Chapter 140: Hexagram Lines

Only at this moment.

The crowd finally realized that they had fallen into Li Zhitong's trap. Although they did not know what Chen Ran had seen, they had also been hit by the same trick and would sooner or later suffer the same treatment Chen Ran had endured.

Before long, the fifteen people sat down. As the subway started moving, silence filled the carriage. Everyone was pondering the hidden logic behind how Chen Ran had triggered the trap yet returned safely to the train.

Zhou Chen gripped the hem of his shirt, his brain running in overdrive.

'Second station, Earthly Virtue Road.'

'Second hexagram, Kun as Earth.'

'Hexagram meaning, bearing burdens with great virtue.'

'An exceedingly auspicious hexagram.'

'The station name matches the hexagram name and meaning, and it is a highly auspicious omen. Therefore, Chen Ran could return safely without triggering the trap.'

'Third hexagram, Water-Thunder Tun.'

'Hexagram meaning, actively building merit.'

'An extremely inauspicious hexagram.'

'Jishuitun and Water-Thunder Tun... it is missing the element of "Thunder," and it is also an extremely inauspicious hexagram...'

'In that case, whoever steps out at the next station will be struck by lightning. They will undoubtedly die!'

As if validating his deduction, a torrential downpour began outside before the subway even reached the station, accompanied by the deep rumble of rolling thunder.

Seeing this scene, the few who had already deduced the answer began to look around for cannon fodder.

The subway arrived at Jishuitun station, and the doors slid open. The iron bucket sat not too far away on the platform, which was flooded with about ten centimeters of standing water.

"Who is going this time?" Li Zhitong's gaze landed on Xue Ling. The latter had not yet recovered and was huddled in the corner, burying his head deeply like an ostrich.

For a long time, no one answered.

Although the four One-Star Players were suffering from unbearable headaches, they were not stupid.

If there were no danger at this station, Li Zhitong, Lin Xiuyuan, and the rest of the Two-Star Players would have scrambled to go out long ago.

"I will go."

The one who spoke was Qiu Yinong. Seeing the suspicious looks from the crowd, she mocked, "Of course, if any of you want to volunteer, I am more than happy to step aside."

The few people who had wanted to say something immediately swallowed their words back down.

Chen Ran frowned. Just as he was about to warn her, he saw Qiu Yinong pull out a pair of tall rain boots from her bag, reminiscent of the nineteen-eighties.

She pulled on the rain boots and carefully wrapped a layer of electrical tape around them. After finishing, she looked up and asked Chen Ran, "Do you have anything to say?"

Chen Ran searched his memories and finally found a fitting description. He spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Alice in Wonderland Syndrome."

Qiu Yinong nodded. Without bringing an umbrella, she stepped out of the subway doors. The very moment she walked out, a power line on the platform's ceiling suddenly sparked. It snapped, and the severed end fell directly into the standing water...

In an instant, the floodwater covering the entire platform became electrified. Yet, walking through the charged water in her electrical tape-wrapped rain boots, Qiu Yinong was completely unharmed.

When she reached the iron bucket, she realized she had forgotten to bring insulated gloves, so she simply kicked the iron bucket straight into the carriage.

Seeing this scene, Chen Ran gave her a thumbs-up. This woman was truly fierce!

Just as she was returning, Li Zhitong appeared at the carriage door again, taking out another glass bead and tossing it high into the air.

The crowd watched as the look in Qiu Yinong's eyes shifted. First, there was panic, followed quickly by calm. Step by step, she walked resolutely toward the doors. However, when the glass bead splashed into the water, she still subconsciously shielded her head with her hands, revealing that beneath her composed exterior, a deep fear lingered in her heart.

Just as she was about to step into the carriage, she paused for a second and simply jumped in instead.

She safely returned to the carriage.

She had firmly placed a Mask of Agony onto the faces of the remaining players.

'Why?'

'Why did she not die? And how did she know the "Thunder" would come from the ground?'

'According to the third hexagram, she should have been struck dead by lightning. Why did this happen?'

Li Zhitong had even more questions.

'Chen Ran has a formidable mental fortitude and can ignore the second effect of my skill, but why can Qiu Yinong ignore it too?'

