TDU Chapter 360
Chapter 360 Wish
Zhang Chenze nodded. “Green symbolizes peace. I’ll take the green room.”
Lin Qin followed with a nod. “I want the orange room.”
“Well, no choice then. I’ll go last,” Qin Dingdong said, stretching lazily. “I’ll take the blue one.”
Each of them stepped into their respective rooms and stood in front of their own tables, then turned and closed the doors one after another.
Just as Qin Dingdong shut her door, something suddenly struck her. She quickly rattled the door, trying to open it again.
“Shoot…” Her brows knit together; a vital detail had slipped past her.
Although everyone more or less understood the {game rules}, she had forgotten to inform Su Shan about the rules of {End Point}.
From what she could recall from those distant memories, when that woman got serious, she was terrifying—she would, for the sake of the bigger picture, unhesitatingly kill anyone.
But this game could absolutely not be approached that way. If her guess was right, there were only two outcomes for the four of them—
Either everyone died, or everyone survived.
After all, this was Terrestrial Dog’s game. It symbolized {unity}; scheming against each other would only hasten their downfall.
Qin Dingdong gave the door a few hard shoves, but when it didn’t budge at all, she could only give up in the end.
Su Shan was a clever person, but could she really figure out the rules that no one had ever explained?
Unfortunately, none of the games they’d played earlier that day had involved a {Dog}, so there hadn’t been a chance to explain to this sharp newcomer what {Dog}-category games entailed.
“Su Shan…” Qin Dingdong looked over at her through the glass, then patted her own wall.
Noticing Qin Dingdong, Su Shan turned her head to the right.
Qin Dingdong pressed herself up against the glass, pointed at Terrestrial Dog, then mouthed the word, “Loyalty.”
Su Shan furrowed her brow slightly; it was unclear whether she understood.
Feeling uneasy, Qin Dingdong switched the movement of her lips and mouthed another word, “Unity.”
Seeing the movement of Qin Dingdong’s lips, Su Shan gave a noncommittal nod.
Qin Dingdong’s heart eased a little. With Su Shan’s intelligence, even the smallest clue should be enough for her to infer the nature of a {Dog}-category game.
All the locks on the glass rooms clicked shut at the exact same moment with a crisp {click}, followed by Terrestrial Dog’s voice over the loudspeaker.
“The game is now underway. All participants, draw two {fortune sticks} each.”
Su Shan looked down at the small hole on the table in front of her. To her surprise, a {fortune stick} slowly rose from it, and she quickly reached out to grab it.
Five words were etched upon it: {Gentle and Endless Pattering Rain}.
Beneath was a right-pointing arrow.
“What is this…” Su Shan was still trying to grasp the meaning of the {fortune stick} when a second one surfaced on the table. She picked it up and found another set of five words: {No Land Shall Lie Fallow}.
This one had a left-pointing arrow drawn below the text.
Su Shan narrowed her eyes at the two {fortune sticks} in her hand, utterly confused. Was she supposed to kill the {Nian Beast} with just these?
“Pattering Rain…Lie Fallow…?”
Before she could make sense of it, {Terrestrial Dog}’s voice came through once again. “{Drawing} phase complete. Now the round officially begins. Everyone will receive another {fortune stick} at the start of their turn.”
As Terrestrial Dog spoke, Su Shan stared down at the two {fortune sticks} in her hand, unable to fathom how these might be used. With nothing more than five characters on each stick, the rest would have to be figured out by reflection alone.
Her turn was fast approaching. All she could do now was wait and see what the next {fortune stick} said, then decide her move based on the meaning of all three.
Very soon, a new {fortune stick} slowly rose from the hole on the right side. Su Shan glanced at the words on it and immediately raised her eyebrows.
Yes, this was the one!
She reached out and took the {fortune stick}. Written on it were the five words most harmful to the {Nian Beast}:
{Firecrackers Close Out the Year}.
Unlike the other two, this {fortune stick} didn’t have an arrow beneath the text. Instead, it featured the image of a beast that looked like a lion.
“Player One, make your {wish},” came Terrestrial Dog’s voice over the broadcast.
Su Shan nodded and picked up the {fortune stick} that read {Firecrackers Close Out the Year}. According to legend, people lit firecrackers precisely to scare off the {Nian Beast}. So if any of the three {fortune sticks} could deal actual damage, it had to be this one.
But just as she was about to insert the {fortune stick} into the slot, Su Shan suddenly felt something was off.
Things that seemed too straightforward were often the most suspicious. If harming the {Nian Beast} were truly this easy, would that make any sense?
They needed to extinguish the {Nian Beast}’s three light within eight turns, yet this was only the first phase of the very first turn.
Could it be… that whoever drew the {firecracker} lot could simply extinguish one of the {Nian Beast}’s lights?
If that were the case, then what were the other {fortune sticks} for?
Su Shan hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to insert {Firecrackers Close Out the Year}. For now, it appeared to be the most effective option. Until she understood what the other {fortune sticks} did, it would be reckless to use them blindly.
She slid the {Firecrackers Close Out the Year} lot into the small hole on the right and watched as it was slowly swallowed by the opening.
In the next instant, the glass cylinder holding Terrestrial Dog burst into a display of multicolored lights. Accompanied by a low-quality firecracker sound effect, the flickering lights blazed for a full ten seconds before finally fading away.
What puzzled Su Shan was that, even after the lights had flashed, the three incandescent bulbs above Terrestrial Dog’s head remained fully lit—none had gone out.
“What…?” She froze slightly, a frown tugging at her brow. She must’ve overlooked something.
Could it be that the {firecrackers} had no effect on the {Nian Beast}?
Then, a thought struck her—in the folktales, {firecrackers} were used to scare off the {Nian Beast}. If they were merely to {scare off} it, then perhaps they didn’t actually harm it?
Or… was it that all damage would only be calculated at the end of the round?
“Player One’s turn is over,” Terrestrial Dog announced. “Now, Player Two, please {draw} your fortune stick.”
Before Su Shan could regain her composure, her phase had already ended, and the next turn was passed to the one seated to her left, Zhang Chenze, inside the green-tinted glass room.
Su Shan glanced over at Zhang Chenze. The latter’s expression appeared conflicted, clearly at a loss. But with the distance between them, it was impossible for Su Shan to make out what words were written on the {fortune stick} in her hand.
When a new {fortune stick} rose up in front of her, Zhang Chenze’s expression grew even more perplexed.
She clearly had no idea what the three {fortune sticks} were supposed to do. After a moment’s hesitation, she tossed one of them onto the table as if discarding it. Then, holding one {fortune stick} in each hand, she looked from left to right, comparing them. After a few seconds of contemplation, she picked up the discarded {fortune stick} and inserted it into the slot.
This time, the situation grew even more inexplicable.
After Zhang Chenze submitted her choice, nothing happened on the field at all. It was as though the {fortune stick}'s inscription had been completely blank.
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
