The Genius Game - Chapter 16

Jian Tanxi nodded and said, “Don’t worry.”

She and Qin Man had developed a tacit understanding and didn’t need to say much.

Qin Man struggled to crawl toward Miss Jenny, taking ten full minutes to reach her.

Miss Jenny remarked, “Oh, Qin Man, why are you crawling? Are you injured?”

Qin Man paid no mind to Miss Jenny’s feigned concern and replied calmly, “I’m here to recommend a groom for you. I think Candidate No. 6 fits your requirements.”

“Really? Then I’ll call my private detective to verify.”

With that, a phone appeared on Miss Jenny’s paper.

The phone rang a few times, and Miss Jenny began speaking to the person on the other end: “Thomas, this time I need you to investigate Candidate No. 6… You’ve already looked into him? That’s great… He has a gentle temper and knows how to cook. Sounds pretty good…”

Hearing this, Qin Man, Jian Tanxi, and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, Miss Jenny’s voice turned angry: “What? You say No. 6 already has seven children? How outrageous! This is absolutely shocking! Unbelievable! These players actually want me to become a stepmother! What are they thinking? You’re right, I’m going to beat them to death!”

Jian Tanxi, Qin Man, and Sun Lianhu were all startled and terrified.

They hadn’t known that Candidate No. 6 had so many children. After all, Qu Chen couldn’t speak, and such complex information couldn’t be discerned from his face.

However, Jian Tanxi realized that, upon closer thought, it made sense. After Qu Chen returned from the inner world, he had been extremely excited, running and jumping around nonstop.

It was likely that, while in the inner world, he had encountered many children, which made him so happy.

Although those children couldn’t see him, Qu Chen didn’t understand that.

He might have been playing and running wildly with the children. When they ate pastries, he ate them too. With so many children around, no one paid special attention to which child was eating the pastries.

Thus, Qu Chen, the invisible child, managed to eat a few pastries without being noticed.

And those children, of course, were Candidate No. 6’s offspring.

It also made sense that No. 6 knew how to cook. With so many children, he would have had to handle some household chores and learn a bit of cooking.

Of course, this was all deduced after the fact.

Without knowing that No. 6 had several children, Jian Tanxi wouldn’t have been able to infer from Qu Chen’s excitement that he had been playing with other children in the inner world, leading to his overexcitement.

Soon, Miss Jenny emerged from the paper and began beating the four candidates again.

This time, Jian Tanxi and the others didn’t run, knowing it was futile. Staying put would at least conserve some energy.

Jian Tanxi curled into a ball, lying on her side on the ground, doing her best to protect her vital areas.

But Qin Man couldn’t do the same, she had to protect her child.

She held Qu Chen tightly in her arms, shielding his head, face, and other vulnerable parts. As a result, her own body was completely exposed, and she was struck repeatedly. Her injuries were more severe than those of Jian Tanxi and Sun Lianhu.

Yet, perhaps driven by a mother’s instinct, she tapped into hidden reserves of strength. She stubbornly refused to fall, holding Qu Chen even more tightly.

But no matter how she tried to protect him, Miss Jenny always found tricky angles to hurt Qu Chen.

Although Jian Tanxi and Sun Lianhu were both curled up, Miss Jenny attacked them so relentlessly that they couldn’t maintain one position for long. They had to alternate between shielding their heads, their stomachs, and their faces.

As soon as they shifted their posture, Miss Jenny would strike the areas they had just covered.

Soon, there wasn’t a single patch of unbruised skin left on any of them.

Jian Tanxi spat out a mouthful of blood, her consciousness gradually fading.

She thought Miss Jenny would only beat them for ten minutes, just like last time. If they could just hold on a little longer, it would be over.

But those ten minutes felt endlessly long. She had no idea how much time had passed or how much longer she would have to endure.

Sun Lianhu had initially stayed quiet and curled up, focused only on survival.

But when he realized that no matter how he tried to protect himself, he might not make it, he snapped. He shouted loudly, “This damn game doesn’t have a right choice! All six candidates have their own flaws! No matter who we choose, Miss Jenny will beat us!

Rather than being beaten to death by her, let’s fight back together! Jian Tanxi, Qin Man, let’s attack her together, I refuse to believe we can’t take her down! I know you hate me, but right now, we’re on the same side! Miss Jenny is our common enemy! Let’s all go at her!”

Jian Tanxi thought Sun Lianhu made sense and decided to join him in attacking Miss Jenny.

But both of them were too severely injured to even stand up, let alone fight back.

Their movements were nowhere near as fast as Miss Jenny’s.

