Chapter 486: Probing
Song Qi bowed his head in Room "Two," waiting silently for a long time.
By his calculation, it should have taken only five rounds for everyone to reach Room "Sixteen"—by now, they should have already gotten out.
But this was already the sixth round.
It had been this long since the "Participant's" turn began... Were they still moving?
"Something's not right..." Song Qi turned around in the room and gazed toward the direction of Room "Sixteen" through the wall. "But what exactly happened?"
Song Qi lowered his head and ran a hand through his hair. Soon, he had a clue.
They'd reached the endpoint but the game hadn't ended... That meant they hadn't gotten out. Either a trap had tripped them up in one of the rooms midway, or the exit door couldn't be opened.
"Looks like the 'Door-Closing Disciple' really matters after all..."
Song Qi used both hands to sweep his slightly messy hair back, tied it into a ponytail with the elastic band on his wrist, revealing his broad forehead. Then he rolled up the sleeves of his leather jacket and loosened the zipper at his chest, adopting a fully combat-ready posture.
He didn't know exactly what was happening, but he felt the time to fight Earth Rabbit was not far off.
"Take as long as you need. Explore as long as you want... Leave the rest to me."
"The 'Participant' turn has ended. Please begin the 'Zodiac' turn."
Two seconds later, the door in front of Song Qi opened. Earth Rabbit stood on the other side, a cold smirk on his face. The two stood facing each other, rooted in place.
"Still don't get it?" Earth Rabbit asked. "As long as you keep me locked in here, this game can never end."
"Is that so?" Song Qi nodded, then bent down to pick up a small stone from the ground. "I have no idea what's happened to them. All I know is I follow the leader's orders. If he tells me to close the door, I close it. If he tells me to open it, I open it. And if he tells me to fight you, then I'll fight you."
As he spoke, Song Qi rubbed the small stone between his thumb and fingers.
"Stubborn," Earth Rabbit laughed. "Now do you see how ridiculous your 'Door-Closing Disciple' plan is? You actually thought you could beat me in my 'Peng Lai' game with such a cheap trick... Even if someone does manage to escape in the end, your team will take heavy losses. That's the rabbit's 'Escape Game.'"
"We'll take heavy losses... And what about you?"
"What?"
Song Qi curled the corner of his mouth and tossed the small stone in his hand upward through the doorway, lightly flicking it.
Seeing the man throw the stone with such confidence, Earth Rabbit naturally knew something was up. He quickly took a big step back and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
What was going to happen next?
An attack-type "Echo"?
Fire? Storm? Or weightlessness?
The tiny stone slowly fell to the ground, bounced a couple of times, and lay there quietly. Nothing happened.
"Sorry," Song Qi shook his head. "Just wanted to flirt with you a little. Your reaction was way too dramatic."
"You..." Earth Rabbit's brow slowly furrowed. "You were bluffing me?"
"Consider it a warning," Song Qi said with a cold smile. "But I'm curious... Why did you suddenly jump back a whole step?"
"I—"
"Even though you seem very cautious, I feel like you showed a weakness." Song Qi walked to the side and picked up another small stone. "What are you afraid of? Is it because I said earlier that I'd 'take off one of your arms' that you're being so careful?"
Only then did Earth Rabbit realize that the team in front of him was no ordinary bunch. He had assumed the two people left behind to "close the door" were dead weight in the group, but it turned out that one was fearless and the other was sharp.
"But that was something we discussed quietly... How did you know?" Song Qi pressed on relentlessly. "You wouldn't have cheated, would you?"
"At this point... there's no need to keep up the act anymore." Earth Rabbit's ear twitched as he spoke to Song Qi. "Do you know how many times better a rabbit's hearing is than a human's? There's no need to mention being one room apart—even in that Room 'Sixteen' of yours, as long as they open their mouths, their every move is within my grasp."
"Oh...?" Hearing this, Song Qi frowned slightly. He had considered that Earth Rabbit might eavesdrop, but he never imagined the rabbit's hearing range was so vast.
And this was no longer eavesdropping—this was blatant listening.
"You thought you were so clever, coming up with that ridiculous tactic, and still believed you could escape my slaughter... How laughable..." Earth Rabbit saw Song Qi on high alert, so he reached out and unbuttoned his own suit cuffs. "It won't be long before you let me out yourselves, and then this slaughter will truly begin."
"Good." Song Qi nodded. "When that time comes, I hope you'll show me no mercy. Let me see just how far such a powerful 'Zodiac' can go."
Despite his tough words, Song Qi's heart was full of unease.
Earth Rabbit's hearing was terrifying. Everything the team discussed would be known to him. That meant strategy was useless here. The only path left for them was a head-on confrontation with the "Zodiac."
Earth Rabbit's turn ended. Song Qi once again closed the door and locked it.
The following rounds were no different from the ones before. Every "Participant" turn took an excruciatingly long time, and Song Qi grew worried about what tactics they were debating.
But Earth Rabbit didn't open the door again—he must have gone over to Jiang Shi's side.
About half an hour later, everyone in the building heard a series of distant "bell sounds." It seemed the other two teams were also in the thick of their games, and quite a few "Echoers" had begun awakening.
Four rounds later, the sound of a door opening came from Song Qi's room. He initially thought it was Earth Rabbit opening his door, but to his surprise, it was the door on his left side that swung open.
"Eh...?"
All of his teammates were now standing in Room "Six" to Song Qi's left. Chen Junnan had opened his own door, while Cui Shisi had opened Jiang Shi's door.
"Whoa!!" Chen Junnan raised his eyebrows dramatically when he saw Song Qi. "If it isn't little Song! What a coincidence! Playing the game here?"
"You..." Song Qi frowned and slowly raised a finger to his lips, then winked at the group. "What are you all doing here?"
"What's with the winking?" Chen Junnan blinked back. "Come over here, little Song. We've got a new tactic to tell you."
Then he turned toward Jiang Shi's direction and added, "Kid, you move closer too. I've got new orders to hand out."