A simple two-and-a-half-story Western-style house, turned inside out.

In the end, they found only 23 nails.

That number was nowhere near enough.

Tan Xiao found two more under a bed, and dropped them into the dish holding the nails with a bright clink.

He raised his chin toward Li Li and thumped his chest again, as if to say: See? Search with your heart!

Li Li hadn’t found a single nail and had no interest in responding.

Pan Xiaoxin came running downstairs with his little schoolbag, arrived in the living room, and pulled out a huge handful of nails from the bag!

By rough estimation, at least forty or fifty — far exceeding the combined total of everyone else!

Cheng Weicai exclaimed in surprise: “Xiaoxin! Where did you find all those nails?”

Pan Xiaoxin scratched his head and answered honestly: “I couldn’t find any nails… I spotted a toy train in the attic and dismantled it.”

“Ah! That train!” Su Man remembered. “When we were searching for shiny things, I picked it up too — it was metal, and covered with nails!”

Pan Xiaoxin nodded. “It also had a metal track. Each rail section had two nails in it.”

This immediately opened up a whole new line of thinking!

“If that’s the case, every metal toy in the house can be dismantled!”

“The nails holding the paintings on the walls can be pulled out too!”

“Everything with nails can be taken apart! This game is so devious — if the child hadn’t pointed it out, it would never have crossed my mind that we could remove nails from things…”

The toolbox in the storage room had screwdrivers in every size. Everyone grabbed a few and scattered to pry nails loose.

With that, the scope of the search expanded enormously.

Of course, not every nail could be removed. Some, no matter how hard you turned them, simply wouldn’t budge — especially those involved in the structural framework of the house or furniture.

Gradually everyone developed a rule of thumb: “structural” nails couldn’t be removed, but “movable” and “decorative” nails could be taken freely.

The whole house rang with clattering and banging — chaotic, lively, and productive. Every toy with nails was stripped clean without exception, along with the wall-mounted sconces, the living room sofa, the bedroom drawers, the metal hooks in the bathroom for hanging towels… all of it was picked clean.

Tan Xiao had originally wanted to take apart the door handles as well, but the system apparently wouldn’t allow it — no matter how he turned the screwdriver, they wouldn’t come off.

Even so, they managed to gather 226 nails!

Nobody knew exactly how many teeth the Nail-Tooth Beast had, but 226 nails… that should be enough, right?

Bai Youwei glanced at the crystal ball resting on the tansu cabinet.

That ball…

When it was lively, it was very noisy — insufferably loud.

But when it fell quiet, without making a sound, it seemed like an ordinary music box.

Who knew what mischief it was brewing now.

“The first-round berserk phase is unavoidable,” Yan Qingwen said. “Whether it really is nails, and how many nails are needed — we’ll know after we try this round.”

Shen Mo looked at him. “Even though the first round is short, it carries the highest level of uncertainty and danger. The player who invites the guest inside must be someone with strong combat ability — otherwise there’s no way to escape.”

“I’ll go,” Yan Qingwen said calmly. “During the summer, two rounds in a row fell to you. It’s my turn now.”

“Yan Ge, when it comes to combat ability, mine isn’t that much worse than yours,” Su Man stepped forward. “You still need to take Li Li to meet Professor Song — you can’t afford to get hurt. The Nail-Tooth Beast this time — I’ll be the one to invite it in.”

Yan Qingwen thought it over and nodded. “All right. You go first in the first round. Stay safe.”

He was clear-eyed about his own role in the team. Letting Su Man take the first round wasn’t because he feared death — it was because, as the team’s anchor, if something happened to him, it would likely shake the morale of the entire group and affect their performance in future rounds.

Besides, even if Su Man had an impulsive temperament, in terms of pure combat ability she was not much worse than him.

“Then let’s follow the old rules,” Yan Qingwen stood up. “Elderly, women, children, and the injured — go upstairs and find cover. Everyone else, prepare to receive the guest.”