Chapter 609: No Cutting in Line
The Human Monkey opened the door of the two-story building behind him. Everyone looked inside, only to find the room pitch black, unlike the game venues of the other "Zodiac" members.
"Everyone, my game is called 'No Cutting in Line,' and it officially begins now."
After speaking, he pulled a flashlight from his pocket, turned around, and walked through the doorway.
The group exchanged glances for a few seconds before following him into the building.
This building had two floors and looked like a small inn. Although the first floor was very dark, it felt somewhat spacious.
Once everyone was inside, the Human Monkey signaled to Tiantian, who was at the back, to close the door.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Tiantian did as he instructed and shut the door. Instantly, the room was plunged into darkness, with only the beam of the Human Monkey's flashlight visible.
"Um..." a middle-aged woman began, "Why is it so dark in here? Aren't we turning on the lights for this game?"
"That's right. Not only are we not turning on the lights, but once the game starts, I'll even turn off the flashlight."
The Human Monkey chuckled as he shone the flashlight onto his own face.
His rotting monkey face looked especially eerie under the bright beam of light.
"What about the rules?" a young man asked.
The Human Monkey didn't answer. Instead, he waved at the person standing in front, signaling them to hold the flashlight for him. Then he turned around and opened a wardrobe. Under the light of the flashlight, everyone saw a bunch of yellow safety helmets hanging inside, the kind commonly used on construction sites.
"Everyone, please come and pick up a helmet." The Human Monkey gestured to the group.
Unsure of what this meant, the group hesitated to step forward. Wasn't this supposed to be an "intellectual game"? Why would they need safety helmets specifically meant to protect the head?
"Human Monkey..." Xiao Cheng spoke up at this point, "Am I seeing things? These helmets are usually used on construction sites to prevent injuries... Is your game dangerous?"
"No." The Human Monkey shook his head. "I swear on my life that unless someone 'breaks the rules,' this game poses absolutely no danger."
"Break the rules...?"
"Exactly." The Human Monkey nodded. "The rules I'm about to explain are very important, so all of you better listen carefully. Right now, you're a team. As long as one person breaks the rules during the game, I will disqualify everyone."
Upon hearing this, the group's faces grew heavy with tension. They were all strangers to one another, and no one wanted to become the target of everyone's resentment.
"No wonder..." Tiantian muttered softly, "The more people there are, the more advantageous it is for the Human Monkey... because it greatly increases our chances of breaking the rules..."
Her murmured words had barely left her lips when the Human Monkey snatched the flashlight from the young man beside him and aimed it directly at Tiantian's face.
Tiantian squinted against the harsh light, raising a hand to shield her eyes. "What's wrong...?"
"The first rule I want to announce is this: from now on, unless I give permission for someone to speak, no one is allowed to make a sound." After saying this, the Human Monkey withdrew the flashlight beam and aimed it back at himself. "If anyone dares to speak without my permission, everyone here will be considered to have failed right now."
Though the group was reluctant, they all shut their mouths.
"Good." The Human Monkey nodded, then took a safety helmet from the wardrobe behind him and placed it on his head. "Everyone, please watch closely now."
Wearing the helmet, he walked step by step up the stairs leading to the second floor. Just as he was about to reach the top, a small blue light lit up at the back of his helmet.
The faint light was no bigger than a grain of rice, extremely weak and almost invisible.
Once the blue light appeared, the Human Monkey stopped and turned around to address the group. "Every helmet you receive has a small light at the back. These lights are the size of a grain of rice and very hard to see. But you need to know that there are only two colors among all the lights: red and blue. However, the total number of each color is not fixed."
Upon hearing this, the group had some questions but remembered the rule the Human Monkey had just stated, so they remained silent.
"All the lights will activate when you reach the second floor, but none of you will be able to see your own color." The Human Monkey slowly turned back around, shaking the flashlight in his hand. "Now, please follow me upstairs."
The group quickly followed, the only sound in the room being the creaking of their footsteps on the wooden floorboards.
The layout of the second floor was different from the first. The group first passed through a straight corridor before arriving at a rectangular space. The rectangular area intersected with the corridor, forming a T-shape.
It was still pitch black here.
"Now for the second rule," the Human Monkey said. "Everyone must ascend to the second floor one by one, pass through the corridor, and finally stand in this area. However, you must all face the wall and not the corridor. Is that understood?"
The group didn't dare to speak, only nodding in response.
"Now, here's your 'winning method,'" the Human Monkey continued. "Before the game ends, as long as all of you can stand with your backs to the corridor, separate yourselves according to the two colors on your helmets, and line up in a row facing the wall—without a single person standing in the wrong position—you win. During this time, if anyone dares to speak, give any hints, or remove their own or someone else's helmet, it will be considered 'breaking the rules.'"
The group paused for a few seconds before realizing just how absurd this "No Cutting in Line" game really was.
Although the game was described as "teamwork," it seemed more like a "team trap."
They couldn't see the color of the light on their own helmets, yet they were supposed to separate into red and blue groups and eventually line up in a row.
Red was red, blue was blue. If even one person stood in the wrong spot, everyone would lose.
What's more, the small lights were so tiny. The Human Monkey had been wearing his helmet as he moved around the room, yet the walls hadn't turned blue from the light on his helmet.
It seemed the lights were specially designed—visible to the naked eye for their color but with no diffusing effect.
With such rules, was it even possible to accomplish this without any communication?
Borrowing the flashlight's glow, Tiantian counted the participants. Including Zheng Yingxiong, there were eleven people in this game. Having all eleven of them, without knowing the color of the light on their own helmets, accurately stand in the right positions... How could that be done?
She thought for a few seconds but came up with no ideas. Turning her head to look at Xiao Cheng, she saw him frowning deeply, his mind clearly racing for a solution.
"It seems you all understand the rules now," the Human Monkey said with a laugh. He then led everyone back to the first floor and announced, "Now, please come forward and pick up your safety helmets."
No one dared to defy him. Quietly, they lined up, each taking a helmet and putting it on.