Chapter 500: Epiphany
When Song Qi ended his conversation, the Ground Rabbit withdrew his head again.
He knew that the team before him was unfathomably deep, and perhaps the number of "Resonators" among them was greater than he had imagined.
Normally, "Resonators" tended to rely heavily on their own abilities when participating in games, which led to poor coordination with others and little use of strategy.
But this team was different.
Not only did they have a large number of "Resonators," but they were also constantly trying out various tactics. If he wanted to win this game, he absolutely had to plan more carefully than ever before.
At that moment, the Ground Rabbit happened to look up at the wall opposite him and suddenly noticed something unusual. On the mud-stained wall, someone had written four words:
**"All Personnel, Silent."**
"All personnel..." The Ground Rabbit squinted at the words on the opposite wall, realizing that they were very fresh—just written there recently.
"Wait a moment..." The Ground Rabbit felt he had already thought a lot, but he still hadn't fully grasped the other side's strategy.
Why had he been pulled into this room by some mysterious force?
Could it be just to make him see those four words on the wall?
**"All Personnel, Silent"?**
If he thought about it from that angle... could the whispers he had heard earlier be part of a tactic?
Were these people trying to confuse his senses, deliberately throwing out smoke bombs?
The Ground Rabbit narrowed his eyes and pondered. The situation was indeed tricky. To figure out his orientation, he had to move **north**, heading toward what he believed to be Room **Fourteen**. As long as the room he entered didn’t have a door on its front side, it would prove that he was in the room at the very bottom of the map, which only had three doors, with a wall directly opposite.
So that room was most likely Room **Fourteen**.
But why would someone write on the wall of the current room...?
"Ah...!"
The Ground Rabbit suddenly thought of something. He lowered his head and rapidly calculated in his mind. Although his previous games hadn’t required much thinking, this time was truly different.
The other side planned to win through strategy. If he didn’t sharpen his wits, he feared they would toy with him like a puppet.
"You idiots... I know the route you took to come back..." The Ground Rabbit held his forehead, continuously recalling.
Back when he had eavesdropped at the starting point, a woman had said: "We’ll advance in a zigzag, from Room **Sixteen** through **Twelve**, **Eleven**, **Seven**, and then reach **Six**."
"You’re messing with me..." The Ground Rabbit’s thoughts suddenly opened up as he realized something.
The room he was in was not Room **Ten** at all!
He wasn’t in Room **Six**’s southern neighbor, Room **Ten**; he was in its eastern neighbor, Room **Seven**!
This was indeed a clever tactic. Once he pushed open what he thought was the **northern** door, he would invariably see a wall.
Because whether it was the southernmost Room **Fourteen** or the easternmost Room **Eight**, every room had only three doors, leaving only one wall visible.
"That was close..." The Ground Rabbit’s lips trembled slightly. "What kind of freaks are you... trying to make me lose my way on my own turf? But you miscalculated... You never expected me to accurately hear your route and remember it... You never passed through Room **Ten**, so how could you have written words in Room **Ten**?"
He rubbed his dizzy head and hurriedly sorted out his thoughts.
When these people had devised this tactic, they hadn’t known that his hearing was exceptionally good. So when they wrote the words, they were completely off guard. Even if they tried to switch to a different tactic now, he wouldn’t fall for it.
As long as he confirmed he wasn’t lost, everything else would no longer be a problem.
His target was only Room **Sixteen**.
If he could block the path of all participants in advance, all the current problems would be solved.
A united team? So what?
The biggest problem with a united team was that no one would choose to escape alone. As long as one teammate wasn’t free, they would keep waiting in Room **Sixteen**.
"Since I’m in Room **Seven**... it’s enough to prove that your whispers earlier were also lies... From now on, I won’t be fooled by anything you say..."
Behind him was Room **Six**, and he had opened the door to walk into Room **Seven**. With these two rooms as coordinates, all the other rooms would arrange themselves in his mind.
"Forward, turn right, forward." The Ground Rabbit sketched out his planned route in his mind. "None of you can move faster than me."
Just then, a bell rang in the distance.
The Ground Rabbit felt that this was probably the tenth day. On this day, "Resonators" appeared frequently, as if some unusual event was about to occur.
The Ground Rabbit took a few deep breaths, turned his head, and said, "Song Qi, do you know?"
"What?" Song Qi asked.
"As long as none of you have used up all your action points, this game will never start the next round."
"Is that so?"
"So what’s your plan?" the Ground Rabbit asked. "If you keep standing in that room doing nothing, time will just tick away."
"Isn’t that good?" Song Qi ran a hand through the hair scattered on his forehead. "I only hope my teammates have more time to think about tactics."
"But aren’t you afraid of death?" The Ground Rabbit’s voice softened a little. "Your left hand is injured like that—bones broken, flesh charred. How long can you hold on?"
"It doesn’t matter." Song Qi shook his head indifferently. "I’ll hold on until I die, or you die."
The Ground Rabbit had fully understood this man’s personality. He changed his tone. "Then what about that kid?"
"Kid...?"
"That child is relying on 'Resonance' to survive, right? Even if he can last a day... what about his 'Conviction'? If the thought 'I’m really going to die' crosses his mind even once... he’ll collapse on the spot right now, won’t he?"
Hearing this, Song Qi silently pressed his lips together. Although he knew these words were the Ground Rabbit’s tactic, what the Ground Rabbit said was true. If they delayed any longer, Jiang Shi could die at any moment. Every second brought him one step closer to death.
But if he didn’t stall for time, and had to use his action points... how could he use them?
"I’ve got it..." Song Qi shook his head, feeling he had been overthinking. He laughed and said, "I’ll walk into your room right now, close the door, and fight you to the bitter end again."
Just as he was about to stride into the room, the Ground Rabbit suddenly flashed out from the wall and reached out to grab his neck.
"Oh..." Song Qi’s eyes turned cold, sensing something was wrong, but he quickly came back to his senses. "You’re reaching your hand over... isn’t that a foul?"
The Ground Rabbit didn’t speak. He just slowly increased the pressure, firmly locking Song Qi’s throat.
"Did I ever say that a 'hand' can’t be extended into another room?"
Song Qi’s breathing grew increasingly difficult. He forced out a few words through clenched teeth: "But since we’re not in the same room... how are you going to kill me?"