Ten Day Ultimatum

Chapter 438: Hidden Stratagems

“So that’s how it is?” Zhou Six furrowed her brow, about to speak, but then noticed the pomegranate in Qi Xia’s hand. “Tsk, then why did you bring fruit out from the {Mouse House}?”

“I...” Qi Xia frowned as he glanced toward the {Cat House}, sensing that some matters were not suitable to discuss now. “Zhou Six, head into Room Two. Luo Eleven, you go to Room Four.”

“Huh? What about our fruit?” Luo Eleven asked.

Before anyone could answer, Wang Eight’s door opened. He walked over holding a small clementine.

“Hm?” Wang Eight looked at the other three, puzzled. “What are you doing here?”

“We...” Zhou Six and Luo Eleven both gave wry smiles. “We really don’t know what we’re doing. We’re just following Qi Xia and doing whatever he arranges...”

“Hmph...” Wang Eight snorted coldly. “Fine, let’s just listen to him. From now on, he’s Qi Eight.”

Qi Xia nearly laughed at Wang Eight’s remark, but could only sigh. “I have no interest in your eighth position, and as I explained before, I was deliberately provoking you. There is no need to fuss over everything.”

“I know, I just can’t help it,” Wang Eight pursed his lips. “Here, take this clementine. I’m going back to rest.”

“Don’t give it to me,” Qi Xia shook his head. “Take your own clementine, along with their two dragonfruits and the pomegranate, and return to the {Mouse House}.”

“Is that even allowed?” Wang Eight paused, then thought it through. According to the rules, it did seem possible. As long as one person triggers {Transport}, all the {fruits} collected by rest can be brought along.

Luo Eleven and Zhou Six handed their fruit to Wang Eight, then glanced toward the {Mouse House}, where Qiu Sixteen was looking out with a puzzled expression.

“Do–Do I really not need to do anything this round?” Qiu Sixteen asked.

“Yes,” Qi Xia acknowledged with a nod. “This round doesn’t require a {Commander}; three {Searching} mice will do.”

Zhou Six pondered for a moment before asking, “Tsk, with three of us each entering a room...what do you think are the odds we’ll be caught?”

Qi Xia stroked his chin and said, “About zero.”

“Zero?” Luo Eleven was taken aback. “Who has a zero percent chance of being caught?”

“If I’m not mistaken, the probability of all three of us being caught is zero,” Qi Xia replied.

Seeing that the others still did not understand, Qi Xia simply shook his head and allowed everyone to proceed according to their respective roles.

The moment he stepped into the third room, a small smile curved Qi Xia’s lips. “As expected... {Papaya}.”

Four golden-yellow papayas rested at the center of the table. This room seemed like a hidden paradise, untouched by anyone from the very beginning.

“Everything is unfolding exactly as I predicted,” Qi Xia said, moving to the wall and pressing the {Search} button.

No red light illuminated the room.

‘The {Cat} hasn’t set any {Mouse Traps}...’ Qi Xia mulled. ‘Then you can only {Patrol}. At this point, {Mouse} are present in every room except Room One and Room Five...’

With that in mind, Qi Xia reached out and took all the papayas from the plate, then placed a pomegranate on it. The moment the pomegranate was set on the plate, Qi Xia distinctly felt the plate sink, as if the weight of the pomegranate had just activated some mechanism.

The plate descended to its lowest point, flipped instantly, and when it returned, all the fruit on top had vanished.

“As expected... it’s {Inter-regulating},” Qi Xia said. “But what exactly does {Inter-regulating} entail?”

Room One, with a deep green door, represented Wood. Because Wood promotes Fire (火), {Dragon Fruit (火龙果)} were present inside.

Room Two, with a deep yellow door, represented Metal. Because Metal promotes Water (水), {Peach (水蜜桃)} were present inside.

Room Three, with a deep blue door, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) represented Water. Because Water promotes Wood (木), {Papaya (木瓜)} were present inside.

Room Four, with a deep red door, represented Fire. Because Fire promotes Earth (土), {Pomegranate (石榴)} were present inside.

(TLN: 石 is stone in Chinese, which is part of the earth/soil.)

Room Five, with a deep brown door, represented Earth. Because Earth promotes Metal (金), {Round Kumquat (金桔)} were present inside.

“Well played, Terrestrial Mouse,” Qi Xia remarked, approvingly. “If the game is taken at face value as a {Cat-and-Mouse Game}, many {Mouse} will, as rounds progress, notice the dwindling supplies and prioritize their own survival over rescues. You can thus eliminate several players with little effort. Granted, you’d forfeit five {Dào} and fresh fruits every game, but you could reliably take down participants, and even...”

Qi Xia knew that if the {Mouse} were unlucky, there was a high probability of total annihilation.

After all, when only a couple of {Mouse} remained in game, the {Cat} could {Patrol} each round, searching two rooms at once, greatly increasing the chance of capturing a {Mouse}.

‘Moreover, you’ve concealed one of the most important details...’ Qi Xia furrowed his brow. ‘The {Cat} isn’t limited to just one action per round... as long as it has {Satiety}, it can continue acting.’

The greatest indicator lay with the single {Pomegranate} remaining in the {Cat House}.

If the {Cat} and the {Mouse} were allowed the same actions, then clearly it would have carried back three {Pomegranates}. So what happened to the other two?

The answer was that, within the same round, the {Cat} had both set a {Mouse Trap} and performed a {Search}. These two actions consumed two points of {Satiety}. Therefore, Terrestrial Mouse had to eat two fruits to ensure he could still act in the following round. After all, when explaining the rules, Terrestrial Mouse had said, {I also only choose from these three actions each turn}, but had never specified that he was limited to just one.

‘In other words, your {Satiety Value} has a maximum of at least three points, allowing you to act twice confidently...’ Qi Xia pondered before nodding once more. ‘Such an ingenious game, yet you claim you won’t immediately kill... I may have overestimated you, Terrestrial Mouse. Were you trying to throw the game? If I were in your position... not a single participant could leave this game alive.’

{Click}!

A muffled sound reverberated through the room. The altar table along the wall trembled, then began to move.

A few seconds later, a pitch-dark secret passage behind the altar came into view.

“I see...” Qi Xia nodded. “Should the fruit inter-regulate with the elemental nature of the room, the {Lock} is dispelled, and the {Mouse} within is no longer bound. A quick-witted {Mouse} could then burrow free.”

But where did this hidden passage lead?

Qi Xia picked up all the papayas from the table and bent to enter the passage.

At this point, the rule of {limited to three fruits} no longer applied to him, since his action this round wasn’t {Transport}.