I Have Yet to Become a Doll Today

After all these days… had Lu Yuwen been deceiving her?

Why?

With a knife pressed against his throat, Lu Yuwen gasped, “All these days… I wasn’t stalling. I was… waiting for you.”

“Waiting for me?” Zhang Ke narrowed his eyes, pressing the knife against his skin. “I warn you, don’t try to fool me.”

“I’m not.” Lu Yuwen answered weakly.

Blood was smeared around his neck, and his face bore bruises from being hit. His situation was dire, but his tone was calm.

“Zhang Ke, if you have been following us, you would have noticed that our slow pace is due to the need to make room for moving after every step. In essence, we are short-handed. If… if you could join in, our efficiency would improve by at least double!”

Zhang Ke scrutinized him suspiciously, “Your reason, doesn’t sound very convincing…”

Lu Yuwen said: “Suppose this place is a 3×3 puzzle, with grid cells marked from 1 to 8, and the 9th cell is the blank space. If my starting position is 8 and I want to move 8 to position 5, I would need to walk to 6, move down to 6, then diagonally walk to position 5, move right to 5, return to 8, move up, only then can I get 8 to position 5—

Even though 8 and 5 are adjacent, my movement distance is not just one step, but at least three steps!

What if the three of us stand in positions 5 and 6? You move position 6, then Su Man and I move position 5. While we’re doing that, you move from position 6 to 8. At this point, position 8 has arrived at position 5!

Do you understand now? The whole process only requires one step of movement on our part!”

Zhang Ke furrowed his eyebrows, seemingly deep in thought.

Lu Yuwen spoke again: “If you join us, completing the whole puzzle would take us at most six days! But if you continue hiding in the shadows, hoping to reap the benefits, then you’ll have to wait at least a month to leave this place! Zhang Ke, think about it. Do you want to collaborate with us?”

Zhang Ke frowned without giving a response. His face, cast in the light of the fire, looked as if he was somewhat persuaded by Lu Yuwen’s words.

Suddenly, a cluster of flames flew into their sight!

It was Su Man, kicking a burning log, sparks flew, and Zhang Ke hastily retreated!

Taking the opportunity, Su Man grabbed Lu Yuwen and pulled him over!

“You?!…” Zhang Ke, without his hostage, glared at them, “You played me?!!”

Shielding Lu Yuwen behind her, Su Man retorted coldly: “Even if we were to collaborate, I wouldn’t let Lu Yuwen be with you. Who knows what dirty tricks you might play!”

Lu Yuwen said, “Nobody is playing you, Zhang Ke. It’s out of necessity that I suggested collaboration, but under the current circumstances, we must join forces.”

With a cynical look, Zhang Ke spat, “We can team up, but I want to be paired with Lu Yuwen. Let the woman stay at the neighboring plot.”

“That’s impossible!” Su Man immediately refused.

Zhang Ke glared at them menacingly, “You think I’m a fool? Sending me alone to the nearby plot means keeping a distance of 2 kilometers between us! What if you guys escape after all the plots are assembled?!”

“You can tie me up with a rope.” Lu Yuwen suggested.

Su Man immediately groaned, looking at Lu Yuwen, “How could you…”

Lu Yuwen squeezed her hand, giving her a quietly reassuring look. Turning to Zhang Ke, he said, “Mr. Dongguo’s rope should be in your possession now, right? As long as you stay alive, the rope can’t be untied. You can rest assured, we certainly won’t leave the maze before you.”