Starting from the second round, this game would become increasingly difficult.

Zichen’s “regret” had already diluted some of his “confusion.” If Su Shan could still play a “knife” in this round, the opponent might actually make a move.

Although it wouldn’t cause Doctor Zhao’s death, it would be enough to injure him.

And Qi Xia’s current priority was to consume all the “rope” cards in his hand. Otherwise, the situation would become passive.

“Please draw cards,” the Earth-Chicken said.

Su Shan wasn’t polite. Without another word, she drew a new card and placed it in her hand.

Qi Xia also took his card after her.

“Stone.”

“Troublesome…” Qi Xia felt slightly irritated in his heart, but still put away this “stone.”

Now even if he let Doctor Zhao use a “knife” against Zichen’s “rope,” he might not necessarily be able to kill the opponent, not to mention that Qi Xia hadn’t even drawn a single “knife” card up to this point.

“You said your name is Qi Xia, right?” Su Shan asked.

“Yes.”

“Why did you play ‘rope’ just now?”

Qi Xia raised his eyebrows and said, “Didn’t we just discuss having a ‘draw’? So I could only play a card without lethality.”

Su Shan paused, then asked, “What about this time? Are you still playing ‘rope’?”

“Yes,” Qi Xia said. “I’m still playing ‘rope.'”

After Qi Xia finished speaking, he placed a card face down.

“Su Shan, this card represents my ‘cooperative’ intention.”

“Is that so?”

Su Shan paused, thought briefly, and also placed a card down.

Doctor Zhao and Zichen once again nervously watched the two, not knowing what they were planning.

“Please reveal the cards,” the Earth-Chicken gestured with his hand.

The two revealed their cards again. Qi Xia was still “rope,” but Su Shan was “stone.”

Doctor Zhao was still some distance from the table and had no idea what Qi Xia had played, but he immediately returned to wait under the window for his “prop.”

When he saw an old hemp rope thrown down once again, Doctor Zhao gritted his teeth in anger and stomped his foot.

“Qi Xia… do you really want me to die?!”

He picked up the rope and turned around again, discovering the opponent held a brick.

“Damn it!!” Doctor Zhao quickly retreated to the corner of the wall, staring at the opponent with a face full of terror.

Both sides entered an awkward stalemate again until time flew by rapidly.

Zichen knew that this time no matter what, he couldn’t disappoint Su Shan’s expectations again. So gritting his teeth and stomping his foot, after running forward a few steps, he threw the brick fiercely toward Doctor Zhao with a baseball pitching motion.

Doctor Zhao curled up in the corner, using his hands to protect his head, and also curled up one leg to protect his vital areas.

Amid his terrified screams, that brick hit his thigh.

Very painful, but not really injured.

Doctor Zhao let out a wail, and the brick also fell to the ground.

“Time’s up. Please stop action, ‘Combatants,’ and throw your props into the window.”

Zichen had just roused his momentum when, after hearing this sentence, he seemed to suddenly deflate again.

He somewhat awkwardly lowered his head toward Doctor Zhao, then walked beside him and bent down to pick up the brick on the ground.

In this instant, Doctor Zhao’s expression turned stern.

He slowly tightened his grip on the rope in his hand. A bold idea spread through his mind—could he strangle the opponent here?

This was the only killing method for a “rope.”

But if he really did this, what about the “rules”?

He ultimately didn’t make a move.

Both appeared to retreat to the side dejectedly, each picking up their own prop and throwing it into the window.

Qi Xia looked at that tall man, the corners of his mouth slowly curling upward, silently reciting in his mouth, “The first drumbeat rouses courage, the second weakens it, the third exhausts it.”

Doctor Zhao rubbed his bruised thigh, pressed it several times with his hand, checked it, and discovered the bone wasn’t injured—at most a bruise. So he also felt relieved, raised his head, and stared at the person before him with a face full of resentment.

“Big guy… are you really going to make a move?” Doctor Zhao asked.

“Big brother… I’m sorry… but I can’t die, and even more so, I can’t let Su Shan die…”

“You…” Doctor Zhao gritted his teeth, muttering and cursing something under his breath.

Outside the glass room was another scene.

Qi Xia and Su Shan sat quietly in place, looking at each other, each person’s gaze hiding murderous intent.

“I gave my ‘sincerity’ twice and received a ‘knife’ and a ‘stone,'” Qi Xia said. “I’m very disappointed.”

“Sincerity? Is that so?” Su Shan stroked her chin and said, “Let me guess, Qi Xia, could there be another possibility?”

Qi Xia raised his eyebrows. “I’m all ears.”

“Could it be that your starting five cards had a large number of ‘ropes,’ forcing you to play ‘rope’ for two consecutive rounds?”

Hearing this, Qi Xia’s pupils constricted slightly.

“Because you had to play ‘rope,’ a scheme came to mind, and you took advantage of the situation to propose ‘cooperation’ to me. If I agreed, you could steadily consume the ‘ropes’ in your hand, then find an opportunity later to put me to death. If I didn’t agree, you could also use the ‘giving sincerity’ excuse to influence my next card play.” Su Shan raised a pair of bright eyes to look at Qi Xia and asked, “I wonder if my guess is somewhat presumptuous and makes you uncomfortable?”

“Not at all,” Qi Xia showed a delighted expression, then reached out and tapped his temple. “I really like competing with smart people. If I don’t die, I’ll become stronger.”

“Thank you for saying I’m a smart person,” Su Shan squeezed out a slight smile. “Let’s continue.”

After speaking, she reached out and drew a card, opened it to look, and added it to her hand.

Qi Xia still couldn’t read any useful information from her expression, so he could only lower his head and also draw a card.

“Please, give me a ‘knife,'” Qi Xia thought to himself.

He slowly picked up this card to look at it, and his brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

“Knife”!

Su Shan stared at Qi Xia’s expression and couldn’t help but curl the corners of her mouth.

This man had revealed a flaw.

Qi Xia calmed his mind, slowly placed this card into his hand, and stared at it for a long time.

Since he’d drawn a knife, the following tactics needed to be redesigned.

Qi Xia slowly raised his head and asked, “Su Shan, I’m asking you very seriously once more—are you really not going to cooperate with me?”

“No cooperation,” Su Shan said. “The ‘rules’ never said two teams could cooperate, and moreover, I couldn’t possibly completely trust you.”

“Since that’s the case, then don’t regret it,” Qi Xia took out a card and slammed it fiercely on the table.

“Heh, who will regret it is still uncertain.”

Su Shan didn’t hesitate. She also picked up a card and placed it face down on the table. “I’ve made my choice.”

The Earth-Chicken stepped forward. “Please reveal the cards.”

The two flipped over their cards.

Before Su Shan lay a “shield” card.

She revealed a trace of coldness on her face and looked at Qi Xia. “You want to risk everything, but I’ll deliberately let you come up empty.”

Qi Xia nodded and flipped over his card.

Another rope.