The End of Ten Days

Qi Xia remained seated, neither standing up nor searching for clues. He still felt that something was off.

Similarly, the psychologist Lin Qin also stayed seated.
"What are you thinking about?" Lin Qin asked casually, covering her nose and mouth with her hand.
"Me?" Qi Xia was taken aback. "What, are you going to give me a psychological diagnosis?"

"Not really. Although someone as smart as you probably has some psychological issues, this isn’t the right time for therapy." Lin Qin smiled faintly. "I just wanted to know what you’re thinking."
Qi Xia pondered for a moment before replying, "I’m thinking about the reason."
"The reason?"

Instead of answering Lin Qin, Qi Xia called out to Dr. Zhao, "Doctor, how long can a person survive after being shot in the heart?"
Dr. Zhao turned around, thought for a moment, and said, "If I remember correctly, a person shot in the heart would lose consciousness within seconds. However, since medical 'death' refers to 'brain death,' the brain can continue to function for a few minutes even after losing consciousness."
Qi Xia nodded. "The goat-headed man screamed for several minutes, which means his body is much more resilient than an ordinary human’s, right?"

"Yes. He remained conscious for several minutes even after being shot in the heart."
The others, hearing Qi Xia and Dr. Zhao’s conversation, quieted down.
It was thanks to this "con man’s" clear thinking that all nine of them had survived so far.

"Then why do you think that is?" Qi Xia extended his index finger and thumb, mimicking a gun, and placed them against his temple. "Most people would choose to kill themselves like this."
He thought for a moment, then moved his hand to point upward under his chin. "Or like this."
Qi Xia lowered his hand and pointed to his heart.

"No matter what… a person committing suicide would choose a method that minimizes pain. So why did he shoot himself in the heart?"
Qiao Jiajin, who was fiddling with the goat-headed mask, flipped the man’s head over and said, "Maybe this idiot’s skull is too thick. A bullet couldn’t even kill him."
"Since he was bleeding from the mouth, it means his body structure is the same as ours," Officer Li said. "No matter how strong he is, a bullet to the head at that range would definitely kill him."

Qi Xia nodded. "In that case, I can only think of one reason."
He pointed to the mask in Qiao Jiajin’s hand. "The goat-headed man shot himself in the heart to protect something. The 'game' isn’t over yet."
Qiao Jiajin was stunned. "You mean… he was afraid of damaging his mask?"
"Exactly."

Under Qi Xia’s direction, Qiao Jiajin flipped the goat-skin mask over, revealing the rough inner lining.
A foul, rotting smell wafted out.
As Qi Xia had suspected, there were words written on the inside of the mask in black ink.

Some parts were stained with blood, but Qiao Jiajin didn’t mind. He grabbed his T-shirt and wiped the mask clean, making the words legible.
"What the hell?" Qiao Jiajin muttered, then began reading the words aloud in his heavily accented Mandarin:
"I am the 'Human Dog.'"

"You are cursed."
"I hope you survive."
"The clock never stops, and danger lurks on all sides."

"If you want to live, turn toward your hometown one hundred times."
"By the way, they say bamboo shoots thrive after the rain. Why aren’t they afraid of being beaten by the rain?"
"See you after the rain."

Qi Xia frowned slightly. It was indeed a clue for the next game…
The shadow of death hanging over them refused to dissipate.
They were already dead, but would they have to die again?

"Hey, con man, what does this mean?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"How should I know?" Qi Xia snorted. "There are nine of us here. Do I have to be the one to figure it out?"
Zhang Chenze, the lawyer, slowly sat down and said, "As much as I hate to admit it, your way of thinking aligns closely with the 'host.' If you have any ideas, you should share them."

"I…"
Before Qi Xia could finish speaking, the walls around them began to change.
To everyone’s shock, small holes began to appear out of nowhere.

The once-solid concrete walls now seemed to shift and morph like a soft, malleable substance.
In moments, rows of holes lined the walls as if they had always been there.
At the same time, the sound of chains rattling echoed from all directions.

"What’s going on?" The group panicked.
"Look at the ceiling!" someone screamed.
Everyone looked up and saw that the ceiling was also covered in密密麻麻的孔洞.

Qi Xia finally stood up, took the goat-skin mask from Qiao Jiajin, and carefully examined the last line.
"See you after the rain."
"Rain…?"

Qiao Jiajin cautiously approached the wall, peered into one of the holes, and immediately jumped back in fright.
"Holy sh*t!"
He shouted, looking for a place to hide, but there was nowhere to go.

"What’s in there?" Xiao Ran asked nervously.
Everyone knew Qiao Jiajin was brave. If something had scared him so much, it had to be terrifying.
"Damn it!" Qiao Jiajin yelled. "It’s harpoons! The holes are full of harpoons that are 'pulling back'!"

"What do you mean by 'pulling back'?" Dr. Zhao asked, confused.
"They’re probably being 'cocked,'" Qi Xia said. "Since the chains started rattling, these harpoons have been loaded and could fire at any moment."
"Hey, con man, think of something!" Qiao Jiajin rushed to Qi Xia’s side, panicking. "If these harpoons fire from all directions, where can we hide?"

Qi Xia thought carefully. Surviving wouldn’t be too hard for him, as there were already two corpses in the room.
The harpoons’ penetrating power was limited. By stacking the two corpses in a corner and hiding behind them, he might get injured, but his chances of survival were high.
"It’s going to be hard to save everyone this time. I need to protect myself, so I won’t be saving you again," Qi Xia said softly.

"You…" Qiao Jiajin wanted to argue but stopped himself, turning instead to Officer Li and Dr. Zhao for help. However, the two of them looked even more helpless.
Qi Xia glanced back at the clues written on the goat-skin mask.
Had he misunderstood?

Would this "game" only end when only one person remained?
If they kept trying to keep everyone alive, these deadly games would keep appearing.
After all, this room was bizarre, with walls that could change at any moment.

It defied all scientific logic, more like magic.
But if the host was someone powerful enough to use magic, why torment nine dead people?
Was this some kind of twisted game run by an agency that managed ghosts?

As Qi Xia lost himself in thought, Lin Qin spoke up, looking at the mask in his hands. "It says… there’s a way for us to survive. It tells us to 'turn toward our hometown one hundred times.'"
The group calmed down slightly and began pondering the meaning of this sentence.
"Does it mean we should face the direction of our hometown and spin in circles?" Tian Tian asked.

"That can’t be right," Qiao Jiajin shook his head. "In this room, how would you even know which direction is your hometown? And spinning in circles a hundred times would just make you dizzy. It wouldn’t achieve anything."
"Whatever! I’ll try it!" Tian Tian picked a random direction and started spinning.
Qi Xia thought for a moment, knowing things couldn’t be that simple.

[--------------------------------------------]
Enjoyed the chapter?
If you want early access to +10 Advance chapters and to support the continuation of this story, consider subscribing to my Patreon. Your support means a lot and helps me bring more great content to you!

 
Join me on Patreon: Patreon.com/flokixy