TDU Chapter 500
Chapter 500 Epiphany
Seeing Song Seven finish speaking, Terrestrial Rabbit quickly withdrew his head again.
He knew this team was unfathomable, and perhaps the number of {Reverberatees} was even greater than he had imagined.
Usually, {Reverberatees} rely heavily on their own abilities when participating in a game, which reduces their coordination with others and makes them less likely to employ strategies.
But this team was different.
Not only did they have a large number of {Reverberatees}, they were constantly trying out various strategies. To win this game, Terrestrial Rabbit realized he would inevitably need to think far more meticulously than usual.
It was at that moment, Terrestrial Rabbit happened to lift his head and looked toward the opposite wall, suddenly noticing something unusual. On the mud-smeared wall, someone had written four words:
{All personnel remain silent}.
‘All personnel…’ Terrestrial Rabbit widened his eyes and examined the writing on the wall, realizing these four words were very fresh, likely written just moments ago.
‘Wait a minute…’ Terrestrial Rabbit felt like he had exhausted all thought, but still could not see through the other party’s designs.
Why had he been drawn into this room by some strange force?
Was it for him to see the four words on the wall?
{All personnel remain silent}?
If he considered it from this angle… could the whispers he heard earlier have been part of a strategy?
Were they attempting to throw him off now that his hearing was compromised with a deliberate feint?
Terrestrial Rabbit squinted, mulling it through. The current situation was indeed tricky. To determine direction, he would have to move {South}, toward what he assumed was room {Fourteen}. If the room he entered had no {door} directly opposite, it would confirm that he had reached the southernmost room on the map, which only had three {doors} and a wall facing him.
So, most likely, this room was {Fourteen}.
But why had someone written on the wall of this room…?
‘Ah…!’ Suddenly, Terrestrial Rabbit realized something. He lowered his head and began calculating rapidly in his mind.
In previous games, he had rarely needed to think this hard, but this time was different. His opponents were clearly relying on strategy to win. If he wasn’t clever enough, he would be at their mercy.
‘You nincompoops… I know the path you took to get here…’ Terrestrial Rabbit held his forehead, recalling carefully.
Earlier, while eavesdropping at the starting point, a female member of their team had mention: “We’ll advance along a winding path: from room {Sixteen}, through {Twelve}, {Eleven}, {Seven}, and finally reach {Six}.”
‘Trying to make a fool of me…’ Terrestrial Rabbit’s thoughts suddenly clicked, and a realization struck him.
The room he was in wasn’t {Ten} at all; he wasn’t south of {Six} but east of it, at {Seven}!
It was indeed a clever strategy. Once he opened the {door} he thought led {South}, he would inevitably see a wall.
Because whether it was the southernmost room {Fourteen} or the easternmost room {Eight}, both rooms only had three {doors}, so he would see only a wall.
‘That was close…’ Terrestrial Rabbit’s lips trembled slightly. ‘What kind of freaks are you, trying to make me lose my way in my own field? But you still miscalculated. You never imagined that I clearly heard your route and memorized it. You never passed through room {Ten}, so how could you possibly have written anything inside room {Ten}?’
He rubbed his slightly dizzy head and hurried to straighten out his thoughts.
When they devised this tactic, they clearly hadn’t known that his hearing was exceptional. In other words, when they wrote on the wall, they had been completely unguarded. Even if they wanted to switch to another strategy now, he would no longer fall for it.
As long as he confirmed that he hadn’t lost his way, everything that followed would no longer be a problem.
His target remained room {Sixteen}.
As long as he could intercept all the participants in advance, every issue before him would be resolved with ease.
So what if they were a united team? The greatest weakness of a united team was that no one would choose to escape alone. As long as even one teammate remained trapped, they would all continue waiting in room {Sixteen}.
‘Since I’m in room {Seven}… that’s enough to prove that your whispered conversation just now was also a lie. From here on out, I won’t fall for a single word you say…’
Behind him was room {Six}. He had opened the door and entered room {Seven}. With these two rooms as reference points, all the other rooms could be arranged clearly in his mind.
‘Forward, right turn, forward.’ Terrestrial Rabbit sketched out the route he was about to take in his head. ‘None of you will move faster than me.’
At that moment, a distant peal of bells suddenly rang out.
The constant tolls left Terrestrial Rabbit with the impression that this was already the tenth day. The awakening of {Reverberatees} grew increasingly frequent, as though something extraordinary was about to happen.
He took a deep breath and began loud and clear, “Song Seven, are you aware?”
“Of what?” Song Seven asked.
“As long as one of you doesn't use up all your action points, this game will never move on to the next round.”
“Is that so?”
“So what are your thoughts?" Terrestrial Rabbit inquired. “If you just stand in that room and do nothing, time will pass minute by minute.”
“Isn’t that great?” Song Seven brushed the strands of hair falling over his forehead. “I just want my teammates to have more time to think through their strategy.”
“Aren’t you afraid of dying?” Terrestrial Rabbit’s voice softened slightly. “Your left hand is beyond help, bones broken, flesh burnt…how long can you last?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Song Seven shook his head carelessly. “Either until I die, or until you do.”
Terrestrial Rabbit finally fully understood this man’s character and could only change the topic, “Then what about the kid?”
“Kid…?”
“That child is only holding on because of his {Reverberation}, isn’t he? Even if he can endure an entire day, what about his {conviction}? The moment a single thought of {I’m really going to die} slips in, he’ll perish at once.”
Hearing this, Song Seven pressed his lips together silently. He knew this was Terrestrial Rabbit’s trap, but he couldn’t deny its validity: if he continued to delay time, Jiang Ten could die at any moment, and every second would bring him closer to death.
But if he didn’t buy time, and had to use his own action points…how was he supposed to use them?
‘Ah, of course…’ Shaking his head, Song Seven admitted he’d been overthinking, letting out a soft laugh. “I’ll walk straight into your room, shut the door, and fight you to the bitter end once more.”
He was just about to stride through the doorway when Terrestrial Rabbit suddenly flashed out from beside the wall, reaching out and clamping a hand around his neck.
“Oh?” Song Seven’s gaze turned cold. He sensed trouble, but recovered at once and said, “Your hand’s over the door, is that not against the rules?”
Terrestrial Rabbit did not reply to his words. His grip slowly tightened, locking firmly around Song Seven’s throat. “I never said a {hand} couldn’t reach into another room, did I?”
Song Seven’s breathing grew more and more labored. He forced out a few words through clenched teeth. “But we’re not in the same room… how exactly are you going to kill me?”
TL Note: Here’s Terrestrial Rabbit’s planned route:
