Starvation is prohibited (4)
Jian Tanxi looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Qu Chen had woken up and was crying.
Qu Chen was knocked unconscious, but he won't stay unconscious forever; he'll wake up in a few hours.
His mother, Qin Man, also woke up and quietly comforted him.
However, comforting words were useless; what Qu Chen needed now was food and water.
Zhang Dayong also woke up and asked, "How about we give Xiaochen some water first?"
Huo Zimu said, "No! We haven't drunk it yet!"
Li Chuxia: "Huo Zimu, what are you doing? You scared me! Xiao Chen is just a child, what's wrong with him drinking some water?"
Qin Man tried to smooth things over: "There's no need to give Xiao Chen water. The more he drinks, the hungrier he'll get, and he'll feel even worse. Zhang Dayong, why don't you... just keep knocking him unconscious?"
Zhang Dayong hesitated: "Knocking him unconscious so often might not be a good idea, he's only 6 years old after all. How about this, you let him cry until he's tired and falls asleep. This is a last resort."
Qin Man nodded helplessly, knowing that there was no better solution at the moment.
Huo Zimu suddenly said to Qin Man, "Aren't you this child's mother? From now on, you will feed him with your own flesh and blood, and he won't have to share that half a steamed bun with us. Tomorrow, we can all eat a little more. You can cut off some flesh; it won't kill you."
Although Huo Zimu's words were rather unapproachable, Qin Man was seriously considering their feasibility.
Qin Man said, "Cutting flesh isn't out of the question, but we don't have a knife..."
Huo Zimu: "Why don't you just bite me? As a mother, you can't even bear this little bit of pain, can you?"
No one could listen to it anymore.
Jian Tanxi retorted, "Huo Zimu, how can you say that? Even if Xiao Chen doesn't share food with us tomorrow, everyone will only get a little bit, so it won't make much difference. Besides, Xiao Chen has never drunk blood or eaten raw meat. Even if Sister Qin Man is willing to give him blood and flesh, he won't eat it. Instead, he'll just cause Sister Qin Man to get hurt for nothing."
After a bit of arguing, everyone sat up or stood up; no one lay down.
Huo Zimu paced back and forth anxiously: "No, I'm going to eat tomorrow's food too! I can't take it anymore!"
Zhang Dayong stopped him: "No, we have to wait until tomorrow to eat!"
Huo Zimu became very agitated: "I want to eat now! I'm starving!"
He ran towards the hospital bed. The others, fearing he would eat all the food himself, quickly gave chase.
Zhang Dayong caught up with Huo Zimu first, grabbed him, and said, "Okay, you want to eat your share now? Sure, I'll break it for you. But you won't be able to eat it tomorrow."
Huo Zimu: "Okay, give it to me now!"
Zhang Dayong broke off a small piece of the remaining half of the steamed bun and handed it to Huo Zimu.
Huo Zimu swallowed the bun in one gulp, his eyes still fixed on the remaining steamed bun.
Zhang Dayong stuffed the remaining steamed buns back under the pillow, and the others blocked Huo Zimu's way.
Huo Zimu had no choice but to walk away and sit down by himself.
After a while, he said, "There's no way for everyone to pass the level! We'll all starve to death! I don't care, I'm going to eat Professor Pan's flesh!"
The others all said at the same time, "No way!"
Zhang Dayong said, "If there's really no other way, I'd rather cut off my own flesh than Professor Pan's. He's so old and has underlying health conditions; he can't afford to get hurt again. Only by keeping people like Professor Pan alive can we bring hope to all of humanity. Although that clown said I was smart, I haven't read many books and can't be of much help to everyone."
Only this extra weight hasn't been wasted; it can extend everyone's life by a few more days.
Li Chuxia looked at Zhang Dayong and said, "Uncle Zhang, we won't eat your flesh. If we're going to eat anything, it'll be Huo Zimu's."
Huo Zimu: "What did you say? You're asking for death!"
Huo Zimu wanted to hit Li Chuxia, but was stopped by Jian Tanxi, Zhang Dayong, and Qin Man.
Huo Zimu had no choice but to give up, and said sullenly, "If you won't listen to me, then we'll all starve to death! Qin Man, tell your son to stop crying, he's wailing like he's at a funeral!"
Qu Chen has been crying non-stop since just now.
Qin Man couldn't control him either, so she could only apologize: "I'm sorry, this child can't speak, and I don't know what he's thinking. I often can't comfort him. He's probably crying because he's hungry, but I can't do anything about that. Please bear with him, he should fall asleep when he's tired of crying."
Jian Tanxi said, "Sister Qin Man, you don't need to feel sorry. We can all understand. Not everyone is as heartless as Huo Zimu."
Huo Zimu: "So you're all targeting me, huh? You bunch of low-IQ humans are ganging up on me, the real genius!"
Jian Tanxi looked at him speechlessly: "At a time like this, is it meaningful to argue about who has the higher IQ? You're the smartest, okay? Then why don't you come up with a way for everyone to pass the level?"
Huo Zimu: "I've already told you the method: cut off your teammates' flesh to eat, and everyone can survive, but you guys are unwilling!"
At this moment, Qu Chen suddenly cried even harder, pointing at the clock in mid-air and tugging at Qin Man's sleeve.
