The exchange between Chen Qing and Su Li was only a brief interlude. Su Li didn’t ask further, and the others had no intention of expanding on it either. After all, people still needed to focus more on their own interests.
Since there was no deception, Saw Grandpa seemed to ignore it completely. “Alright, let’s begin. I’m spinning. Luo Hong is already done. Starting with Chen Qing; whatever it lands on is what it is.”
Chen Qing immediately grew tense, staring fixedly at the wheel. He was near the front; if it landed on Number 1, Money, he could get a large sum for free.
He definitely wouldn’t be as foolish as Luo Hong, only asking for one hundred thousand.
What kind of businessman had such shallow vision? If it were him, he’d ask for one million.
The old man was casual, spinning the wheel with a flick.
The wheel went around three times and stopped.
—4, Emotions.
What kind of nonsense was that? Who cared about emotions?
It was like asking ordinary people to contemplate 《War and Philosophy》.
Chen Qing’s expression collapsed instantly, disappointment mixed with anger. He felt utterly unlucky. How did he miss it?
“Can I spin again?”
The old man’s wheelchair was several meters away, half-hidden in the dim light. The mask was mostly white, with unsettling patterns, the eye sockets like dark hollows. From his voice, however, everyone could hear a trace of coldness.
Hoarse, like a saw.
“Did you not listen to what I said?”
Chen Qing panicked. Even while bound, he shrank back. “No, I listened. I did. I was wrong. I was just nervous. Please don’t mind it. Four, four. I choose four… emotions. I have a request. I do.”
Once he accepted that he wouldn’t get money, memories of his life surged up, and he quickly latched onto his greatest resentment.
“My wife, that bitch—she cheated. I’ve always felt she must be cheating. She doesn’t cook, and when she does it tastes awful. She can’t take care of the kid. She’s always spacing out. No matter what I say, she just brushes me off. She’s always not coming home.”
“She’s got a lover outside, that bitch…”
“I want you, sir, to help me kill her!”
The old gentleman was much calmer. “You’re that certain she cheated?”
“I’m not suspecting for no reason. I followed her. I found that she wasn’t even going to work; she went to the market to shop for clothes. Damn it, spending money on clothes… I saw what was hanging in the shop—so slutty…”
Su Li listened like she was hearing gossip and couldn’t help chiming in. “Maybe she bought them to wear at home, for herself to look at.”
She didn’t say: for you to look at.
She said: for herself to look at.
But her reasoning meant nothing here, and no one objected or tried to understand.
Because they were the same as Chen Qing.
Chen Qing couldn’t hear the difference at all. Instead, he took it for himself. “For me to look at? Bullshit. When did she ever let me look? I searched all the cabinets and didn’t see clothes like that. She must be wearing them for that lover. That bitch…”
His emotions flared. He listed many signs of his wife being “off.”. Looked at closely, they really didn’t fit normal daily habits.
Suspected infidelity, or something else had happened.
Zhang Cheng said, “Brother, don’t get worked up. The old gentleman will definitely help you. He keeps his word. Who’s next?”
Huang Xiuling said, “Me. It’s me. Old gentleman, spin the wheel first. It’s my turn.”
Saw Grandpa said, “He can go out.”
What?!
They had been staring at Number 1 on the wheel. Very few cared about Chen Qing exposing his own cuckoldry; they even thought he was long-winded and wasting time.
Now that 4, Emotions, was removed, their chances of getting 1, Money, had increased.
But if someone could go out first, the impact was entirely different.
Jealousy?
Chen Qing had been full of grievances, but upon hearing this, he became excited. He could go out?
Right. No matter what he chose, wasn’t the point to fulfill the grievance? Killing that bitch had to be done outside anyway…
As long as he could go out, it was enough.
“Then I’ll go out right now. I’ll go kill her immediately.”
The old man said, “Since you raised this, it must be carried out. So, choose one person to help you. Only then can I let you go out.”
“When you go out, you must follow my arrangements. Only then can it be foolproof.”
Choosing someone… Chen Qing turned his head and suddenly fixed his gaze on Su Li.
Su Li’s eyes lit up. “Are you picking me? I can do it. I’ll go out with you. Ge, you’re a good person.”
Chen Qing opened his mouth, as if he saw something, then closed it again and pointed casually.
“I choose him. Old gentleman, I choose Luo Hong to go with me.”
Luo Hong froze for a moment, then immediately burst into joy and agreed repeatedly.
Saw Grandpa smiled faintly, took out a button, and pressed it.
Click.
The iron doors of Chen Qing’s and Luo Hong’s compartments unlocked. The doors creaked open.
Everyone’s expressions changed.
No one had expected the old man to open the doors so directly.
Wasn’t he afraid?
Through the open doorway, Chen Qing stared at Saw Grandpa at close range. His bound fingers curled.
The face beneath the mask couldn’t be seen clearly, but he seemed to be smiling.
He spoke softly, his tone eerie.
“Do you want to rush out and take me down?”
“I have a lot of money.”
“From being kidnapped to kidnapping me, maybe each of you could get several million, even tens of millions.”
“Your trash-like lives could completely change.”
He really was a madman.
Tempting innocent victims straight into hell.
Did Chen Qing resist?
