Picking fruit (3)
After saying that, the farmer disappeared.
Everyone frowned in thought.
To pick a pomegranate for the dog king, and it must contain 622 seeds, is too difficult; it's almost impossible to succeed.
Jian Tanxi asked Qin Man, "Sister Qin Man, do you have a special ability called 'X-ray vision,' which allows you to see through barriers and see what's inside?"
Qin Man: "Yes, but I can only see through one layer of the barrier. Pomegranate seeds are clustered together in layers, and I can only see the outermost layer of seeds at most. I can't see how many layers are inside. So, I can't determine the number of seeds in a particular pomegranate."
Professor Pan said, "Does the Dog King really break open a pomegranate and count the seeds one by one? That would be too boring and exhausting."
Fan Siqi: "Regardless of whether the dog king can count or not, we must find the pomegranate with 622 seeds, just to be on the safe side."
At this moment, Wei Simin, the girl in the black dress who had been rescued, said, "Actually, I can help you... I have a special ability, which is to see the number of seeds in a fruit, and it would be very suitable to use here."
Everyone was overjoyed and asked Wei Simin to help them find pomegranates.
Wei Simin said, "That's no problem... However, I can only use this ability 6 times per game. If I can't find the right pomegranate within 6 times, there's nothing I can do."
Sun Chenyuan said, "Here's what we'll do: you first check how many seeds a pomegranate has, then I'll weigh that pomegranate, estimate the weight of each seed, and multiply that by 622. That way, we'll know roughly how heavy and big a pomegranate with 622 seeds would be, which will increase the probability of finding it."
Wei Simin: "However, this is only an estimate. The weight of each pomegranate seed will definitely vary slightly. In addition, the weight of the peel must also be taken into account."
Sun Chenyuan: "There must be some pomegranate peels on the ground. I can weigh them first."
"However, even with the fallen pomegranate peels, the peels of each pomegranate still weigh differently."
"It's impossible to calculate precisely, but having a general range is good enough."
Jian Tanxi asked Sun Chenyuan, "Editor-in-Chief Sun, did you bring a scale?"
Sun Chenyuan: "No. But I have a weighing pen. As long as I put the pen on the object, I can know the weight of the object."
Everyone decided to try this method.
Wei Simin randomly picked a pomegranate and found that it contained 408 pomegranate seeds.
Sun Chenyuan said, "Next time, find a pomegranate that is slightly larger, but not too much larger, and that will be close to 622."
The others were responsible for finding pomegranate peels on the ground, and they found two in no time.
Sun Chenyuan took out a weighing pen and weighed the two pomegranate peels, which were 120 grams and 140 grams respectively.
Then, he weighed the pomegranate he had just picked up; it weighed 430 grams.
The pomegranate's outer skin was about the same size as the two pomegranate skins on the ground, so let's say it weighed 130 grams.
So, each pomegranate seed weighs about 1 gram.
To find a pomegranate with 622 seeds, you only need to find a pomegranate weighing approximately 750 grams (622 grams of seeds + 130 grams of peel).
This weighing pen had no limit on the number of uses, so Sun Chenyuan tried them one by one.
When he encountered a pomegranate weighing nearly 750 grams, he would ask Wei Simin to check how many seeds were inside.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a pomegranate with exactly 622 seeds, no matter how many times I try. It's either a little too many or a little too few.
Finally, on the sixth try, Wei Simin found it and excitedly pointed to a pomegranate, saying, "This pomegranate has exactly 622 seeds!"
As she spoke, she picked the pomegranate and handed it to Professor Pan, the oldest among them, saying, "You can report back now. The Dog King is on the mountain to the west."
Professor Pan took the pomegranate, held it in his hand and examined it for a moment, seemingly surprised that it went so smoothly.
Fan Siqi asked, "Shall we go find the Dog King now?"
Professor Pan said, "Wait, I think I left one of my props in the lake over there. Jian Tanxi, you're good at finding things, can you help me look for it?"
Jian Tanxi was somewhat surprised, because she wasn't good at finding things and didn't know why Professor Pan said that.
However, she did not express any doubt, but asked, "Professor Pan, what are you looking for? Can't you look for it later?"
Professor Pan: "Once we finish the mission, there will be a third level. After we finish the third level, we will be teleported out. Then I won't have time to look for the dropped item."
"That's true. What kind of prop is it? I'll help you find it."
"Come over here first, I'll tell you."
It's understandable that Professor Pan was cautious, as some of the people present were not very familiar with him.
Jian Tanxi walked over, and Professor Pan whispered to her, "I didn't lose any props. Don't be surprised by what I'm about to say, just do as I say. Quietly walk up to Wei Simin, spray her with 'Don't Move' spray, and then put a triangular awl against her neck. I'll explain everything in a bit."
Jian Tanxi was very surprised, but she didn't show it on the surface.
She said in a normal voice, "Okay, Professor Pan, I'll go find it for you."
Professor Pan said, "Well, I'll search for at most twenty minutes. If we can't find it, we'll come back first."