The entire space was a vast expanse of white, with no walls in sight, so the clock appeared to be floating in mid-air.
Jian Tanxi asked Qin Man, "Sister Qin Man, why does Xiao Chen keep pointing at the clock?"
Qin Man said, "Maybe he's afraid of the sound of a clock... Children with autism are afraid of some loud noises, such as the sound of a hairdryer or a drill. Xiao Chen wasn't usually afraid of the sound of a clock, but there's nothing else here, it's too quiet, so the sound of the clock is very clear, which is why he's afraid."
He tugged at my sleeve, probably hoping I would turn off the clock.
Jian Tanxi said, "So that's how it is."
Then, Jian Tanxi patiently said to Qu Chen, "Don't be afraid, Xiao Chen. That clock won't hurt you. The clock can't be turned off because we still need it to tell time."
However, Qu Chen probably couldn't understand such a long sentence; he continued to cry while pointing at the clock. He also bit Qin Man's hand and Jian Tanxi's hand.
Jian Tanxi quickly withdrew her hand, then saw a tooth mark on it, and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Qin Man apologized to her, and Jian Tanxi smiled and said, "It's okay, it doesn't hurt much."
Huo Zimu, sitting to one side, suddenly covered his head with his hands in frustration and said, "Why doesn't this game allow killing? Why?!"
Li Chuxia said coldly, "To guard against people like you."
Although Jian Tanxi was dissatisfied with Huo Zimu, she still said, "To increase the difficulty of the game, if killing is allowed, the strongest person can easily survive for 10 days by killing their teammates, because they can also eat their teammates' flesh."
If everyone were alive, cannibalism would be unlikely, because many teammates would stop it, just like we are now.
Everyone must survive to complete the game, which is virtually an impossible task. That's probably why the clown might find it even more amusing.
Li Chuxia murmured, "How fun... So the clown put so many of us in such a desperate situation just for fun..."
Jian Tanxi said, "No, I think it's just my speculation. Maybe the clown and those pieces of paper have other purposes."
"Sister Tanxi, what kind of monster are those paper scraps?"
"I don't know either. The only thing I'm sure of is that they're no longer ordinary pieces of paper. Perhaps we can call them paper people."
"Paper dolls... I wonder if burning them would kill them."
"It probably won't be that easy, but I can try next time."
Just then, the paper clown appeared: "Oh dear, you actually wanted to burn me alive! I'm so heartbroken. I even spared your lives..."
Jian Tanxi suddenly asked, "What is the way out you've left for us? In other words, how can we all get through this?"
The Joker: "Are you just going to ask directly? That's too opportunistic, isn't it? The Joker doesn't like lazy people. You guys figure it out yourselves."
"Didn't you say that we would definitely get the correct answers to the five questions we asked? Now there are only two questions left. The question I just asked was the fourth one. Please answer it."
The Joker: "What I mean is, if I were willing to answer, I would definitely give the correct answer. But how could I possibly answer a question that asks me directly about how to pass the level? This question doesn't count; you can think of another one."
Jian Tanxi hadn't wanted to ask anymore, but then a thought suddenly struck her, and she said, "Okay, then our fourth question is..."
Before Jian Tanxi could speak, Huo Zimu rushed over and said to the clown, "We won't ask for now, you can go first!"
Then, Huo Zimu frowned and said to Jian Tanxi, "There are only two questions left. You can't ask them directly. They must be discussed and agreed upon by everyone."
Jian Tanxi ignored him and wanted to speak directly. Huo Zimu simply covered her mouth.
As Jian Tanxi slapped Huo Zimu's hand away, she took a few steps back, leaving Huo Zimu's control area.
Then, Jian Tanxi said to the auto mechanic Zhang Dayong, "Uncle Zhang, do you believe me?"
Zhang Dayong was a little surprised to be called on, and then said, "Of course I believe you."
Jian Tanxi: "Then please hold Huo Zimu down. Because I have two last questions to ask."
Zhang Dayong was even more surprised: "You're going to ask both questions?"
Yes. Do you trust me?
Zhang Dayong considered it for a moment and nodded: "I haven't read much, so I can't think of a way to pass the test. You're a college student, a young man, and quick-witted. I trust you."
Jian Tanxi turned to Qin Man and asked, "Sister Qin Man, I have a question. Do you agree?"
Qin Man nodded: "I have no objection."
Jian Tanxi then looked at Li Chuxia.
Li Chuxia said directly, "Sister Tanxi, go ahead and ask. I have no objection. Anyway, the chances of everyone surviving are very low, so let's try anything. Even if the last two questions are wasted, it doesn't mean we definitely won't get out."
Seeing that everyone agreed, Jian Tanxi gave Zhang Dayong a wink.
Zhang Dayong captured Huo Zimu, rendering him unable to move.
Huo Zimu shouted frantically, "Jian Tanxi! You're not allowed to ask questions! Do you hear me? I don't agree to you asking questions!"
Jian Tanxi looked at him coldly: "Your opinion is not important; the minority shall obey the majority."
Then, Jian Tanxi looked at the clown and asked, "Is a day here 24 hours?"
The clown said, "Yes."
Jian Tanxi: "Fifth question: Does 24 hours count as a day?"
Joker: "Yes, my child. But why are you asking such a stupid question?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
