TDU Chapter 302
Chapter 302 Terrestrial Snake’s Game
Chen Junnan and Yun Yao waited over two hours, and only a sparse handful of participants had gathered so far.
Scanning the crowd, Chen Junnan recognized a few familiar faces among them. However, it had been so many years since he had last seen them that not a single name came to mind.
Yun Yao took a quick count of the people present—eleven in total. Just one more was needed to begin the game, but it was precisely at moments like these that time seemed to drag on endlessly.
“The hell…” Chen Junnan muttered under his breath. “If I had known earlier, I would have bought Ole Qi, that punk, over with me.”
Upon hearing this, Yun Yao glanced at him with curiosity. “Have you known Qi Xia for a long time?”
“Yeah,” Chen Junnan nodded. “Being acquainted with that punk’s a pain. I always needed to reintroduce myself every time we met.”
“What…?” Yun Yao blinked, taken aback. “You mean he’s a—”
“I didn’t say anything.” Chen Junnan interrupted, quick to catch Yun Yao’s subtle expression. “Superstar, you’re quite informed.”
Yun Yao wasn’t sure where exactly Chen Junnan stood, nor did she know whether she should tell him about the {Turbulence of Endowing Life Without End} she had heard that night. After a brief moment of contemplation, she simply shook her head and dismissed the thought.
The last person to arrive was a man in a suit. Yun Yao furrowed her brow slightly when she saw him.
He was a familiar face, the same man who had shared a room with Li Xiangling—Zhong Zhen (钟震). He nodded toward Yun Yao before walking up to Terrestrial Snake and handed over his {Dào}.
"Zhong Zhen... What brings you here?" Yun Yao asked.
"I was about to ask you the same thing, Yun Yao." Zhong Zhen gave a brief smile. "I feel like only {Snake} games suit me, so I've been actively seeking out {Snakes}."
"Oh... I see," Yun Yao gave a wry smile. “Well, that’s quite the coincidence…”
Zhong Zhen laughed. "Yes, yes, it's truly a coincidence. By the way, Yun Yao, have you triggered your {Reverberation} yet?"
"I... have not," Yun Yao responded.
"Well that’s troubling..." Zhong Zhen smiled faintly, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “If you’re still without your {Reverberation}, and this game demands betrayal... I might not be able to follow through.”
"Heh..." Yun Yao gave a small laugh. "Not be able to follow through? That doesn’t quite sound like you."
"Right, haha," Zhong Zhen chuckled, but there was no warmth in his gaze.
Chen Junnan noticed the flicker of unease on Yun Yao’s face. Seeing Zhong Zhen walk away, he stepped in quietly behind her. “You good, superstar?”
"I'm fine," Yun Yao replied softly, turning to face him. "I don't know what you're capable of, but you should be cautious of that man."
"Hm? The one in the suit?" Chen Junnan shot him a disdainful glance. "What's up with that dude?"
"He's cold-blooded," Yun Yao said bluntly. “If it means winning, he wouldn’t blink before taking out a friend or a teammate.”
“I’d say that’s a plus,” Chen Junnan said with a chuckle. “Makes him easier to predict.”
"Is that so..." Yun Yao smiled absentmindedly, silently praying she would obtain her {Reverberation} quickly; otherwise, this game could become quite perilous.
Chen Junnan gave the crowd one last once-over before he approached Terrestrial Snake.
“Old man, everyone’s accounted for. Let’s kick things off.”
Terrestrial Snake observed the ratio of men to women among the participants, noting that the men outnumbered the women. A look of disappointment slipped through, despite his attempt to mask it.
Fortunately, there was a particularly beautiful woman this time, someone whose presence could rival that of five people. Terrestrial Snake regained his composure and spoke up, "Alright, follow me."
The twelve participants followed Terrestrial Snake into the massive building behind him.
Inside the building was a modest circular arena. At the center stood something resembling a podium, atop which sat an antiquated computer. Surrounding the arena was a full ring wall, marked with a dozen wooden doors—each leading, presumably, to its own room.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the name of my game is {Minor Majority (少数与多数)},” Terrestrial Snake declared, his hands folded neatly behind his back. “It’s a straightforward trivia challenge. Each of you will enter a separate room. Once the game begins, I’ll lock the doors, and you’ll answer the questions inside.”
Realizing the group didn’t quite follow, he stepped toward one of the doors and opened it to demonstrate.
A sparse, square room awaited inside. At its center sat a single chair, a screen facing it. In one corner, a vintage telephone hung on the wall, resting on a shelf that seemed installed just to accommodate it.
Terrestrial Snake led them in, and Chen Junnan with Yun Yao stepped forward to examine the display screen at the center. It seemed specially made, perched on a metal pipe just in front of the chair. Two buttons flanked the screen—one green, one red.
“The questions you’ll face are simple,” Terrestrial Snake explained, “and each one only has two answers: {True} or {False}.” He indicated the buttons beside the screen. “Press the button that matches your answer—green for {True}, red for {False}. The game runs on the principle of {popular consensus}, meaning the answer chosen by most players determines the outcome.”
Terrestrial Snake then walked to the corner of the room and picked up the vintage telephone.
"Additionally, this is a custom-built phone," Terrestrial Snake continued. "The twelve rooms form a circle, connected in a loop. At any given time, your phone, aside from receiving calls, will only be able to connect to the room on your left."
He paused for a moment, then added, "Should a player be eliminated, after ten rings the call will move to the next room with a living player."
Zhong Zhen pondered briefly before asking, "How does one get eliminated in this game?"
"You'll find out as the game progresses," Terrestrial Snake replied with a smile. "If you sense that your death is imminent, female participants may request my aid. Pleasing me could mean your survival."
"What about the male participants?" Zhong Zhen continued to ask.
"Male participants can just go ahead and die," Terrestrial Snake remarked coldly.
"Old man," Chen Junnan interjected, "What’s the point of the phone? What do you mean {able to connect to the room on your left}? Can we call for support during the Q&A?"
Shaking his head, Terrestrial Snake explained, "It’s not to {call for support}. Instead, every round I give a question to a participant, who answers and then passes it left through the phone. The round only concludes once all twelve have answered."
Chen Junnan glanced at the phone in Terrestrial Snake’s hand, a faint sense of unease creeping up on him.
Though it was a {Q&A} game, the questions weren’t necessarily posed by the {umpire}; they could just as well originate from the other participants.
There were typically two styles of {Snake-category} games: {Q&A} and {Scheme}. This one seemed to merge both, setting the stage for unpredictability.
"There are forty-eight questions altogether, amounting to forty-eight rounds," Terrestrial Snake remarked. "Once all questions have been answered, the survivors will divide the forty-eight {Dào} prize pool."
TL Note: Ahh, a game of telephone—sounds simple enough…
Also, just so you guys know, 否 and 是 not only means false and true, it can also be no and yes, disagree and agree. It really depends on the context… but because I couldn't find an English equivalent that can encompass all of those meanings, I just went with true & false. Just know the rough meaning, because some of the questions couldn’t be worded to a true false query.
