# Chapter 18: Yes or No
The nine people were now swinging back and forth like chandeliers on the ceiling, all suspended from a single rope.
Lin Qin looked down, and her heart sank halfway.
Below was a hollow about ten meters deep.
If they hadn't caught the rope, they would surely have fallen to their deaths by now.
"Hey, writer, hold on tight!" Qiao Jiajin noticed that Han Yimo was still sliding downward, and felt anxious. "Why are you so weak at the critical moment?"
"I..." Han Yimo's face was etched with strain, but his left hand was still loosening.
Qiao Jiajin was very close to Han Yimo. He immediately let go of one hand, grabbed Han Yimo's rope, and wrapped it around his waist. But with only one hand, he couldn't tie it tightly no matter what.
Officer Li saw this and reached out to help. The two of them, each using one hand, tied the end of Han Yimo's rope around his waist.
Just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, they heard another muffled groan.
Turning their heads, Tiantian couldn't help but cry out. Only then did they remember that her hand was also injured.
But this girl seemed to be very tolerant; she didn't groan until her own blood had soaked the rope.
Her right hand let go, and she grabbed the rope with only her left hand. However, a woman's strength was inherently small, and supporting her entire body weight with one hand was extremely difficult. She suddenly began to slide downward.
Qi Xia's expression changed, and he immediately reached out to grab her injured wrist.
In that brief touch, he felt that Tiantian's thin body was trembling slightly, and her wrist was very cold.
"Oh, liar, you're not so bad after all," Qiao Jiajin said.
Qi Xia helplessly sighed and said, "I just don't want to see any more corpses. Don't read too much into it."
Time passed minute by minute, and everyone's arms began to ache.
Hanging for a long time was not easy for anyone. Even Officer Li's forehead started to sweat.
"How long do we have to hang here?" Lin Qin asked Qi Xia beside her.
"I don't know," Qi Xia replied in a deep voice.
He knew that there was no longer any hint of a "next game," but everyone still couldn't see any hope.
If the organizers were cruel enough to just let them hang there, their deaths were only a matter of time.
But... was there really no hint for the next game?
Qi Xia's heart was a little uncertain.
Could there be some unknown hint hidden somewhere out of sight?
He looked down at the ground below. If there was any hint, it would have to be somewhere down there.
"Hmm?"
He looked around. Due to the collapse of the ground, new walls had appeared at the bottom. On the wall in the farthest corner below, there seemed to be a door.
But that door was out of reach for everyone.
They were still about ten meters from the floor at the bottom. Jumping from this height would not leave them unharmed.
Lin Qin followed Qi Xia's gaze and looked for a while, then also spotted the problem.
"A door?"
After hearing this, everyone looked down and indeed saw that old wooden door at the bottom.
Just as they were in despair, with their eyes wide and mouths agape, the door slowly opened.
A black figure walked in from the shadows. Qi Xia looked closely and saw that this person was also wearing a black suit, but his mask was completely different from the Sheep Head Man's.
He was wearing a huge, dark green snake head.
"Long time no see, everyone. I am the 'Human Snake,'" he said slowly.
"Human your mother!" Qiao Jiajin shouted. "Sheep, dog, and now snake? Do you believe I'll kill you right now?"
"Please don't get excited," the Human Snake said calmly. He looked up at the people and then said, "You are now undergoing the final trial. By my side, there is a lever. If I pull it, you will slowly descend, and no one will get hurt."
Everyone followed his gaze and indeed saw an inconspicuous lever next to the wooden door. Due to the dim lighting, no one had noticed it before.
"Then... can you pull it now?" Xiao Ran asked timidly.
"I..." The Human Snake laughed almost imperceptibly and said, "I'll play a game with you. Whether you live or die depends on your own performance."
"Another game..." Dr. Zhao's hair was disheveled, and he gritted his teeth fiercely, as if he wanted to eat someone.
"Listen carefully, everyone. This game is called 'Yes and No.'" The Human Snake stepped forward slightly and said to the people swinging in the air, "All of you can ask me a total of three questions from now on. My answers will only be 'yes' or 'no.' Note that I will not lie. After three questions, if I agree to save you, I will pull the lever. If I don't agree, I will lock this door and leave you to your own devices."
Qi Xia frowned.
Three questions?
Only answers of 'yes' and 'no'?
This game was too tricky.
Regardless, everyone's goal was to get this snake-headed person to let them down, so they could only ask questions around that topic. But would he agree?
Preschool teacher Xiao Ran, while everyone was thinking, seized the moment and spoke: "Hey, can you let us down?!"
"Stop!" Qi Xia was startled and quickly reached out to cover Xiao Ran's mouth, but this girl spoke quickly, and the question had already clearly reached the Human Snake's ears.
The Human Snake sneered and said, "No."
"Hey! Pretty girl?!" Qiao Jiajin shouted. "There are only three questions in total! Don't mess it up!"
"I..."
Xiao Ran lowered her head in distress, her expression very sad.
"Two questions left." The Human Snake took a step back without moving, getting closer to the wooden door.
It seemed he had already given up on them.
Xiao Ran's inadvertent question had turned this game into hell difficulty.
The Human Snake naturally wouldn't let them down so easily.
If he had intended to save them, why set up this game?
But then again, if he didn't want to save them, how could they make him agree to pull the lever?
Even if the question was changed to "Will you not let us down?", his answer would only be "Yes."
"Liar, do you have a way?" Qiao Jiajin turned to look at Qi Xia.
Qi Xia closed his eyes slightly, his thoughts chaotic.
A way. A way.
As a human being, how many ways could there be?
From the moment they entered this room, every step required Qi Xia's solution. How could he bear the responsibility of so many lives?
But then he felt a sense of despair.
If he gave up, would there still be a way for everyone to survive?
"I can't die here..." Qi Xia's eyes lit up again with a faint glimmer. "She's still waiting for me..."
A gentle female voice sounded in Qi Xia's mind: "Xia, do you know? There are many roads in this world, and everyone has their own."
He opened his eyes slightly, and the thoughts in his mind instantly became much clearer.
Yes. His mistake was following the other person's path entirely.
"Snake Head Man," Qi Xia called out in a low voice.
Officer Li was startled and turned around to ask, "Hey, what are you going to ask? Let's communicate in advance to avoid a repeat of what just happened."
"It's okay. I've already thought of a way to survive." Qi Xia said confidently, looking down at the Human Snake. "Don't say anything. This will all be over soon."
"Do you really have a way?" Zhang Chenze asked.
"Probably." Qi Xia took a deep breath and carefully thought about the next two questions he was going to ask.
No, to be precise, it was one question.
Just one question was needed, and this game would be over.
From the very beginning, this game couldn't be about struggling to make the other party pull the lever. It was only about the logic of 'yes' and 'no.'
The Human Snake seemed very interested in Qi Xia, his eyes peering out from the hollows of the snake-skin mask.
Qi Xia paused and then asked, "Human Snake, if my next question were 'Will you pull the lever?', would your answer be the same as this question?"