TDU Chapter 462
Chapter 462 The True Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse
Terrestrial Horse slowly furrowed her brows at Qi Xia’s words.
It was a curious day, with each person she met stirring a sense of recognition. The man before her seemed to strike an even stronger sense of familiarity than the tattooed Muay Thai practitioner.
‘Curious indeed…’
Terrestrial Horse had the impression that these people should have already become indigenous inhabitants; how was it possible for them to be on the move now?
‘Wen Qiaoyun… you simply won’t quit…’ Terrestrial Horse’s gaze gradually darkened. ‘How many times have we lost, and you still refuse to yield?’
At that moment, Bai Nine, who had been pushing the wheelbarrow along the track, turned to look at Qi Xia, feeling a hint of doubt.
No need to strike the balls any further?
This man hadn’t even learned the rules yet. How could he devise a way to overcome them?
“Wh–What do you mean by there is no need to strike the balls any further?” She questioned.
“Are these balls specifically targeting you all?” Qi Xia asked, expressionless, glancing around. “Or are you trying to get struck?”
“Wh—” Everyone in the arena froze for a moment at his words, frowning as they asked, “What do you mean by ‘trying to get struck’? Aren’t the balls all aimed at us?”
Qi Xia glanced at the wheelbarrow and pointed to the sphere beneath it. “Did anyone consider why the bottom of this thing is a sphere?”
Bai Nine mulled, “Replacing the wooden wheel with a wooden ball…would naturally make pushing the wheelbarrow on the ice even more difficult. This wheelbarrow can slide.”
“Is that so?” Qi Xia shook his head slightly. “But this wheelbarrow looks unusually stable. Its construction must be far more precise than you think. So even after enduring such severe blows, the wheelbarrow never toppled, did it?”
The listeners fell silent, realizing he was correct. Though the wheelbarrow skidded, it showed no sign of toppling over.
“If Terrestrial Horse’s goal was {reduce stability}, then why would she provide a wheelbarrow this stable?”
Qi Xia’s few concise words made everyone frown.
Bai Nine hesitated, then inquired, “Then…what do you suppose the spherical wheel is for?”
Qi Xia touched his chin and slowly mused, “Perhaps to {conceal}?”
The instant his words rang out, all participants reacted, and even Terrestrial Horse’s features shifted visibly.
‘So it really is you…’ Terrestrial Horse muttered, ‘Well, this is quite the predicament…’
Everyone hurriedly looked at the wheelbarrow. Thinking carefully, there were indeed some oddities.
This {Wooden Ox Flowing Horse} was extremely heavy. If it were made entirely of wood, would it really weigh this much?
It could barely leave the ground—probably only Terrestrial Horse could lift it.
Moreover… the moment everyone had just pushed the wheelbarrow onto the track, it suddenly felt as if it had lost all its weight… as if… it had connected to some invisible rail?
“Everyone, stand behind the wheelbarrow and follow my instructions,” Qi Xia commanded.
Gradually, everyone positioned themselves behind the wheelbarrow. Qiao Jiajin had planned to intercept the ball from a distance, yet at Qi Xia’s urging, he relinquished his spot and came behind the wheelbarrow . All of them then looked toward Qi Xia, unsure of his intentions.
“Anyone familiar with {Curling}?” Qi Xia asked.
Not surprisingly, since everyone came from different eras, several quietly shook their heads.
“Simply put, I need you all to push the wheelbarrow forcefully from here and let it slide toward the finish on its own.”
“Hm?” Bai Nine looked down at the wheelbarrow and suddenly understood Qi Xia’s meaning. “You mean…the {sphere} at the bottom of this wheelbarrow is actually constantly triggering the mechanisms?”
“Correct,” Qi Xia nodded. “You should have felt it yourself. All the mechanisms on site are triggered by {distance}, not {time}. When the wheelbarrow passes a specific distance, the contraptions activate. This spherical wheel most likely contains a strong {magnet}.”
Hearing this, everyone finally understood all the hidden information of this game.
True, a wheelbarrow so stable, yet everyone tiptoed anxiously, wary of the balls in flight.
Why not just push it straight through?
Why wait slowly for the {balls} to be fired?
“But if we do that…won’t the person sitting on the wheelbarrow be left on their own?” Bai Nine asked, “Wouldn’t that be even more dangerous?”
“The person on the wheelbarrow doesn’t need to dodge,” Qi Xia said. “As long as the wheelbarrow is fast enough, they will reach the finish line before any balls strike. Then at the finish line, you can use the same trick to push the wheelbarrow back to the start in one go. A full round takes about thirty seconds, and everyone remains safe.”
“Everyone remains safe…?” Doubt flickered among them. “But Terrestrial Horse will be throwing in the final round…”
Qi Xia looked at Terrestrial Horse, noticing the unusual expression in her eyes “Hey, which round is the {final round}?”
Hearing Qi Xia’s question, Terrestrial Horse realized her game had really been figured out. After a moment’s pause, she answered, “The last round…is the {seventh round}…”
Qi Xia nodded, then turned to Bai Nine. “Which round is it now?”
“It should be the fifth round,” Bai Nine replied.
“Isn’t that perfect?” Qi Xia’s mouth curved into a smile. “Just as I said, no one will get hurt. Push the wheelbarrow with confidence.”
Hearing this, everyone felt their minds briefly clog up again.
This situation was truly baffling. The game’s designer had set the same challenge for all, yet only a handful could pierce the veil of confusion and reach the right solution.
They stood behind the wheelbarrow and tested it lightly, realizing that even if they loosened their grip, the wheelbarrow remained stable.
The {path to survival} in this game had been glaringly obvious from the very beginning, yet everyone had overlooked it.
Their attention had always been on the {balls} and never on the {wheelbarrow}.
But thinking carefully, what was the name of this game?
It had nothing to do with {balls} or the {Big Dipper}. Its name was {Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse}.
It could pass through countless obstacles, delivering everything safely and quickly to its targeted destination.
That was the true meaning of {Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse}.
“I see now…” Qiao Jiajin reached the same understanding and gave a nod to the others. “Then… everyone, follow my lead: on three, we’ll let go all at the same time. Make sure the wheelbarrow rolls forward without veering.”
Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. “Fists, since when did you become so cautious?”
“Ah?” Qiao Jiajin looked puzzled. “What’s wrong, Swindler lad? Did I say something wrong?”
Qi Xia pointed to the ground. “The bottom of the wheelbarrow is a {sphere}, and both sides of the track are densely covered with glass. Have you considered that even if the wheelbarrow spins all the way forward, it will never leave the track?”
TL Note: Wow, the actual gameplay was unexpectedly that easy? Though, I wonder what’ll happen during the final round…
