Chapter 117.1 - The Cycle of Karma, What Goes Around Comes Around (31.1)
Ch117.1 – The Cycle of Karma, What Goes Around Comes Around (31.1)
The four locks built into all four sides of the lid kept it firmly shut. Even if they wanted to try to pry it open, one, they didn’t have the tools, two, they didn’t have anything to brace themselves against—— each of the four boxes were fixed in their spots in the four corners of the room, and three, no one dared break them.
With the precedent of Gan Tang right before their eyes, how would they still dare to take the initiative to rush into action? They had no choice but to focus on investigating those steel panels, and try to grab onto a chance of survival from there.
Seeing Gan Yu take off his glasses, sit down cross-legged, and sketch out the best path the steel ball could take to the end point with his fingertips on the plastic partition board, Yuan Benshan also tried his hand, taking out another steel ball panel.
He was a surgeon, so his hands were much steadier than ordinary people’s, but seeing those “bombs”, which were densely scattered like honeycombs, his scalp was tingling, he was dripping with sweat, and his fingers were trembling uncontrollably.
Chi Xiaochi knew that he was a game black hole. Gan Tang was unconscious. Xu Jiayi was as self aware as Chi Xiaochi was, saying “I can’t do it” after a glance and retreating.
After Meng Qian lifted open the lid, his face turned as ash grey as dirt. “What is this?! How could we possibly do this?”
“It’s just you who can’t do it.” Gan Yu’s tone was hard, but his words were sufficiently polite. “If you can’t solve it, please stand to the side.”
Then, he turned. “Mister Yuan, there’s no need to open all four locks, just three is enough to save her. I’ll deal with two, and you’ll deal with one. Does that work with you.”
Yuan Benshan gritted his teeth. “Yes.”
Tears streamed down Qiao Yun’s face as she tried in vain to block the water inlet. “Hurry up, hurry up!”
Gan Yu ignored her, turning to Chi Xiaochi and saying, “Sit further away.”
Chi Xiaochi ignored him.
Seeing that he wasn’t moving, Gan Yu’s tone finally became a little more urgent. “……Listen to me.”
Chi Xiaochi asked, “You’re afraid it’ll blow up?”
Gan Yu said, “En.”
Chi Xiaochi said, “It’s good that you’re afraid.”
He continued to sit by Gan Yu’s side. “If it blows up, it’ll blow us both up, so it’s all up to you.”
Gan Yu’s forehead was already bright with sweat. He no longer had the strength to chase Chi Xiaochi off, so he just shook his head and said, “Oh, you.”
With a gentle tilt of the panel, the steel ball began to roll down from its start point, bumping into the nearest wall and letting out a quiet “ting”.
Meng Qian felt like just standing was boring, so he could only copy what Chi Xiaochi was doing, going over to watch Yuan Benshan solve the metal ball maze.
Yuan Benshan was currently dealing with his first “bomb” blocking the path. The little steel ball circled around the “bomb”, letting out a string of little “dings”. Every time he heard a clink, the pressure he was feeling doubled. It was as if there was a mountain pressing down on his back, making it so that he could hardly breathe..
Sitting against the wall, Xu Jiayi glanced over at Yuan Benshan out of the corner of his eyes. He stared for a very long time before looking away. He then leaned the back of his head against the wall, closed his eyes and waited.
Chi Xiaochi was also watching the others.
Xu Jiayi’s actions made his eyebrows rise slightly, but immediately after, he looked away, watching Gan Yu carefully move the little steel ball to the end point
For a time, the room was dead silent.
However, not long after, Qiao Yun, whose life was hanging by a string, started to get anxious again.
The water had already filled the bottom of the aquarium, nearly reaching her instep.
Qiao Yun knelt down on the ground, clenched her fists, and began to bang on the wall of the aquarium. “Are you done yet, ah?! You all are too slow.”
Gan Yu’s eyebrows didn’t even twitch. As he skillfully moved the steel ball to brush past the “bomb”, he clearly and succinctly requested, “Tissue.”
Chi Xiaochi understood. He grabbed one and helped him wipe the sweat off of his forehead.
He said, “Thank you.”
After another while, he said again, “Tissue.”
Chi Xiaochi realised he was sweating a bit too much. Sweat was rolling down his face like beads. However, he didn’t think too much of it, just taking it to be due to the tense atmosphere, and grabbed another tissue.
When the tissue left his face, it was already soaked through.
Chi Xiaochi got up to take a look at Yuan Benshan, and sure enough, found that he too was dripping with cold sweat.
He helped wipe it off for him to keep the sweat from obscuring his vision and interfering with the solving of the steel ball maze.
