Chapter 16 Another Crisis

• Although the crowd didn't have much medical knowledge, they generally grasped the gist of Harvey's explanation.
• For them, it was easy to remove a harpoon, but stitching up the wound was a challenge.
• “The author's life has been saved for now. Our only task is to leave this place quickly, and then find a suitable location to tend to his wounds again.”
• Harvey's words once again pulled everyone's thoughts back to reality.
• If they couldn't escape from this eerie room, sooner or later, their fate would be the same as Michael's.
• “But how are we supposed to leave? Is the 'game' over?” Pomeline asked, covering her mouth and nose.
• After careful consideration, Skyler shook his head.
• The message on the mask was clear. The individual known as Man Dog wanted them to survive, also mentioning that he would see them after the rain.
• Logically speaking, after the chaotic barrage of harpoons, the so-called Man Dog should have appeared and possibly brought on the next game. But why hasn't he revealed himself?
• “Hey, con man.” Jeremiah slowly approached Skyler, his face serious as he asked, “You have a way to survive this, right?”
• “What's it to you?” Skyler responded coldly, “What does my survival have to do with you?”
• “I'm not as smart as you, so I can only collaborate with someone.” Jeremiah offered, “You have the brains, while I have the brawn, so let's team up.”
• Upon hearing these words, Skyler slightly furrowed his brow.
• “I'm sorry. I'm a con man. Apart from myself, I don't trust anyone else.”
• Before Jeremiah could say another word, a sudden question echoed from Spencer.
• “What is this?”
• Upon hearing it, everyone turned their heads, only to find that Spencer was meticulously examining the harpoon in his hand.
• Harvey moved closer to Spencer, cautiously asking, “What's wrong?”
• “There's a note.” Spencer handed the harpoon over to Harvey.
• Harvey took a closer look, his expression shifting. Indeed, there were tiny inscriptions on the tail end of the harpoon, which was as thick as a finger:
• I am Man Goat. If you're reading this, it means you've survived. But how many of you actually survived? Is anyone hurt? I am genuinely worried about you guys. I can't just stand by and watch you all march to your deaths. A quarter of an hour later, death will descend from above. Dodge them, and find a way to survive.
• Harvey gritted his teeth, then forcefully threw the harpoon onto the ground.
• “You think I'm a pushover, don't you? This is never-ending!” He roared, seemingly wanting to vent all the pent-up emotions he had been harboring up to that point.
• “Keep your cool!” Spencer stated firmly. “How are you supposed to survive if you can't get a grip on your emotions?”
• “Survive? But we're already dead!” Harvey finally reached his breaking point. “We're already dead, yet we're still tormented by the fear of death. What on earth does the organizer want? Can't he just kill us outright or let us go?”
• Everyone's faces were rather grim at that moment, wondering what was the purpose of these relentless threats of death that kept coming wave after wave.
• Is it as Goat Head suggested? That they're really choosing a god? Could it be that only one of us will become a god, while the rest are destined for hell?
• “Guys,” Harvey began, his fist clenched, “we've already survived two rounds. Do you think it's because we're clever? No!” His voice resonated through the room. “We've just been incredibly lucky! But what about next time? Or the time after that? In this ever-changing room, how long can we really expect to survive?”
• Spencer pursed his lips, stepping forward to grab Harvey by the collar. “Hey, man! In a critical moment like this, what we need most is morale! If you want to give up on life, go ahead! But don't you dare undermine our spirit here!”
• “I...” Harvey's lips quivered slightly. “But how are we going to get out? Do you have a way to lead us out?”
• Spencer pondered for a moment before saying, “I don't have a solution, all I know is that we need to survive! As long as we survive, there's always hope.”
• He released his grip on Harvey's hand, moved aside to pick up a harpoon, and examined it. Then, he walked over to Michael and inspected the harpoon on the latter's shoulder, noticing the identical inscriptions on both harpoons.
• It seems that we have been extremely lucky.
• The challenge just now not only required dodging lethal attacks but also necessitated retaining at least one harpoon to decipher the clue for the next level.
• “No matter what, we've gotten an obvious clue now,” Spencer said, scrutinizing the words on the harpoon. “Unlike before, the next attack will come from above.”
• He pointed out the small characters on the harpoon that read: death will descend from above.
• No sooner had he spoken than the entire room began to transform once again.
• At that moment, all the holes in the walls started to slowly vanish, while the ones on the ceiling began to transform. Surprisingly, numerous rectangular openings appeared, each about a meter long and twenty to thirty centimeters wide. Upon closer inspection, there were nine holes in total.
• Is this what was meant by “death will descend from above”?
• “It seems the game is getting easier,” Spencer said with a sigh, looking at the nine holes in the ceiling. “You could say we're lucky despite the unfortunate situation.”
• “But why is it written by Man Goat?” Christine pointed at the corpse on the ground, torn apart by a harpoon, and asked, “Didn't we kill Man Goat already?”
• After a moment of contemplation, Skyler also found it quite peculiar.
• The Goat Head who had just died did indeed refer to himself as Man Goat, but his mask ironically read: I am Man Dog.
• He's a goat one moment and a dog the next. Could this also be one of the clues?
• “There's not much time left,” Spencer addressed the group. “It's already twenty-three minutes past one. It seems like it won't be long before those nine holes in the ceiling start projecting something dangerous. Everyone, please grab a tabletop and stand by the wall.”
• At that time, everyone noticed something peculiar about the tabletops on the ground. These tabletops seemed to have a unique structure. After being torn apart by the harpoons, only a square with a handle remained. It appeared that the wood in the center was harder than the surrounding areas.
• Though the tabletop he held was already quite small, all nine holes in the ceiling were thankfully clustered around the center. Thus, it seemed like standing by the wall should be safe.
• Everyone quietly moved to pick up the shattered pieces of the table from the ground. They then positioned themselves around the edge of the room, deliberately distancing themselves from the holes in the center.
• At that moment, Skyler remained motionless, slowly closing his eyes again.
• No matter how one looked at it, the third game was just too suspicious, as the organizer had seemingly provided them with a solution.
• In Skyler's view, the hints seemed redundant.
• Do they intend for us to die or to live? Why is there a need to specifically mention Man Goat or Man Dog? If Man Goat and Man Dog aren't names, what could they possibly mean?
• “Hey, con man, hurry over here!” Jeremiah shouted, “You'll die if you stay under that hole!”
• “Die?” Skyler glanced coldly at the hole in the sky. “There's no way I'm dying here. I need to leave no matter what.”
• “What's going on... Has the smartest person among us turned into a traitor?” Jeremiah was somewhat puzzled.
• Skyler extended his index finger, lightly tapping on his temple.
• “Slow down... slow down... give me a bit more time.”
• Everyone's breathing slowed down as they quietly watched Skyler in the center of the room. They were all somewhat puzzled, not understanding why further contemplation was needed when the game's mechanism was so obvious.