Chapter 362: The Eight Calamities
But Su Shan's "lot" this time was even stranger than before. It still had five characters.
"Ten thousand people aid the disaster relief."
Below this "lot" was a left-pointing arrow.
"Disaster relief...?" Su Shan looked at this "lot," feeling the same as with the two "lots" she already had. She could understand the characters written on the "lot," but she didn't grasp their meaning.
If she wished for "disaster relief"... what would happen?
"Wait..." Su Shan suddenly thought of something. "'Disaster relief'... doesn't that mean 'providing aid for calamities and rescuing victims'?"
Wouldn't that be able to counter the "calamity"?
She knew this "lot" was most likely a "life-saving charm." Once the Earth Dog targeted her with calamity, the content written on this "lot" might very well save her life.
Su Shan set "Ten thousand people aid the disaster relief" aside, then picked up the other two "lots" to examine them.
"Gentle drizzle falls endlessly" and "No idle land anywhere beneath heaven."
One had a right-pointing arrow, the other a left-pointing arrow.
At this point, one round had ended, leaving only seven rounds in the game. If she couldn't extinguish all three lanterns within seven rounds, the game would end, and Qin Dingdong would have died in vain.
Speaking of Qin Dingdong... Su Shan turned her head to look at her again. The fine sand had already risen past her thighs. It would probably completely bury her within a few minutes.
Her face was already covered with sand and dust, and she wore a look of utter despair. Her mouth kept moving, as if she was saying a two-character word, but with the sand and dust flying inside the glass room, Su Shan couldn't make it out clearly.
"I'm sorry..." Su Shan said. "I'm not confident I can save you."
She picked up the "No idle land anywhere beneath heaven" lot, looked at it, and placed it over the hole. Since "Firecrackers bid farewell to the old year" had already been tried, it was time to test "No idle land anywhere beneath heaven."
But a moment later, Su Shan's hand froze in midair.
Before the game started, Qin Dingdong had spoken two words of lip language that now surfaced before Su Shan's eyes.
At first, Su Shan hadn't paid attention, but thinking about it now, the two-character word Qin Dingdong kept saying seemed to be the same as what she had said before the game began.
She furrowed her brows, squinting through the sand to carefully observe the shape of Qin Dingdong's mouth.
If she wasn't mistaken, those two characters were "cooperation."
"Cooperation?" Su Shan was stunned, then lowered her head to think for a moment. "Does this mean this game requires cooperation?"
But the four people were each in their own rooms. How could they cooperate?
A few seconds later, Su Shan remembered the strong wind in Lin Qin's room.
"Wait... could these 'lots'..." She looked at the several "lots" in her hand, each with an arrow drawn on it. "Could it be that..."
These arrows indicate the "direction of effect"?
A left-pointing arrow meant the content of the "lot" would take effect in the room to the left, and a right-pointing arrow meant it would take effect in the room to the right.
"This is 'cooperation'..."
Su Shan seemed to grasp some elusive clue. The "Gentle drizzle falls endlessly" in her hand had a right-pointing arrow, meaning if this lot was cast, it would immediately take effect in Qin Dingdong's room on the right.
But there were really too few "lots." Each person had at most three.
The question now was... was Qin Dingdong's "life" more important, or was this "lot" in her hand more important?
Su Shan pondered for a few seconds, feeling her mind was a bit chaotic.
How exactly could she be like Qi Xia, decisively betting on the lives of herself and her teammates, and then win the game?
"My thinking isn't comprehensive enough..." Su Shan slowly closed her eyes, beginning to reconstruct the original state of this entire game.
Assuming her understanding of the "lots" was correct, what other rules in this game had she not yet figured out?
What else seemed like some kind of "rule" that she hadn't guessed?
Looking at it this way... there was indeed an obvious "rule" she hadn't understood.
That was the color of each person's glass room.
According to the order of play, the four rooms were pink, green, orange, and blue.
The "Nian Beast" was bright red.
If she used the color of the "Nian Beast's" room to deduce the meaning of the other rooms, then "bright red" most likely represented "firecrackers."
Then what did the "pink" of her own room represent?
Su Shan's eyes were half-closed as she rapidly conducted a brainstorming session in her mind.
If "pink" was mentioned, the first thing that came to her mind was "flower."
"Flower...?" Su Shan's lips moved slightly. "Blooming...? So that's it...?"
Su Shan suddenly opened her eyes wide and inserted "Gentle drizzle falls endlessly" into the hole on the table.
The next second, the sand in Qin Dingdong's room stopped, and fine droplets of water actually began to fall from above.
Before she could understand what was happening, the iron mesh floor beneath her also changed. The double-layered floor rotated slightly, revealing many holes in an instant. These holes allowed the sand and dust in the room to start falling through the drizzle.
Qin Dingdong slowly lifted her head, looking at these raindrop-like water beads, her expression even more puzzled.
After a moment of thought, she cupped a small amount of water to wipe the sand and dust from her face, then turned to look at Su Shan.
Su Shan nodded at her. Qin Dingdong stared blankly for a few seconds before showing a grateful look.
"So it really works..." The corners of Su Shan's mouth slowly rose. "Indeed, we need to view this game from a broader perspective... After all, the 'sandstorm' encountered in 'winter' can only be resolved by the 'gentle drizzle' of 'spring.'"
The four colors represented the "four seasons."
Pink was "spring," green was "summer," orange was "autumn," and blue was "winter."
Just like the name of this game, "Year of Calamity," it was a game that lasted for "eight years." Each of those eight years would encounter a "calamity."
And the only way to break through was for the four seasons to take care of each other. After safely passing through spring, summer, autumn, and winter, they would have ample food and clothing to greet the "Nian Beast."
Su Shan looked down at the "No idle land anywhere beneath heaven" in her hand, already having a general understanding of the meaning of this lot.
Because she was "spring," she should use this lot in her own phase. Since the arrow on this "lot" pointed left, it would take effect in Zhang Chenze's room, which was "summer."
Once spring planted the seeds, summer would start working, autumn would reap the harvest, and thus winter could resist the "Nian Beast."
In other words, although there were four people present, the only one who could actually damage the "Nian Beast" was "winter."
After all, if the year couldn't accumulate grain, how would winter survive?
As long as the other three seasons passed smoothly, "winter" would surely find a way to make a move.
Su Shan nodded, feeling that although her thoughts were fanciful, they were very close to the truth. After all, as "spring," when she played the "firecracker," the Nian Beast had no reaction, which was enough to show that she had "used it at the wrong time."
But Su Shan also understood that all this was based on the assumption that the entire year had no "calamities."
The "Earth Dog" now was the one who could bring "calamities." He would never let everyone pass each year safely.
Coupled with the limitation of the "rules," each person could only wish for one "lot" per round, and the "lots" in Su Shan's hand were of two types. One could be considered "sowing," and the other was "saving people."
Unfortunately, if she "saved people," she couldn't "sow"; if she "sowed," she couldn't "save people."
So at the critical moment... should she give up on a teammate?
Based on the current situation, "summer" could be given up.
As long as "spring" could sow and "autumn" could reap, then theoretically, this year could "get through winter."
Su Shan turned her head to look at Zhang Chenze on her left, who represented "summer." Many thoughts crossed her mind.
At this moment, the Earth Dog's broadcast slowly sounded—
"The first person has finished 'wishing.' Now, the second person will 'draw lots.'"