TDU Chapter 485
Chapter 485 The Real Challenge
“That’s the best possible outcome, but I’m afraid it's not possible,” Chen Junnan’s expression darkened. “The {even-numbered} rooms we haven’t entered yet are {Ten} and {Fourteen}, but there’s no guarantee the remaining two {Divine Artifacts} are in those rooms.”
“What?”
Chen Junnan gestured toward his neck. “That damned Fat Rabbit has a bamboo piece hanging around his neck. There’s a high chance it’s the {flute}…”
“Han Xiangzi’s {flute}…” The realization dawned on the others, and their expressions shifted.
“This game is far more difficult than we imagined,” Chen Junnan ground out through clenched teeth. “It all adds up…those before us surely devised a similar plan. Terrestrial Rabbit’s indifference to being stuck in Room {One} comes from knowing release is only a matter of time.”
“He knew from the start we’d reach a dead end…” Cui Fourteen concluded, her face lined with worry. “We must seize that bamboo piece if we want any chance of escaping.”
Chen Junnan nodded. “This rabbit has been pretending all along…”
“There’s no cause for excessive worry,” Cui Fourteen comforted. “With Seven ge and Ten ge here, even if we have to seize that bamboo altogether, it won’t be difficult.”
“Let’s hope so…” Chen Junnan nodded. “Still, this young master prides myself on my game experience…but I’ve never had to seize anything from a {Terrestrial-grade} before.”
All present understood that bloodshed was unavoidable, but to ensure more people survived, they had no choice but to wrest away that flute.
“We need to hurry back and inform Xiao Song and Xiao Jiang Ten,” Chen Junnan said, turning around. “The two of them might think we’ve already cleared the endpoint and let that rabbit out at any moment. From their perspective, the game is already in its final phase. They’re probably preparing to {reveal their divine abilities}. Whether they live or die will depend on their own gamble.”
“Understood,” Cui Fourteen nodded. “If they choose to free Terrestrial Rabbit, then even in a head-on encounter, taking the {flute} would be impossible. The best outcome for the two of them would simply be surviving without being killed.”
“Exactly…we need to come up with a new plan,” Chen Junnan said as much, yet in truth his thoughts were in disarray, the few brain cells he had left had already been wrung dry.
Even if all six of them swarmed together in a cramped room, could they really take the flute from the rabbit’s grasp?
Besides, Song Seven’s ability was {Detonating Spark}. On reflection, he seemed far better suited for one-on-one combat.
“We proceed together,” Cui Fourteen said firmly. “A new idea just occurred to me.”
“Oh?” Chen Junnan raised an eyebrow. “What idea?”
“We’ll choose a {correct route} and lock all the doors along the way that aren’t on that route,” Cui Fourteen crouched down, using her fingernail to sketch a rough diagram on the dirty, sticky floor. “For example, if we’re at room {Sixteen} and need to pass through the north door to reach room {Twelve}, one of us can lock the door leading to room {Fifteen}. That way, when we return, we’ll have no choice but to retrace our path.”
Chen Junnan squatted beside her, staring at the sketch in silence for a moment before nodding. “That actually could work… If only we know the correct route, and we escape fast enough, that cotton-tailed rascal will be delayed by the doors we’ve locked ahead of time…”
“Exactly so,” Cui Fourteen confirmed. “Which is why we need a path few would think to choose.”
She extended her hand, drawing a zigzag line from the bottom right to the top left of the sketch.
“We’ll advance along a winding path: from room {Sixteen}, through {Twelve}, {Eleven}, {Seven}, and finally reach {Six}.” Cui Fourteen pressed a fingertip on room {Six}. “It’ll take only four turns to reach here, and once we arrive, we won’t need to advance further.”
Bearded Ma Twelve hesitated and asked, “Fourteen jie, why so?”
Cui Fourteen smoothed back the strands of hair from her forehead. “Because room {Six} is connected to the rooms where Seven ge and Ten ge are, we just need to stand there, open the door, and brief them on the situation. Afterward, we can execute the next step: securing the flute and fleeing.”
Once everyone confirmed their new strategy, they secured the {Divine Artifacts} on their persons and set off along the preplanned route.
“May all {participants} commence action.” The mechanical voice echoed from the broadcast. Just as Cui Fourteen moved forward to open the door to room {Twelve}, Chen Junnan grabbed her wrist.
“What is it, Captain?”
Chen Junnan stroked his chin, a sly grin spreading across his face. “Hehe…A thought just came to me…”
“What thought?” The three nearby exchanged curious glances.
“I think I’ve figured out a way to let Song Seven and Xiao Jiang Ten know our predicament here… Pause and think: did the game ever set a {time limit} for each turn?”
“Time limit…” After carefully reflecting, Cui Fourteen soon noticed the issue. “I don’t recall any… but that can’t be. Can everyone’s turns really be delayed at will?”
“I suspect it’s deliberate,” Chen Junnan said with a laugh. “If there were a {time limit}, it wouldn’t be good news for that cotton-tailed rascal.”
“Why not?” Cui Fourteen studied the handsome young man in front of her. While she wouldn’t call him a genius, his train of thought was undeniably unconventional.
This naturally worked in their favor when it came to overcoming these games. After all, all {Earthly Branches} would rack their brains to kill; it was nearly impossible to predict their moves with ordinary logic.
“Why would he want to delay time…? Isn’t it obvious?” Chen Junnan replied. “Because that cotton-tailed rascal wants to kill. If each turn had a strict {time limit}, there’s a good chance he wouldn’t be able to kill everyone in the room within the allotted time. Then all he could do was watch them slip away in the next turn.”
After a moment of thought, the others realized he was right. With the number of {Reverberatees} increasing, and though Terrestrial Rabbit could protect himself, there was no guarantee he could kill every {participant}.
“If only I had a {Reverberation}…” Cui Fourteen pressed her lips together, “otherwise my {Swift Shuttle} would make me unstoppable in this game…”
“Alas.” Chen Junnan waved his hand. “This young master never mentioned it because I knew you’d start thinking like that. Those of you with strong {Reverberation} always fall into this trap of self-blame… But remember, no one should ever be forced to play a key role in any game, and no one is born to be a leader. Even if this game fails, no one will blame you.”
“Mm…” Cui Fourteen seemed comforted, nodding slowly as she met Chen Junnan’s gaze.
Ma Twelve scratched his beard and asked Chen Junnan, “Captain, then why did you suddenly bring up the lack of {time limit}?”
“I’ve got an idea,” Chen Junnan said. “We hold off on opening the doors for as long as possible… that way, our turn won’t end too quickly.”
“And then…?”
“Then Xiao Song and Xiao Undead will realize something unexpected might be happening and will refrain from releasing that cotton-tailed rascal early.”
TL Note: Updated map with Cui Fourteen’s route
