Chapter 13 A Rainstorm

• Skyler continued turning the table as he explained, “The dots representing Narvona, Sonora, Inner Myrthesia, Xabruoca, Yublary, Goldcrest, Grivoria, Sablehaven, and Juniperville form an arrow indicating right.”
• He concluded, “No matter where Michael's hometown is—whether it's Goldcrest or Totresh—it completes the arrow indicating right. The answer has been there all along.”
• Everyone kept turning the table while casting strange glances at Skyler.
• His logic seemed too far-fetched, but he had solved two puzzles in a row, which made the others start to doubt him.
• Skyler understood their suspicion and said, “Don't get me wrong. If the next game requires me to leave you all behind to save myself, I won't hesitate to choose survival.”
• His bluntness left the group in silence as they gritted their teeth and kept turning the table.
• The nine people gathered around, tirelessly rotating the table to the right.
• “How many turns now?” Jeremiah asked.
• “Twenty-six,” Pomeline answered.
• “How are you even counting that?” Jeremiah blinked, puzzled. “The table looks the same every time.”
• “I've been counting using the bloodstains on the table,” Pomeline replied earnestly. “As a psychologist, being able to keep track of numbers is crucial.”
• Skyler furrowed his brow. “We haven't even hit thirty turns yet. We need to speed up.”
• Everyone grew quiet and focused on turning the table faster.
• But as they progressed, it became harder to move, as if the internal chains were tightening.
• “Ugh, what's going on?” Jeremiah grumbled through clenched teeth. “This thing's getting way too heavy.”
• “Keep going... maybe it's connected to the door!” Candy urged, her face straining with effort.
• Her words ignited a spark of hope among them.
• A door.
• If the room could create holes out of nowhere, why couldn't it generate a door as well?
• Their arms were aching, but they kept pushing the table, one turn after another.
• “Don't give up! Only five turns left!” Pomeline shouted.
• By now, everyone was exhausted, but no one dared stop.
• Clank, clank.
• As they completed the final turn, the table locked into place.
• The group collectively let out a sigh of relief, though their arms were throbbing with pain.
• There were only three minutes left until the critical moment—a quarter past one.
• “Where's the door?” Jeremiah cried out in frustration.
• The western wall remained unchanged, and through the gaping hole, the cold gleam of the harpoons still shone menacingly.
• “D*mn it! There's no door!” Jeremiah's voice cracked with despair.
• “We were wrong! We guessed wrong!” Renee screamed, her voice hysterical. “We should've turned it to the left, right? We shouldn't have trusted that con man! We're all going to die here!”
• Skyler furrowed his brow.
• Was I wrong?
• Before anyone could react, the clock in the center of the table suddenly made a strange noise.
• It shook slightly and then emitted eight laser beams.
• The lasers shot out from the clock and stopped right at the edges of the table.
• Amidst everyone's confusion, the table clock had precisely sliced the table into several equal-sized segments, much like a pizza.
• Crash!
• With a loud noise, the table broke into pieces, splitting into smaller sections.
• The central clock now sat on a small wooden stump.
• Skyler noticed there were nine smaller triangular pieces and one larger one, like triangles with flat bottoms.
• Time was running out, and everyone was panicking.
• “What the h*ll is this?” Michael exclaimed. “Why did the table break?”
• At that moment, Spencer noticed that there were handles on the back of each piece of the table. His years of professional experience allowed him to instantly comprehend what this meant.
• “They're shields!”
• He quickly grabbed the largest piece and held it in front of him.
• “We can use these shields to block the harpoons!”
• Everyone else followed his lead, though they only had smaller triangular pieces, barely big enough to cover their bodies.
• It took only a few seconds for a major problem to arise.
• “How do we block everything?!” Christine asked. It was rare for her to look this panicked. “If the harpoons come from all directions, we can only block one side!”
• “We need to cooperate,” Skyler said, snapping out of his thoughts. “Form a circle and cover each other's backs.”
