TDU Chapter 369
Chapter 369 Hard to Be the Goat, Hard to Fool the People
Lin Qin took the {Fields Sway with Coming Harvest} stick into her hand, pushing through the pain wracking her body as she paused to think.
As {Autumn}, to receive a {harvest} at this moment meant that {Spring} and {Summer} before her must have each played their part, employing their seasonal strategies so that this battle-worn {Autumn} could now obtain this {fortune stick}.
‘There were even two tolls just now…’ Lin Qin murmured. “You really didn’t let me down…”
She looked up and met Su Shan’s gaze, only to freeze.
Su Shan’s eyes were gleaming like diamonds, but from them streamed two crimson trails of blood, eerie and unsettling.
‘Su Shan…’
Without further hesitation, Lin Qin decisively raised {Fields Sway with Coming Harvest}. Now, her task as {Autumn} was to deliver this bountiful harvest safely to {Winter}.
But just before she could insert the {fortune stick}, Terrestrial Dog’s voice rang out through the broadcast—
“Halt.”
Lin Qin paused and then lifted her gaze toward Terrestrial Dog. He had turned to face her, holding a {fortune stick} in his hand.
“What?” Lin Qin didn’t understand what he meant.
“The {Calamity stick} I’m holding is {Cold Wave},” said Terrestrial Dog. “If you dare to play that {fortune stick}, I’ll release a {Cold Wave} into your chamber. This stick will drop the temperature to minus thirty degrees in a matter of moments. You’re not dressed for that, you’ll freeze to death.”
Lin Qin slowly drew her hand back, furrowing her brows.
As there was only a speaker but no microphone in each chamber, she couldn’t converse with Terrestrial Dog and was limited to listening to his words.
“You might be wondering why I’m bothering to threaten you,” Terrestrial Dog continued. “Why not just activate this {Calamity stick} right now? Simple—I don’t feel like cleaning up a dead body tonight. It’s already late, and if you die now, I’ll have to wake up early tomorrow to tidy your chamber. That’s a real pain. So I’d rather you back off on your own.”
Lin Qin studied him in silence, weighing the truth behind his words. From a psychological standpoint, people often give themselves away through microexpressions when they speak at length.
Unfortunately, the other party had the face of a hound, making it nearly impossible to read.
“If you play a {Useless Stick} this round,” Terrestrial Dog added, “I promise I won’t kill anyone for the rest of the game. You should have noticed… when I explained the rules before the game began, I never told a single lie. That’s my show of {sincerity}. Though you may lose the game and some {Dào}, you’ll still walk away intact.”
Indeed. Lin Qin’s lips lifted into a faint smile. Terrestrial Dog hadn’t told a single lie during the rule explanation. Most of the rules had already been clearly laid out beforehand: he was a very honest person.
Which was exactly why she couldn’t trust him now.
With a calm smile, Lin Qin placed the {fortune stick} at the mouth of the hole. Then, maintaining eye contact with Terrestrial Dog, she pushed it in decisively. Throughout the entire moment, their gazes remained locked, Terrestrial Dog’s expression especially cold and stern.
“Terrestrial Dog… if I’m not mistaken, before the game began, you also said something else: {From here on, I’ll do my utmost to kill every one of you}.” Lin Qin shrugged, almost apologetically. “I’d rather believe the you from before the game started than the you inside it.”
Of course, Terrestrial Dog couldn’t hear what she said. But his expression had clearly shifted.
“Lying really is hard... no wonder {Goats} are so scarce..." Terrestrial Dog gave a resigned shake of his head. “Then die.”
This year’s {Calamity} arrived, and once again, its target was Lin Qin.
Lin Qin stood up, her gaze unwavering as she looked straight at Terrestrial Dog. She knew the injuries she’d already sustained were grave; one more {Cold Wave} wouldn’t make much difference.
Besides, temperatures at minus thirty degrees wouldn’t kill a person instantly. She might still have a sliver of a chance.
Overhead, the sound of a massive mechanism echoed, something was being activated. Seconds later, a brutal gust of icy wind swept down from above, cutting straight to the bone.
Within moments, she realized something was wrong. If the chamber merely dropped to minus thirty degrees and stayed there, she might have a good shot at survival. But if that freezing wind kept blowing…
Then there would be no hope.
The cold wind kept siphoning away her body heat, and the cramped space offered no space for movement to generate warmth. The situation was dire.
On the flip side, their likelihood of winning was significant, with only one condition: Qin Dingdong must not try to save her.
If her {Calamity} was neutralized this round, then everything the four of them had worked for the year would be in vain.
With that in mind, she stretched out a trembling finger and, through the layer of frost on the wall, scrawled three shaky words: {Don’t Save Me}.
“Player Three {wish} completed. Player Four, kindly {draw}.”
Without hesitation, Qin Dingdong reached out and picked up the new {fortune stick} on the table: {A Year of Abundant Provision}.
Time was of the essence. A {Cold Wave} had descended upon Lin Qin’s chamber, and if they didn’t act quickly, she would be frozen to death.
So which {fortune stick} should she play?
The three {fortune sticks} in her hand all seemed exceptionally valuable: {Harsh Wind Clears the Leaves}, {Water Recedes Without a Trace}, and {A Year of Abundant Provision}.
Judging from the inscriptions alone, her original two sticks were clearly no match for the {Cold Wave}.
“Guess we’ll have to leave it to {next year}…” Qin Dingdong muttered, brows tightly knit. “Hang in there, Lin.”
She aimed the {fortune stick} at the slot and coldly remarked, “Damn mutt, we’ve been at this for four years. Isn’t it time we got a decent New Year?”
With that, she slipped the {fortune stick} into the slot and the next second, jubilant and festive music erupted from Terrestrial Dog’s room.
It had been a long time since they last heard this music. If not for the damp, rancid space they were trapped in, they might have believed themselves back in the real world: seated in a warm home, sharing Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner with their families.
But they couldn’t leave.
They had been dying and living, living and dying, over and over again in this place.
Death offered no escape.
Terrestrial Dog slowly stood up, his face grim. He glanced at the second extinguished lamp beside him, then looked up at the ceiling. That damned speaker had actually started playing Chinese New Year’s music.
The cheerful, jubilant melody clashed jarringly with the cold, stony expression on his face.
He had run this game many times before. Very few teams ever managed to fulfill all four seasonal missions within a single year.
“Looks like this team of yours isn’t too shabby.” he said, sweeping his gaze across the group. “Round Five begins. I’ll take the first move this round.”
Su Shan had just been about to {draw} when she froze at his words.
Terrestrial Dog’s going first?
He had acted at the end of the fourth round and was now starting the fifth, two turns in a row. Was he planning to unleash his most lethal moves this time?
“This round’s {Calamity} is called {Toxic Miasma}.” He drew a {Calamity stick} and hurled it toward the slot corresponding to Qin Dingdong.
Moments later, a yellow-green gas began seeping from the ceiling above Qin Dingdong’s chamber. She quickly raised her hands to cover her nose and mouth.
A sense of unease settled over her. The most likely counter to {Toxic Miasma} was {Harsh Wind Clears the Leaves}, and unfortunately, that {fortune stick} was in her own possession.
Worse still, a leftward arrow was etched across its face.
Only Lin Qin could play this {fortune stick} to dispel the miasma in her room.
Which meant everyone would have to keep {gifting} this {fortune stick} around, wasting an entire round in the process.
It was already the fifth round. Could they still spare the time to save a life?
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
