Ten Day Ultimatum

Chapter 437: Cat Act

“That’s correct," Qi Xia said with a nod. “If you refuse, your chance of dying today is one hundred percent. If you agree, that chance drops to ninety.”

“You!” Terrestrial Mouse ground his teeth, struggling to find the right words, but his rising fury nearly robbed him of speech.

“That ten percent is my gift to you,” Qi Xia said softly. “If my plan proceeds smoothly, that ten percent will continue to rise—eventually reaching twenty.”

“You’re far too naïve,” Terrestrial Mouse sighed. “To think of defying that man... the odds of survival could never reach twenty percent.”

He paused, then murmured as if to himself, “It might not even reach two—”

“Time is almost up,” Qi Xia said. “This round, I will cut off every path of survival you have left. If you don’t come up with a countermeasure soon, the next moment will be your last.”

“You’re quite the manipulator,” Terrestrial Mouse scoffed. “Even now, I harbor some doubt that you’ve seen through this game’s design—it’s the product of my painstaking design.”

“Is that so?” Qi Xia let out a cold laugh. “I guessed {papaya} correctly yet you still doubt my ability to end your {means of survival}?”

“I...” Terrestrial Mouse hesitated visibly. After a long silence, he muttered in a daze, “If the collar blows me up, so be it—it’s a kinder death than what they’d give me.”

“Is that so?” Qi Xia slowly furrowed his brow. He could not fathom why Terrestrial Mouse, even under extreme intimidation, still resisted. What was keeping him in check?

“That’s just how it is,” Terrestrial Mouse said, his face tinged with sorrow. “To die here at least proves that I struggled to get out, and yet I failed—nothing more. I cannot regret dying while chasing a dream, but I would regret acting recklessly.”

As the footsteps outside gradually faded, Qi Xia realised that Terrestrial Mouse had made his choice.

“It’s truly a pity...” Qi Xia said, a trace of melancholy in his voice. “One so cunning, and yet cannot be made my pawn...”

Once the sound of footsteps vanished, Zhou Six’s voice appeared once more in Qi Xia's ears. “Wang Eight is now safe.”

“As it should be,” Qi Xia remarked.

“Tsk, I didn’t expect Terrestrial Mouse to actually give up,” Zhou Six said, puzzled. “He could have gone back on his word. Is the word {papaya} really that terrifying? Even if he guessed it correctly, so what? If I were Terrestrial Mouse, I’d take the chance and capture him.”

Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. Terrestrial Mouse was not afraid of Wang Eight. What he feared was that someone in their five-person team might penetrate the intricacies of his game.

Once even one layer of the fog was pierced and his schemes laid bare, he would no longer be able to win.

Qi Xia turned his gaze to the fruits on the table. Previously, they had acquired three clementines, three dragonfruits, three peaches, and a single pomegranate.

He and Luo Eleven had consumed one clementine and one peach, leaving the most pressing task: to {Rescue} Zhou Six.

“Zhou Six,” Qi Xia called, “there should still be a dragonfruit in your room, right?”

“Tsk, yes,” she replied.

“Take it with you,” Qi Xia instructed. “Next round, I’ll come to save you.”

“Take it with me...?” Zhou Six hesitated, confused. “Aren’t I supposed to be trapped by the {Mouse Trap}?”

“You’ve been misled by the rules,” Qi Xia explained. “Although you’re caught in a {Mouse Trap}, you used {Search} beforehand. By all logic, you should’ve already secured the fruit.”

“Will that really work...?” Zhou Six glanced doubtfully at the dragonfruit on the table. “Doesn’t that mean I’d be triggering {Transport}?”

“No,” Qi Xia shook his head. “You don’t need to transport it. Just give the fruit directly to Wang Eight as he passes by the door.”

“Then what?”

“Then you head to Room Two,” Qi Xia said. “I’ll go to Room Three. This round, I intend to secure all the food.”

“Tsk, all the food?” Zhou Six mused. “Wait... is that even possible?”

“What’s the issue?”

“Tsk, the fruits in the five rooms... if I’m not mistaken, their quantities are one, one, four, zero, and one. Except for the pomegranate, which is already gone, the others have either one or four remaining...”

“So?”

“Tsk, so how are you planning to carry away all the remaining fruits?” Zhou Six glanced at the dragonfruit in her hand. “Even if Wang Eight and I each take one of the {ones}, there’s still a {one} and a {four} left. If Wang Eight uses {Transport}, we’d need at least three people to carry the fruits from those two rooms...”

“Oh?” Qi Xia raised an eyebrow.

“Tsk, do we even have enough people?” Zhou Six questioned. “Luo Eleven is in the {Cat House} and Wang Eight is transporting. There’s only three available players for the next round. Don’t you need a {Commander}?”

“It’s all irrelevant now,” Qi Xia remarked. “The game doesn’t even require six rounds; it’s about to conclude.”

“Huh?”

Qi Xia pondered for a moment, then grabbed a clementine from the table. Turning to Qiu Sixteen, he said, “Apart from the pomegranate, take any fruit to restore one of your {Satiety value}. For the next round, simply remain here.”

“Remain here?” Qiu Sixteen frowned. “Shouldn’t I go out to {Search}? Didn’t this game just begin?”

“Of course not,” Qi Xia said. “This game ended the moment the rules were explained.”

{Click}.

The lock sounded crisply, and the door of the {Mouse House} opened once more, signaling the quiet arrival of the third round.

Qi Xia entered Zhou Six’s room and opened the door. At the same moment, the {Cat House} door also swung open.

Zhou Six held a dragonfruit in her hand and happened to see Luo Eleven holding a pomegranate.

“Huh...?” Both of them were momentarily stunned.

“What’s going on?” Zhou Six asked. “Tsk, how did you get fruit from the {Cat House}?”

“I...” Luo Eleven let out a wry laugh and shook his head. “Qi Xia entered the {Cat House} for a rescue last round, and I followed his instructions to perform a {Search}...”

“Huh?” Zhou Six was once again startled by the situation. “Performing a {Search} in the {Cat House}...? Did the rules ever mention that?”

“Rules aside...” Luo Eleven sighed. “The {Cat House} does have a {Search} button... At the round’s end, I grabbed the pomegranate, yet Terrestrial Mouse did nothing to stop me.”

Zhou Six turned to Qi Xia. “Was this part of your plan as well? Tsk, but why would the {Cat House} even have fruits?”

“Because the {Cat} must eat as well,” Qi Xia explained. “But its food isn’t limited to fruit, it can also be {Mouse}.”