Chapter 141: The Seesaw

"Teamwork?!" Qi Xia was stunned. "Are you saying... the four of us form a group and play the game together?"

"That's right."

Qi Xia took a deep breath, feeling that "teamwork" was more reliable than "intellectual quizzes."

In other words, he could use his own strength to protect Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian as much as possible.

"What are the specific rules?" Qi Xia asked again.

"You'll know once you enter the room."

Qi Xia glanced at the room at the end of the line; it was a very small space, not even as big as a public restroom.

That meant the game inside wouldn't be too complicated. Even in the worst-case scenario, it would at most be some kind of team escape game.

"Does this game have any 'traitors'?" Qi Xia asked.

"Of course not." Ren Long shook his head. "As long as the four of you stay united and work together, you can definitely win the game."

"Is it possible for the four of us to turn on each other?" Qi Xia asked again.

"I promise you, absolutely not." Ren Long shook his head.

Hearing this, Qi Xia knew it was worth taking the risk.

"In that case, let's do it together."

Ren Long slowly smiled.

"Good, very good." He nodded and stepped aside from the door behind him, not entering himself but clearing a path for Qi Xia and the others.

Qi Xia and Yun Yao exchanged a glance and slowly walked forward.

Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian followed closely behind, and the four of them entered the room.

Only then did they realize the room was at most three or four square meters, with metal walls on all sides and a floor made of iron grating.

In the corner of the room sat an old wooden stool, and on the stool lay a long knife that had been sharpened to a shine.

On the wall to the left hung an electronic countdown clock stopped at ten minutes.

In this tiny "closet"-like space, what kind of game were they supposed to play?

With a sharp "click," the door behind the four of them closed as expected.

Qi Xia turned around and saw that the back had turned into a solid iron wall.

"Damn..." Qiao Jia Jin muttered under his breath. "That Ren Long didn't even explain the rules. Did he forget?"

"It won't be. Let's wait patiently."

No sooner had the words been spoken than the four of them noticed a strange phenomenon.

The iron grating under their feet was suspended, and the ground below it was rapidly descending, making them feel as if they were hanging in mid-air.

Yun Yao nervously gripped the metal wall and felt it carefully for a moment before realizing: "Our room seems to be rising... like an elevator."

Yes, compared to a "closet," this place was more like an "elevator."

After all, it had metal walls on all sides, but why was the floor made of iron grating?

The four of them felt the room moving quickly, but they couldn't see outside; through the grating beneath their feet, they only saw pitch blackness.

Fortunately, the grating was sturdy, so there was no worry of falling through.

"Be careful." Qiao Jia Jin walked over to the stool, picked up the knife with his hand, and held it protectively. "It's shaking so much; watch out for stepping on the knife."

After some time, they felt the room shudder to a stop, but the situation was still unstable.

It felt as if the room was tied to a spring, swinging up and down incessantly.

Looking down, they saw flames flickering about ten or so meters below their feet, with wisps of smoke drifting up into the "elevator."

"What is this for?" Qiao Jia Jin squatted on the ground and peered through the grating. "Making char siu? But the fire's a bit too far away."

Qi Xia knew Ren Long wouldn't do anything meaningless, but what did the "fire" represent?

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my game arena." Ren Long's voice suddenly echoed from all directions, sounding eerie.

"Hey! Where are you, you Ren Long?"

Qiao Jia Jin stepped forward, but this made the entire room shake even more violently, startling him into grabbing the nearby wall.

"Don't move!" Qi Xia sensed something was wrong. "We seem to be attached to something that's not very sturdy!"

The others carefully felt it and realized Qi Xia was absolutely right.

Ren Long's laughter came from all sides, followed by him saying loudly:

"This game is called 'Seesaw.' As long as you're not eliminated, each person gets ten 'Dao.' The game officially begins now."

No sooner had he spoken than the ten-minute countdown started ticking.

"What?!" Yun Yao was startled. "It starts just like that? What about the rules?!"

"No..." Qi Xia said with a hint of panic, "The three words 'Seesaw' are probably the rules..."

He slowly moved a few steps and felt around the walls, eventually finding a small hidden window about five or six centimeters in diameter, roughly the size of a tennis ball.

He gently pushed it outward, and the small window opened.

Qi Xia swallowed hard and looked out through the window. In an instant, the hairs on his body stood on end.

After all, it was Ren Long.

Did such a structure even exist?

Qi Xia's eyes flickered as he slowly backed away a few steps.

The others saw Qi Xia's expression and quickly looked out the small window.

But just one glance made everyone's hearts sink.

Outside the small window, they saw a massive metal beam extending outward, dozens of meters long.

One end of this huge metal beam was connected to the "elevator" where Qi Xia and the others were, and the other end was attached to another "elevator."

The people in that other "elevator" had also discovered their hidden window and were looking in this direction.

But the window was too small and the distance too great for them to make out each other's faces.

This massive metal beam was like a seesaw, fixed at the center with the two rooms hanging from either end, currently swaying slightly.

"Damn... seesaw..." Qi Xia muttered under his breath. "Is this what you wanted?"

"You tricky bastard... what the hell is this..."

Qiao Jia Jin kept blinking his eyes. He looked down at the flames far below and couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.

A seesaw was an unstable physical structure; it wouldn't be long before one side dropped due to even the slightest weight difference.

And below them was fire.

If their side sank, the people in the room would plunge straight into the flames and burn to death.

"We need to get lighter..." Qi Xia murmured to himself. "Our room has to get lighter to survive..."

Before Qi Xia could finish, they felt their room slowly descending.

They were heavier than the other side.

"Oh no..."

The other three, except for Tian Tian, were startled and quickly moved toward the side closer to the beam.

"Tian Tian, come over here!" Qiao Jia Jin said.

Tian Tian nodded and hurried over to stand with the three of them.

According to the lever principle, they couldn't stand on the outermost side, or it would increase the force on their end more than the other side.

It seemed the other side had figured this out first, meaning they weren't easy opponents.

...

Chu Tian Qiu finished humming a tune and slowly smiled.

"Let me guess," he said, opening his eyes. "You wanted to use your own power to protect your teammates, so you agreed to participate in Ren Long's game, right?"

Chu Tian Qiu straightened up and looked at the chessboard.

On the right were four "pawns," and on the left were the "king," "queen," "knight," and "bishop."

These eight pieces were currently attacking a monster from both sides.

"Sometimes, being too clever can be a fatal flaw."

Chu Tian Qiu pondered for a moment, then reached out and slowly removed the monster in the center of the pieces.

The current formation was a bit odd.

The eight pieces were divided on the left and right, facing off tensely, but they didn't look like they were attacking a monster.

Instead, it seemed like they were about to turn on each other.