He didn’t. Because with his hands bound behind him, he could feel the rope still there.
The heat in his head cooled instantly.
“Old sir, you’re a good person. Truly a good person. I, Chen Qing, would never. As long as you help me deal with that bitch woman, I won’t even have time to thank you.”
“But the two of us are still bound hand and foot. How are we supposed to go out?”
Luo Hong also said, “Can you untie us? We absolutely won’t hurt you.”
Saw Grandpa let out a cold chuckle, said nothing more, and controlled the wheelchair away. As he entered the pitch-dark passage, icy laughter echoed back.
“The door is open. I’ll give you twenty minutes. If you can’t get out in that time, then you won’t be able to complete a killing either. You might as well… stay here forever.”
He disappeared, followed by the sound of the iron door locking shut.
Chen Qing and Luo Hong were frantic. They twisted and contorted their bodies, trying to undo the ropes. But there was nothing usable inside the compartment. There were no conditions to rub the rope against anything to cut it.
What to do?
The two of them even begged the others for help.
Zhang Cheng and Huang Xiuling had no real solution. The only thing they could think of was for them to keep rubbing the rope against the iron bars.
Lin Zong said nothing.
Su Li spoke kindly. “It’s useless. That rope is nylon. These iron bars are smooth. There’s no way you can break it.”
“The only way the two of you can get untied is by relying on each other.”
Chen Qing said, “We’re tied hand and foot. Rely on each other?”
Su Li said, “Your mouths.”
Right. Chen Qing and Luo Hong looked at each other, then struggled again, scraping and wriggling along the ground.
Like two giant worms.
Su Li really couldn’t hold it in. “Rolling on your side is faster.”
She was anxious and even demonstrated herself. She accidentally rubbed her clothes against the wall behind her, smearing them with dirty green moss and revealing old ceramic tiles beneath.
It really worked.
The two of them had panicked themselves into stupidity. Now that she pointed it out, they rolled quickly and soon reached the doorway, working hard at the gap… finally lining up properly.
“This knot is really complicated. It’ll take some time.”
“Stop biting my palm, damn it!”
Chen Qing and Luo Hong struggled there, drenched in sweat. On Su Li’s side, she glanced at the knot, then occasionally looked up toward the broadcast.
There were two exits here, each sealed by an iron door. The passage Saw Grandpa had taken was already closed. That left one opening…
Was that the exit reserved for the two of them?
After a few minutes, they finally managed to undo the ropes.
Huang Xiuling said, “Hurry, see if you can help us get these locks off. Quickly.”
Chen Qing narrowed his eyes but still went to check. “No use. This is an electric lock. I can’t get it open.”
Lin Zong said, “If you could, he wouldn’t dare let you out. Everything is calculated. He’s not that foolish.”
Huang Xiuling fell silent.
Chen Qing immediately said, “I’m out of time. It’ll be your turn anyway…”
He turned and ran toward the opening. Luo Hong followed closely behind.
“Ge, you’re just leaving like this? I helped you earlier. Come back, save us… My family has money. Save me, and I’ll give you money.”
Su Li twisted her body and shouted after them a few times.
Huang Xiuling was still unwilling. She cursed them for being heartless and abandoning them to die, but she didn’t make any extreme moves, as if she had accepted the outcome.
Watching them disappear into the distance, Su Li finally gave up. She forced a bitter smile and tried to comfort her. “Huang Da Jie, don’t panic. If they can escape, it means the old gentleman keeps his word. If they can’t…”
Huang Xiuling calmed down. “That makes sense. If they can’t, they’ll die first.”
Su Li gave a dry laugh. “I didn’t say that. I still hope everyone can get out.”
Lin Zong was older and seemed tired. After catching his breath slightly, he said, “Miss Su, you’re so young, and your mind works so well. How did you end up getting caught here?”
Su Li glanced toward the broadcast and said cautiously, “I don’t know either. I’m from out of town. I just went out to buy mala tang and got knocked out and brought here. What about you? Are you locals? Were you picked at random too? Do you not know each other?”
She fired off several questions at once.
Huang Xiuling said, “We don’t know each other. What Baimu Town? I’m not from here. I came to visit relatives; I have relatives in this town. But as soon as I got to the station—damn it, how could I be this unlucky.”
Zhang Cheng said, “Who knows how we got picked… I’m not from Baimu Town either.”
Lin Zong said, “Neither am I. I came by car to Baimu Town to buy some medicinal herbs. There are lots of forests here; things like ginseng are cheaper than elsewhere and authentic too. Unfortunately… I didn’t expect this to happen.”
Su Li said, “We don’t know each other, and we come from all over, yet we ended up gathered here in Baimu Town. That’s fate. I hope we can be more united, help each other, and get out as soon as possible.”
The other three had no objections.
They had just agreed—
Suddenly, a piercing scream came from the passage at the exit. All four of them looked over.
The old light bulb on the wall flickered.
A hoarse voice came through the broadcast.
“Rule violation. One person is dead.”
“But he was killed by a companion.”
The four of them froze.
So he never intended to let them out?
This so-called spinning-wheel game was just to toy with them?
Wait—killed by a companion?
The four people who had just been cheering each other on about unity and mutual help: “……”