# Chapter 31: Rat Game
The people outside the room were participating in a game on their own initiative for the first time, 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?"
"Probably."
Lin Qin looked at the Human Rat in front of them after hearing this, then asked in a low voice, "What do you think a 'Rat Game' is?"
Qi Xia was also considering this question—if they didn't know the game type in advance, Tiantian's situation would be quite passive.
But what does "Rat" have to do with anything?
"It seems like the game currently underway fits the characteristics of 'Rat' very well—that is, searching for a target among a multitude of miscellaneous items," Qi Xia said in a low voice. "Could it be that 'Rat' represents a 'search' type of game?"
...
Inside the room, Tiantian first took a general look around and found that there were many shelves here.
And on each shelf were paper boxes of various sizes. At a glance, there were at least a hundred of them.
Tiantian casually picked up a paper box and looked inside—it was filled with miscellaneous items.
She calculated in her mind: if she opened the boxes one by one within those five minutes and then 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 bulb, and the switch was on the wall right beside her.
Tiantian thought for a few seconds, and suddenly an idea came to her.
She gathered her strength and directly pushed over a shelf, making a huge noise.
The people outside immediately became flustered.
"Hey! Pretty Girl, are you okay?" Qiao Jiajin shouted.
"I'm fine," Tiantian said loudly. "I just thought of a way."
Qi Xia thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's right, it's indeed a good idea."
"Huh?" Qiao Jiajin was stunned. "You know that too? Do you two have some kind of 'Sound Transmission' from martial arts novels?"
The sound inside grew louder and louder. Tiantian pushed over all the shelves, scattering the paper boxes all over the floor.
All kinds of miscellaneous items poured out at once.
Some boxes held plastic plates and bowls, some old clothes, and others waste paper.
She walked over to a few intact boxes and stomped on them forcefully. Before long, the once orderly warehouse was a complete mess.
She panted as she looked around, feeling that it was about time, then walked to the wall and turned off the incandescent light.
The room instantly fell into darkness—only Tiantian's breathing could be heard.
"This..." Tiantian looked around and slowly furrowed her brow.
In her impression, the small ball called "Dao" emitted a faint glow. If the miscellaneous items here were scattered all over, there was a high probability of finding the "Dao" in the darkness.
But the moment she turned off the light, the entire room became pitch black, with no trace of light whatsoever.
She refused to believe it. She bravely stepped forward and began kicking various boxes with her feet, expanding her search area.
How could a ball that emitted light completely vanish in a dark room?
After kicking for a while, Tiantian felt that all the boxes had been opened, yet she still hadn't found anything that glowed.
At that moment, the Human Rat knocked on the door from outside and said, "Ten seconds left."
Tiantian shook her head helplessly and turned on the light.
By the sudden illumination, she discovered that at her feet was a box of cans. The cans had been packed in paper boxes before, but now they were scattered all over the floor.
She reached out, picked up a can, and read the label. It said the contents were "beans."
Tiantian shook the can—sure enough, a rustling sound came from inside.
"I'm such a fool..." Tiantian gritted her teeth. "Could they be inside these cans?!"
"Creak—"
The Human Rat turned the handle from outside and pushed the door open. "Time's up. Challenge failed."
Tiantian was startled and looked up to meet the Human Rat's eerie face.
The three outside immediately rushed over. Qiao Jiajin asked, "So, Pretty Girl, did you find it?"
"No..." Tiantian threw the can aside and stood up with a look of sorrow. "I suspect the 'Dao' is inside those cans, but opening all those dozens of cans with bare hands within five minutes... isn't an easy task either."
Qi Xia looked down. These cans were all fava bean cans—it was very reasonable to hide a "Dao" inside one.
But he still felt something was off.
Tiantian dejectedly exited the room and looked at the Human Rat with some fear.
But the Human Rat made no other move. She simply closed the door and continued standing at the entrance.
"So it really is just losing one 'Dao'?" Tiantian asked quietly. "She's not going to take my life..."
The Human Rat smiled and asked, "When did I ever say I would take your life?"
Seeing this, Qiao Jiajin finally understood. "I say... Liar, if that's the case... can we try again?"
"Try again?" Qi Xia frowned.
"We already know the 'Dao' is most likely in those cans. This time we can go straight to opening the cans. After all, she won't kill us."
Qi Xia looked at his own pocket—there was only one "Dao" left.
Back then, the Human Dragon had said that these "Dao" were both their rewards and their "chips."
It seemed that 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 continue the games later.
"Pretty Girl, are you sure you searched all the other boxes?" Qiao Jiajin confirmed with her.
"I didn't search carefully. I just opened all the boxes and turned off the light," Tiantian shook her head. "But I didn't find any place that glowed, so... the 'Dao' must be sealed inside a container."
"Very well, then I'll go in and try again!" Qiao Jiajin nodded.
But at that moment, Qi Xia suddenly reached out to stop him.
"Wait."
"Hm?"
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 that the room was brand new—all the shelves had returned to their original positions, and the boxes were neatly arranged again.
"Wo diu!" Qiao Jiajin was stunned.
Lin Qin and Tiantian also gasped in surprise.
The Human Rat walked in slowly, took a look around, and asked, "What do you think? Isn't my 'game' amazing?"
Qi Xia nodded.
The Human Rat continued, "My 'game' is called 'Dao Seeking.' The entry fee costs one 'Dao.' Right now, there is one 'Dao' in this room. As long as you can find it within five minutes, then the 'Dao' is yours."
After speaking, she gave a warm smile.
Qi Xia listened and slowly nodded.
"I want to play again," he said.
"Good, no problem," the Human Rat nodded. "You can play as many times as you like."
"This time, I want to bet my life," Qi Xia said.