Chapter 1883

「I, I didn't mean to. 」 Carol said, somewhat flustered. 「I just didn't throw it accurately. 」

「Heh. 」 Joker slammed the table hard and let out a cold laugh. 「I knew you didn't trust us. You were trying to leave yourself a way out, using the threat of burning the house down as your trump card. You were worried we wouldn't light the fire, so you faked a slip of the hand to create an opportunity for yourself! 」

「What are you talking about?! You bastard, how could I possibly do that?! I, I was actually just... who told this damn rule to make me so nervous?! 」

「Look, look, starting to make excuses based on the rules again. 」 Joker bared his teeth, scanned the surroundings, then crossed his arms and stared gloomily at Carol. 「We shouldn't have given this stupid woman a chance. She hasn't considered anyone else's feelings from the start. I think we should just stop here and play by the original rules. 」

Carol's eyebrows bristled with anger, but once she counted the matches in her hand, she lost her confidence.

She had just thrown one match in; according to the rules, she could throw two more, but it was useless.

Schiller and Joker had both thrown two matches earlier, leaving them with 8 matches each. If she and Kitty both threw 3, they would be left with 7.

Following the clockwise order, after this round, they would have 8, 8, 7, and 7 matches left respectively. If they played another round without the rock-paper-scissors rule, they would have 5, 5, 4, and 4 left. After another round, they would have 2, 2, 1, and 1 left. Then, Schiller would throw two, Joker would throw two, Kitty would throw one, and Carol would inevitably be eliminated.

As the game stood, she couldn't guarantee anyone would have 4 or more matches left. If the rock-paper-scissors rule were scrapped now, she was doomed to lose.

So, she took a deep breath, summoned what little patience she had left, and explained: 「Believe me, I really didn't mean it. I was a super-powered being, but now that my powers are disabled, it's hard for me to control my limbs precisely. Besides, as long as no one skips, the fire won't burn the house down. 」

The other three wore expressions of non-committal. Carol gritted her teeth, stomped her foot, and said, 「Then I'll throw two matches this turn, is that okay? 」

Schiller sighed lightly and stepped forward again. 「Alright, there's no point in blaming each other. Actually, if there are still a few rounds left, no one can guarantee they won't slip up. The fire will always be lit eventually. Just as Carol said, as long as the brazier isn't raised, it doesn't matter. 」

Carol looked at Schiller with a hint of gratitude. After throwing her two matches, Schiller turned back to play rock-paper-scissors with Joker.

Kitty watched their movements nervously. She wanted to know if Schiller and Joker had agreed on any signals to determine what they would throw.

After the previous round, she had the fewest matches, meaning she currently held the greatest advantage. If she could win against Joker and Carol again, she could ensure her victory.

This time, Joker threw scissors again, but Schiller threw paper. Schiller lost, and Joker grinned widely, saying, 「You have to choose to skip, friend. 」

Instantly, the other two widened their eyes.

But Joker only wore a terrifying smile.

Both Carol and Kitty wanted to see if Schiller would still abide by the rules and continue playing. Schiller hesitated for a moment, then sighed and withdrew his hand from the matches.

「I skip, 」 Schiller said.

A light 「clatter」 sound came from the ceiling. Everyone looked up, and the chains indeed began to tighten and rise gradually.

As mentioned, the chains were slack to begin with, so the first rise didn't lift the brazier 30 centimeters above the table; it barely cleared it by a dozen centimeters. The flames in the brazier didn't burn very high either.

This made Carol breathe a sigh of relief. If Schiller, who had the greatest advantage, was now in the worst position, she didn't want to commit mutual destruction anymore. If she could win, why would she want to kill herself?

But watching the brazier rise slowly, Kitty became more certain of the guess in her heart—the biggest piece of evidence was the chains of the brazier.

This brazier wasn't very large; estimating its diameter, it was only 30-40 centimeters, and even with the rim, it couldn't exceed half a meter. However, the way it was suspended was strange.

Many people have seen in movies that castle braziers are usually suspended by three chains because it's a simple physical fact that a triangle is the most stable shape. At the very least, the chains should converge at a single point above to create stability.

But this brazier wasn't like that. It was suspended by four chains that went straight up and down, completely parallel. This was not how an ordinary brazier should be hung.

More obviously, the points where the four chains connected formed a square, with two sides parallel to the players and two sides perpendicular to them. It was as if the square was placed squarely on the table, with each side facing a player and the four corners pointing toward the empty spaces.

A parallelogram is inherently unstable; this peculiar suspension method must have a reason.

Carol also watched the brazier slowly leaving the table. When it was on the table, she hadn't felt anything, but once it was suspended, the oddities were magnified.

She didn't think about force analysis; she just felt the brazier looked strange. If you say it's hung by four ropes, why not make it square? Why use four iron chains for such a small round basin?

But just then, Joker stumbled as if drunk, and his elbow pressed down on the table, causing it to shake.

「What are you doing?! 」 Carol roared in anger.

