Chapter 6 Gem Appreciation - Round Two

"We can't go on like this, going in and doing nothing. Even if we're safe for now, if we don't get the real gem after three rounds, we'll still die," said the man in Hanfu labeled No. 2.

For easier movement, he had already taken off his cumbersome outer robe and was now only wearing a set of white inner garments.

"But there are still so many types of gems left. What else can we do? The chances to verify are far fewer than the types of gems," said the woman in yoga wear labeled No. 7.

"I suspect..." Bai Xiao hesitated before speaking.

"What do you suspect?" The helmet-wearing deliveryman labeled No. 1 stepped forward, staring intently at her. He had always felt this seemingly docile girl was hiding something, but without evidence, he couldn't get anything out of her.

"I suspect the real gem isn't among the gems in those display cases. But I can't be sure either; it's just a guess." After thinking for a moment, Bai Xiao finally spoke her mind.

The ratio of gem quantity to verification opportunities was severely imbalanced, and there were very few information prompts. That room had nothing more than what met the eye. If the real gem wasn't on the display shelves, where else could it be?

"This... but aside from that, there's nothing extra in that treasury." Someone voiced the same thought as her.

"Regardless, in the next round, we must search carefully. We can't just do nothing," said No. 7, looking at No. 1. It was him who had stayed in place after entering last time, wasting the precious verification opportunity.

Soon, the game entered the second round. Five people remained in the room, but only four could actually participate. The muscular man labeled No. 6, having lost too much blood, had collapsed on the floor, and it was unclear whether he was dead or alive.

This round, no vote was initiated. Entry proceeded according to the order of their numbers.

[Player No. 1, please proceed to the treasury immediately, or you will face game penalties.]

Ten minutes later, No. 1, the deliveryman, did not return. Although no screams like No. 4's were heard, the outlook was likely grim.

Soon, it was No. 2's turn. He returned safely but with an injured arm. He had torn off one sleeve to make a simple bandage.

Without waiting for others to ask, he proactively said, "I chose a pink diamond. It wasn't real either. And I discovered..."

At this point, he seemed to swallow nervously before continuing.

"After I accidentally made a sound, the monsters on the pillars actually came to life! Once they moved, they... they actually threw tridents to attack people! Luckily, I stayed alert and reacted quickly enough, only grazing my arm. Perhaps the 'mechanism' No. 6 mentioned earlier was the tridents thrown by the monsters."

"The stone-carved monsters on the pillars can move?!" The lady in yoga wear, No. 7, exclaimed in shock.

"You're not joking, are you?"

"..."

Given that a fantastical event like the game suddenly appearing and taking them away could happen, stone-carved monsters coming to life didn't seem so hard to accept either. After the initial shock, everyone quickly accepted it.

[Player No. 3, please proceed to the treasury immediately, or you will face game penalties.]

Bai Xiao once again stood before the stone door and gently pulled it open. Despite being mentally prepared, the sight before her still gave her a fright.

No. 4 lay fallen near the entrance, a large hole pierced through his chest, blood pooling on the floor. Bai Xiao glanced at him. He was wearing casual leather shoes; he probably hadn't noticed the unusual floor. Such shoes easily made noise when stepped in, and the floor here was special, amplifying sounds. The cause of death was self-evident.

No. 1 lay near the display shelf farthest from the entrance. It was unclear what he did to make noise. At this moment, his entire body had toppled the display shelf. Blood flowed from his pierced neck, staining the scattered gems red.

His throat had been pierced through—no wonder no sound was made.

This game had a truly morbid sense of humor. Useful sound information was deliberately not transmitted to the holding cell, yet death screams were not spared at all.

She couldn't waste time on conjecture. Bai Xiao only lingered for a few seconds before shifting her gaze elsewhere. Unlike the first round, where she spent almost all her time observing the gem display shelves, she planned to conduct a thorough, carpet-style search of other areas this time.

The entire room had no items besides the display cases and the areas around the four pillars. The left and right walls were built from light blue stones of an unknown type, with almost no gaps between each stone. The walls were very smooth, and she observed nothing unusual.

Bai Xiao initially wanted to knock on the wall to see if there were any hidden spaces, but she stopped as soon as she raised her hand, afraid of making noise.

Unable to knock, Bai Xiao had to press various spots along the wall, but nothing changed.

Following the wall to the end of the room, this wall at the end was slightly different. It was carved with unknown patterns, but pressing several spots yielded no reaction either.

Then there was the stone chair. This chair was positioned directly in front of the center of the wall, like a king's throne. It was entirely carved from an unknown type of grey stone, giving a feeling of weightiness and antiquity.

Bai Xiao had seen this chair during her first entry, but she was busy looking at the gems then and didn't observe it carefully. She felt around it but still found nothing.

Was she really wrong? Was the real gem among that pile of gems?

By now, half the game time had passed, and she was still clueless. She had no choice but to return near the display shelves to look again.

She observed the gems column by column, from bottom to top. When her gaze swept to the very top, it happened to meet the eyes of the Fish-headed Monster on the stone pillar. She was startled, but this reminded her that she hadn't examined these pillars carefully yet.

Since these monsters moved in the first round, driven by the instinct for self-preservation, she had been subconsciously avoiding this area after entering.

Bai Xiao began observing the pillar nearest to her. The pillar was lustrous white like jade, warm and smooth to the touch—definitely high-quality jade. Using such a large piece just as a pillar showed how extravagantly lavish this game was.

The jade pillar was only carved with the Fish-headed Monster with a snake's body; there was nothing else. She took two deep breaths, gathered her courage, and reached out to touch it.

She deliberately chose a spot where she could see the fish's eye but stay as far away from the trident tip as possible, thinking that if anything happened, she would at least have some reaction time.

Her hand touched it. The monster didn't move!

Only then did Bai Xiao's tense body slowly relax, and she let out the breath she had been holding.

The snake body felt as warm and smooth as the pillar, even slightly warmer. She leaned in for a closer look. Whether it was an illusion or not, she felt as if there were unknown fine filaments flowing within the jade carving of the monster's body, but upon closer scrutiny, it seemed there weren't.

She still had no clue what the real gem was.

Most of the game time had already passed. If she had no leads this round, she would truly be in danger.

First, as a safety measure, she selected a high-quality gem and held it in her hand. Then, she returned to the center of the four pillars, calmed her mind, surveyed the entire room, and gradually conceived a crazy idea.

If no clues could be found in the static room, what about when it was in motion?

Last time, after making a sound, she was in a hurry to escape and didn't see if there were any changes in the room at all. Should she try it again this time?

If she didn't take risks, she would still die after three rounds of the game. After much hesitation, she had to do it!

She went to the display shelf again and randomly picked another gem, planning to use a diversionary tactic.

The only cover in the room besides the display shelves was that stone chair. The display shelves were easily toppled; only that stone chair was heavy and solid.

However, hiding behind the stone chair was quite risky. If the Fish-headed Monster revived and continued attacking until the end of this round's opening, it would be very difficult for her to escape to the stone door.

But there seemed to be no other way. If she didn't take the risk, after three rounds of the game, she could only wait for death.