Sheep and Dogs

"Sheep and dogs..." Qi Xia narrowed his eyes, carefully thinking everything through.

At first, the person calling himself "Human Sheep" had wanted them to kill one another. Yet this "Human Sheep" now claimed to be deeply worried about them, saying he couldn't stand by and watch them die.

"Isn't that a lie...?"

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Qi Xia.

That was it!

That was the answer!

Lies!

Everything fit the direction Qi Xia had anticipated. "Sheep" and "dog" weren't names at all-they were "game types"!

Could "sheep" represent the story of the boy who cried wolf? No one came to save the shepherd boy because he had lied too many times, so "sheep" games contained lies. They were games of deception.

"Dog" could represent loyalty. Just like the harpoon game earlier: if they hadn't worked together, none of them would still be alive. Could it mean cooperation?

Qi Xia picked up the harpoon and examined it again. He knew the "sheep" could have lied while explaining the rules.

But among those few short sentences, which one had been a lie?

"I can't stand by and watch you die." If that sentence was a lie...

"Wait..." Qi Xia's eyes slowly widened. "Those words weren't the 'answer.' They were a trap meant to kill everyone."

"What are you talking about?" Qiao Jiajin asked, puzzled.

"Everything he said was a lie!" Qi Xia declared. "Standing by the walls means death. Standing beneath the openings means survival!"

Doctor Zhao and Officer Li exchanged a look, unsure what Qi Xia meant.

"Everyone, remember? 'Sheep' lie!" Standing in the center of the room, Qi Xia tried to get everyone to come closer. "If we follow the rules he gave us, we'll get ourselves killed. That's the difference between 'sheep' and 'dogs'!"

"But does that really make sense?" Xiao Ran asked timidly. "The only openings in this entire room are above your head. Surely that makes it the most dangerous place..."

Qi Xia hadn't figured that part out either.

What could fall from those openings overhead that would kill the people beside the walls?

"Hmm..." Qi Xia thought a little longer, then changed his approach. "Never mind. Once this round ends, there's a good chance we'll be able to leave. So just choose whatever you think is best."

"How do you know we'll be able to leave?" Officer Li asked warily.

"Because this hint didn't include a 'preview' of the next game," Qi Xia replied. "That leaves two possibilities. Either this is the final game, or the organizers are very confident they can kill all of us in this one."

Their expressions grew grim, but no one could argue.

"In any case, I'm staying here." Qi Xia pointed at the floor beneath his feet again. "What you choose is up to you."

Qi Xia knew everything was still guesswork. To be safe, he picked up a square tabletop from the floor and held it in his hands.

After listening to Qi Xia, Qiao Jiajin slowly walked over to him and said, "I told you. I trust you."

"But I'm a con man," Qi Xia replied coldly.

"Doesn't matter."

Lin Qin considered it carefully, then walked toward the center of the room, covering her mouth and nose.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Xiao Ran shouted from against the wall. "You really believe him?"

Lin Qin nodded slightly. "Yes. Think about it. Who's kept us alive this far?"

Xiao Ran froze at her words. Suddenly feeling that Lin Qin had a point, she wrestled with herself for a while before following her.

Han Yimo pressed a hand over the wound on his shoulder and walked over too.

"Your name's... Qi Xia, right? I trust you too."

Tiantian and Zhang Chenze followed.

Now only Doctor Zhao and Officer Li remained pressed against the walls.

"Hey, aren't you coming?" Tiantian called.

"I..." Doctor Zhao looked hesitant, seemingly unable to decide.

"There's no need to force anyone." Qi Xia raised a hand and waved it. "This round doesn't involve cooperation. You only need to keep yourself alive."

The clock on the floor gradually reached 1:28.

Officer Li narrowed his eyes at Qi Xia.

He didn't believe this con man would choose to kill himself now, but why was he bringing everyone beneath the openings?

Lin Qin saw what the two men were thinking and called to them, "Qi Xia doesn't seem to be lying. Are you coming over?"

"You can tell?" Officer Li asked quietly.

"That's right." Lin Qin nodded. "Because of my work, I can usually tell whether someone is lying."

"In that case..." Officer Li and Doctor Zhao exchanged a glance, then quietly walked forward. "Since a professional has spoken, we'll trust you," they told Lin Qin.

Everyone picked up the nearest tabletop and raised it over their head. That way, whatever fell from the openings, they would at least have some protection at the outset.

"You're all pretty crafty." Qiao Jiajin shook his head helplessly and picked up a tabletop as well. He examined it closely. It looked even more like a shield now: not only was it a perfect square, forty or fifty centimeters on each side, but it also had an unusually sturdy handle.

Qi Xia glanced at the time and grabbed Qiao Jiajin. "Get ready. It's coming."

As soon as he spoke, the clock reached 1:30. A loud rattling of chains sounded above the ceiling, as though some unseen mechanism was being wound up.

But nothing happened inside the openings. Neither the "death" nor the "survival" they had imagined appeared.

After a few seconds, the floor beneath their feet suddenly began to rise.

"This is bad..." Qi Xia's expression changed. "Worse than I imagined."

Shouts erupted all around him. No one had expected the "organizers" to try to crush them into pulp inside this low-ceilinged room.

"What's going on?"

Before they could make sense of their situation, Qi Xia immediately shouted, "Get down!"

The three or four quickest to react crouched at once, but they could no longer suppress the despair in their eyes. Everyone knew that, at this rate, the floor and ceiling would most likely meet. No one would escape.

Qi Xia crouched on the floor, his mind racing. He knew his reasoning had to be on the right track. The openings overhead were definitely the "way to survive," but how exactly were they supposed to stay alive?

Amid a deafening noise, the floor slowly rose. Within moments, the room had lost half its height, and everyone had to crouch fully just to move.

Qi Xia looked up. The rectangular openings that had been overhead were now right before his eyes, within easy reach.

While everyone panicked, Qi Xia acted decisively and reached into an opening. It was just an ordinary hole, with a vast space beyond it. The ceiling's construction looked unusual, too. It seemed to be made of some hard metal.

Could it be...?

Crouching on the floor, Qi Xia hurriedly lowered his head and, on impulse, picked up his square wooden board. Since the openings were the "way to survive," and the board was the only tool he had, what connection was there between them?

Qi Xia turned the board upright and pushed it through an opening in the ceiling. Then he turned it flat inside and pulled down. The board lodged firmly across the opening, leaving only a downward-facing handle exposed.

"This is... the way to survive?" Qi Xia's eyes slowly widened as he realized what was about to happen.

Seeing what Qi Xia had done, everyone beside him hurried to copy him, wedging their square tabletops into the openings in the ceiling.

"Be careful. In a moment..."

Just as Qi Xia was about to say more, the floor beneath their feet shattered into dust with a crash.

"Ah!"

"Holy shit!"

Cries erupted all at once. Everyone plunged downward, instinctively grabbing the handles overhead. Only that kept them from falling straight down.

Han Yimo gritted his teeth and clung tightly to the handle above him with his left hand. But he had lost too much blood, and his strength was draining away. Qi Xia could only watch as his left hand loosened, little by little.