chapter 12

Qi Mingda was anxious. “I told you to kill Lu Li, why aren’t you moving?”

Lu Li stood on the moral high ground, pointing at him and criticizing.

“Because of you, everyone’s sand has increased. If you want to harm us, just say it directly, no need to beat around the bush.”

Two Players who had formed their own group wavered. “The sand is about to bury our necks. How are we supposed to move!”

“Looking for Notes, killing Players. Qi Mingda, are you messing with us?”

“That’s right! We don’t want the Privilege anymore, and we won’t be the first to answer the question, but you have to tell us the correct answer!”

The Female Teammate hesitated, but still chose to trust Qi Mingda. “Brother Qi, Lu Li is too strange, and we can’t kill him. Why don’t you answer the question first, so we can clear the Fourth Floor’s game as soon as possible.”

With her suggestion, the others immediately agreed and returned the Privilege to Qi Mingda.

“Hurry up and end this! There’s something under the sand, I can’t stay here another second!”

“All the Notes are here, isn’t the answer obvious?”

Qi Mingda felt a lump stuck in his throat, unable to breathe for a long time.

Urged by the others, he unfolded the last Note, learned all the information, regained his confidence, and began to deduce.

“It’s still simple. The mother abandoned Nuo Nuo, so there’s actually one less Family Member.”

Nuo Nuo’s face was still deeply embedded in the ceiling, now extremely close to the Players.

“I want to answer the question,” Qi Mingda said under the expectant gazes of the crowd.

“There are three Family Members in total, no mother.”

Nuo Nuo’s face sank deeper, her Eyeball also drooping heavily, protruding alone.

“No mother…”

Nuo Nuo was very sad. Blood-red tears dripped onto the sand, announcing the result:

“Incorrect answer.”

Qi Mingda reacted violently, frantically rereading all the Notes. “Impossible! That’s exactly what the Item says! How could it be wrong?”

The Female Teammate took one of the Notes. “The dog should be dead too! Look, this Note says she buried something in the Park Behind the School. I guess it was the dog.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier? I’ll answer again!” Qi Mingda shouted. “Two Family Members.”

Nuo Nuo’s expression was blank.

“Nuo Nuo doesn’t like people who go back on their word. Each person can only give one answer at a time.

Now, you must be punished.”

The quicksand began to swirl, trying to claim Qi Mingda’s life, when a cold, white light burst out from the Sand Pit.

“Crack!”

A crisp, glass-like shattering sound rang out.

The already raging sand instantly calmed down.

Qi Mingda gasped and cursed, “My last Life-Saving Item is gone!”

“Another ten thousand Points wasted!”

Furious, Qi Mingda grabbed one of the grouped Players. “You do it!”

“This time, you answer.”

The Player trembled all over in fear. “I don’t know! I don’t know the correct answer! If I get it wrong, I’ll die!”

Qi Mingda sneered, “How many possible answers can there be? If you’re lucky, you might really get the Privilege.”

Now, only two answers remained: one or two Family Members.

Just one more answer, and the correct one would be revealed.

The Player swallowed, tempted, and shakily raised his hand. “I want to answer.”

A fifty percent chance was too high.

What if he got it right?

“Two Family Members.”

Nuo Nuo shook her head in the Player’s despairing gaze:

“Incorrect answer.”

The sand began to flow, and the other Player in his group grabbed his Wristband. “I still have six thousand Points! I’ll lend them to you, quickly exchange for a Life-Saving Item!”

After using the Item, the sand stopped again.

Only the last answer remained. This time, it had to be correct.
After exchanging glances, several people turned to look at Qi Mingda together.

Qi Mingda thought for a moment, then pointed at the Female Teammate. “You answer.”

The Female Teammate was so excited that tears fell from her eyes. “Brother Qi, y-you’re actually giving me this chance?”

Qiao Ren was jealous. “Brother Qi, I’ve followed you through so many Instances, why are you suddenly tempted by beauty!”

Qi Mingda shot Qiao Ren a look.

Although this was the simplest D Grade Instance, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off everywhere-the difficulty of the challenges and the Player death rate were both absurdly high.

The Female Teammate couldn’t wait and waved to Nuo Nuo. “One Family Member!”

The much-anticipated “answer” was given, but Nuo Nuo was disappointed:

“Incorrect answer.”

The Female Teammate screamed as she rolled in the shifting sand, trading all her Points for a Life-Saving Item. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were torn in strips. “Wrong again? Why is it still wrong?”

A gleam flashed in Qiao Ren’s eyes. He felt clever and looked at Qi Mingda with admiration. “Could it be that there’s not a single person in this family?”

With Qi Mingda’s tacit approval, he loudly said to Nuo Nuo, “Zero Family Members!”

Nuo Nuo replied, “Incorrect answer.”

Qiao Ren lost a Life-Saving Item as well.

Blood-red tears dripped one after another, staining the sand crimson.

“There’s no answer at all.” Luo Jia Bai sheathed his knife. “Aren’t you anxious?”

“My sand is the shallowest, of course I’m not as anxious as them.”

Lu Li was only curious about one thing. “What is a Life-Saving Item?”

Even though they were trapped in a deadly situation, Luo Jia Bai was inexplicably soothed by the calm and peaceful aura around Lu Li.

Watching the Players on the verge of panic, he still had the mood to chat with Lu Li. “You haven’t had time to look at the Shop carefully, have you? It’s on the later pages. This Item can offset one fatal injury. The price varies in different grade Instances, and the cost increases with each use. In a D Grade Instance, the first use costs ten thousand Points, then fifty thousand, one hundred thousand, one hundred fifty thousand.”

Lu Li clicked his tongue. “That’s pretty expensive.”

Qiao Ren was sweating all over. “We’ve tried every possible answer, and none are correct. Is there really no right answer? Is her goal just to kill us all?”

“It’s over, we’re really done for this time.”

The group anxiously passed around the Note, trying to find other clues within.

A cool, youthful voice sounded behind them. “Excuse me.”

Lu Li asked politely, “Can I take a look at the other two Notes you have?”

Qi Mingda’s voice was hoarse. “Give them to him.”

The sand had already piled up to their waists, and Lu Li received the two Notes.

One Note read:

December 3rd, sunny

There is an abandoned Park behind the School.

There are slides, swings, and a merry-go-round here, but there’s also an iron chain locking the Park.

The classmates all climb over the wall to play inside.

I really want to play too, but no one in my class wants to play with me. I have no friends.

Today, after School, there was someone in a Clown coat standing in the Park.

If you hug the Clown, you get a Balloon.

Nuo Nuo wants a Balloon too.

Today is Nuo Nuo’s birthday.

*

The other Note read:

December 14th, rainy

The Clown is my best friend.

I can only play with the Clown at midnight.

We play games together in the Park, piecing together broken things in the sand pile.

The sand was piled high, very high.

But this time.

Why didn’t Buck come out of the sand pile?

*

Lu Li folded the two Notes. Qi Mingda’s bloodshot eyes stared at him.

“Finished reading? Aren’t you the clever one? Now it’s your turn to answer.”