Chapter 31: The Rodent Game
The people outside the room were participating in a game for the first time of their own accord, and everyone was a bit nervous.
"Qi Xia," Lin Qin called out.
"What is it?"
"You once said that different animals represent different types of games, right?"
"That should be the case."
After hearing this, Lin Qin looked at the Human Rat before them and whispered, "What kind of game do you think a 'Rodent Game' is?"
Qi Xia was also pondering this question. If they didn't know the type of game in advance, Tian Tian's situation would be passive.
But what does "rat" have to do with anything?
"It seems the game currently underway fits the characteristics of a 'rat' quite well—searching for a target among a pile of miscellaneous items," Qi Xia said in a low voice. "Could it be that 'rat' refers to a 'search' type game?"
...
Inside the room, Tian Tian first took a general look around and found many shelves.
On each shelf were cardboard boxes of various sizes, and at a glance, there were at least a hundred of them.
Tian Tian casually picked up a box and looked inside; it was filled with random items.
She calculated in her mind that if she opened the boxes one by one within five minutes and rummaged through the contents, there was no way she could find the "Dao." After all, there were too many boxes.
She looked up again and noticed that this small warehouse had only one incandescent light, and the switch was on the wall next to her.
After thinking for a few seconds, an idea suddenly struck her.
She gathered her strength and directly pushed over a shelf, making a loud noise.
The people outside the room immediately became alarmed upon hearing it.
"Hey! Pretty girl, are you okay?" Qiao Jiajin shouted.
"I'm fine," Tian Tian called back. "I just thought of a method."
Qi Xia thought for a moment and nodded. "That's right. It's indeed a good method."
"Huh?" Qiao Jiajin was taken aback. "You already know? Do you two have that 'telepathic communication' from martial arts novels?"
The noise inside grew louder and louder as Tian Tian pushed over all the shelves, scattering the cardboard boxes everywhere.
All sorts of miscellaneous items spilled out.
Some boxes contained plastic plates and bowls, some held old clothes, and others were filled with scrap paper.
She then walked over to a few intact boxes and stomped on them vigorously. Before long, the once orderly warehouse was in complete disarray.
Panting, she looked around and felt the time was right. Then she walked to the wall and turned off the incandescent light.
The room instantly fell into darkness, and only Tian Tian's breathing could be heard.
"What the..." Tian Tian looked around and slowly furrowed her brow.
In her memory, the small ball called "Dao" emitted a faint glow. If the clutter was scattered all over the floor, there was a high probability she could spot the "Dao" in the darkness.
But the moment she turned off the light, the entire room plunged into darkness, with not a single glimmer of light.
She refused to believe it. She bravely stepped forward and kicked the various boxes, expanding her search area.
How could a glowing ball completely disappear in a dark room?
After kicking around for a while, she felt she had opened all the boxes but still hadn't found anything that glowed.
At that moment, the Human Rat knocked on the door from outside and said, "Ten seconds left."
Tian Tian helplessly shook her head and turned on the light.
With the sudden illumination, she found that at her feet was a box of canned goods. The cans had been packed in cardboard boxes and were now scattered all over the floor.
She reached out, picked up a can, and read the label. It said the contents were "beans."
Tian Tian shook the can, and sure enough, a rustling sound came from inside.
"I'm such a fool..." Tian Tian gritted her teeth. "Are they inside these cans?!"
*Creak—*
The Human Rat turned the handle from outside and pushed the door open. "Time's up. Challenge failed."
Tian Tian was startled and looked up to meet the Human Rat's eerie face.
The three outside immediately rushed over. Qiao Jiajin asked, "How did it go, pretty girl? Did you find it?"
"No..." Tian Tian threw the can aside and stood up with a dejected expression. "I suspect the 'Dao' is hidden inside these cans, but opening dozens of cans with bare hands in five minutes... isn't an easy task."
Qi Xia looked down. These were all fava bean cans. It would be very reasonable to hide a "Dao" inside one.
But he still felt something was off.
Tian Tian reluctantly exited the room and looked fearfully at the Human Rat.
But the Human Rat made no other move. She simply closed the door and continued standing at the entrance.
"So I really just lost one 'Dao'?" Tian Tian asked softly. "She doesn't intend to kill me..."
The Human Rat smiled and asked, "When did I ever say I would kill you?"
Seeing this, Qiao Jiajin finally understood. "Hey... lying man, in that case... can we try again?"
"Try again?" Qi Xia frowned.
"We already know that the 'Dao' is most likely hidden in those cans. This time we can go straight to opening them. Besides, she won't kill us."
Qi Xia looked at his pocket. He only had one "Dao" left.
As "Human Dragon" had said earlier, these "Dao" were both their rewards and their "chips."
In other words, participating in these games required paying a certain number of "Dao" to bet against the opponent. If they consumed too many "Dao" here, they wouldn't be able to proceed with future games.
"Pretty girl, are you sure you checked all the other boxes?" Qiao Jiajin confirmed with her.
"I didn't do a thorough search. I just opened all the boxes and turned off the light," Tian Tian shook her head. "But I didn't see any area of light, so... the 'Dao' must be sealed in a container."
"Alright, then I'll go in and try again!" Qiao Jiajin nodded.
But at that moment, Qi Xia suddenly reached out to stop him.
"Wait."
"Huh?"
Qi Xia looked at the Human Rat and asked, "Can I hear the game rules one more time?"
"Of course!"
The Human Rat smiled and turned back to open the door.
Everyone was shocked to find the room had been restored to its original state. All the shelves were back in place, and the boxes were arranged neatly again.
"What the hell!" Qiao Jiajin was stunned.
Lin Qin and Tian Tian also gasped in surprise.
The Human Rat slowly walked inside, looked around, and asked, "So, isn't my 'game' amazing?"
Qi Xia nodded.
The Human Rat continued, "My 'game' is called 'Seeking the Dao.' The entry fee is one 'Dao.' Right now, there is one 'Dao' in this room. If you can find it within five minutes, the 'Dao' is yours."
After saying that, she smiled warmly again.
Qi Xia listened and slowly nodded.
"I want to play again," he said.
"Alright, no problem," the Human Rat nodded. "You can play as many times as you want."
"This time, I want to bet my life," Qi Xia said.