But the next second, she watched in shock as the brazier swayed from the shaking table, and the flames above 「whooshed」 and grew larger.

Instantly, Carol realized a terrifying fact—pushing the brazier was the true way to play this game!

And the person sitting across from her was a madman!!!

Carol could almost feel the cold sweat on her palms. Her legs went weak, and she braced her arms on the table, unable to exert much force. She gritted her teeth, holding her breath, wanting to push the brazier directly into the face of the madman across from her.

But a second before she could act, Joker crossed his arms and said with a grin, 「You must have never studied math or physics. If you push now, the other side of the brazier will hit the table. 」

Carol's movement paused. Although she didn't understand the theoretical data, she could imagine the scene.

These four chains were firmly fixed to the rim of the brazier through small holes, and there were no pulleys to ensure the brazier wouldn't tip. To push it, you couldn't touch the scorching bottom half; you could only push the rim. But if you applied too much downward force, that side of the brazier would likely hit the table, causing the charcoal to spill out.

Although the wooden house was filled with a blazing brazier, the air felt icy cold. They began to realize the true nature of this game. Throwing matches was just a distraction. Once the flames were lit, it became a game of pushing.

No wonder the rules restricted movement to within one meter of the table. Leaving the boundary meant disqualification. If this were just a simple math game, defining a boundary would be meaningless.

Essentially, it was about finding a way to push the brazier onto someone else, either by knocking it out of bounds or forcing them to leave the boundary to avoid it. As long as one person was eliminated, the remaining three would automatically win. This was the fastest way to victory.

But now, no one dared to act because the brazier wasn't high enough. If it hit the table and tipped over, everything would be ruined.

Kitty believed she had seen through it early on. Schiller had realized the nature of this game long ago, which was why he had set such rules, knowing that the advantage of throwing matches was useless.

But if that were the case, why not just choose to skip twice and start pushing? Why set such a complex rule?

Kitty was puzzled, but Joker was already pulling her into a game of rock-paper-scissors.

Kitty was distracted by her thoughts and forgot to observe Joker's pattern. She threw paper randomly, and Joker threw scissors.

Joker picked up three matches and threw them into the fire, then began to flex his wrists, as if the moment this round ended, he would immediately push the brazier into the face of this damn stupid woman.

Kitty saw Carol's hands shaking as she played rock-paper-scissors. She tried to focus on the muscle movements in Carol's hands. The next second, rock—she won!

Kitty cheered in her heart, but she also saw the situation clearly. No one had moved yet because the brazier's position wasn't right. Perhaps the moment it rose, someone would strike first, and someone else would suffer.

So she absolutely couldn't skip this round. Because if the brazier rose during her turn, although it might be Carol and Joker pushing each other, what if Schiller across from her acted?

Kitty understood the brazier's structure and knew it was most favorable for the people across from each other to push, making it very difficult to push diagonally. Therefore, the person she had to guard against most was the one across from her.

Kitty took a deep breath, swallowed, and threw three matches into the brazier. The flames burned even more fiercely.

She estimated in her heart that there was another trigger for action: the temperature of the brazier.

This brazier wasn't cool when it was lowered, and it contained plenty of burning charcoal. But once the open flames were lit, it was different.

Although this wasn't a realistic game, anyone with a bit of common sense knew the brazier would get hotter and hotter. It wouldn't just burn the person it hit; it would also burn the person pushing it.

It seemed it would be the next round, Kitty thought. When it was Joker's turn, he would definitely act to eliminate Carol. This was Schiller and Joker's plan.

Carol turned to play rock-paper-scissors with Schiller. This time Schiller won. Schiller nodded at Carol and said, 「Two matches, ma'am. 」

Carol didn't relax at all. She threw the two matches into the brazier with a pale face. Then it was Schiller and Joker's turn again. Schiller won, and he threw three matches into the fire.

Finally, it was Joker's turn.

Kitty kept reviewing her guesses, finding that both Schiller and Joker had their eyes on her. She became more and more certain that her guess must be correct.

And she had also grasped the pattern of Joker's throws. From the beginning, this madman had only ever thrown scissors.

「Rock, paper, scissors! 」

Kitty's rock defeated Joker's scissors.

「Choose skip! 」

「I skip! 」

As the brazier rose, the firelight illuminated Carol's stunned face. A hand pressed against the belly of the brazier and pushed with all its might.

「Boom! 」

A figure flew backward, while Carol stood there in shock, staring dumbfounded at Kitty, who had been smashed away by Schiller.

「Ahhhhhhhhh! 」

Kitty covered her chest and jaw, which had been scalded to the point of peeling, and let out a sharp scream.

But Carol noticed that what flowed from Kitty's wounds wasn't blood, but some disgusting black-gray mud.

「Contestant - Clayface has violated the boundary. Execution by elimination! 」

「Boom! 」

Countless mud splattered everywhere. There was no human tissue at the center of the explosion, only a puddle of rotting mud that was gradually collapsing.

Carol was stunned.

「What the hell is going on??!! 」

Carol was stunned.

"What the hell is going on??!!"