Xie Shaoning leaned in so close he almost pressed his face to the ground: "How come I can't see it? It's all pitch black here."

"You have to find the right angle. I used to really enjoy drawing, so I'm quite sensitive to color. It... never mind, just shut up."

The energetic young man didn't want to talk anymore; there was no point in explaining. He raised his hand to shield his head from the firelight, then arranged the fragments into three rows according to their color intensity, his fingers flying across the paper with quick and precise movements.

The originally messy fragments gradually formed three irregular small pieces in his hands. As the last piece was inserted into the groove, the puzzle suddenly lit up with a faint light.

A line of small characters slowly appeared.

"The four corners are fixed, the twelve positions are aligned, the middle and low angles are raised, the four corners are raised high, standing as firm as a rock, not moving an inch."

"A word puzzle?" Xie Shaoning's eyes widened, and he almost vomited blood and jumped up in anger. "We're about to be roasted into jerky, and you're still playing word games?"

"Four corners? Isn't that just the four corners of this square cage?" Shadow Killer was about to rush towards the corner when he was pulled back by Fu Shou Mian Mian, who was still coughing up blood.

"Don't drag me down with you. If you're stupid, you should learn to shut up, okay?"

You're so annoying!

At this moment, the red iron ball above suddenly started falling faster... Although the red iron ball was also slowly falling just now, it was obviously much slower than it is now.

"Hurry up! You're smart, you guys come up with a solution!"

"Through thick and thin" quickly translated these 16 characters.

"The four directions are locked in the corners. The middle of the twelve people is in a low-lying area, while the four corners are in high-lying areas. The person in the middle is shorter, and the person on the outside is taller. Everyone must stand like a rock and not move even half a step."

Although the translation was completed, it wasn't continued. Even a fool would know that standing in the four corners offers the best chance of survival. So, would shorter people willingly stand in the middle of the iron cage?

Old Bai was getting anxious, constantly stroking his beard as if it were about to catch fire from the occasional sparks that drifted down. "I'm short, I'll stand in the middle."

Qi Xu took over the assigned task and immediately called out everyone's positions.

The four shortest members, Taro Bobo and Tonsils Never Speak, stood on the innermost side, while Old Man Bai and Longevity stood in a circle in the middle, along with themselves, Through Thick and Thin, Retired Energetic Young Man, and Mu Zi Li.

The outermost group consists of 005, Xie Shaoning, Ying Sha, and Three King.

Once everyone had taken their positions, the fireball was only about 20cm below their heads.

Everyone's heart pounded so hard their throats nearly went hoarse.

"No...it's going to burn my hair! What am I going to do about my hair? Am I standing in the right position? Oh no, it's burning my hair!"

Xie Shaoning screamed wildly, but no one paid him any attention. Everyone was a little unsure, wondering if there was some detail they had overlooked.

But this was a decision made by everyone, and when faced with a life-or-death test, no one moved. The 12 people stood firmly in place like Mount Tai!

The tonsils, which never speak, yawned casually. "Don't worry, don't panic. We who are standing in the middle are not afraid. What are you yelling about in the corner? Show some of your champion spirit, okay?"

Xie Shaoning indeed stopped shouting, because he had given up hope and felt the targeting and malice of tall people in this instance.

His bangs were completely burned off, leaving him bald. But there was also good news: the iron cages on all four sides exploded simultaneously...

"Jump!"

Qi Xu's roar pierced through the scorching roar of the fireball. Before he finished speaking, he had already taken the lead and leaped into the air. The others hurriedly followed, jumping into the cold, black waters in the direction closest to them.

The red fireball above the iron cage had already fallen completely; if it had been a second later, everyone would have been reduced to ashes.

I thought that after successfully passing one level, I could have some time to adjust, but I didn't expect that the black waters would be just as difficult.

The icy lake water felt like countless needles piercing the skin, and everyone shivered as soon as they jumped in. Besides... not everyone could swim.

Qi Xu was wondering if the "Swimming Mastery" skill he had previously acquired would also become invalid since all his skills were unusable.

The moment he entered the water, Qi Xu felt relieved.

This mastery is truly mastery; my limbs moved instinctively, just like a habit etched into my bones. At first, I was a little rusty, but after swimming a couple of strokes, I immediately got the hang of it.

The water was really cold.

Once Qi Xu was certain he was absolutely safe, he shouted, "Anyone who can swim, please help! All 12 of us must be accounted for!"

Although I don't know what I'll experience in the next 10 days, based on today's test, I can roughly guess that in the end, the more people there are, the better, or it really is as I said, that not a single one can be missing.

Xie Shaoning fell into the water very close to Taro Bobo, and seeing that she couldn't swim, he simply scooped her up.

Taro Bobo landed face-up on Xie Shaoning's back, coughing violently. The feeling of choking on water was awful; he thought he was doomed. But then he met a decisive team leader and a soft-hearted god...

It was really unwise to rescue someone without knowing how long they would have to stay in the icy lake.

"Thanks.."

"Don't mention it. I told you I'd protect you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Shaoning suddenly felt that the scene was very familiar, very familiar, but... wait a minute, everyone clearly didn't know each other before.

It was impossible for them to have met before the survival game. Apart from the national team's coaching staff and teammates, Xie Shaoning had no friends. Finally, he shook his head vigorously, admitting he had misremembered.

The warmth emanating from his back made him blush involuntarily, and suddenly he no longer felt cold.

Taro Bobo felt the same way, but she was much more thoughtful than Xie Shaoning. While thanking him sweetly, she leaned on Xie Shaoning's back and carefully considered every detail from the beginning of the game.

Qi Xu instinctively swam quickly towards the tonsils and never spoke. In the middle, he passed by Ying Sha, who was not familiar with swimming and was struggling desperately. He kicked the troublesome Ying Sha directly into Three King's place... The action was without any hesitation, entirely based on instinct.

...........