“Whether it’s ‘Earth-Dragon’ or ‘Heavenly-Dragon,’ they are both my most beloved leaders,” the Earth-Mouse said expressionlessly.

Qi Xia knew that if the Earth-Mouse was truly surviving under “Earth-Dragon’s” oppressive aura, he must have some leverage held against him. Before eliminating “Earth-Dragon,” his stance couldn’t possibly change at all.

“Then let’s leave it at that for now,” Qi Xia said. “Proceed according to plan. Qiu Shiliu will come back with me. Luo Shiyi will stay here.”

He no longer paid attention to the Earth-Mouse and Luo Shiyi. After giving Qiu Shiliu a look, he walked toward the door, then went straight to the “Mouse House.” According to the rules, this “rescue” had already succeeded.

The two had just entered the room when Qi Xia heard a voice in his ear.

“Tsk, how’s your side?” Zhou Liu asked. “The bell just rang. Is Shiliu still alive?”

“Alive,” Qi Xia replied. “I’ve already brought her back.”

“But… tsk, I’ll just say it straight. Things aren’t looking good on my end,” Zhou Liu said with curses. “The red light came on in my room.”

“Mousetrap?” After hearing this, Qi Xia nodded. “Ask about Wang Ba’s situation.”

“I already asked. Tsk, he’s fine over there,” Zhou Liu said somewhat unwillingly. “It looks like I’m the one in the most danger right now…”

“No,” Qi Xia shook his head. “Being caught by a ‘mousetrap’ isn’t dangerous. I just observed—from the outside, there’s no way to tell if a mouse has been caught in this room.”

“Tsk, so you mean…?”

“The Earth-Mouse said he wanted to simulate the effect of a real ‘mousetrap,'” Qi Xia explained. “Thinking from this angle, not only can the ‘mice’ not tell there’s a mousetrap in the room, even the ‘cat’ needs to personally confirm before knowing whether a ‘mouse’ has been caught.”

“Tsk, I still don’t understand,” Zhou Liu said. “Even if the ‘cat’ needs to confirm, so what? Aren’t I still trapped?”

“But the probability of you being caught is always the same,” Qi Xia said. “Because the ‘cat’ doesn’t know at all whether the ‘mousetrap’ worked, he won’t likely waste the opportunity to ‘search’ by opening a room with a ‘mousetrap.'”

“I think I’m starting to understand…”

“Exactly,” Qi Xia nodded. “The greatest function of a ‘mousetrap’ isn’t to catch mice, but to waste one round of the mouse’s time. In a game with a total of six rounds, wasting one round is already extremely precious for the cat.”

“Tsk, but according to what you’re saying… aren’t I doomed?” Zhou Liu said somewhat puzzled. “Now that I’ve been caught, one round’s time has already been wasted. If others come to rescue me, won’t that waste another round’s time?”

“No, no, no…” Qi Xia shook his head. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but these five rooms that require us to ‘search’ don’t have ‘rescue’ buttons at all?”

“You mean…”

“I believe as long as the door can be opened, you can escape,” Qi Xia said. “Next, as long as another mouse comes to your room to ‘search,’ you can escape when the door opens.”

Only after hearing this sentence did Zhou Liu gradually breathe a sigh of relief. “I see… then I understand. The next round happens to have more people. If the ‘cat’ doesn’t come looking for me, you can let me out.”

“No… the next round will have even fewer people,” Qi Xia said. “Whether we can proceed according to my script next… mainly depends on the ‘cat’s’ actions this round.”

“The next round has fewer people?”

“That’s right. This time Luo Shiyi stayed in the Mouse House, and you were trapped. We’re down two people.”

Zhou Liu knew that Qi Xia was thinking more than she was, so she could only stop talking and quietly wait in the room for the “cat’s” actions.

“Zhou Liu…” Qi Xia said while looking at several peaches of exactly the same size on the table. “Help me with something.”

“Tsk, what is it?”

“I forgot to look before,” Qi Xia said. “The plate on the altar table… is there something strange about it?”

“The plate?” Zhou Liu was slightly stunned. “Tsk, you mean… that plate holding the fruit?”

“Right,” Qi Xia nodded. “Is it…”

Qi Xia lowered his head and simulated the feeling with both hands, not quite knowing how to express it.

“Tsk, it just looks like a very ordinary plate,” Zhou Liu said. “Where do you suspect there’s a problem…?”

“I…” Qi Xia thought for a few more seconds and organized his words before finally thinking of the term. “Is there a problem with its pressure?”

“Pressure?”

“Could that plate be like an electronic scale?” Qi Xia confirmed. “Are there springs at the bottom, or… can it be pressed?”

Zhou Liu felt that Qi Xia had indeed raised a question she had never observed. She moved the only remaining dragon fruit on the plate, then reached out and gently pressed the plate.

“Tsk…” Zhou Liu’s brows immediately furrowed. “Although it’s very subtle, the plate can indeed be pressed.”

“Then I understand,” Qi Xia smiled. “This Earth-Mouse is considerably smarter than I imagined. This game is even more variable.”

“What do you mean…?” Zhou Liu asked. “Tsk, why am I getting more confused the more I listen? What does it mean that the plate can be pressed?”

“It means we can not only take away fruit, but also place fruit,” Qi Xia said. Standing in the “Mouse House” looking out at the colors of those five doors, he thought back to the fruits everyone had taken out in the last round, feeling he had indeed already found the answer.

But which path did this “answer” lead to?

The first room had a dark green door and held dragon fruits.

The second room had a deep yellow door and held peaches.

The third room had a deep blue door, with unknown fruit.

The fourth room had a deep red door and held pomegranates.

The fifth room had a brown door and held small oranges.

The problem now should lie with the “small oranges.” These fruits on the table with excellent appearance, round and orange-yellow… how could they be called small oranges?

“Ka-da.”

Before Qi Xia could figure it out, the door of the “Mouse House” had already closed.

It seemed the “night” portion of the second round had ended. Next was the moment belonging to the “cat’s” daytime.

“Zhou Liu!” Qi Xia called out. “This round we absolutely cannot lose Wang Ba. Otherwise, only Qiu Shiliu and I will be left in the ‘Mouse House,’ and the odds of losing the game are too great.”

“Will… will we lose Wang Ba?” Zhou Liu said. “Tsk, the probability of the ‘cat’ finding Wang Ba is one in five, right… it should be…”

“No…” Qi Xia’s gaze turned cold. “One in five is really too optimistic. I deduce the ‘cat’ set up a ‘mousetrap’ in room one. He knows I’m no ordinary person and should be able to guess that I deduced this point, so he figures I won’t send people into rooms one and two simultaneously. Now room three is still forbidden territory we’ve never set foot in, and I still won’t send anyone there… Now only rooms four and five remain… The ‘cat’ hasn’t used ‘patrol’ at all. If he patrols between room four and room five this round, the probability of Wang Ba being caught is one hundred percent.”