• The group quickly rearranged themselves into a circle, each holding up a piece of the table in front of them.
• The room fell silent, save for the sound of their heavy breathing.
• The nine strangers, now teammates, knew they were completely reliant on one another.
• Skyler glanced at Michael and noticed that his face was drenched in sweat. His entire body was trembling.
• A distant bell rang again outside the room.
• “Are you okay?” Skyler asked.
• “I-I'm fine...” Michael stammered.
• “Hey! Dr. Johnson, flip your shield over!” Christine suddenly shouted.
• “Why?” Harvey looked at his piece. He was holding it with the narrow end down and the wider end up.
• “You're not covering my legs!” Christine said, panicking. “I'll get hit!”
• “If I flip it, I won't be able to cover my head!” Harvey shot back. “What's more important, your legs or my head?”
• Overhearing the argument, the others began turning their shields upside down too as the thought Harvey had a point.
• Now, with the shields arranged narrow end down and wide end up, they created a strange problem.
• That meant the harpoons flying in from the west would only be blocked at the upper half, leaving everyone's legs vulnerable to injury.
• “Is this really right?” Renee asked hesitantly. “Even if we tuck our legs under the narrow end, we can't cover the back or the top.”
• “I'll cover the top!” Spencer said, lifting his large shield above the group. “Everyone huddle in, I'll protect you from above.”
• It seemed like the best plan they had. Spencer held the large shield over them while the others tried to cover the sides. Skyler still had a nagging feeling something wasn't right, though.
• Pomeline thought for a moment and said, “We should stagger our shields, one high and one low, like a pattern.”
• “That sounds good!” Jeremiah agreed.
• “No, wait,” Skyler interrupted, shaking his head. “If the shields are perpendicular to the harpoons, they'll pierce right through.”
• “So what's your solution, man?” Jeremiah asked.
• Skyler's gaze fell on the mask lying on the ground.
• Why aren't the mushrooms afraid of the rain?
• The final clue echoed in his mind.
• “Wait, give me a moment...” Skyler frowned.
• The others waited in tense silence, watching the clock as time ticked away. Only one minute remained before the harpoons would launch.
• “Forget him!” Harvey growled. “We're out of time. Let's follow Pomeline's plan!”
• “Shut up, dumb*ss!” Jeremiah yelled back. “I trust the con man's words.”
• “Hey!” Harvey clenched his teeth but held back his retort.
• What does the big and small pieces mean?
• “No.” Skyler's eyes widened. “It's a lie! The big shield will get us killed!”
• “What?” Spencer looked at him in confusion.
• “Officer, drop the big shield and grab the last small one. Everyone, point the narrow end up!”
• Though confused, most of the group had no mental energy left to argue, so they followed Skyler's lead.
• Harvey, after a brief hesitation, flipped his shield as well.
• Spencer, still unsure, reluctantly took the final small shield.
• “Everyone crouch down!” Skyler instructed. “Tilt the narrow ends backward, and lean them together. Officer, no need to block the top. Join us!”
• The group quickly formed a cone with their shields, aligning the narrow ends.
• Astonishingly, the smaller pieces fit together perfectly, creating a cone that sealed off all sides, including the top.
• From a distance, it resembled a cone-shaped mushroom waiting for the rain to come.
• In the dark room, the only sound was their heavy breathing, with hearts pounding in unison.
• “It's coming...” Skyler muttered, counting down the seconds.
• Suddenly, the sound of wind rushing filled the room, and something invisible struck Skyler's shield.
• Moments later, the deafening sound of harpoons crashing into the shields echoed around them, like a torrential downpour.
• The force was immense. Everyone's arms were throbbing from the impact and were barely able to hold onto their shields.
• Fortunately, everyone's pieces were pushed together at that moment, creating a delicate balance.
• “Ah!” Renee screamed as a harpoon pierced through her shield.
• Skyler turned to realize that the harpoon had stopped just two or three centimeters from her eyes.
• Thankfully, the table was hard enough. Otherwise, Renne would be dead by now.