Chapter 74: A Lawyer's Choice

"Di Gou, what about the remaining rules?" Qi Xia asked. "What exactly is this game about?"

"Please follow me, and I'll explain as we walk."

Di Gou spoke as he led the group down a corridor in the inn. "This inn has two parallel corridors, both set up identically. The two teams each start on one corridor, and the game begins. The team that completes the task first wins."

With that, he pushed open the first door on the corridor, which had "Fa Xin Ren" written on it.

"This is the sender's room," Di Gou said. "Once the game starts, the two 'Fa Xin Ren' must stay in their respective rooms and cannot leave. Your task is to deliver a letter containing a code."

The room was empty except for a table, and on it were a letter, an iron box, a golden key, and a golden lock.

Lin Geng thought for a moment and asked, "Since we can't leave this room, how are we supposed to send the 'letter'?"

"It's simple—just give it to the 'Jian Xi'," Di Gou said. "Please follow me."

He led the group out of the room and into the corridor.

"The corridor is the activity area for all 'Jian Xi'. You'll shuttle along your respective corridors to deliver messages."

"Have the 'Jian Xi' deliver the letter?!" Everyone was stunned upon hearing this.

"Have you all watched spy thrillers?" Di Gou said with a smile. "Sometimes, even knowing the messenger is a traitor, you still have to send the message."

No one knew what to say. Most of them were young people, and few had studied spy thrillers.

"What's this?" Lin Geng noticed a small machine in the corridor.

It looked like an electric heater with a palm-sized hole on top.

"This is a shredder," Di Gou said. "The 'Jian Xi' can throw anything into it as they wish, including letters, keys, or locks. But just to note, due to size restrictions, the 'iron box' can't be put in."

"So, does that mean we can have the 'Jian Xi' deliver anything?!" Lin Geng asked. "Even just a key on its own?"

"That's right. If you want, you can have the 'Jian Xi' go back and forth in the corridor multiple times."

Everyone had a vague feeling that this game was more complex than it seemed, and what might happen was completely unpredictable.

"I'll stop the first half of the rules here," Di Gou said with a smile. "Please, 'Fa Xin Ren', return to your rooms. The rest of the rules don't involve you."

Lin Geng glanced at Qi Xia, then slowly walked back to the room.

From the opposing team, Jin Mao went to the other corridor and entered the room.

Qi Xia looked at the shredder in the corridor and suddenly felt a bit regretful.

It seemed that the 'Jian Xi' was the role with the most variables in this game.

"You two 'Jian Xi', no matter what you receive, you must deliver it within three minutes, unless you've already destroyed it," Di Gou said, pointing to the electronic clock in the corridor, which showed a three-minute timer. "If the time runs out and the item hasn't been handled, you'll be penalized."

Lao Lv and the girl were startled. "Weren't we told our roles were the safest?"

"Of course, as long as you deliver the item or destroy it, you'll be safe," Di Gou said with a smile. "This rule is just to prevent anyone from delaying."

Seeing that no one else spoke, Di Gou added, "Please, 'Jian Xi', stay here. The rest of you, follow me."

Lao Lv and the girl stayed behind.

Di Gou led the remaining people further down the corridor.

Now, both sides only had the 'Shou Xin Ren' and the 'Ren Zhi' left.

At the end of the corridor was another room, with "Shou Xin Ren" written on the door.

Di Gou pushed it open, revealing a table inside with just a silver key and a silver lock.

In the corner of the room was a large device that looked like a refrigerator.

"This is the activity space for the 'Shou Xin Ren'," Di Gou said. "Aside from the 'Jian Xi', you can't communicate with anyone else."

Then, he walked over to the large device and said, "This cabinet is where the 'Ren Zhi' will be kept. Once the game starts, you'll be locked inside."

Qi Xia went over first to check the cabinet. The door had an electronic display screen showing "Unlocked."

The inside of the cabinet was strangely constructed, with metal walls full of holes, making it look like...

"This is a custom-built large microwave oven," Di Gou said. "After half an hour, if no one opens the door, the person inside will turn into meat."

The big bald man nearby gasped in shock—he was the 'Ren Zhi' from the opposing team.

"A microwave?! What the hell?!" he shouted, stepping back. "I'm not going in there!"

"Hey!" The blond man grabbed him. "Cut it out. If you back out now, A Mu will kill you when we get out."

At those words, the bald man was clearly frightened.

"But... I can't just climb into a microwave..."

"Relax, there's no way these people can beat A Mu," the blond man said, gripping the bald man's shoulder. "Trust in his skills."

The bald man pondered for a moment and nodded hesitantly.

"As for the 'Shou Xin Ren', your rules are the same as the 'Fa Xin Ren'," Di Gou continued. "The only thing to note is that if you successfully receive the letter, open it immediately, crack the code inside, and rescue your teammate. The team that rescues their teammate first wins."

Qi Xia noticed that Zhang Chen Ze had been silent the whole time, so he asked lightly, "Do you trust me?"

Zhang Chen Ze paused for a moment and said, "Qi Xia, I trust you, but this game has too many variables. In this room, you can't communicate with anyone else, and there's no way to discuss strategies. Even if I trust you, that doesn't mean you'll definitely be able to save me."

"I..." Qi Xia was at a loss for words.

Di Gou, seeing the two talking, awkwardly interjected with a smile, "Even now, if you want to swap roles, I won't object."

Hearing this, Qi Xia froze and pulled out his "Shou Xin Ren" card to look at it.

Zhang Chen Ze had just escaped from the fish tank and would now go into the microwave—was that too cruel for her?

"Lawyer Zhang, logically, I should swap with you..." Qi Xia said, looking troubled. "Having you be the hostage twice in a row is just too much for you."

"It's fine," Zhang Chen Ze said. "Qi Xia, from a perspective of maximizing benefits, you should take the 'Shou Xin Ren' role. Being in the middle of the game will let you control things more easily. Compared to the others, I feel more at ease with you opening the lock."

"Won't you think it's cruel to you?" Qi Xia asked.

"Cruel?" Zhang Chen Ze forced a smile. "As long as it's the right thing to do, it should be done without question. Besides, my clothes are still wet, so I can just think of it as drying them off."