Chi Xiaochi then went to check on Gan Tang. Confirming that her vital signs were still there, and were relatively stable, he let out a slight sigh of relief.
When he came back, he found that Gan Yu was holding the steel ball panel, not moving. His eyes were tightly shut, his forehead was shiny with a thin layer of sweat, and his eyelashes were trembling slightly, making him look weak to the point of making other people nervous.
Chi Xiaochi was startled. “What’s wrong?”
Gan Yu, his eyes still closed, said, “Tissue.”
The packet of tissues in Chi Xiaochi’s hand was running out.
He stuffed the tissue back in his pocket, took off his coat, pushed up his sleeves, and knelt down to help wipe the sweat off of Gan Yu.
Gan Yu was still as polite as ever, smiling and saying, “Thank you.”
Chi Xiaochi asked, “What’s going on?”
Gan Yu, “Shh.”
He turned. His appearance gave Chi Xiaochi a shock.
His originally pale lips had turned completely white. His brows were furrowed slightly, and his gorgeous features were filled with a worrisome weakness.
Chi Xiaochi pursed his lips. “Can you still continue?”
Gan Yu still said the same thing. “I’ll do my best.”
Chi Xaochi, “……If only Tang-jie was still here.”
Gan Yu’s words were abnormally short and forceful. “I’m here. That’s enough.”
He closed his eyes again, then focused his gaze on the target once more. He raised his wrists slightly, adjusting the angle.
Gululu, gululu.
The rolling of the little steel ball became a source of deadly pressure. Every soft sound of rolling felt like it was rolling over his heart.
Even though Chi Xiaochi was helping to wipe away Gan Yu’s sweat nonstop, gradually, he became unable to keep up with how fast the other was producing sweat.
In a moment of inattention, a drop of sweat fell onto the plastic surface of the panel, making an abnormally loud “pa”, causing the little steel ball in the panel to jump.
The steel ball in the panel was currently at a corner, and it needed to turn into the entrance of a one-way path. Above and below it were “bombs”.
And now it was just about to pass through that narrow, millimetre-wide gap.
In that instant, even Chi Xiaochi’s breath froze.
The sweat rolled around on the panel. Even wiping it off might affect the movement of the steel ball inside, so no one dared to try to wipe it.
While Gan Yu had stopped breathing as he adjusted the direction the steel ball was moving in, behind him, Qiao Yun began to bang loudly on the inside of the aquarium. There was already a hint of tears in her voice. “How are you guys not done yet?!”
The water had already passed her knees. She had no choice but to stand up, banging everywhere around her, trying to find a path to escape.
……Compared to the Qiao Yun who had previously decisively doomed Jia Siyuan to her death just a short while ago, she was like a completely different person.
The frequent banging made Gan Yu’s eyebrows furrow.
He leaned forward slightly, and said to Chi Xiaochi, “Get her to be quiet.”
Chi Xiaochi accepted his order. He walked over to the aquarium and knocked back thrice.
He said, “If you want to die a few seconds later, I have a suggestion for you.”
He pointed at that still-rising water level. “Drink water. Drink as much as you can drink.”
Gan Yu smiled, thinking, sure enough, that’s Chi Xiaochi’s style.
As he thought this, with a slight tilt of his hand, the steel ball nimbly avoided the two “bombs” around it and rolled into the safe passage that was a mere few millimetres wide.
Only then, did he straighten back from where he was leaning forward.
……Fortunately, Chi Xiaochi had left.
Gan Yu didn’t know the real power of the “bombs”. If he made a mistake, the only thing he could do was to shield the “bomb” beneath his body. Whether it would affect people who were further away, he didn’t know.
Thankfully, he’d gotten through safely.
When Yuan Benshan had gotten the steel ball about halfway through the maze, he heard Gan Yu let out a deep sigh.
At the same time, a soft “click” could be heard from the aquarium.
Qiao Yun, who had had her head lowered gulping water down all this time, acted like she’d been saved, reaching out a hand and pressing hard against the lid.
But they’d only opened one lock, so the lid couldn’t be lifted.
Gan Yu stably placed the steel ball panel back into the box, closed the lid, then supported his hands against it, trying to get up.
……However, after just getting off the ground, he fell back down. A few drops of sweat hit the ground in a rain of “plop”s. Fortunately, Chi Xiaochi caught him around the waist in time.
He defended himself, “My legs are numb.”
Chi Xiaochi looked at his right leg, which he wasn’t daring to put pressure on. “En.”
Gan Yu said, “Take me to the next box.”
Chi Xiaochi, “En.”