She looked at her Cat-Eye Glasses and silently thought of a word.
The next moment, the Cat-Eye Glasses transformed exactly as she wished—into a rope.
Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to this sudden change.
The “Confucian Merchant” was rarely surprised, but this time he asked in astonishment, “Is that… a bungee cord?”
Su Yan smiled and nodded, “That’s right. As long as my speed is fast enough, it won’t have a chance to snap back! Just wait and see.”
Number 1 thought for a moment, “You plan to use the bungee cord to spring yourself over? But there’s nowhere to anchor the rope.”
Su Yan looked meaningfully at the wooden stake where Brother Zhang was sitting.
“Isn’t that already a perfect fixed point? As long as I bring the rope over and hang it there, it’ll be fine.”
“Genius!”
Number 4 gave her a thumbs-up.
“We’ll be counting on you later.”
Seeing her flashy move, the audience on Nick Star were equally impressed.
“666, this idea is something I didn’t think of.”
“This young lady is so smart!”
“Will it work? Feels a bit unreliable.”
“Quick plug for my home’s ‘Cat-Eye Glasses’ young lady—every game she plays is packed with slick moves. Even the production crew are fans. What reason do you have not to like her?”
“Already a fan!”
The “Confucian Merchant” stared thoughtfully at the bungee cord in Su Yan’s hands.
Suddenly, he raised his brow, recalling something.
His eyes sparkled with a smile as he looked at Su Yan, then fell silent.
After confirming their target, the three of them became proactive.
Whoever approached Brother Zhang could hang the bungee cord.
But things didn’t go as planned.
This time, Brother Zhang was clearly alert and didn’t go easy at all.
Although he didn’t understand exactly what the few people behind him were up to, Brother Zhang was well aware of danger.
From their sudden increase in activity, Brother Zhang immediately realized they might be about to unleash some big move.
Naturally, he wanted to nip that in the bud. He decided not to give them any chance to get close.
For an examiner capable of setting obstacles, it was actually quite easy to keep guests at bay.
At worst, he could just call out “Wooden Doll,” since the guests couldn’t do much against it anyway.
***
This was the exact situation Su Yan and her two companions were facing.
Brother Zhang was far tougher than the Faceless Woman; the obstacles he set were extremely difficult.
Su Yan barely took two steps onto the track before a red rubber vine shot up under her feet. Thick and long, it whipped at her like a giant whip, relentlessly attacking.
“Is this supposed to be normal for an average person?”
Su Yan’s face was full of despair.
She felt like she had returned to the nightmare of jump rope muscle twitching—one wrong move meant certain death.
Although Su Yan was the main target due to her high intellect, the two beside her weren’t faring much better—they too were stuck in trouble.
Number 1’s track suddenly caved into a large pit. Caught unprepared, he fell straight in.
The pit was deep and smooth all around—he was trapped.
As for Number 4, her track turned into a ring of sharp spikes, enclosing her inside.
The spikes were dense and fine, impossible to break through.
The host exerted full interference, and the trio rapidly found themselves at a disadvantage.
***
“You have to admit, experience beats youth every time!”
“Cat-Eye Glasses is clever, but still lacks game experience.”
“True, she hasn’t been through the harsh blows of the game yet.”
“Some things just can’t be overcome by brains alone.”
“If there were experienced veteran guests here, they’d probably react faster.”
“I’m so anxious watching this! It’s so hard to find a method, but then it can’t be executed.”
***
Su Yan dodged the attacks with all her might, but under the relentless whipping of the high-tensile rubber vine, she still ended up with fresh bruises.
She looked bitterly at the two beside her—luckier than her.
Though stuck, they at least weren’t in mortal danger.
Her initial suspicion proved correct: they had been trapped in this round with no way to win or lose.
This was the game’s major spectacle.
Otherwise, with the host’s strength, even with restrictions, it would have been easy to kill the guests outright—not this teasing cat-and-mouse game.
As for herself… Su Yan fell silent for a moment.
She sensed that the host actually intended to kill her but the highest difficulty of obstacles it could set was only this much.
That was why she could endure so long.
Her guess was right—Brother Zhang really thought this way.
With her presence, passing the stage for Number 1 and Number 4 would become infinitely harder.
It was better to eliminate her quickly and then enjoy watching the despair on the other two’s faces.
Su Yan gradually felt her stamina draining.
Taking a deep breath, she knew that if she didn’t change her situation soon, she would be exhausted and fail.
But how to escape now?
Countless possibilities flashed through her mind. What if she retreated to the starting point?
She turned back to look. The “Confucian Merchant” was quietly watching her struggle at the starting point.
The vine wasn’t very long, but if she tried to run back, it would definitely block her path, leaving her stuck and wasting energy.
