"F*ck you!" Number 43 exploded. In opposition to Number 47, who looked reticent, Number 43 was short-tempered.
"You b*stard!" He cursed Number 42 as he pounced on the latter.
However, before he could get near to Number 42, an arm appeared, halting him. Raising his eyes, Number 43 met with Lin Sanjiu's amber eyes.
"Don't be so rash," She sighed. Then, her voice turned cold, "Look."
"She's right. Don't be so rash, young man," Number 42 giggled as he waved a pile of things in his hand. The things rattled in his hand before everybody realized that those were photos.
It seemed like he had taken pictures of the water droplets distribution pattern in the second chamber.
"I'll let this one slide. However, if something like this happens again, I'll tear up one of these," Number 42 said as the corner of his lips curled up, "Five versus three, though you have superiority in numbers, I bet all the photos will be gone by the time you guys reach me."
Almost at the same time as the words were spoken, Lin Sanjiu then realized this problem. Number 43 gritted his teeth, his face still red from anger, but he didn't take any moves, remaining frozen in his place.
Every expression Number 42 made looked like he wore a different mask. When he squinted his eyes and cast a sweeping a glance over the crowd, each subtle changes on his face was stranger than the last. His facial features didn't change, but after Lin Sanjiu stared at him for a good while, she couldn't help but realize she couldn't remember how he actually looks like.
"It's time for a math lesson," Number 42 grinned broadly and showed everybody his blood red gums, making him looked grislier than ever, "Since we have lost a chamber worth of water droplets, the remaining is definitely not enough to supply until all eight of us is sprouted. Hence, we must eliminate at least three people. Now, which one of you must die?"
It took a few seconds for the words to sank in. Before anybody could make any responses, Number 42 continued, "You see, I'm a kind-hearted man. I couldn't answer to my conscience if I abandoned either one of you, so why don't you people do me a favor and step forward to offer yourself?"
The faces of the few people were ugly. They were at a loss of what they should say or what approach they should take right now.
"Well? No one? Sigh. Why do you guys have to make the thing so difficult for me? I guess I have no other choice but to pick the candidates myself. Hmm, how about this. For those who challenge me, I will not tell him or her the location of the water droplets…"
A few of them opened their mouth wide, aggravation filled their faces but none of them spoke.
Number 42 let out a satisfied laugh. Along with Number 46 and Number 48, they sauntered back to the circle of water droplets. Then, he turned around theatrically and clapped his hands while talked with exaggerated exasperation, "Oh yeah! While we're at it, why don't a few of you help us to test the water droplets first? I promise to the first one who absorbed the water droplets will get a spot to sprout."
Before his voice died away, Lin Sanjiu and another figure moved.
Unlike the other figure, Lin Sanjiu's target wasn't the water droplets on the ground. Stretching her leg wide apart, she darted forward and grabbed Number 44 by the back of his neck collar, "Everybody, stay put! He needs us to test the water droplets to find out which ones are the pure water droplets. If we don't help him, he can't germinate either!"
"Yeah, she is right," Number 42 drawled as he sat on the ground. Like an old man, he pounded on his leg as he said, "But first, let me make it clear that I would rather perish together with you than giving in. So would you all choose to join forces with her, and we all be rotten in here, or cooperate with me and vie for the two germination spots?"
Even if Lin Sanjiu wanted to retort, she was too late. While she was struggling to put Number 44 under control, Number 45 suddenly jolted out from another side and yelled, her voice reverberated clear and loud in the hall, "I volunteer!"
"Awesome!" Number 42 exclaimed while clapping his hand, "Here, pick one. Once you've absorbed the water droplet, I promise you will be able to germinate." After that, he turned to the other four people and said, "Now we have only one slot left; I'll give it to the most obedient one."
As he said, he studied Lin Sanjiu from her head to her toe.
Lin Sanjiu pursed her lips and didn't say anything. This was by far the worst result among those Ji Shanqing had envisaged.
She released the whining Number 44 and shoved him to a side. Then, she raised her eyes to look at the other two.
