded an eerie aura, surrounded by the same rotting scent. The scenes inside the rooms mostly consisted of piles of corpses, and no one knew what kind of "game" they had participated in.
After walking a few more steps, the group was startled by the appearance of two more masks.
On the left, there was a person wearing a large Scorpio mask, leaning against the wall. On the right, there was someone wearing a large Sagittarius mask, with their arms crossed.
These masks were clearly not man-made but were actual representations of the zodiac signs.
They looked very strange!
Like the others, these two only glanced at Elliot Hayes and the group, but made no further movement.
"What are these..." Seraphina Grace said, instinctively backing away from the two.
Elliot Hayes furrowed his brow, as though something had clicked in his mind.
"Gemini, Cancer, Aquarius, Libra, Scorpio..." he muttered under his breath.
"It's the zodiac," he whispered.
The group paused, turning to look at him.
Indeed, the masks worn by the people in tattered suits were all from the twelve zodiac signs.