Su Yan quickly discarded this impractical idea.
Suddenly, her peripheral vision caught something odd at the top of the vine.
Though it wildly whipped around, it seemed to be restricted.
Where exactly was it limited? Su Yan carefully observed the vine’s movement and suddenly realized—it couldn’t leave the third lane!
Indeed, it kept flailing above the third lane.
Whenever it neared the boundary, it immediately recoiled.
Su Yan recalled when she had broken free from the vine wrapping around her earlier; as soon as she jumped to an adjacent lane, the vine stopped chasing.
Realizing this, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She had a plan.
Su Yan made a big leap, dodging the vine’s attack, then swiftly jumped over to the second lane.
Why not the fourth lane?
Because it was covered in dense spikes—no place to land.
The moment she landed on the second lane, she nimbly jumped back.
Sure enough, a vine had already appeared where she had just stepped.
Without pausing, Su Yan jumped onto the first lane—Number 1’s lane.
Finally, some peace.
Number 1’s lane already had the big pit trapping him, so no new obstacles could appear quickly.
Su Yan couldn’t save Number 1 but took advantage of this rare moment of safety to rush toward Brother Zhang.
***
Brother Zhang finally lost patience and shouted, “Wooden Doll, don’t move!”
Su Yan ignored him and tied the bungee cord directly to the wooden stake below.
Brother Zhang: ???
Is she really that brazen?
Su Yan looked at him and smiled, “As a Wooden Doll, I’m sure you wouldn’t mess with the wooden stake below during the game, right?”
Brother Zhang fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
He really couldn’t interfere with the stake at that time—after all, he was playing the part of a wooden doll who could only talk but not move.
Su Yan nodded in satisfaction, tied the other end of the bungee cord to her waist, and calmly began walking backward, under Brother Zhang’s watchful gaze.
***
When she was still some distance from the pit trapping Number 1, Su Yan suddenly paused and stopped.
After thinking, she naturally turned her head toward Brother Zhang.
“Hey, aren’t you going to release them? Otherwise, won’t your Number 1 and Number 4 lanes be permanently safe?”
Brother Zhang hesitated and said nothing.
Su Yan was right: each lane could only have one obstacle.
If the obstacles weren’t removed, those two lanes would become absolutely safe havens for her.
That was not what Brother Zhang wanted to see.
Instead of using the obstacles to trap two useless players, it was better to torment the only smart person on the field.
But Brother Zhang always felt Su Yan was up to no good, and it was unwilling to help this guest who kept ruining its plans.
Who knew what else she might do?
***
Su Yan’s eyes flicked as she said confidently, “I just remembered! They both moved already. According to the rules, they should return directly to the starting point. You can’t go against the rules and stop them, right?”
At this, Numbers 1 and 4 immediately brightened and began doing their broadcast calisthenics, fearing Brother Zhang wouldn’t notice their movement.
That really hit Brother Zhang’s weak spot.
It couldn’t bear the guilt of breaking rules.
Su Yan was right—they should be sent back to the start according to regulations.
His face stiffened, and he immediately raised his hand.
The obstacles in the two lanes returned to normal, and Numbers 1 and 4 were freed.
Seeing Numbers 1 and 4 freed, Su Yan shouted immediately, “Come help me pull this thing! I can’t pull it over by myself!”
The real reason she stopped earlier was that the bungee cord had reached its limit.
She couldn’t pull herself back alone.
Brother Zhang realized it had been tricked.
Su Yan wasn’t trying to save her teammates at all; she was clearly using them to complete her plan!
“6666”
“This young lady is so cunning!”
“Brother Zhang: Where’s the trust between people?”
“I’m crying for Brother Zhang.”
“I think it’s more for the two guests. Their teammate ‘saving’ them was just a bonus.”
“Getting out is already great. Who needs a bicycle?”
Numbers 1 and 4 ran over immediately.
Number 4 grabbed Su Yan’s waist, and Number 1 pulled Number 4.
Together, the three frantically searched back and forth along the limits of the bungee cord.
At last, with their combined effort, Su Yan barely made it back to the starting point.
She shouted at Brother Zhang, “What are you waiting for? Start the game!”
Brother Zhang felt extremely uneasy.
It looked back at the three who looked like street performers, focusing especially on Su Yan’s fierce expression, then turned away.
“Game continues.”
No sooner had he spoken than that uneasy feeling intensified to the extreme.
Prompted by it, he turned back and shouted, “Wooden…”
Before he could finish, he felt a heavy hand slap hard on his back.
The force was so great it pushed Brother Zhang, who had been sitting on the wood, forward, causing him to bow abruptly to the wall behind him.