Chapter 691: Those Adults
"What does 'survive' mean...? And what are 'gas masks' for?"
The rabbit-like man pointed to the huge machine with the countdown timer. "Ten minutes from now, the machine behind us will continuously release high-concentration chlorine gas, killing all nine of you here."
Even though I didn't understand what the rabbit-like man was saying, those uncles and aunties all seemed very frightened.
"You're full of shit!" that uncle shouted again. "If chlorine gas really does come out, then you three will die too. Do you think we're stupid?"
"If you don't believe me, I strongly encourage you to try," the rabbit-like man nodded. "That would save us some trouble too. Oh, and to follow procedure, I might as well mention... there's a reward for this game. The more people survive, the smaller the reward."
I really didn't understand. What is a "game"? What is a "reward"?
Isn't this a prison? Why can we play games in a prison?
I suddenly thought of Sima Guang.
Just then, the only young woman spoke up. "But chlorine gas is denser than air. If that machine really does spray chlorine gas, the gas will keep falling into the well, and we won't die."
"So I said, if you don't believe me, you're free to try."
The rabbit-like man had no intention of persuading us; he only told us to try.
Because I was so scared, I didn't even remember how I got down from the ceiling. I only remembered that all the adults were arguing, and in the end, they decided to send me down into the well.
I walked over to the edge of the opening and looked. This round hole really did look like a "well"—there was nothing inside to grab onto.
If I had to go down, I'd need to brace my hands and feet against the walls and inch my way down, but how would I get back up?
Ever since we broke free from the ropes, those three masked people had been standing there motionless. I had no idea what they were planning to do.
In the end, those uncles and aunties decided to tie together all the elastic ropes that had been used to bind us, making one long rope.
They said I should first brace myself against the well's edge and slowly descend to the bottom. After I got the key, they'd toss the rope down and pull me back up.
That seemed fine to me. I was about to agree when that young woman stepped forward and stopped them.
"I don't think that's a good idea," the young woman said. "This plan isn't good."
She stood in front of me, blocking my view of the uncles and aunties' expressions.
This sister wasn't tall, but she smelled nice. She was thin, with a round face and shoulder-length short hair. Her back looked warm too.
"Why isn't it good, little girl?" one uncle asked. "This plan of ours is great. We're running out of time, so let that kid go down now."
"Yeah, don't waste time."
"Sending him down is fine, but we need to tie the rope around his waist first," the young woman insisted. "Otherwise, I won't agree."
"What does your agreement matter?" another uncle looked a bit angry. "There are so many of us—are we afraid of you?"
"No means no."
"Oh, what's the reason?" an auntie asked. "You think we wouldn't pull him back up?"
"That's right. I feel like you're all in a strange state," the woman said. "You're thinking about how to abandon this child. I even suspect you'll end up deciding to only pull the key back up."
I peeked out from behind the sister's waist and looked at those aunties and uncles. I noticed their eyes were shifting, as if they were scheming something.
They gave me the same feeling as my homeroom teacher—always looking at me with a very strange expression.
I felt a bit scared, so I reached out and grabbed the sister's hand in front of me. At that moment, I noticed she was trembling slightly too.
Was Big Sister also afraid?
I could smell a very distressing scent coming from her. When that smell entered my nose, two words popped into my mind—"unease."
"Fine... ah..." the leading uncle said. "Girls nowadays are really something. They think the worst of people right from the start... Fine, fine, we'll tie it on the kid."
That uncle smelled awful.
Seeing that everyone had agreed to her request, the sister took the rope they had already tied together and wrapped it around my waist. As she tightened the knot, she whispered to me, "Little brother, you have to remember: if you want to survive, never untie this rope. If it accidentally comes loose, you have to find a way to hold onto it yourself."
Hearing her words, I slowly nodded.
When she said these things, a very warm scent wafted from her. I found it really strange—my nose had never been this sharp before.
And when that smell entered my nose, two more words appeared in my mind—"sincerity."
It was really strange... since when could I distinguish so many different smells?
So besides fragrance and stench, smells could also be "unease" and "sincerity"?
After she tied the rope tightly around me, I followed everyone's instructions and went down the well. Fortunately, I usually helped my parents with housework at home, so my hands and feet were fairly nimble, and I didn't make them angry.
The situation in the well was like what the rabbit-like man had said, but also not quite the same.
After descending a short distance, I first saw several small holes forming a ring along the well wall. Descending further, I saw a recess in the middle of the well wall with several masks inside, but not enough for all of us.
So I kept going all the way down to the bottom. It was much harder than I had imagined. The skin on my hands was completely scraped raw.
This was even harder than cleaning up the plates my dad had broken.
"Little brother!" the sister called from the well's edge, looking down. "Is this well sealed shut?"
Her voice echoed repeatedly in the well, sounding nice.
Listening to her, I glanced around and found only a very small hole at the bottom, not much bigger than a one-yuan coin, now sealed by a strange little plate.
I nodded. "Big Sister, the bottom is a dead end. It doesn't lead outside."
Then I smelled her scent again—the scent of "worry."
I started to feel troubled. Why are there so many strange smells in this world?
"Look for the key and hold tight to the rope!" the sister shouted again.
I nodded. Just as I was about to start searching the well bottom for the key, I suddenly noticed that the leading uncle had appeared behind the sister. His face was dark, and his smell was especially foul.
In less than a second, the words "Big Sister, watch out!" had already burst from my mouth, heart-wrenching. The sound traveled from the bottom of the well to the surface, startling all of them.