TDU Chapter 309
Chapter 309 Iron Ball’s Trajectory
Step by step, Yun Yao walked him through the concept until Chen Junnan finally caught on.
"So you’re assigning numbers to represent each person?" he asked, nodding as he turned to glance at the wall covered in his chaotic scrawl. "Yeah… definitely more convenient than whatever I was doing."
"You’ve been a huge help, Chen Junnan," Yun Yao said, eyes closed as she mentally retraced the questions from earlier rounds. After a moment of focused reflection, she realized: it was never about {right or wrong}. It was always about {left or right}. The final answer in each round dictated the direction in which the iron ball moved.
Now that they understood this, and given their ability to modify the questions, they might be able to manipulate the timing of each death.
Chen Junnan’s unorthodox thinking had turned out to be a critical breakthrough. The two of them might be the first to uncover the {truth}.
After all, the person who had tampered with the questions earlier had simply replaced them with {wanna sit down?}, twice. It was clear they understood the questions could be altered, but their approach had been crude, even clumsy—easy to detect, and even easier to arouse suspicion.
Chen Junnan grinned and then said, "Charmed by this young master already? Careful, that’s a dangerous path."
"Relax. I don’t like men," Yun Yao replied flatly, without a hint of hesitation.
"Huh?"
The reply clearly caught Chen Junnan off guard.
After a brief pause for thought, Yun Yao asked, "So, you want to keep choosing {False} to push {death} toward the other side, right?"
"Exactly," Chen Junnan nodded. "Let’s try to make the giant ball drop over there first, then we can check for any hidden mechanics."
Hearing this, Yun Yao gave a slow nod. "Seems like joining this game with you wasn’t a bad decision after all. As long as I don’t die or awaken my {Reverberation} before then, I should be able to finish this {Terrestrial-grade} guide."
Chen Junnan perked up at that.
"Superstar, why is your organization gathering these guides?"
"Because we want to kill all {Earthly Branches}," Yun Yao answered firmly.
"Oho?" Chen Junnan didn’t expect that answer. "Why go so big?"
"This was our driving force," Yun Yao sighed. "If I were to survive here long-term without a goal... I’d go crazy."
"But it doesn’t even make sense, how can you kill all {Earthly Branches}—" Chen Junnan asked, puzzled.
"Don’t even bring it up," Yun Yao cut him off, as though she aware. "Whether it makes sense or not, this is the path I’ve chosen."
"Alright..." Chen Junnan nodded. "I understand."
The two ended the call.
Chen Junnan turned and dialed the number to the next room.
Eleven dialing tones rang out before someone picked up.
"Qian jie, long time no see. How have you been recently?"
"Cut to the chase."
"Alrighty," Chen Junnan chuckled awkwardly. "This time, the question is {Is it true that there are five seasons in a year?}."
"What a stupid question..." Xu Qian sighed. "Got it. Hanging up."
"Wait a second," Chen Junnan called out.
"What is it?"
"Qian jie, in three rounds," Chen Junnan said with a smile, "I'll make sure one of the participants dies a miserable death, but I promise, you'll live through it."
This brief statement sent a chill down Xu Qian's spine.
"Wh–Why are you telling me this?"
"I want to prove that I've completely figured out the rules, and I can control the timing of someone's death at will," Chen Junnan said with a wicked grin. "Qian jie, I'm threatening you ah; shouldn’t you be getting nervous?"
"W–What? What did you say?" Xu Qian was indeed starting to feel nervous. "You've figured out this game?"
"That's right." Chen Junnan nodded. "If someone dies within three rounds, just as I said, then I want you to call Terrestrial Snake over. If not... well, then you’ll be next."
"You..." Xu Qian hesitated. Her breath caught, but she managed to sound defiant. "Fine. Let’s see what happens in three rounds."
With tension still hanging in the air, they ended the call.
Chen Junnan paid it no mind and leaned back in his chair, waiting patiently.
The giant ball should now be hovering over the girl to Yun Yao’s right. If this round’s answer turned out to be {True}, it would swing back over Yun Yao’s head. But if it was {False}…
He reached toward the crude position chart scrawled across the wall and tapped the spot he'd marked earlier.
"{Taciturn Male}... your turn has come."
Almost on cue, the screen flickered to life.
"The verdict for this round—{False}."
Just as he’d predicted.
Now, they had reached the seventh question.
With each round, the distance between the {initial recipient} and Chen Junnan grew, and so did the ripple effect of his altered questions. Every participant downstream from him was being steered by his changes, subtly warped by the changes he had made.
At this rate, the participant to {Taciturn Male}’s right was as good as dead. It wasn’t a matter of possibility anymore, it was simply a question of {whether he wanted it or not}.
Above, the faint clatter of chains signaled that the iron ball had already shifted into position, now hanging ominously above {Taciturn Male}.
But not yet. One more question needed to be answered before it could drop.
A few minutes later, Yun Yao called again. As expected, the question was another mockery of logic.
"Is there twelve months in a year?"
Chen Junnan chuckled, ending the call before dialing Xu Qian—and subtly tweaking the question.
"Is there thirteen months in a year?"
The eighth round closed with the answer still {False}.
Though the giant ball wasn’t visible, the deductions were clear: it had shifted farther from Yun Yao, now at least two rooms away.
Yun Yao’s right was occupied by {Anxious Female} and {Taciturn Male}, and by now, the iron ball had passed above them both, looming over an unknown stranger’s head.
Chen Junnan paused, eyes narrowing as he mentally mapped the layout.
If his calculations held, the first recipient should be in the room directly across from him.
If not the woman in the white dress, then the person to her left.
He centered Yun Yao as {0}, the fulcrum of the entire arrangement, since the first question had appeared on her screen. That meant the giant ball had started suspended above her head.
Now, approaching the ninth question, the first recipient’s position should be {-8}, eight places to Yun Yao’s left, while the giant ball would be hovering over position {3}, the third person to her right.
"Hmm...?"
Chen Junnan’s brow furrowed, a nagging unease creeping in.
In this circular arena of twelve rooms, the coordinates {-8} and {3} weren’t as simple as they seemed. Since it was a loop, {-8} was essentially {4}, and {3} could just as easily be {-9}.
‘They’re neighbors...?’
The question had now become dangerously straightforward: has the current {recipient} grasped the rules?
Or would they blindly pass on the question, {Want it to fall down?}, to their neighbor, unaltered and unaware of the stakes?
TL Note: See what’s happening here? {-8} does not only represent {-8}, but also {4}. Meaning room {3}, where the murder ball is hovering, is right next door.
