Chapter 429: Qi Xia's Impertinence
“Oh...?” Qi Xia slowly curled the corner of his mouth. “If that’s your answer, then your collar... might need to be replaced.”
“You...!” The groundhog widened his pure black eyes once again, the whiskers on his face trembling nonstop.
“I saw it,” Qi Xia said. “I saw the 'path' to victory in this game.”
The groundhog was left speechless by those few words from Qi Xia.
“So what if you saw it...?”
“I want to ask you instead—what’s the purpose of all this?” Qi Xia reached out and fiddled with the groundhog’s collar, continuing in a low voice. “Is someone threatening you? Did you have to put on this collar yourself just to get fresh fruit as a bargaining chip?”
“I... don’t understand.” The groundhog swallowed slightly and took another two steps back. “Wait here. The game will begin in ten minutes. I’ll start my movements early and initiate the first night.”
He turned around dejectedly, closing the door behind them, but before leaving, he shot Qi Xia one last strange glance.
Once the door was fully shut, Qi Xia walked over to a chair, sat down without a second word, his mind already forming a plan.
None of the “Zodiacs” would directly agree to such a request, but their expressions could reveal plenty of information.
The four people beside him, seeing how calm he was, clearly didn’t understand.
“Hey, leader,” Luo Shiyi called out. “Time for you to shine.”
“Shine?” Qi Xia raised an eyebrow in return. “Is there any need to shine in such a simple game? Let’s all just play it by ear.”
“Play it by ear...?” Luo Shiyi felt a bit annoyed after hearing that. “If we’re all just playing it by ear, then what’s the point of you leading us?”
“Qian Wu said I need to get to know you all, and vice versa. Isn’t this a perfect opportunity?” Qi Xia looked up and asked. “The game’s about to start. Why don’t you tell me what strategy you plan to use next?”
Upon hearing this, Qiu Shiliu directly reached out and tugged on Luo Shiyi. “Damn it, he wants us to dish everything out while he sits back. Ignore him—we’ll figure it out ourselves!”
“Hehe! Count me in!” Wang Ba wiggled his chubby body over to Qiu Shiliu, who moved away with an impatient expression.
Though they said “figure it out,” the four of them just stared blankly at each other, waiting for someone else to speak first.
“Um... how about Sister Six gives us a plan...” Luo Shiyi said. “You’re the eldest here. Even if what you say is wrong... we’ll just take it, dammit.”
“Tsk, what do you mean?!” Zhou Liu immediately flared up. “I haven’t even said a damn word yet—how is it already wrong?”
“Sigh!” Luo Shiyi shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. It’s just that none of us have participated in 'games' for years, let alone an 'Earth-level' one. We only know what Earth-level is like now from hearsay. Losing wouldn’t be strange.”
“Tsk!! How are we already losing?!” Zhou Liu swung her iron rod and pointed it at Wang Ba, saying to the others, “Aren’t we still got this damn turtle?”
“Hey?!” Wang Ba slowly opened his eyes upon hearing this, but they were so small that even after struggling to open them, they were barely visible. “What does that have to do with me? What difference does having me make?”
“Tsk, you’re smart!” Zhou Liu turned and shouted at him. “Aren’t you highly educated? Hurry up and think of a plan!”
Luo Shiyi nodded as well. “Yeah! Damn turtle, time for you to step up!”
Wang Ba looked at Luo Shiyi after hearing that. “Why are you calling me 'damn turtle' too? Shouldn’t you call me 'Brother Ba'?”
“I really can’t bring myself to say that.” Luo Shiyi shook his head. “Back in the day, someone like you would have been beaten to death by me.”
Hearing this, Wang Ba rubbed his chin and said, “Ah, such great disrespect. But having me come up with a plan isn’t impossible... If my plan is reliable, I want Sister Six to give me a kiss.”
He then extended his chubby finger and pointed at his cheek. “Right here is fine.”
Zhou Liu’s face twisted into a cold sneer at this. “Tsk, fine. Come here right now.”
“You want to kiss me now?!”
“Tsk, I’ll blow a hole in your face right now, so even drinking water will leak out.”
Wang Ba put on an exaggeratedly terrified expression. “Sister Six! I’m so adorable! How can you hit me?!”
“How many times have I freaking hit you?!” Zhou Liu grabbed her rod and started walking toward him. “Tsk, knowing I’m stuck on a team with you, I’m just inexplicably furious.”
“No, no, no!” Wang Ba seemed to genuinely cave. “I have a plan. I really do have a plan.”
Qiu Shiliu frowned tightly from the side and said, “Then hurry up and say it! Sister Six is already angry...”
“Hehe, it’s simple. Each round, we only send out one 'mouse' to look for food, and each time we bring back three seeds. That way, it’s very safe.”
Zhou Liu paused for a moment. “That doesn’t seem right... There are five of us, and we’re only sending one person out each time?”
“Yes, Sister Six.” Wang Ba nodded. “If all five of us go into different rooms, the probability of losing one teammate is one hundred percent. But if we only send one person each time, his chance of failure is one in five—that’s twenty percent.”
Upon hearing this, Qi Xia shook his head helplessly but still didn’t speak.
“That’s still not right,” Zhou Liu said. “There’s also the 'rat trap'... That means this person’s chance of being caught is at least two in five.”
“Two in five is only forty percent! And even if he gets caught, it’s not a problem.” Wang Ba shook his head. “This is the most stable and safest method. Once we find out on the second day that our teammate didn’t come back, we’ll know he got caught. Then we’ll still send out only one 'mouse' to 'search,' and add one more person to 'rescue.' That way we guarantee our teammate gets saved every time.”
Everyone felt that Wang Ba’s plan seemed feasible, but Zhou Lu sensed there was a slight flaw somewhere.
She lowered her head and thought for a while, but couldn’t come up with anything. So she turned to Qi Xia and asked, “Hey, what do you think?”
Qi Xia nodded upon hearing this and said, “Before I give my opinion, I want to confirm something. Is this man called Wang Ba the smartest among you?”
“What’s your point?” Qiu Shiliu said. “Do we look like educated people to you?”
“Good, very good.” Qi Xia nodded, then looked at Wang Ba and said, “I don’t quite understand. Are you planning to use such a lousy plan to lead your teammates to their deaths?”
“To their deaths...?” Wang Ba frowned and said, “What are you talking about? How could I let such a beautiful Sister Six die?”
“How pathetic. Your precious Sister Six trusts you so much, keeps asking to hear your plan...” Qi Xia sighed helplessly. “But as soon as you open your mouth, you reveal your stupidity. Judging by your build, you’re not good at fighting either. And now I find you’re not even smart... It might be a bit impertinent of me, but I really want to ask you—what’s the point of you staying in 'Cat'?”
“You!!” This time Wang Ba was truly enraged. He pointed his fat finger at Qi Xia and shouted, “Are you trying to sow discord here?!”