There was still anger lingered on Number 43's face. His jaw covered with stubble was as rigid as a horseshoe. He seemed unable to accept the sudden changes in the situation. On the other hand, Number 47's face was still sans of any facial expressions and nobody could tell what kind of story was playing in his mind.
"You four still have time to reconsider. When Number 45 has finished absorbing the water droplet, then it'll be your turn to make a choice," Number 42 smiled from ear to ear as he nodded to the girl with an oval face. When he saw her picking up a water droplet from the ground, he turned his head and again reinstated his previous statement, "Remember, only the obedient kid will get their candy."
Even though they knew Number 42 was baiting them, the expressions of the other three people aside from Lin Sanjiu had changed.
"Absorb," Number 45 yelled, attracting everybody's attention.
Initially, Lin Sanjiu was thinking to fake her reaction to fool Number 42 but when she saw Number 45's condition, she quickly dropped the thought. There was no way, not in a thousand she could counterfeit the reaction of a body that had been starved for a month.
The chubby oval-shaped face was instantly sunken. The color was stripped off from her face like an ebbing tide, replacing it was an unhealthy yellow-green color and dehydrated, emaciated skin.
"Ugh," Number 45 panted heavily as she curled up her body like a dried shrimp. She struggled for a long time before she managed to straighten her body. Her gaze shifted quickly between Number 42 and the water droplets on the ground as she hesitated. Her hesitation was swift, but it didn't escape Number 42.
"Keep going," Number 42 urged her like he was coaxing a kid, "Don't worry, the ratio is 1:1. Your luck won't be so bad that you get two contaminated water droplets in a row."
Seeing that Number 45 had again extended her shivering hand, Lin Sanjiu quickly yelled, "Wait!"
Everybody looked at her again.
Lin Sanji knew that Number 45 would not die from overconsuming the contaminated water droplets nor she cared about Number 45; she just couldn't stand herself watching Number 42 succeed in his plan so easily. If she didn't do something now, then when everybody started to fight for the last spot, it would be too late.
She couldn't activate her [Consciousness Mimicry] now as she didn't have enough time to do so. Her brows were knitted together tightly as sweat began to form on her forehead. She had no idea how to shatter this stalemate and turn the table to her favor.
Hearing Lin Sanjiu's call, Number 42 laughed, "What? You want to volunteer also?"
Suddenly, it clicked. It was as if lightning had stricken her and an idea flashed into her mind.
She ignored Number 44, who was standing beside Number 42, eager to be the next guinea pig. She strode straight to Number 43 and Number 47. Then, she stretched her arms open, "I would like to say on behalf of both of them, all three of us don't want your bullsh*t quota."
"Hey, why you—"
Lin Sanjiu chimed in and cut short what Number 43 was going to say next. She explained without turning her head, "Guys, listen to me. Starting from now, we quit!"
The countenance of Number 42 sank as he seemingly had realized something.
"Don't you five want to germinate? Well, go ahead and good luck. There's no way you can make us test the water droplets for you," Lin Sanjiu grimaced. "Without us, you only have Number 44 and Number 45 to help you test the water droplets. I supposed that is not enough, right? Oh yeah— Why don't three of you join both of them to test the water droplets as well?"
Somebody gasped behind her as it dawned on him.
With three people glaring at them like ravening tigers, Number 42 and his gang would never take the initiative to absorb the water droplets. This was because they would become very vulnerable if they accidentally absorbed the contaminated water droplets. Like three beached whales on a deserted beach—powerless and exposed. At that time, they were confident that Lin Sanjiu would seize her every chance to get back at them. But if they refused to test the water droplets, relying only on Number 44 and Number 45 was obviously not enough...
"But they have five people there," Number 47 asked with a frowned. He then continued with a low tone, "If they throw everything to the wind and come at us, we would be in big trouble."
"No, not five," Lin Sanjiu flashed a grin at Number 42, "We have three people here, and so do they; we're evenly matched in term of battle forces. They would not do anything to us as there won't be enough people to test the water droplets. While for Number 44 and Number 45, they are harmless. They would not do anything recklessly before they find out how the wind blows."
Upon hearing this, Number 42 quickly turned his head.
