Chapter 610: The Beginning Is the End
Tiantian took the hard hat, brought it close to her eyes, and examined it carefully.
This light was indeed specially made, no bigger than a grain of rice, and its color was completely invisible before it lit up.
Everyone present now wore extremely grim expressions. They kept looking at each other, wanting to communicate but hindered by the rules from speaking.
"Everyone, listen up." The Man-Monkey let out a sinister chuckle. "I'll now announce the final rule, which might just help you all keep your 'tickets.'"
The slightly flustered crowd in the room turned their attention to the Man-Monkey upon hearing this, wondering what else he had to say.
The Man-Monkey pulled a stopwatch from his pocket and shone his flashlight on it.
"When I say the word 'begin,' you will have twenty seconds to discuss your strategy." Although the Man-Monkey wore a mask, everyone could see from his eyes that he was clearly smiling. "This will be your last chance to communicate before the game starts."
Unease gradually crept over everyone's faces—twenty seconds?
How many words could you say in twenty seconds?
There wasn't even enough time for each of the eleven people in the room to speak a single sentence.
"Get ready…" The Man-Monkey smirked. "Begin."
As soon as the word "begin" left his lips, the room erupted like a thunderclap. Over a dozen voices started shouting at once, creating utter chaos.
But none of those speaking had any real strategy. They were simply wasting precious time expressing their confusion and bewilderment. Some were even yelling loudly at the Man-Monkey. The small space now resembled the liveliest vegetable market at dawn—a cacophony of voices with not a single word distinguishable.
"I have an idea!!" shouted Jeong Hero. "Everyone, listen to me!!"
But the noise was too overwhelming; no one could hear him.
"Everyone!!" Xiao Cheng didn't have time to ask Jeong Hero what his idea was. He quickly shouted on his behalf, "Quiet down! Don't waste time! This kid has a plan!!"
He knew that Jeong Hero had preserved memories for a long time and might have even participated in similar games before. There was a chance he really knew how to break this.
"What plan could a kid possibly have?!" The elderly man closest to Xiao Cheng heard him and immediately retorted, "If you ask me, we should quickly set a signal, then find a way to notify each other!"
"Oh, that's right!" The old man's suggestion instantly garnered widespread approval. Everyone nodded and chimed in, "Stomp your feet! When you see the other person's light, stomp once for blue and twice for red!"
Xiao Cheng's heart sank. These people really were here for the 'monkey games' just to get some petty advantages. They hadn't even understood the rules properly before starting to discuss strategies. Would this actually work?
According to the rules, not only could they not see the lights on each other's heads, but they also couldn't transmit signals. Yet they were already devising ridiculous tactics in that direction.
Now, most of the time was already wasted. If only a few seconds remained, how could they possibly finalize a plan?
Countless thoughts flashed through Xiao Cheng's mind. This game was far too unfair for everyone. No wonder the Man-Monkey had said "the more people, the better"—it was precisely for this twenty-second discussion period. If only two or three people were present, they might have been able to work out a strategy. But here, in this very room, there were eleven panicked individuals.
The more people, the higher the Man-Monkey's chances of winning. From this perspective, how could they possibly win?
Since no one had anticipated the Man-Monkey giving them time to discuss beforehand, Xiao Cheng now felt his mind in complete chaos. It wasn't that he wasn't smart enough, but the Man-Monkey was skillfully using psychological warfare. The so-called "if one breaks the rules, everyone is eliminated" was textbook psychological manipulation.
In such a noisy environment, under such immense psychological pressure, it was impossible for anyone to stay calm, quickly come up with a plan, and then convince the other ten people.
Xiao Cheng calculated silently in his mind. Time was almost gone—at most three to five seconds left. What should he do now?
"We have to cut in line!!!" Jeong Hero shouted hoarsely from behind the crowd. "If we want to win, we absolutely have to cut in line!!!"
As soon as he spoke, the Man-Monkey pressed the stopwatch and sneered, "Time's up. Discussion over."
The noisy room instantly fell silent. Everyone's words died away, leaving only heavy breathing.
With the surroundings now exceptionally quiet, Jeong Hero's last words echoed in everyone's ears.
Cut in line?
In this game called "No Cutting," they were supposed to cut in line?
Since no one could communicate with those around them now, they naturally began pondering the meaning of those words.
"Now the game officially begins," said the Man-Monkey. "I will go around and tap each of you on the shoulder one by one. Those whose shoulders I tap—'participants'—please walk up the stairs and stand in the rectangular area on the second floor."
At this moment, Xiao Cheng keenly sensed a change in the Man-Monkey's tone.
He didn't sound as confident as before.
What was this…?
Could it be because of Jeong Hero's words?
As he spoke, the Man-Monkey walked over and tapped a middle-aged woman on the shoulder. Under the beam of the flashlight, the woman's expression visibly relaxed.
She nodded and quickly ran up to the second floor.
For everyone, the first person was undoubtedly the most relaxed. No matter where she stood, it wouldn't cause the game to be lost, since the rest would have to choose their positions based on her color.
Everyone looked up and watched her ascend to the second floor. The moment she arrived, a red light lit up behind her head.
Everyone on the first floor saw this clearly, but what did it mean?
All they could see was the color of the lights on other people's heads. The biggest challenge to winning this game was figuring out their own choice.
Then the Man-Monkey stepped forward and tapped Tiantian on the shoulder.
Tiantian froze for a moment, then nodded. She looked up at Xiao Cheng with some trepidation and walked up to the second floor.
Xiao Cheng kept his eyes fixed on the hard hat on her head and saw that when she reached the second floor, a blue light lit up behind her.
He knew Tiantian's situation was also relatively easy. She could choose to stand to the left or right of the first woman; either way, their colors were different.
Now it was time for everyone else to make their decisions.
They had to guess the color of the light on their own hat, then choose to stand on Tiantian's side or the middle-aged woman's side.
Starting from the third person, their choice could lead to everyone's failure.
If the sequence became red-blue-red or blue-red-blue, then the rest of the players wouldn't need to continue—the outcome was already a guaranteed loss.
Whether by design or coincidence, the Man-Monkey chose Xiao Cheng as the third person.
Xiao Cheng slowly furrowed his brow, feeling the immense pressure.
(Folks! Friends! The first volume of the physical book of "End of Ten Days," titled "End of Ten Days: The Cage," will be available for pre-sale via live stream on my Douyin account at 7 PM on November 4th! I'll be doing a live broadcast with the publisher, chatting about the book. This time, there will be a ten-second limited special-signed purchase and a five-minute limited personalized-signed purchase, both time-limited but not quantity-limited. Interested friends can come to the live stream to show your support. I'm truly grateful! Thank you to everyone who read this sentence. The popularity of "End of Ten Days" owes ten percent to my effort and ninety percent to your support. Thank you again.)