Fan Siqi asked, "Professor Pan, should we go and help?"
Professor Pan: "No need, she can manage on her own."
Jian Tanxi pretended to walk towards the lake. When she passed by Wei Simin, she suddenly took out a "Don't Move Spray" and sprayed it on Wei Simin's back.
Wei Simin was immediately unable to move.
Before she could react, Jian Tanxi pulled out a triangular awl and held it to Wei Simin's neck.
Wei Simin asked in surprise, "Jian Tanxi, what are you doing?"
Jian Tanxi simply stared at her coldly, without saying a word. In fact, Jian Tanxi couldn't say anything either.
The other teammates were also surprised and confused. Fan Siqi even stepped forward to try to save Wei Simin.
However, Fan Siqi was more familiar with Jian Tanxi and Professor Pan, so he did not make any move to save the person, but just looked at Jian Tanxi with a puzzled expression.
Professor Pan said, "Don't be surprised, everyone. Wei Simin has a problem. I had Jian Tanxi control her."
Others, though skeptical, remained silent and waited to see how things would unfold.
Wei Simin felt a little wronged and said, "Professor Pan, what's wrong with me?"
Professor Pan stared at her coldly: "What is your relationship with the Dog King?"
"It's alright, I've never even seen the Dog King before."
"You may not know this, but I have a special ability: I can communicate with objects. Just now, you put the pomegranate in my hand, and I communicated with it. It said that it doesn't have 622 seeds, but 630."
Wei Simin laughed: "Hahahaha... Professor Pan, you're really joking. How can a pomegranate talk?"
However, everyone stared at her coldly. She then realized that Professor Pan hadn't lied; he truly possessed the ability to communicate with objects.
Wei Simin stopped laughing and said, "Professor Pan, even if Shiliu told you, wouldn't Shiliu lie?"
Professor Pan said, "When the Storyteller uses their ability, objects do not lie."
"Then... then I must have misread it. It's normal for me to miscount over six hundred pomegranate seeds. Since this pomegranate won't work, we can just find another one."
"Just now, you swore that this pomegranate really did have 622 seeds. If we had believed you, it would have been torn to shreds by the Dog King by now. What is your relationship with the Dog King?"
"I...I have nothing to do with the Dog King, I've never even seen it. I did miscount just now, it was a misunderstanding."
Professor Pan stared at Wei Simin and said, "There's no misunderstanding. You are an undercover agent who has infiltrated our ranks and is trying to mislead us. There have been at least three flaws in your behavior since you appeared."
Wei Simin showed no sign of guilt, but simply asked in return, "Which three places?"
"First, since we entered the game, we've never encountered a surviving player from the previous round or several rounds, unless they're corpses or in a special two-team competitive mode. This game is very simple; it's unlikely to be a competitive mode. So, it's highly improbable that a player from the previous round is still alive and that we happened to see them. That's the first suspicious point."
Given how much those monkeys love human brains, if you were really a player from the previous round, you would have been killed by the monkeys on the day you lost. They couldn't possibly have kept you locked up for so many days.
Moreover, why did the Monkey King choose to drag you out to kill you right when we were about to leave after completing our mission? Wasn't it so that we would save you? That way, you could easily blend in with us.
If we fail in our mission, the Monkey King won't let you out, because it's pointless. We'll all die at the Monkey King's hands anyway, so there's no point in you putting on this show.
Secondly, you claim to be a player, yet you're wearing a very form-fitting, restrictive dress. Wearing such a dress to a banquet might be acceptable, but it's not appropriate for a survival game. Experienced players know that in games, you might need to engage in combat, escape, or jump at any time, requiring loose-fitting sportswear to maximize your chances of survival.
Thirdly, you have the scent of a dog. I have a special ability—an extraordinary sense of smell—that allows me to detect the scent of living beings and identify their species. Although you are human, I can smell a canine scent on you.
This suggests that your true form is very likely a dog, possibly a close subordinate of the Dog King, or even a member of the Dog King's family.
While the idea of a dog transforming into human form is rather far-fetched, I've seen all sorts of bizarre things in these survival games, so it's not surprising. I've even seen a transformation talisman that could turn a person's brain into a tree. The Dog King should have something similar.
With these three points of doubt, I started to suspect you just now. So when you handed the pomegranate to me, I didn't believe you. Instead, I used my ability as a storyteller to question the pomegranate, and that's when I discovered you were lying.
The lie you told precisely proves that you are an undercover agent sent by the Dog King. The Monkey King's cooperation with you might be due to some deal between them, or perhaps they are friends. After all, they are both bosses in this level, so it wouldn't be surprising if they had a relationship.
Wei Simin still looked completely innocent: "Professor Pan, your imagination is a bit too vivid. I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm wearing a fitted long dress because I have some ranged weapons and don't need to fight the enemy at close range, so my range of motion is limited and it doesn't matter what I wear."
As for why the Monkey King didn't kill me immediately, how would I know what it was thinking? Besides, I'm clearly a human, how could I be a dog?
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