'Is the quality of the players matched into this Instance really this high?'

'Also, why do I feel like Chen Ran facilitating the Future Lie—stepping out at the first station, with Qiu Yinong following right after—was entirely premeditated?'

'In just the first two stops, he managed to completely clear himself and his original teammate from taking any more risks. For the next thirteen stations, as long as one of the iron buckets contains gasoline, it means that at this very moment, they are...'

'Already in an invincible position!'

'I thought I was the biggest winner in our previous game of wits, but did he actually pull one over on me?'

Because Qiu Yinong safely cleared a station that should have been certain death, every single player frowned deeply. Even Li Zhitong realized that he had fallen straight into Chen Ran's trap.

At that moment.

The Three-Star Trickster-Speaker spoke up, "Among the Sixty-Four Hexagrams, the third hexagram is Water-Thunder Tun. The Hexagram Lines position water at the top and thunder at the bottom. The standing water on the platform is rainwater, which fell from the sky, matching the position of water at the top. Therefore, the thunder was guaranteed to come from the ground. As long as one wore proper electrical insulation for their feet, they would not be electrocuted to death."

Chen Ran: "..."

'This is the second time!'

In her former life, Qiu Yinong had been a corporate boss. To reach a scale like hers, one would inevitably pick up a bit of superstition. Therefore, Chen Ran knew there was a high probability that she understood the Sixty-Four Hexagrams of the I Ching.

That was why he had tried so hard to facilitate the Future Lie.

Chen Ran safely cleared the highly auspicious hexagram station. The third station, Water-Thunder Tun, was an extremely inauspicious hexagram. Anyone who did not understand Hexagram Lines would definitely not dare to go out, but since Qiu Yinong understood, she was willing to step forward.

With the two of them safely passing, they only had to sit back and watch the others put on a show. Moreover, successfully clearing both a highly auspicious and an extremely inauspicious hexagram station would plunge the rest of the players' reasoning into chaos. All they had to do was sit back and watch how the others would die later.

However, expectations are beautiful, but reality is harsh. The Three-Star Player had once again warned the others...

Destroying Chen Ran's plans yet again.

This time, it was Chen Ran's turn to wear the Mask of Agony. With three Three-Star Players holding down the fort, his desire to trick Lin Xiuyuan and Li Zhitong to their deaths on this subway was undeniably a fool's dream.

'I need to think of a way to drag the three Three-Star Players into the trap as well.'

The Three-Star Trickster-Speaker continued, "The fourth station is Mountain-Water Villa, corresponding to the Mountain-Water Meng Hexagram, which is a lower-middle hexagram. The mountain is in the front and the water is in the back. The hexagram meaning is nurturing with correctness. 'Meng,' under normal circumstances, refers to a young child. If I am not mistaken, an NPC might appear at the next station."

"I have already given you a warning this far. If you still manage to make a mistake, then..."

"You deserve to die!"

The first Secret Room involved the Sixty-Four Hexagrams of the I Ching. It was understandable that the One-Star and Two-Star Players lacked this particular field of knowledge.

It did not matter if one or two members died. However, if they all perished, it would be very troublesome for the Three-Star Players if subsequent Secret Rooms required cooperation to solve puzzles.

That was why they ruined Chen Ran's layout and voiced out their reminders.

But they could not just hand them the ready-made answers, either.

After all, the trash still needed to be eliminated to ensure that no one would drag the team down.

The subway started moving again.

In their seats, everyone was pondering over the Three-Star Trickster-Speaker's phrase about 'nurturing with correctness.'

'A young child, to be nurtured with the correct methods? Or to correct a young child's character?'

The subway arrived at the station: Mountain-Water Villa.

Everyone looked out the doors. Sure enough, there was a Child carrying the iron bucket, staring intently at the people inside the carriage...

Behind the Child was a lake, and behind the lake's water was a mountain.

There was an ambiguity here. From a visual perspective, the water was in front and the mountain was in the back. But from a positional perspective, the mountain was in front and the water was in the back.

Just as everyone was feeling uncertain, the Child on the platform suddenly spoke up to ask, "Big brothers and big sisters, tell me, is the mountain in front, or is the water in front?"