Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As the words fell, Tan Xiao let out a terrified shriek, lunging towards the river snail and clinging tightly to it! Jin Qiu whizzed past behind him!
A new round of “Dodgeball” began!
Mud splattered in all directions, the deafening sound echoed, Bai Youwei silently curled up in the shell, she could hear Tan Xiao’s embarrassed screams and curses from outside.
She couldn’t hear anything from Shen Mo.
This man was really tough, he didn’t have to go so far, wouldn’t it be better to hide in the shell? Why did he always feel the need to save the world?
Bai Youwei was dissatisfied in her heart, but she also knew that she was not in a position to criticize Shen Mo. Because if Shen MO was even a tiny bit more selfish, she wouldn’t have survived until now. The crash from outside finally stopped.
Next, it was time to look for Jin Qiu.
There was a countdown for the players to prepare, but not for the 20 seconds to find Jin Qiu. This easily made one lose track of time. As soon as the crash stopped, Bai Youwei began counting the seconds silently, propping up the inner wall of the shell with her elbow, and slowly getting out.
Her legs were numb and her movements were clumsy. When she slid out of the shell, she had already reached 13, which meant that there were 7 seconds left before the frog would come out.
Bai Youwei clung to the shell and began to climb upwards.
First, she grabbed the edge of the shell with both hands, then propped her upper body up with her elbows, and shuffled forward slowly.
But she was wet and the shell was covered in mud. She would slip down each time she climbed, only to climb up again, and then slip back down. She missed the times when Shen MO would effortlessly hoist her onto the snail.
Twenty seconds later, the cave started to shake. The snail tipped over and Bai Youwei climbed up along with it.
Once her position was elevated, her field of vision also cleared up.
She saw Shen MO and Tan Xiao shoveling mud. In the last round, there were a few young men helping, but this time there were only the two of them, regardless of the danger, regardless of the consequences, they kept digging deeper until their bodies were overturned by the tremendous amplitude, then they retreated, using a nearby snail as a cover.
Shen MO saw Bai Youwei lying on top of the shell, his gaze flickered slightly, he was about to call out a warning, but the frogs were already flooding out. He had to keep quiet and warned Bai Youwei to be careful with his eyes.
Bai Youwei lay quietly on the snail, watching him for a moment, then slowly turned her gaze elsewhere.
She observed the terrain, the frogs, and the snails. There were only these few things in the cave, there must be some trick to it.
She noticed that some shells revealed a pair of feet, the person hiding inside didn’t move, but the mud-covered legs and feet couldn’t stop shaking. Just as she had said earlier, when the frogs appeared, they would turn the snails buried in the mud out onto the surface.
With this in mind, the existence of the frog, rather than being a punishment for losing the game, is a reset of the game, so that there would be enough snails to serve as launch pads for Jin Qiu in the next round.
So, the key was the snails?
Bai Youwei had a few ideas in her mind, but she was not quite sure, she might need to try more…
She looked again at the massive frog not far away.
It sat lazily in the mud, its flesh was saggy and piled up, its oily green flesh was striking against the black-grey mud water.
Everyone was hiding from it, thus it had no “insects” to eat, it seemed extremely bored.
Bai Youwei thought again: There won’t only be one breakthrough in the game, just like a difficult question on an exam paper, there will always be multiple solutions. If the frog never got to eat “insects”, could the game still be passed?
…No, instead of worrying about what the frog would do, it was better to consider the intention of the game set by the Inspector, otherwise, the mystery would always remain a mystery.
She thought about a lot of things in her mind and made various assumptions. Unconsciously, time passed and a frog without “insects” to eat burrowed into the mud and disappeared.
This movement brought Bai Youwei back to her senses, she was momentarily stunned.
Compared to the initial fear, she now seemed… truly immersed in the game..