Ten Day Ultimatum
Chapter 227

Chapter 227 The Eccentric Snake

Qi Xia gently guided Yu Nian'An to sit aside, then turned his attention to the {Tenth Individual}. He was a young man, pale and disheveled, his hair unkempt, yet a faint smile lingered on his face. Were it not for Yu Nian'An’s unexpected presence, Qi Xia might have entertained a thoughtful conversation with him.

But not this time.

A new plan had begun to take shape in Qi Xia’s mind.

Leaning closer to Yu Nian'An, he began to turn the table with her, and gradually, the others joined in, one by one.

The next part of the game was neither particularly difficult nor all that easy.

After all, there were ten people in the room—allocating the resources for nine people would inevitably feel somewhat strained.

Fortunately, everyone survived until the arrival of the Mortal Snake.

At this moment, Qi Xia and Yu Nian'An clung to the same rope, swaying in mid-air.

“Long time no see, everyone,” Mortal Snake said as he slowly opened the door and entered the room. “I am Mortal Snake—”

Before he could finish speaking, he froze entirely.

There were clearly ten people hanging from the ceiling! What was this strange, unnerving situation?

All the rooms in the corridor had always been divided into groups of nine, yet now, ten people had survived?!

"Instead of wasting time in shock, you’d be better off asking questions," Qi Xia said coolly. "We don’t plan to remain hanging here forever."

It took the Mortal Snake a long while to steady himself, before finally speaking. "Al—Alright... I have a thought-provoking question: if anyone can unveil the correct answer within three attempts, I shall pull the lever and allow you—all ten of you—to descend."

The group remained silent.

The Mortal Snake, undeterred by their lack of response, continued. "Two brothers were particularly fond of racing. Every time, they drove at breakneck speeds. Their father, though concerned, couldn’t stop them. One day, the father devised a clever plan and told the brothers that they would race once again, but with a twist: whoever’s car arrives last at the finish line would be declared the winner, and the victor would inherit the father’s entire estate. The father thought this would deter them from their reckless driving, but on the day of the race, the brothers still drove as fast as ever. Why was that?"

Upon hearing the question, the collective instinctively turned their gaze toward Qi Xia.

Yet Qi Xia seemed to ignore the question entirely, his focus entirely elsewhere. One hand gripped the rope, while the other was wrapped around Yu Nian'An as he softly murmured, "An, don't be afraid. It will all be over soon."

"Mm." Yu Nian'An nodded quietly in response.

Lin Qin and Officer Li exchanged a glance.

The most difficult challenge in this probation room wasn’t the first three rounds, but rather the fourth round with Mortal Snake standing before them.

For reasons unknown, he always posed a new question each time. And these questions, ironically, were the very key to whether they would survive or not.

Seeing that Qi Xia had no intention of answering, Officer Li decided to take a shot himself.

After all, Qi Xia had no obligation to keep aiding them.

"Officer Li..." Lin Qin whispered, "Do you have an answer?"

"I honestly don't know if what I have qualifies as an answer," Officer Li replied, his voice low. "I can only approach this from a criminal investigation perspective and make an educated guess."

He then shared his thoughts with Lin Qin.

Nearby, Lawyer Zhang and Han Yimo also felt that this answer was quite plausible.

"Since you all agree, I’ll give it a go..." Officer Li took a deep breath and called out to the Mortal Snake in the distance. "Mortal Snake, I have an answer."

"Please proceed."

Officer Li paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, then spoke carefully, "I believe the inheritance is suspicious, likely money of dubious origin. The brothers, knowing that inheriting it might lead to arrest, decided to turn the tables and frame each other for it."

Mortal Snake, upon hearing this, slightly rubbed his chin and muttered, "Is that so?"

The others exchanged confused glances at his reaction.

After a moment, Mortal Snake shook his head and said, "That doesn’t seem right. This answer feels a bit forced. Please give it some more thought."

"Damn..." Qiao Jiajin couldn’t hold back any longer. "What do you mean {doesn’t seem right}? I think this answer {seems right}. You should give it some more thought!"

"Uh..." Mortal Snake lowered his head, evidently pondering the matter once more.

Lin Qin furrowed her brow as she glanced at Qiao Jiajin, her mind drawing an odd parallel—this felt like a case of the {ignorant fooling the expert}.

But could this tactic truly work against the opponent?

After a long pause, the Mortal Snake finally raised his head and spoke. "Upon careful reflection, the answer you gave still doesn’t make sense. It’s too far-fetched. The question never mentioned anything about a {suspicious inheritance}. Besides, anything worthy of being called an {inheritance} would certainly amount to a significant sum, so that answer is incorrect.”

"Uh..." This time, it was Qiao Jiajin’s turn to be speechless. "You sneaky snake, you're surprisingly sharp... I can't even fool you..."

Once again, everyone found themselves in a dilemma.

Qi Xia was still whispering to Yu Nian'An, completely ignoring the others' predicament. It was unclear whether he was doing it on purpose or simply didn't want to get involved.

"Could they have tampered with each other's cars?" Suddenly, Tian Tian whispered, her eyes widening in realization. "What if they swapped the brakes with the gas pedal? If both of them want the inheritance and both enjoy racing, they’d have to make sure the other’s car is faster."

"Oh?" Officer Li paused for a moment, considering this theory. It did seem plausible. "That makes sense... As long as the other can't stop the car, no matter how fast they go, they'll inherit everything..."

Han Yimo and Lawyer Zhang still felt uneasy about this answer, but none of them could come up with a better explanation.

"Give it a try," the group agreed after some discussion, and they presented the answer to Mortal Snake.

"Is it really like that...?" Mortal Snake exhaled slowly, his voice betraying doubt. "It’s logically sound, but something still feels off..."

"Stop overthinking it!" Qiao Jiajin shouted, "I've already thought it through—this answer is correct. If you don’t pull the lever now, you’re violating the rules."

"Uh... this..." Mortal Snake hesitated, clearly torn.

The group’s arms were starting to feel the strain, having hung from the ropes for nearly five minutes. If Mortal Snake continued to deliberate, the next outcome might be death by falling.

"I still don’t think it’s right," Mortal Snake shook his head. "You all think it through again. If there’s no other answer, then I’ll take my leave."

His words left the group in a state of complete uncertainty.

"Qi Xia, do you want to watch us die?" Lin Qin turned, frustration and urgency in her voice. "Did you already know the answer?!"

Only then did Qi Xia slowly lift his gaze. His eyes, once full of calculating precision, now held an unmistakable glimmer of despair.

Qi Xia slowly spoke, his voice steady yet carrying an unsettling weight. "If one day I’m no longer around, how will you survive?"

The question, though brief, silenced the entire room.

What did he mean by {no longer around}?