# Chapter 436: Begging for Mercy
"Ah?!" Zhou Liu was taken aback. "Are y-you sure your speculation is reliable?"
"I only make the worst-case assumptions," Qi Xia said. "But my assumptions are usually accurate."
"Tsk, so according to what you're saying, Wang Ba is beyond saving? What do we do next...?" Zhou Liu asked with a frown.
"I need to contact Luo Shiyi," Qi Xia said. "We need to know the movements of the 'Cat'."
Zhou Liu quickly nodded and agreed, calling out to Luo Shiyi in her mind. She felt like she might have been overusing her Sound Transmission ability, and now she was feeling somewhat dizzy.
Qi Xia had no visibility inside the 'Rat House', so he could only wait silently. Meanwhile, Qiu Shiliu, who was also in the room, didn't dare to interrupt and stood there without a word.
After dozens of seconds, Zhou Liu's somewhat anxious voice came through: "Qi Xia! Tsk, just as you said! The Earth Rat is now pacing between Gate 4 and Gate 5! Looks like he's about to make a choice, what do we do?!"
"Well..." Qi Xia narrowed his eyes slightly. After a second, he had an answer. "Do this — have Wang Ba actively speak up to expose his own position, then make a bet with the Earth Rat."
"Ac-actively expose?"
"Yes, do it."
Zhou Liu hesitated for a moment. "Alright, I understand."
Another few dozen seconds passed, and Zhou Liu's voice came through again: "Tsk, looks like the Earth Rat has been stopped, but Wang Ba's position is exposed too. The Earth Rat knows he's in Room 5 and is standing at the door now... Is this really going to work?"
"Sooner or later, the Earth Rat would figure it out anyway. It's better to take the initiative and expose it," Qi Xia said.
"Tsk, then what kind of bet is he supposed to make? Can it stop the Earth Rat?"
"Have Wang Ba tell the Earth Rat: 'If I can guess the correct number of fruits in the third room, will you let me off the hook? What do you say?'"
"Ah?" Zhou Liu was stunned. "Just that? Tsk, isn't that a bit too childish..."
"Convey it exactly as I said," Qi Xia commanded. "Don't change a single word."
Zhou Liu went silent on her end, apparently relaying the message to Wang Ba. This time it took longer — about a minute passed before Qi Xia heard Zhou Liu's voice again.
"Tsk... that Earth Rat really doesn't play by the rules..." Zhou Liu said. "This time we're in big trouble..."
"What did he say?" Qi Xia asked.
"Tsk, he said, 'Leader, you really know how to joke. If I let you off the hook just for that, how could I be an Earth Grade? How about we change the bet — you guess what kind of fruit is in the third room, and if you get it right, I won't catch you.'" Zhou Liu said with some worry. "We've never even been to the third room, so how are we supposed to..."
"Just as I expected," Qi Xia said. "That earlier bet was exactly a bait to lure the Earth Rat into raising the stakes and falling into my rhythm."
"Ah?!" Zhou Liu felt she had been startled by Qi Xia's words several times already. "I-I don't really understand... Tsk, you did that on purpose? But guessing something you've never even seen is just too..."
"Have Wang Ba agree to it," Qi Xia said. "I'll make the guess."
Zhou Liu went silent again, apparently having Wang Ba stabilize the Earth Rat.
"Alright..." Zhou Liu said nervously. "G-go ahead and guess. I'll tell him..."
Qi Xia stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then looked up seriously and said, "Papaya."
Zhou Liu felt like Qi Xia had completely lost his mind.
"Tsk... what the hell are you doing?" she asked urgently. "Are you guessing randomly, or do you have some basis? No matter how you look at it, the fruits that have appeared so far are all common fruits, right? But 'papaya'? Ordinary people rarely ever..."
"The answer is papaya," Qi Xia said. "The probability of being correct is over ninety percent. Have Wang Ba relay that to him."
Zhou Liu hesitated for a moment, then went silent again. Qi Xia found a chair and slowly sat down, waiting for the final outcome of this matter.
Before long, heavy footsteps sounded outside the 'Rat House'. Someone seemed to be walking over step by step.
Qi Xia rubbed his chin, then stood up and walked to the door to wait.
*Knock knock knock.*
A faint knock came from the door.
Qi Xia stepped forward, leaned close to the wooden door, and slowly uttered a single word: "Speak."
"Leader." The Earth Rat's voice came from the other side of the door. "That fat guy should never have been able to guess that answer, should he?"
"Hard to say," Qi Xia replied. "There are no useless people in my team."
"You sure know how to joke, Leader..." The Earth Rat let out a muffled, bitter laugh. "I admit I wasn't very respectful to you before. I'll apologize to you now."
"Oh?" The corner of Qi Xia's mouth turned up. "Then what do you want?"
"My place is a shabby mud hut. Continuing to show you such a crude game would probably be beneath you. Could you go find another temple to worship the Buddha?" the Earth Rat said. "What I mean is, in the next few rounds, I'll open all the doors and stop catching the 'rats'. Let's benefit each other and end this game together. Do you have any interest in cooperating?"
The Earth Rat's words directly stunned Qiu Shiliu, who was also in the room.
Although every word from this Zodiac was polite, his tone from the very beginning had carried contempt and mockery. How was it now as if he had completely changed?
Was he... begging for mercy?
After hearing this, Qi Xia scratched his head and said quietly through the door, "But I'm really sorry. In the plan I prepared, there is no option for 'smoothly surviving the game'. What you're saying makes things difficult for me."
The two of them, separated by the door, had equally complicated expressions in their eyes. It seemed that every single word they spoke was part of the game.
"Leader, that's where you're wrong," the Earth Rat said. "You're a magnanimous person — how can you hold a grudge against a lowly one like me? This is a bit too much of a bully, isn't it?"
"There's no need for such formalities," Qi Xia said. "Let me restate my position."
"Go ahead, go ahead."
"This game is really just too ridiculous for me," Qi Xia said. "This is the first time I've found a game where I can kill a Zodiac on the spot without having to 'gamble with my life'. You've exposed such a huge flaw yourself; you should have been prepared for this long ago."
"Yes, yes, yes. You're right."
"So I only have two options for you," Qi Xia said.
"May I ask what they are?"
"The first is to be blown to death by that huge collar around your neck."
"Ah... If I really were to die, Leader, you wouldn't just stand by and do nothing, would you?" the Earth Rat let out a dry laugh. "We've talked this long. There's a bit of a bond between us now. Can you really bear to watch me die? Isn't that right?"
Qi Xia didn't respond after hearing that, which sent a chill down the Earth Rat's spine.
"Leader, then what about the second option?"
"The second option is 'rebellion'," Qi Xia finally said. "Today you will survive, and then you'll die a spectacular death in the battle against the Celestial Dragon."
The Earth Rat stood outside the door, his hands already clenched into fists, but he still spoke with a smile on his face: "Leader... you're not really joking, are you? Are you saying that from the moment I met you, I was already doomed to live?"