The Only Live Round

"Click."

Wei Xinjian pulled the trigger again, but it was still a blank!

Grind, grind, grind--

The heavy iron block moved again, completely squeezing both of Wei Xinjian's ears, pressing against his cheeks.

"Ngh! Ugh!"

Wei Xinjian grew even more frustrated. His body trembled violently, but his head was already pinned and couldn't move. He could only stare straight ahead at Lin Sizhi.

The third shot.

The probability of being shot this time was 1/4.

--If the designer of this game were truly intelligent, they would have placed the live round in positions 3 or 4 of the cylinder. That way, in his state of being crushed by the iron block and gradually losing his sanity, he could have shot himself.

Wei Xinjian seemed to see the cold smile of the game's designer.

The iron block will only move another 1.29cm, and I won't die...

I need to make a rational and calm judgment...

Wei Xinjian gritted his teeth fiercely and once again aimed at the innocent person, pulling the trigger.

"Click!"

Still a blank.

Grind, grind, grind--

The heavy iron block moved again. This time, Wei Xinjian felt his vision go black, and the pressure in his head increased dramatically, as if a rotten watermelon was about to burst!

His skull throbbed with intense pain. Wei Xinjian couldn't even tell which bone had cracked, and his consciousness began to blur.

"Waa... Ngh uh..."

Wei Xinjian's eyes were completely bloodshot. Everything he saw was a hazy red.

He slapped futilely at the iron block, but it didn't budge.

Finally, Wei Xinjian slowly turned the muzzle of the revolver towards himself.

The probability of death on the fourth shot was 1/3.

Higher than any previous shot, but Wei Xinjian had no other choice.

He would rather shoot himself now than endure this torment any longer.

However, just then, the television, which had only been showing static and making crackling noises, suddenly displayed images and sound again.

[Every unforgivable sinner shall be punished, but every sincere penitent shall also have a final chance.]

[If you repent sincerely now, then I can tell you: the fifth bullet in the revolver's cylinder is a blank.]

[Make your choice. Your time is running out.]

Wei Xinjian, who had already aimed the gun at himself, stopped.

In his bloodshot eyes, he seemed to see a final glimmer of hope.

The fifth bullet was a blank!

The shot Wei Xinjian was about to fire was the fourth.

There were only two possibilities left: the live round was either in the fourth or the sixth position.

The mortality rate for this shot had already soared to 1/2.

Shoot myself? Gamble one last time?

No, I can't. A 1/2 probability is far too high...

Wei Xinjian didn't understand probability, but he knew that if he could just hold on a little longer, just a little longer, he could survive...

Wei Xinjian's head was splitting with pain, but fueled by adrenaline, he had temporarily adapted to the agony.

If the next shot was also a blank, the iron block would advance another 1.29cm. It was dangerous, but Wei Xinjian believed he wouldn't necessarily die.

Because he would only have to endure one more crushing.

If the fourth shot was a blank, then the remaining two bullets would be determined.

The fifth shot would be a blank, and he would shoot himself directly; the sixth shot would be the only live round, and he would kill the person opposite him directly. Everything would end immediately...

The mechanism would disarm, and escaping from here would be the only way to survive.

The numbers on the LED electronic timer continued to tick down. Only one minute remained.

Wei Xinjian let out a muffled groan of pain. He once again aimed at Lin Sizhi and pulled the trigger.

The fourth shot!

"Click."

A blank!

Grind, grind, grind--

"Aaaah--!"

Even with a cloth gagged in his mouth, Wei Xinjian let out a roar of extreme agony!

The heavy iron block pressed inward again, and intense pain spread through his mind. Wei Xinjian could barely feel his own head anymore.

He used all his strength to aim the muzzle at himself and fired the fifth shot.

"Bang."

The fifth shot was a known blank; nothing happened.

Blood began to flow from Wei Xinjian's eyes, mouth, ears, and nose. His mind could feel nothing but excruciating pain.

But in the end, he still squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth—

"Die..."

Wei Xinjian trembled as he raised the pistol one last time.

The final live round. As long as he killed the innocent person opposite him, the game would end, and the mechanism would stop.

"Bang."

The last shot was fired.

Wei Xinjian's eyes were already blinded by blood, his vision blurred. His ears were clamped shut by the iron block, and he could no longer hear anything.

But he could still feel something unusual from his gun-holding right hand.

No vibration, no recoil, nothing happened.

It was still a blank!

"Ugh--Woo--Ah--

"You--lied--"

There were no live rounds in the pistol at all.

Wei Xinjian's final roar erupted from his throat, but it was quickly cut short.

Creak creak creak--

The heavy iron block moved forward another 1.29cm, inflicting irreversible permanent damage to his skull.

Death was now only a matter of time.

As if all his strength had been instantly drained, Wei Xinjian's right hand fell, and the silver revolver clattered to the ground.

"Click."

With a series of mechanical sounds, the mechanisms locking the two people to the iron chairs all opened.

As the mechanisms opened, Wei Xinjian collapsed to the ground, already on the verge of death.

But at this moment, Wei Xinjian vaguely saw that the innocent person opposite him had actually woken up and stood up from the chair.

"Help--Help me--"

Driven by his last shred of survival instinct, Wei Xinjian reached out with all his might.

"Help me--"

Wei Xinjian saw the innocent person raise a hand and untie the cloth gag tied behind his head.

But his face was expressionless.

"Help--"

Wei Xinjian had not forgotten his final struggle.

However, Lin Sizhi reached out, picked up the fallen revolver, and with a "bang," the cylinder popped open.

Then, he took a live round from his pocket and loaded it.

"You--You--"

Wei Xinjian's eyes were completely obscured by blood, but through the blurry scene before him, he vaguely realized something, something very important.

When the last shot was fired, Wei Xinjian found there were no live rounds in the revolver.

So he thought the rules had deceived him.

But now Wei Xinjian realized the rules had not lied:

The rules stated:

[In this confined space, there is an innocent person, a revolver, and one live round.]

[The revolver's cylinder has 6 chambers. Five of them are blanks, distributed randomly within the cylinder.]

However, the rules never said that the live round was in the revolver's cylinder.

"Click."

Lin Sizhi cocked the hammer, aiming the dark muzzle at the dying Wei Xinjian.

"Bang!"