Chapter 439: Dead End?
Qi Xia advanced through the pitch-black tunnel for a while, discovering it was a staircase leading downward, but its construction was extremely simple.
The air in this place carried a strange odor, and the cuts of the stairs were very neat, as if no one had ever set foot here since it was built.
"What a pity..." Qi Xia murmured, touching the wall beside him, a look of regret on his face. "You cleverly integrated the principles of the Five Elements into your own game, yet no one could see it. Not even you could play without putting on a collar."
After passing through a left turn, the stairs began to incline upward again. Qi Xia felt along the wall to confirm his direction, and before long, he spotted a button glowing faintly green on the wall in the distance.
He decisively reached out and pressed the button. The wall in front of him trembled slightly, then slowly rose.
Standing right in front of him was Qiu Shiliu.
"Rat House...?" Qi Xia curled his lips into a slight smile. "Well, that certainly made the game a whole lot easier."
Qiu Shiliu turned back in shock, staring at Qi Xia as he walked out of the wall holding four fruits, utterly at a loss for words.
"You... how did you..."
Qi Xia didn't reply. He simply placed all four fruits on the table, then opened the door and walked out again.
Time was tight now. Even though Qi Xia had found the path to victory, each night only lasted ten minutes.
"I need to hurry..."
...
The Rat Man sat quietly in the "Cat House" for a while, then reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a slightly faded photograph.
The photo showed a young man and a young woman together. The girl was pursing her lips and crossing her eyes, looking particularly lively, while the boy stood beside her with a wry smile, his gaze full of affection.
The Rat Man gently caressed the photo, then carefully placed it on the floor far away from himself, as if terrified that the explosion of his collar would destroy it.
Having his head blown off wasn't a big deal, but this photo could not be lost.
"I'm sorry," the Rat Man said in a low voice, his voice choking up within seconds. "I've tried every way I could think of, but there's no path to survival. I've exhausted all possible ideas... but I really can't get out... I don't even have a shred of hope left."
For the last time, the Rat Man looked at the lively, adorable girl in the photo with his monstrous eyes. He reached out and touched her face in the picture, then touched his own rat head, covered in short fur, and couldn't help but let out a bitter smile.
Yes. He could never go back.
Why had he naively believed that turning into a giant brown-furred rat was a step closer to going back?
Before, he was always ten days away from escaping this place. But now, he wasn't even human anymore.
The most ridiculous thing about humans is that they never give up, always clinging to hope.
*Click.*
The door to the "Cat House" opened. The Rat Man slowly stood up, straightened the fur on his rat head, and once again put on a despairing smile as he walked into the hallway.
All five doors before him were locked.
He opened them one by one from the outside. Inside, there was neither a single "Rat" nor any fruit.
All that lay before him were five empty rooms.
That leading man had deciphered this game far too quickly. Over the course of six rounds total, he used one round to verify his suspicions, fully grasped the rules in the second, and by the third round, he had already moved all the fruits back to the "Rat House." From now on, the "Cat" would find neither fruit nor a single rat.
The "Cat" would starve to death.
"Why is it..." the Rat Man muttered, a bitter smile spreading across his face. "Everyone wants me dead... yet I keep desperately trying to live. Am I being too stubborn?"
He dragged his heavy steps forward, mechanically opening each door and then closing it again.
"This damned game should have ended long ago," he whispered. "A place that requires killing others to escape... no one should ever escape from it at all."
The Rat Man crossed the hallway, feeling the collar around his neck tighten once more, this time so much that he could barely breathe.
Finally, he stopped in front of the "Rat House" door.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
After a moment, a voice came from inside the door.
"Speak."
Hearing this, the Rat Man slowly lifted his head and said, "It's over. I'm leaving."
"Oh?" Qi Xia's voice was light. "Not going to play a little longer?"
"No point," the Rat Man shook his head. "This is the best ending I can get."
"Then do you have anything you want to say?" Qi Xia asked again.
"I know it's not appropriate to say this, but there's something I want to ask of you," the Rat Man said.
Inside the door, Qi Xia looked back at his four teammates, all standing neatly behind him, then said to the Rat Man, "If you're asking for a favor, shouldn't you at least call me 'Leader'?"
"No need," the Rat Man said. "After this round ends, my collar will blow my head off. There's a photo in my 'Cat House'—I left it there because I was afraid the explosion would destroy it. Could you... after I'm dead, put that photo back in my pocket?"
When Qi Xia gave no response, the Rat Man added, "I just want to die with it. That way, even if someone finds my bones... at least they'll know who I was."
"I refuse," Qi Xia said. "That's your own business. No need to trouble us."
Hearing this, the Rat Man let out a faint sigh. "You seem like a master of deception, but at a moment like this, you can't even be bothered to lie to me?"
"There's no need for me to say nice things to fool you here," Qi Xia replied. "I don't know you, and I don't know how important that photo is. Maybe after you're dead, I'll just tear it up. Out of sight, out of mind."
"You..." The Rat Man laughed bitterly again. "Is it necessary? Since we don't even know each other, why must you drive me into a corner like this?"
Only then did Qi Xia's expression turn serious. Through the door panel, he said, "To be honest, you were going to die sooner or later in this game anyway. You could never become the 'Heaven.'"
"Is that so..." The Rat Man turned around expressionlessly, leaning against the door panel. "Is there a way out if I join you?"
"You know what?" Qi Xia asked. "When you realize that every road leads to death, you must choose, without hesitation, to break through the wall."
"I don't think that's right," the Rat Man replied. "Even if I don't break through the wall, someone else will. The best thing for me is to follow the one who breaks it. It saves effort and worry, and it guarantees my safety."
"But you're already in extreme danger," Qi Xia said with a cold laugh. "If I put a gun to your head, are you still not going to break through the wall?"