Chapter 74: The Lawyer's Choice
"Ground Dog, what about the rest of the rules?" Qi Xia asked. "What exactly is the objective of this game?"
"Please follow me, everyone. I'll explain as we walk."
As he spoke, Ground Dog led the group into a corridor of the hotel. "This hotel has two parallel corridors, both set up identically. Each team occupies one corridor to play the game. Whichever team completes their task first will be declared the winner."
He then pushed open the first door in the hallway. On the door was written: "Sender."
"This is the Sender's room," Ground Dog said. "Once the game starts, the two 'Senders' can only remain in their respective rooms. You are not allowed to leave. Your task is to send out a letter containing a password."
The empty room contained only a single table, and the items on it were immediately obvious.
One letter, one iron box, one golden key, and one golden lock.
Lin Ju thought for a moment, then asked, "Since we can't leave this room, how are we supposed to send out the 'letter'?"
"Very simple. Give the letter to the 'Spy'," Ground Dog said. "Please follow me."
He led everyone out of the room and back into the corridor.
"The corridor is the activity area for all 'Spies'. You will move back and forth along your respective corridors, responsible for delivering the letter."
"Have the 'Spies' deliver the letter?!" Everyone was stunned by this.
"Have any of you ever watched spy dramas?" Ground Dog continued with a smile. "Sometimes, even when you know the messenger is a spy, you still have no choice but to send the letter out."
No one knew what to say. Most of the people present were young, and how many of them had studied spy dramas?
"What's this?" Lin Ju noticed a small machine in the corridor.
It looked like an electric heater, with a palm-sized opening on top.
"This is a shredder," Ground Dog said. "The 'Spies' can, at their own discretion, throw anything into the shredder, including the letter, the key, or the lock. However, it's worth noting that due to size constraints, the 'iron box' cannot be thrown in."
"So you mean we can have the 'Spy' deliver anything?!" Lin Ju asked. "Even just sending the key alone is possible?"
"Correct. As long as you're willing, you can have the Spy make multiple trips back and forth down the corridor."
Everyone had a faint feeling this game wasn't that simple, and the situations that would arise were entirely unpredictable.
"That's all for the first part of the rules," Ground Dog said with a smile. "Would the 'Senders' please return to your rooms. The rest of the rules won't require your participation."
Lin Ju glanced at Qi Xia, then slowly walked towards her room.
The blonde from the opposing team also went to the other corridor and entered his room.
Qi Xia looked at the shredder in the corridor and suddenly felt a twinge of regret.
It seemed the 'Spy' was the most unpredictable role in this game.
"You two 'Spies', regardless of what you receive, you must deliver it within three minutes, unless you have already destroyed the item." Ground Dog pointed to an electronic clock on the wall, which had a three-minute timer. "If the time reaches zero and the item hasn't been dealt with, you will be sanctioned."
Old Lü and the girl were taken aback. "Didn't you say our role was the safest?"
"Of course, you'll be safe as long as you deliver or destroy the item," Ground Dog said with a grin. "This rule is to prevent anyone from stalling for time."
Seeing that no one had anything else to say, Ground Dog continued, "Would the 'Spies' please stay here. The rest of you, follow me."
Old Lü and the girl remained.
Ground Dog led the remaining people forward.
Now, both sides only had their 'Receiver' and 'Hostage' left.
At the end of the corridor was another room. The door read: "Receiver."
Ground Dog pushed the door open. Inside, there was another table with only a silver key and a silver lock on it.
In the corner of the room was a large device that looked like an electric refrigerator.
"This is the 'Receiver's' activity space," Ground Dog said. "Apart from the 'Spy', you are not allowed to contact anyone else."
He then walked over to the large device and said, "This cabinet is where the 'Hostage' needs to stay. Once the game starts, you will be locked inside."
Qi Xia was the first to inspect the cabinet. The door had an electronic display that currently read 'Unlocked'.
The interior of the cabinet was also quite strange. The walls were made of metal and had many holes in them, making it look like...
"This is a custom large-scale microwave oven," Ground Dog said. "After thirty minutes, if no one opens the door, the person inside will be turned into meat."
The burly bald man beside him gasped. He was the 'Hostage' for the opposing team.
"A microwave?! What the hell?!" he yelled, backing away. "I'm not fucking getting in there!"
"Hey!" The blonde man grabbed him. "Stop messing around. If you chicken out now, A Mu will kill you when we get out."
Hearing this, the bald man was clearly frightened.
"B-but I can't just crawl into a microwave..."
"Relax, how could these people possibly be a match for A Mu?" The blonde man grabbed the bald man's shoulder. "Trust his methods."
The bald man thought it over for a moment, then nodded hesitantly.
"As for the 'Receiver', your rules are no different from the 'Sender's'," Ground Dog continued. "The only thing to note is that if you successfully receive the letter, you must open it immediately, decipher the code to open the door, and rescue your teammate. The team that rescues their teammate first wins."
Qi Xia noticed that Zhang Chenze beside him had been silent. He asked her calmly, "Do you trust me?"
Zhang Chenze hesitated for a moment, then said, "Qi Xia, I trust you, but this game has too many variables. In this room, you can't communicate with anyone else, and you can't discuss strategies. Even if I trust you, it doesn't mean you'll definitely be able to save me."
"Well..." Qi Xia was momentarily speechless.
Seeing them talking, Ground Dog approached inopportunely, smiled, and said, "Even now, if you want to swap your roles, I wouldn't object."
Hearing this, Qi Xia was startled. He took out his own 'Receiver' card and looked at it.
Zhang Chenze had just barely escaped the fish tank, and now she was being shoved into a microwave. Wasn't this too cruel for her?
"Sister Zhang, technically speaking, I really should swap with you..." Qi Xia said, a little troubled. "Making you the hostage two times in a row is too much for you..."
"It's fine," Zhang Chenze said. "Qi Xia, from a perspective of maximizing benefits, you should keep that 'Receiver' card. Being in the middle ground of this game will make it easier for you to control the overall situation. Compared to others, I feel more at ease letting you open the lock."
"Don't you think this is too cruel for you?" Qi Xia asked.
"Cruel?" Zhang Chenze forced a faint smile. "As long as it's the right thing to do, it should be carried out unconditionally. Besides, my clothes are still wet, so consider this me going in for a quick dry."