Chapter 102: The Cunning Snake
As expected, the third game also passed without incident. Qi Xia led the group as they hung from the ropes, quietly waiting for the human-snake to arrive.
"Long time no see, everyone." The human-snake finally appeared and began to converse with them. "I am the human-snake."
"Snake your mother!" Qiao Jiajin roared. "First the sheep, then the dog, and now a snake? Are you sure you want me to kill you right now?"
"Please, don't get agitated." The human-snake's voice was calm and steady. He looked up at the group and then said, "You are currently undergoing the final trial. Beside me is a lever. If I pull it, you will descend slowly, and no one will be hurt."
"Then will you pull it?" Xiao Ran asked.
"I..." The human-snake smiled faintly. "Let's play a game. Whether you survive or not is entirely up to you."
After hearing this, Qi Xia turned to look at the others and said, "No one say anything for now. Leave it to me."
The human-snake cast an interested glance at Qi Xia in midair, stepped forward, and said, "I have an interesting question. The first person who can give the correct answer within three tries, I will pull the lever and let you all down."
"An... interesting question?" Qi Xia paused slightly, feeling that the human-snake's words seemed different from before.
"Listen carefully, everyone. Suppose you are seriously ill and stranded on a deserted island. You have two kinds of medicine that look exactly alike, ten pills of each. You know that the only way to survive is to take one pill of each type every day. But you accidentally mixed them up and can no longer tell them apart. Assuming rescue will arrive in ten days, how can you take the medicine to survive these ten days?"
Qi Xia frowned, sensing something off.
The games designed by the human-sheep and human-dog had been exactly the same as the last time, but the human-snake had suddenly changed the question.
"Um... are the pills different in color?" Xiao Ran asked.
The human-snake gave her a cold look and said, "Two attempts left."
"Hey! Pretty lady?!" Qiao Jiajin shouted. "We only have three tries total—don't mess this up!"
"I..."
Xiao Ran lowered her head in distress, her expression very sad.
At that moment, Qi Xia understood her a little better. She wasn't just self-righteous; she also refused to listen to advice.
"Qi Xia... what's going on?" Officer Li looked at him and asked quietly. "Why did the question change?"
"I don't know." Qi Xia shook his head. "I already felt there was something strange about this human-snake last time..."
"Strange how?" Officer Li asked.
"Last time, we won, but the human-snake didn't die." Qi Xia hit the nail on the head. "The human-sheep died after losing to us, but the human-snake didn't. That's clearly contradictory."
"Now that you mention it... you're right..." Officer Li shook his head, knowing this wasn't the time to dwell on it, and changed the subject. "Do you have the answer now?"
"Yes."
This question was the same as "Truth or Lie"—a common logic problem.
Qi Xia suspected that the "snake" type of game might be "logic-based" or "intelligence-based," which fit the cunning nature of snakes.
Seeing that everyone was staring at Qi Xia, the human-snake also turned his gaze toward him and asked, "Do you know the solution?"
"Yes." Qi Xia nodded. "The answer is to crush all the pills into powder, mix them thoroughly, then divide the mixture as evenly as possible into ten portions, taking one portion every day."
"Oh?!" The human-snake's eyes lit up with excitement. He discreetly pulled a small notebook from his bosom, glanced at it, and muttered, "So that's it?"
His voice was so low that it was barely audible unless you listened closely.
Qi Xia felt that the human-snake's behavior was very strange, as if even he himself didn't know the answer.
A few seconds later, the human-snake suddenly burst into loud laughter: "Hahahahaha! You really are interesting!"
"Interesting?"
Qi Xia's eyes turned cold. He suddenly remembered that in the last game, when he had solved the "Truth or Lie" puzzle, the human-snake had also laughed heartily and said the same thing.
"Wait here. I'll lower you down now."
The human-snake pulled the lever, and the group slowly descended to the ground.
"Everyone, congratulations on surviving the 'interview.' Push open this door, and a new world awaits you." The snake-headed man clasped his hands behind his back and stood beside the wooden door.
"You bastard..."
Qiao Jiajin strode over menacingly, as if he wanted to vent all his pent-up anger from the human-sheep and human-dog onto the human-snake.
The human-snake turned around coldly, staring at the aggressive Qiao Jiajin without moving.
"Are you all psychopaths?!" Qiao Jiajin shouted, grabbing the human-snake by the collar. "Wearing these weird masks, trying to kill us again and again—now I've finally got hold of you!"
The human-snake sneered and said in a low voice, "While you're still alive, I suggest you let go now."
"What did you say?!"
Qiao Jiajin raised his fist, ready to smash it into the snake-headed man's face, but Officer Li grabbed his arm.
"Qiao Jiajin, forget it." Officer Li said. "These people are insane. Don't bother with them."
No one said another word to the human-snake. Qiao Jiajin reluctantly withdrew his hand, and under Officer Li's guidance, everyone left the room.
Qi Xia was the last in line. Just as he was about to step out, the human-snake suddenly spoke.
"Qi Xia, I look forward to playing with you again next time."
Qi Xia's whole body stiffened. He froze in place.
He turned around to look at the human-snake and asked through gritted teeth, "You remember everything too, don't you?"
"Hehehehe..." The human-snake shook his rotting snake head as he slowly approached Qi Xia. "Why wouldn't I remember? Everything here is so wonderful. In the days to come, we'll meet regularly like old friends, and you'll answer all sorts of my questions."
Hearing this, Qi Xia felt a deep sense of despair.
Yes.
In the days ahead, he would meet the human-snake regularly.
"The Land of the End" would be annihilated on the tenth day, and Qi Xia would die along with it.
But after dying here, he would temporarily return to the real world, wait a day for the massive earthquake, and then die again in reality.
Whether in "The Land of the End" or the real world, Qi Xia seemed trapped in a bizarre cycle with no escape.
His life was at most one day, at most ten days.
As long as this bizarre place existed, he would never return to his own life.
These madmen had not only trapped Qi Xia here forever but also erased Yu Nian'an from his life.
"Human-snake, you will regret messing with me like this." Qi Xia said coldly.
"Regret?"
Qi Xia ignored him, walked out the door, and caught up with the group.
As soon as he left, the familiar heavy smell hit him, making him feel nauseous.