Ten Day Ultimatum

Qi Xia remained seated, neither standing up nor looking for clues. The strangeness of the situation still gnawed at him.
The only other person who also stayed seated was the counseling psychologist, Lin Qin. “What’s on your mind?” she [N O V E L I G H T] asked, absentmindedly covering her mouth and nose.

“Me?” Qi Xia looked surprised. “What? You trying to psychoanalyze me now?”
“No. Though smart people like you often have psychological issues, this isn’t the time for therapy,” Lin Qin said with a faint smile. “I just want to know what you’re thinking.”
Qi Xia paused before answering, “I’m thinking about the motive.”

“Motive?”
Instead of replying, Qi Xia turned to Doctor Zhao. “Doctor, how long can a person survive after being shot in the heart?”
Doctor Zhao turned around, took a moment, then said, “If I remember correctly, when the heart gets hit, someone usually passes out in seconds. But medically, {death} is defined as {brain death}. So even unconscious, the brain might stay active for a few minutes.”

Qi Xia nodded. “That goat man screamed for several minutes earlier. That means his body’s tougher than a normal human’s, right?”
“Yes,” Doctor Zhao confirmed. “It took him several minutes to lose consciousness after being shot in the heart.”
As Qi Xia and Doctor Zhao spoke, everyone else quieted down, drawn to the conversation. It was this swindler’s sharp reasoning that had kept all nine of them alive so far.

“Then why do you think he did that?” Qi Xia lifted his hand, formed a gun shape with his index finger and thumb, and pressed it to his temple. “Most people would go for this spot when they want to die.” He shifted it down under his chin. “Or this.”
Then he pointed at his chest. “No matter what… if someone wants to end it, they usually go for the least painful way. So why the heart?”
Qiao Jiajin fiddled with the goat mask before adjusting the man’s head and muttering, “Maybe this fucker’s skull is too thick. A headshot wouldn’t do it.”

“If he can cough up blood, that means his body’s built like ours,” Police Officer Li said. “No matter how strong he is, a close-range headshot would’ve killed him.”
Qi Xia gave a slow nod. “Then there’s only one explanation.” He pointed to the mask in Qiao Jiajin’s hand. “The goat man shot himself in the heart to protect something. I’m afraid the {game} isn’t over yet.”
Qiao Jiajin jolted. “You mean… he was worried about breaking his mask?”

“Exactly.”
Following Qi Xia’s lead, Qiao Jiajin turned the goat mask over, showing everyone the rough goatskin lining. A foul, rotting stench hit their noses. As Qi Xia had expected, something was written inside, scrawled in black ink. Blood smudged parts of it, but Qiao Jiajin didn’t care. He grabbed his T-shirt and wiped the stains until the writing was clear.
“What the fuck?” Qiao Jiajin blinked, then read aloud in broken Mandarin:

“I am {Mortal Dog}.”
“You are all under a curse.”
“I hope you can all survive.”
“Time will not stop even for one quarter; great danger looming from all sides.”

“If you wish to endure, circle in the direction of home a hundred times.”
“By the way, there’s an idiom: ‘countless bamboo shoots after rain.’ Why aren’t bamboo shoots afraid of rain?”
“Until after the rain.”

Qi Xia’s brow creased. It was clearly a clue for the next stage… The shadow of death still loomed. Maybe they were already dead—but would they have to die all over again?
“Hey, swindler, what the hell’s this mean?” Qiao Jiajin asked.
“How the fuck should I know?” Qi Xia shot back coldly. “There are nine of us. Do I have to do all the thinking?”

Lawyer Zhang Chenze sat down in a chair and muttered, “As much as I hate to admit it, your thinking lines up with the {organizers}. If you’ve got something, now’s the time to spill it.”
“I—” Qi Xia didn’t finish. The walls around them suddenly began to shift.
Everyone stared, stunned, as holes appeared where solid concrete had been. The walls rippled, almost like liquid.

In just seconds, neat rows of holes covered every surface, as if they’d always been there. Then came the sound—metal chains dragging across the walls from every direction.
“What’s going on?” Panic spread.
“Look up!” someone screamed.

They all looked up—holes now riddled the ceiling too.
Qi Xia finally stood, took the goat mask from Qiao Jiajin, and read the final sentence again: {Until after the rain}.
Rain…?

Qiao Jiajin crept up to one of the wall holes to peek through. Suddenly, his face twisted in horror. He stumbled back. “Holy shit!” he yelled, scrambling around like a cornered rat. “There’s nowhere to hide!”
“What is it? What did you see?” Xiao Ran asked, her voice tight with fear.
For Qiao Jiajin—usually bold—to panic like this, it had to be something truly awful.

“Fuck…!” Qiao Jiajin shouted. “Harpoons! The goddamn holes are loaded with harpoons {being drawn back}!”
“What do you mean, {being drawn back}?” Doctor Zhao asked.
“They’re probably {winding up},” Qi Xia said. “The chains we’re hearing? That’s the mechanism getting ready. When it releases, they’ll shoot in all directions.”

“Swindler, think of something! Fast!” Qiao Jiajin was panicking now. “If they fire from every side, where the hell do we go?”
Qi Xia stayed calm. For him, survival wasn’t too complicated. There were already two corpses in the room. The harpoons couldn’t be too powerful—if he stacked the bodies in a corner and crouched behind them, they’d soak up most of the impact. It was risky, but doable.
“Not everyone’s getting out of this,” Qi Xia said flatly. “I’m saving myself. I’m not here to save the rest of you.”

“You…” Qiao Jiajin looked stunned. He turned to Officer Li and Doctor Zhao, but they had no idea what to do either.
Qi Xia glanced at the mask again. Did I misread it?
Maybe the game wouldn’t end until only one person remained. As long as they were all alive, this death loop would just keep going. The room wasn’t normal—the walls could change shape at will. It defied logic, like magic.

But if the {organizer} had powers like that, why go through the trouble of staging elaborate trials for nine dead people? Could it be some sick ritual from a group that specialized in the supernatural?
While Qi Xia considered this, Lin Qin looked at the mask in his hand and spoke up. “It says there’s a way to survive. We have to {circle in the direction of home a hundred times}.”
The panic cooled slightly. Everyone started thinking about that strange line.

“Does it mean we’re supposed to face toward our hometowns while walking in circles?” Tian Tian guessed.
“No way,” Qiao Jiajin said, shaking his head. “How would you even know which way your hometown is in this sealed room? And spinning around a hundred times would just make you puke.”
“Whatever! I’m doing it!” Tian Tian picked a direction and started spinning in circles on her own.

Qi Xia didn’t move. He was still thinking.
He knew it wouldn’t be that simple.