Chapter 369: Tricky Sheep, Deceitful Humans

Lin Jian held the "Dao Hua Piao Feng Nian" in her hand, enduring the pain throughout her body as she pondered for a moment.

As "Autumn," she had actually achieved "harvest" at this point, which meant that the previous "Spring" and "Summer" must have used their seasonal strategies to allow her, battered and bruised as she was, to obtain this "qian."

"Just now, the bell rang twice..."Lin Jian murmured to herself,"You all really didn't let me down..."

She looked up and met Su Shan's eyes, but suddenly froze.

Su Shan's eyes had become as brilliant as diamonds, yet two streaks of crimson blood tears were streaming down from them, making for a terrifying sight.

"Su Shan..."

Without hesitation, Lin Jian picked up the "Dao Hua Piao Feng Nian." Her task as "Autumn" was to safely deliver the harvested grains to "Winter."

Before she could throw the "qian" in, Di Gou's broadcast voice suddenly echoed through the room.

"Wait a minute."

Lin Jian was startled and looked up at Di Gou, who had turned to face her, holding a "qian" in his hand.

"What?" Lin Jian didn't understand what Di Gou meant.

"The 'qian' in my hand is 'Han Liu,'" Di Gou said. "If you dare to play that 'qian,' I'll unleash 'Han Liu' in your room. It will drop the temperature to minus thirty degrees in a short time. You're not dressed warmly, so you'd definitely freeze to death."

Lin Jian pulled her hand back slowly upon hearing this, furrowing her brow.

Since each room only had a speaker and no microphone, she couldn't communicate with Di Gou and could only listen to what he said.

"You might be wondering why I haven't just played this 'qian' directly and am threatening you instead, right?" Di Gou continued. "It's simple—it's too late in the day. If you die here, it'll be hard for me to clean up the rooms. I'd have to get up early tomorrow, and that's a hassle. So, I'm trying to make you back off."

Lin Jian glanced at Di Gou and, from a psychological perspective, tried to gauge his sincerity. People usually reveal flaws in their micro-expressions when they say something that long.

Unfortunately, with his dog-like face, it was impossible to tell.

"If you play a 'useless qian' this round, I promise not to kill anyone for the rest of the time," Di Gou added. "You should have noticed... when I explained the rules before the game, I didn't tell a single lie. That's my 'sincerity' to all of you. If you lose the game and leave a few 'dao,' you can walk away safely."

Yes, Lin Jian thought, lightly curling the corner of her mouth. Di Gou hadn't told a single lie before the game started. Most of the rules had been explained upfront—he was a very honest person.

That's why she couldn't trust him this round.

With a smile, Lin Jian placed the "qian" at the hole and steadily threw it in, all while maintaining eye contact with Di Gou. His gaze was exceptionally stern.

"Di Gou... if I remember correctly, you said something else before the game began—'From now on, I'll use every means to kill you all,'" Lin Jian said with a slight shrug of apology. "I'd rather believe the you from before the game than the you in it."

Di Gou couldn't hear Lin Jian's words, but his expression clearly changed.

"Lying is so hard... no wonder 'Yang' are so rare..." Di Gou shook his head helplessly."Go ahead and die."

This year's "Zai E" was coming, and its target was still Lin Jian.

Lin Jian stood up, facing Di Gou without fear. She knew her injuries were already severe; one more "Han Liu" wouldn't make much difference.

Besides, a temperature of minus thirty degrees wouldn't kill a person right away—she might still have a chance.

A massive mechanical sound rumbled above Lin Jian's head, as if something was building up. A few seconds later, a blast of bone-chilling wind poured down from above.

After just a few seconds, she realized things weren't right. If the room stayed at minus thirty degrees, her chances of survival would be good. But if this freezing wind kept blowing, she was doomed.

The moving wind would constantly strip away her body heat, and in the confined room, she couldn't even move around to stay warm. The situation was dangerous.

From another angle, though, their chances of winning next were very high—the only condition being that Qin Dingdong didn't save her.

If Qin Dingdong resolved this "Zai E" this round, their four-person effort for the whole year would be wasted.

Thinking of that, Lin Jian extended her trembling finger and wrote three words on the frost-covered wall—"Don't save me."

"The third person's 'wish' is over. The fourth person's 'draw qian.'"

Without hesitation, Qin Dingdong reached for the "qian" on the table—"Feng Yi Zu Shi Nian."

Time was precious. Lin Jian's room had been hit with "Han Liu," and if they didn't act fast, she'd freeze into an ice sculpture in there.

So, which "qian" should she play now?

The three "qian" in her hand all seemed incredibly valuable—"Da Feng Sao Luo Ye," "Shui Luo Wu Hen," and "Feng Yi Zu Shi Nian."

From what was written on them, her original two "qian" couldn't counter "Han Liu" at all.

"I guess it's up to 'next year'..." Qin Dingdong frowned and said, "Hang in there, Old Lin."

She aimed the "qian" at the hole:"Dead dog, we've been at this for four years. Isn't it time to let us have a good year?"

She threw the "qian" into the hole. The next second, cheerful and festive music blared from Di Gou's room.

It had been ages since they'd heard that music. If not for the dark, foul-smelling room, they might have thought they'd returned to the real world, sitting with family in a warm house enjoying New Year's Eve dinner.

But they couldn't escape.

They had been dying and reviving here, over and over.

Even the bodies couldn't be taken out.

Di Gou slowly rose with a grim face, glancing at his extinguished second lamp and then at the ceiling. That broken speaker was actually playing New Year's music.

The joyful tune clashed sharply with his cold, somber expression.

He had run this game many times, but situations where every season's mission was fully carried out were rare.

"Looks like your team isn't too bad," he said, surveying the others. "The fifth round begins. This round, I'll go first."

Su Shan was about to "draw qian," but she froze at those words.

Di Gou was going first?

As the end of the fourth round and the start of the fifth, he was acting twice in a row. Was this his ultimate move?

"This round's 'Zai E' is called—'Du Zhang,'" he said, pulling out a "qian" and throwing it toward Qin Dingdong.

A few seconds later, a strange yellowish-green gas drifted from Qin Dingdong's ceiling. She quickly covered her mouth and nose.

She knew this was trouble. The only way to handle "Du Zhang" was probably "Da Feng Sao Luo Ye," but that "qian" was in her hand.

What made it worse was the arrow on it, pointing left.

In other words, only Lin Jian could play this "qian" to clear the "Du Zhang" in her room.

That meant everyone would have to keep "gifting" the "qian" around, wasting an entire round.

They were already in the fifth round. Did they even have time to save her?