As it spoke, it floated to the upper part of the cave, still below that circular opening, saying in a cheerful tone:
“The second round of the game is about to begin. Player preparation time is one minute. Countdown starting: 59, 58, 57, 56…”
The air seemed to freeze.
Hatred, anger, pain, or heartbreak all became worthless in this moment’s cold countdown.
All emotions were suppressed by the threat of death.
People’s expressions turned wooden as they scattered, searching for suitable hiding places.
“50, 49, 48…”
Shen Mo observed the surroundings, considering whether to change Bai Youwei’s position. She grabbed his arm. Bai Youwei pointed to a shell nearby.
The snail shells here were all empty, with half the opening sunk in mud and half exposed outside, like a semicircular doorway. Leaning in to look inside, one could vaguely see the space extending inward.
“You want me to carry you inside?” Shen Mo looked into her eyes. “If the golden ball hits it, the snail shell will sink.”
Each time it was struck, the snail shell would sink several inches deeper into the mud. Maybe half, maybe the whole thing would sink in. This depended on how hard the golden ball hit.
So if Bai Youwei really hid inside the shell, she might very well be buried alive.
“It doesn’t matter.” Bai Youwei’s voice was cool and calm. “The air inside should be enough for me to hide for a while. Also, don’t forget—even if the ball pushes the shell into the mud, it’s only for 20 seconds. After 20 seconds, the frog will turn over the mud, and the shell will return to the surface of the mud layer.”
Indeed, that was true.
Earlier, the entire cave had been smashed into craters everywhere by the golden ball, with many snail shells buried. But when the frog appeared, the cave seemed to experience an earthquake, and all the shells in the mud were turned to the outside.
Shen Mo pondered: “There are so many snail shells in this game. They can’t be here for no reason. Perhaps the snail shells exist to provide cover for players?”
“Perhaps…” Bai Youwei murmured.
She seemed to be thinking about something else, somewhat distracted.
Shen Mo looked at her and didn’t ask more questions, just carried her into the shell and settled her properly.
“32, 31, 30, 29…”
The countdown continued.
Shen Mo didn’t plan to hide. Hiding in the shell was safe, but he couldn’t observe the situation outside.
He wanted to stay outside to see clearly where the golden ball finally landed.
At this time, Teacher Cheng, who had been cowering in a corner, suddenly stepped out, shouting hoarsely: “Everyone listen to me!—Listen to me! We can hide in the snail shells. Frogs are dynamic vision creatures! As long as we don’t move, in its eyes we’re no different from lumps of mud! It won’t discover us!”
“Old man, duck down! The countdown is about to end!!!”
Tan Xiao hadn’t expected him to suddenly run out. He quickly grabbed Teacher Cheng’s arm and forcefully dragged him back!
“You don’t want to live?! Watch out or that blind ball will smash you to pieces!”
Teacher Cheng was pulled and stumbled, saying to Tan Xiao with heartfelt distress: “Little Tan! We need to find a way to save ourselves! We can’t just sit and wait for death! Quickly tell everyone to hide in the snail shells! We can’t let the frog eat more people!!!”
Perhaps due to his profession, though Teacher Cheng’s voice was aged and hoarse, it was full of vigor and particularly resonant.
Tan Xiao hurriedly pushed him into the shell, nodding repeatedly: “Got it, got it! Everyone heard! Hey, old guy, move your legs quicker! Hurry up and crawl inside!”
“16, 15, 14…”
Tan Xiao turned to go to his chosen snail shell, only to find it already occupied—by that pants-wetting fat man!
His mass of fat blocked the shell completely tight.
Tan Xiao: “Damn it!”
There were snail shells in more distant positions too, but walking in mud wasn’t like normal. There really wasn’t enough time!
“5, 4, 3, 2, 1…”
Tan Xiao desperately ran toward another snail shell!
The golden ball floated in midair, its tone the same as ever, gloating—
“The game begins.”