Chapter 363: Earthquake
Su Shan sidestepped, moving closer to the edge of the glass room, and reached out to tap on her own wall.
Even though she made no sound, Zhang Chenze noticed her movement and turned to look at her before the "draw" began.
Su Shan hesitated for a moment, then pointed at her own glass house, then at Zhang Chenze’s glass house. She held up four fingers and said twice, “Seasons.”
In an environment where communication was impossible, this was the best she could manage.
Fortunately, she knew that Zhang Chenze, being a lawyer with a very rigorous mind, would likely understand what she was trying to convey.
Zhang Chenze lightly scratched her hair, mouthing Su Shan’s words as she tried to piece them together.
“Four…?” She frowned, muttering to herself, “Four what?”
At that moment, Zhang Chenze felt a bit unsettled. As a “newcomer,” she still didn’t fully understand what the “Dog” game represented. From her perspective, Su Shan might be trying to deceive her.
“But ‘four’… what does it mean?” She glanced at her own green glass house, then muttered a few possibilities related to “four.” Soon, she arrived at an answer: “Four Seasons…?”
She then looked at the colors of the remaining players’ rooms. Though the idea seemed bold, it actually made some sense.
Everyone played a season, and everything they did could only correspond to the season they represented.
Zhang Chenze thought for a moment and then lowered her head to look at the two lots in her hand. One read, “Torrential rain pours like a deluge,” and the other, “Scorching sun caresses the earth.” These indeed seemed like events that could only happen in “Summer.”
“So I’m ‘Summer’…” Although she had figured out the rules, Zhang Chenze still felt confused.
If she was “Summer,” that meant she would never encounter the “Year Beast” and couldn’t harm it either. So what was she supposed to do next?
Just wait for others to make their moves? Or…
Was she supposed to summon “torrential rain” and “scorching sun”?
Before she could figure it out, a new lot rose from the table.
A “Blank Lot.”
This was a lot with no arrow, and the words on it carried no hint or instruction—just the words “Blank Lot” written plain and simple.
Zhang Chenze knew this lot had no effect, just like the “Try Again” in a lottery draw—ordinary and useless. She had already played a “Blank Lot” in the previous round.
“If every ‘Season’ and every lot drawn by the ‘Year Beast’ takes effect, that means all lots have their own uses… So I definitely can’t play them recklessly.”
Zhang Chenze decided to stick to her usual approach: never make a judgment without sufficient information.
After all, she had seen the scenes inside Lin Qin’s and Qin Dingdong’s rooms. Thinking it through, she realized that Lin Qin’s strong wind came from Qin Dingdong, Qin Dingdong’s “sandstorm” came from Di Gou, and the lot that could dispel Di Gou’s “sandstorm” could only come from Su Shan now.
That meant every lot had its own purpose and could only act on other people’s rooms.
If she played “Torrential rain” or “Scorching sun” now, it might make it impossible to stop other disasters later on.
So she decisively took out the “Blank Lot” and inserted it into the hole on the table.
Then, following Su Shan’s example, she conveyed the concept of “The Four Seasons” to Lin Qin, who was “Autumn.”
Lin Qin quickly understood Zhang Chenze’s meaning, but she was equally helpless.
She looked at the three lots in her hand—all of them were “Blank Lots.”
“What exactly is the point of this game…”
Since Lin Qin’s previous lot had also been a “Blank Lot,” it had no effect on any room.
Although using a “Blank Lot” was a good thing, from her perspective, she could no longer understand the game at all.
Having drawn “Blank Lots” four rounds in a row, she was forced to consider that everyone could only draw “Blank Lots.”
If that were really the case, how could anyone win this game? How could they harm the “Year Beast”?
Could there be a difference between different “Blank Lots”?
“What are you all even playing…?” Lin Qin looked at the three lots in her hand, her expression growing more confused. “If everyone only gets these kinds of lots, what difference does it make whether we’re the ‘Four Seasons’…?”
Su Shan keenly observed Lin Qin’s expression. She hadn’t expected that even in the second round, Lin Qin still looked bewildered. Hadn’t she understood the meaning of “The Four Seasons” yet?
Lin Qin was silent for a long time, then could only take out a “Blank Lot” and insert it into the hole. Again, nothing happened.
Just as it was about to be Qin Dingdong’s turn, Di Gou’s broadcast sounded.
“Everyone be careful. The calamity this round is called ‘Earthquake.’”
Di Gou aimed the “Calamity Lot” at Lin Qin.
“Earthquake…?”
Su Shan was slightly startled. What intrigued her wasn’t the word “earthquake,” but how such a small glass room could simulate an “earthquake.”
All eyes focused on Lin Qin. Statistically speaking, the death rate from an “earthquake” was much higher than from a “sandstorm.” Concern showed on everyone’s faces.
After all, Lin Qin was “Autumn.”
If “Autumn” died, all the plans for the year would be affected.
Under the tense gaze of everyone, Lin Qin noticed that the iron mesh beneath her feet was slowly rising like an elevator. It bypassed the table in the room and lifted her toward the ceiling.
Lin Qin felt her palms sweat. She looked up and saw she was getting closer and closer to the ceiling. If the iron mesh didn’t stop, she would likely be crushed into a pancake.
Among all the ways she had experienced death, this was probably the most painful.
To protect herself, Lin Qin quickly crouched down, praying that the iron mesh would stop rising.
Just as the top of her head touched the ceiling, the rising mesh finally stopped. Before Lin Qin could breathe a sigh of relief, the mesh plummeted at a speed too fast for the eye to follow, directly back to its original position.
Because she was crouching on the mesh, she lost her balance the moment it dropped and fell hard from a height of two or three meters onto the metal surface, scraping her knee.
“Ugh!”
She let out a muffled groan. Her legs felt numb, and she couldn’t stand up.
“This… is the earthquake?”
Lin Qin quickly thought of countermeasures. She knew she couldn’t let her guard down. Judging by what just happened, the “calamity” wouldn’t stop until it was resolved.
The only person who could save her now… should be Qin Dingdong.
Lin Qin immediately looked up toward Qin Dingdong, but before their eyes could meet, the iron mesh under her feet rose again. She desperately grabbed the mesh, hoping to hold on when it dropped again.
But she underestimated the speed of its descent.
When the mesh reached its highest point, it plummeted again. Because it was too fast, Lin Qin’s grip on the mesh was torn away instantly, breaking the nail on her index finger. A second later, she crashed heavily onto the iron plate again.
This time, she didn’t know where she landed. She just writhed on the ground in agony, unable to get up for a long time.