He saw Number 44 had recoiled a considerable distance back unbeknownst to him, though he was still rubbing his hand restlessly, and he still had an ardent look on his face. Seeing that Number 44 was getting further and further away, he turned his head again to see Number 45 had put down the second water droplet back to the ground.
"If we are getting into a fight soon, I thought it would be the best for me to rest and preserve some of my energy," Number 45 forced a smile and explained.
Both Number 45 and Number 44 immediately defected when they saw the situation was going awry. Even though Number 42 didn't see this coming earlier, it was apparent to him now that he couldn't leave his back to this kind of weathercock in a fight.
The only factor Lin Sanjiu needed to consider now was would Number 43 and Number 47 remain aligned with her till the end?
However, Lin Sanjiu couldn't think of any reason under this circumstance that would make both Number 43 and Number 47 defect to Number 42's side. Besides, she chose both of them to be her allies because she knew that they were frustrated with Number 42's actions.
"How dare you three disobey me! Don't you want to sprout?" Number 42 yelled at the top of his lung. Clearly, Lin Sanjiu had hit him in his Achilles heel. His face reddened in anger, "I'm the only one who has the record. Without my record, you guys can't do anything!"
"So what?" Lin Sanjiu sneered, "Blame yourself for exposing your motive so early. You say you want somebody to volunteer to sacrifice themselves, right? Here we are, we have granted your wish. So now, show us how you're supposed to find all the pure water droplets, alone."
Number 42 was so angry that his breath became heavy and veins began to bulge on his neck. He stared fixedly at Lin Sanjiu, but he said nothing.
"What will you do now?" Number 46 get close to him and whispered.
"Can't you see—" Just when Number 42 going to explode, something barged into his brain and quenched the fire in his heart. He swept his gaze at all the people that present in the chamber, one after another as he tried very hard to contain his anger, "You guys won't get anything from doing this. Like I said, obey me, and you'll live; antagonize me, and you'll perish."
Seeing that Number 42 could contain his composure no more, Lin Sanjiu decided it was time to put her last move into action. She looked over Number 42's shoulders and smiled at Number 46 and Number 48, "He is already at the twilight of his wit, like a drowning ship, so why do you two still stay with him? As long as you two bring the record, I promise none of them would find any trouble with you. We'll wipe the slate clean. Everybody will be able to germinate. Wouldn't it be better than fighting amongst ourselves?"
Even though Lin Sanjiu knew Number 42 was the one who had the photos, she didn't plan to abandon the two men who followed Number 42 quietly all this time, especially Number 48. He had been tasked to move all the water droplets, and Lin Sanjiu surmised that he probably recorded the distribution as well.
Surprisingly, Number 42 laughed. He raised his chin as an ambiguous expression dawned on his face, "Save it! The truth is without you three, we still can think of another way to find the pure water droplets, but without my record, there is nothing you could do."
"Alright, I'm tired of talking so I'll sit here and rest now. When you guys have made up your mind, come and find me," A wicked smile danced on Number 42's lips, "Maybe I'll give the slot to the person who finds me first."
After that, he, Number 46 and Number 48 sat down on the ground.
Just when Lin Sanjiu wondered if the rest would falter at Number 42's words, Number 47 got close to her. He gestured her to go along with Number 43 to another corner of the hall.
"I can see it. Number 42 is just whistling in the dark," Standing in a corner far away from Number 42 and his comrades, Number 47 said calmly, "The situation has not changed at all. He won't absorb the water droplets as long as we're here, but we're now in a deadlocked situation. We must solve this within eight days."
Frowning, Lin Sanjiu threw a gaze to see Number 44 and Number 45 standing at another corner of the hall. The hall now was divided into three factions. While Number 43 and Number 47 were discussing, she calmed down her mind to think of a way to get the record on her hand—
It was also because she was too immersed in her own thought that she almost missed Number 47's words. As she suddenly realized what Number 47 had said, she immediately raised her head, "What did you just say? Can you repeat that?"
"I said," Number 47 seemed a little bit surprised, "Do you guys know who the Head of College is?"