Qi Xia remained seated, neither standing up nor looking for clues. He still felt a little uneasy.
The only other person who stayed seated was the psychologist, Lin Qin.
"What are you thinking about?" Lin Qin asked casually, covering her mouth and nose with her hand.
"Me?" Qi Xia was taken aback. "What? Are you going to give me a psychological evaluation?"
"Not really. Although clever people like you tend to have psychological issues to some extent, this situation isn't exactly suitable for therapy." Lin Qin smiled faintly. "I'm just curious about what's on your mind."
Qi Xia pondered for a moment and then replied, "I'm thinking about the reason."
"The reason?"
Ignoring Lin Qin, Qi Xia instead called out to Dr. Zhao, "Doctor, how long can a person survive after being shot in the heart?"
Dr. Zhao turned around, thought for a moment, and replied, "If I'm not mistaken, being shot in the heart causes a person to lose consciousness within seconds. However, medically speaking, death is defined as 'brain death,' so even after losing consciousness, the brain can continue functioning for a few more minutes."
Qi Xia nodded. "That goat-headed man screamed for a few minutes. Doesn't that indicate his body is far more resilient than an average human's?"
"Yes. Despite being shot in the heart, he managed to remain conscious for several minutes before completely losing consciousness."
The group fell silent, paying close attention to the conversation between Qi Xia and the doctor. After all, it was thanks to this con artist's clear thinking that all nine of them had survived thus far.
"So, what do you think the reason is?" Qi Xia raised his index finger and thumb, forming the shape of a gun, and placed it against his temple. "Most people choose this way to end their lives."
He paused, then aimed his hand under his chin. "Or like this." Finally, he pointed to his chest. "In any case… people who commit suicide usually choose a method that minimizes their pain. So why did he aim for his heart?"
Qiao Jiajin fiddled with the goat mask in his hand, then flipped over the man's head and said, "Maybe this idiot's skull is harder than normal, and even a shot to the head wouldn't have killed him."
"Since he was spitting blood, it proves his body structure is like ours," said Officer Li. "No matter how strong he is, a close-range shot to the head would undoubtedly be fatal."
Qi Xia nodded. "If that's the case, I can only think of one reason."
He pointed at the mask in Qiao Jiajin's hands. "The goat-headed man probably chose to shoot himself in the heart to protect something. The 'game' isn't over yet."
Qiao Jiajin froze. "You're saying… he was afraid of damaging his mask?"
"Exactly."
Under Qi Xia's direction, Qiao Jiajin turned the goat mask over, revealing its rough, leather interior. A rotten, sour smell wafted out.
Just as Qi Xia suspected, the inside of the mask was inscribed with words written in black ink.
Some parts were stained with blood, but Qiao Jiajin didn't mind. He wiped it off with his T-shirt, making the writing legible.
"What the hell?" Qiao Jiajin paused for a moment and then began to read the words aloud in his less-than-fluent Mandarin:
"I am a 'human-dog.'
You are cursed.
I hope you survive.
The clock ticks without pause; danger lurks on all sides.
To survive, turn one hundred times toward your homeland.
Oh, by the way, why are bamboo shoots unafraid of rain?
See you after the rain."
Qi Xia furrowed his brow. As expected, it was a clue for the next game.
The shadow of death loomed over everyone, refusing to dissipate.
They were already dead, and yet they still had to die again?
"Hey, con artist, what does this mean?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"How would I know?" Qi Xia sneered. "There are nine of us here. Do I have to do all the thinking?"
Attorney Zhang Chenze slowly sat down in his chair. "I hate to admit it, but your thinking aligns well with the 'host's.' If you have any ideas, just say them."
"I…"
Before Qi Xia could respond, the walls around them suddenly began to shift.
To everyone's shock, holes began to appear in the walls as if by magic.
The previously solid cement walls now seemed to have transformed into some kind of malleable material.
Moments later, rows upon rows of holes appeared neatly aligned on the walls, as if they'd been there all along.
At the same time, the sound of chains being pulled echoed from all directions.
"What's happening?" Panic set in among the group.
"Look at the ceiling!" someone screamed.
The group looked up and saw that the ceiling was also covered in countless holes.
Qi Xia finally stood up, took the goat mask from Qiao Jiajin's hands, and examined the last line of text.
"'See you after the rain'?"
"Rain…?"
Cautiously, Qiao Jiajin walked up to one of the holes and peered inside. He immediately recoiled, stumbling back several steps.
"Holy crap!"
He shouted, frantically looking for a place to hide, only to realize there was nowhere to go.
"What's wrong? What's in there?" Xiao Ran asked nervously. The group knew Qiao Jiajin was one of the braver ones. If something scared him this much, it had to be something terrible.
"Holy—!" Qiao Jiajin shouted. "There are harpoons in those holes, and they're retracting!"
"'Retracting'? What do you mean?" Dr. Zhao asked, confused.
"They're probably being 'cocked,'" Qi Xia explained. "The sound of chains earlier must have been the mechanism winding up. These harpoons are ready to fire at any moment."
"Hey, con artist, think of something!" Qiao Jiajin begged, rushing to Qi Xia's side. "If they all fire at once, where can we even hide?"
Qi Xia thought for a moment. Surviving alone wouldn't be difficult—there were already two corpses in the room.
Harpoons have limited penetration power. Stacking the corpses in a corner and hiding behind them would likely protect him, though he might still get injured.
"This time, saving everyone will be nearly impossible. I need to ensure my own survival, so I won't be saving you," Qi Xia said quietly.
"You…" Qiao Jiajin hesitated, then turned to Officer Li and Dr. Zhao for help, but they seemed just as lost.
Qi Xia returned his attention to the mask's inscriptions.
Had he misunderstood the clue?
Did the game only end when there was one person left?
If he kept trying to ensure everyone survived, this deadly game would never end.
After all, this room was incredibly strange, with walls that could shift and change at any moment.
This defied all scientific logic—it was more like magic.
But if the host could wield such powerful magic, why torment nine dead people?
Was this some twisted game run by an agency managing ghosts?
As Qi Xia pondered, Lin Qin spoke up, staring at the mask in his hands. "It says how to survive—'turn one hundred times toward your homeland.'"
The group calmed down slightly, trying to decipher the sentence.
"Does it mean face your homeland's direction and spin in circles?" Tian Tian asked.
"That can't be right." Qiao Jiajin shook his head. "How do you determine your homeland's direction in this room? And spinning in circles a hundred times will just make you dizzy—it won't do anything."
"Forget it! I'll try first!" Tian Tian picked a random direction and began spinning in circles.
Qi Xia thought for a moment. He knew it couldn't be that simple.