“No, wait a moment...” Bai Nine tugged at Qiao Jiajin’s sleeve from behind. “Qiao ge, I heard that in Terrestrial-grade games, you can’t learn the rules unless you pay the admission.”
“Huh? There’s such a thing?” Qiao Jiajin turned to look at Terrestrial Rabbit. “Hey, big rabbit, I’m afraid of getting tricked, can’t you tell us the rules first?”
“Sure.” Terrestrial Rabbit nodded decisively. “Of course I can.”
“Wow! You’re quite reasonable!”
“I just hate trouble,” said Terrestrial Rabbit. “Once I’ve explained everything, if you feel it doesn’t work for you, just leave. Don’t waste time.”
“Of course, of course.” Qiao Jiajin nodded repeatedly. “If it’s a physical or combat-type game, we’ll definitely ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) give it a try.”
“Then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.” Terrestrial Rabbit shook his head. “In the building behind me, there are sixteen rooms in total, arranged in a square—four rooms per row, four rows altogether.”
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“Uh-huh...” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “A–And then?”
Noticing Qiao Jiajin’s curiosity, Terrestrial Rabbit crouched down and sketched a rough picture on the ground, which looked somewhat like a chessboard.
“Each room has a door on all four sides, making four doors in total,” he explained, pointing to the top-left room. “All participants will enter from this room.”
Then he pointed to the bottom-right corner. “You’ll escape from this room. In other words, as long as you can make it from the top-left room to the bottom-right room, you win.”
“Oh...?” Qiao Jiajin felt he understood the gist of the game, yet something about it seemed off. “So how do we get through each room? By just...running straight through?”
{Sound Insulation} Yun Nineteen was the first to realize the flaw. “That doesn’t make sense... If direct escape were possible, the entire concept of the {rooms} would lose its meaning.”
“Indeed.” Bai Nine nodded as well. “Are there any rules about how participants move within the rooms?”
“Huh?” Qiao Jiajin turned to the two and wooden-headedly nodded along. ‘So there’s more to it...?’
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“Of course.” Terrestrial Rabbit turned to the sketch on the ground. “Everyone acts in sequence by {turns}. The game is divided into two parts: the {Participants’ Turn} and the {Earthly Branch's Turn}. Participants may open one door and move once, while Earthly Branches are allowed two moves per turn.”
Bai Nine stared at the drawing for a long while before asking, “What happens if we get caught?”
“You’ll be torn apart by me,” replied Terrestrial Rabbit. “I’ll do it myself.”
“I see...” Bai Nine and Yun Nineteen nodded at the same time. “It’s a strategy game. The seven of us must each choose our own route and reach the goal while avoiding the {Earthly Branch}.”
The other five nodded one after another. “I see...”
Qiao Jiajin, looking slightly embarrassed, turned to Bai Nine and Yun Nineteen, then to the rest of his team. “What do you mean {I see}? You all understand this already?”
“Yes, Qiao ge,” Bai Nine replied with a nod. “The game shouldn’t be too difficult, but there will likely be casualties. If you’re fine with that, we can pay the admission.”
“Uh... well... what I mean is...” Qiao Jiajin scratched his head awkwardly. “I suddenly have a new idea.”
“A new idea?”
The members of {Cats} and Terrestrial Rabbit all turned their eyes toward him.
Terrestrial Rabbit seemed to realize that the man before him was the captain of the group. Was he trying to raise the stakes?
“E–Everyone...” Qiao Jiajin gave an awkward laugh, glanced at Terrestrial Rabbit, and said, “I’ve decided we should play a different game.”
“Huh?”
The members of {Cats} were caught off guard, unable to respond for a moment.
“Qiao–Qiao ge...” Bai Nine asked from the side, “do you think this game is too difficult?”
“Huh?” Qiao Jiajin was momentarily stunned. “D–Difficult? Well, maybe for me...”
“Is there some hidden rule we haven’t discovered yet?” Bai Nine mulled seriously. “I knew it—this isn’t just an ordinary strategy game. The {Terrestrial}-grade games are getting harder and harder these days...”
“Yeah, Qiao ge, did you notice something?”
“No, no, nothing like that,” Qiao Jiajin replied with a sheepish grin. “It’s just that, if I joined this game, I’d be a pretty sorry captain, unable to do a single useful thing.”
“What exactly do you mean?”
“It’s nothing, really.” Qiao Jiajin sighed, stepped forward, patted Terrestrial Rabbit’s strong, solid shoulder, and said, “Big rabbit, sorry for the trouble. Your admission’s a bit too steep for us; we’re a little short on funds, so we’ve decided to try somewhere else.”
Even Terrestrial Rabbit hadn’t expected the man before him to turn and leave so decisively. He led his team away without hesitation, as if they had never been there at all.
“Wait—” Terrestrial Rabbit’s expression twisted into one of grievance. “You could’ve at least asked how many {Dào} the admission was...”
Before his words even faded, another team appeared at the far end of the street.
Strangely enough, this new group looked almost identical to the one before.
“This young master completely gives up...” A lazy voice drifted closer from the distance. “So none of you know where to find a Terrestrial {Earthly Branch}? Are we out here on a {sightseeing tour} today?”
A man with a roguish air strolled down the street, leading a group of people all dressed in black leather jackets.
“We rarely take part in games anymore,” remarked the man in the black leather jacket beside him. “So let’s just see what we can find.”
After only a few steps, the group happened to come face to face with Terrestrial Rabbit.
“Well, I’ll be damned!” The man in front let out a loud exclamation. “Song Seven, Song Seven, Song Seven—look at that!”
The man called Song Seven sighed helplessly. “What is it now?”
“A big fat rabbit!” the captain exclaimed, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “This young master has truly seen it all today; never thought I’d meet such a plump rabbit.”
Terrestrial Rabbit felt that the man before him was being far too flippant. If he learned the content of his game, this man would likely bolt just as the previous captain had.
But what was going on today, exactly?
Why were there so many people in black leather roaming the streets?
“Hey...” said Terrestrial Rabbit, “do you want to take part in my game?”
“Of course we do,” replied the man leading the group.
“Good. Then allow me to explain the rule—”
“Lead us in,” the captain interrupted. “Doesn’t matter how much {Dào} it costs, my men will pay in full. You’re in luck today, punk, you’ve just run into a man with money to burn.”
“Huh?” Terrestrial Rabbit was completely taken aback. “Wait a moment... I can explain the rules to you in advance. Don’t you want to hear them firs—”
“No need.” The captain waved his hand dismissively and strode straight toward the building behind Terrestrial Rabbit. “The creed this young master lives by is: {We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it; it will be all right by the night}. That’s that.”
“W–What in the world...” Terrestrial Rabbit stared blankly, turning to look at the man called Song Seven.
“Ahem...” Song Seven gave a helpless, bitter smile. “That’s just how our captain is. Please bear with him.”