Seeing their attempt to resist, Miss Jenny grew even angrier, raining down punches on them like a storm.

Qin Man said apologetically, “I… I can’t do it. I can’t even lift my hands now, and I still have to protect my child…”

As she spoke, Qin Man coughed up blood. She used the last of her strength and collapsed.

Without his mother’s protection, Qu Chen was struck many times by Miss Jenny. He was beaten so badly he couldn’t even cry anymore, his eyes vacant as he stared blankly ahead, his gaze beginning to fade as if he were near death.

Jian Tanxi wasn’t in much better shape. She felt that if Miss Jenny didn’t stop soon, she would die too.

Fortunately, the ten minutes were up, and Miss Jenny returned to the paper.

She said to the four participants, “You have no sincerity, the candidates you recommended are all flawed. You’ve learned your lesson now. Next time, you must recommend a truly perfect groom for me.”

But no one answered her. All four were on the brink of death, barely able to speak.

Using her last ounce of strength, Jian Tanxi pulled a healing pill from her bag. After swallowing it, her wounds gradually healed, and her strength slowly returned.

In about a minute, she was fully recovered, lively and energetic once more.

The healing pill was truly remarkable.

Not daring to delay, Jian Tanxi quickly fed the remaining two pills to Qin Man and her son.

Qin Man and her son soon stood up as well, all their injuries gone. Qu Chen was even able to run around happily again.

Qin Man was still shaken, her face clouded with worry. The trauma of being beaten twice had left a deep psychological scar, and the gloom in her heart wouldn’t fade anytime soon.

Jian Tanxi was the same. If she had only been hit a few times and wasn’t seriously injured, the matter would have passed quickly. But just now, she had nearly been beaten to death. The fear and hatred were deeply imprinted in her mind, and she felt she would remember it for a long time.

This was the psychological shadow left by severe trauma, something beyond their control.

On the other hand, Qu Chen, who had autism, thought differently from ordinary people. When he was in pain, he would cry loudly, but once the pain subsided, he would immediately forget what had just happened and become cheerful again.

In a way, such a child could be considered uniquely gifted.

Qin Man weakly thanked Jian Tanxi, “Tanxi, thank you… Next time I have something good, I’ll share it with you.”

Jian Tanxi replied, “No need to thank me. We’re teammates. Besides, saving you was also for my own sake.”

At that moment, Sun Lianhu weakly pleaded, “Save… save me…”

Jian Tanxi had almost forgotten about Sun Lianhu, but she wasn’t too keen on using her own pills.

She had already used up three healing pills and now only had one revival pill left.

The revival pill could bring the dead back to life, so saving a dying Sun Lianhu would be no problem at all.

However, the revival pill was even more precious than the healing pills, and she didn’t want to waste it on Sun Lianhu.

She decided to test him, to see if he had any means of saving himself.

So, Jian Tanxi said with feigned concern, “I’m out of healing pills. What should we do… You mustn’t die. If you die, none of us will be able to get out… If you die here, how will you become the next Father of Humanity?”

Sun Lianhu struggled to pull a healing pill from his pocket and swallowed it.

Immediately after taking it, he recovered his health.

Jian Tanxi: “…”

Qin Man: “…”

So, Sun Lianhu had his own healing pill all along!

He hadn’t used it and tried to trick Jian Tanxi into using hers!

That sly man, another offense to add to his list!

Luckily, Jian Tanxi had been cautious and hadn’t given him the revival pill, or she would have been furious.

Jian Tanxi pretended to be relieved, “That’s great, Sun Lianhu. So, you had a healing pill after all. I almost thought you were going to die here.”

Sun Lianhu said somewhat sheepishly, “Yeah, I almost forgot I had a healing pill. Luckily, I remembered it when I was on the verge of death. It’s true, when you’re desperate, you can remember anything.”

Jian Tanxi: “…”

Sun Lianhu then looked at Jian Tanxi with hope, “Tanxi, you really care about me. Adversity truly reveals true feelings…”

Before Jian Tanxi could respond, Qin Man vomited.

She literally threw up stomach acid and then said to Sun Lianhu, “Sun Lianhu, don’t get too full of yourself. Tanxi was just afraid that if you died, we wouldn’t be able to clear the level.”

At that moment, Miss Jenny spoke up, “Wonderful! You’re all still alive! Then, continue recommending a groom for me. This time, you have ten minutes. If you exceed the time or recommend the wrong one, I’ll hit you again.”

The group stopped arguing and refocused on the task.

Jian Tanxi said, “Earlier, we recommended No. 3 and No. 6, and both were wrong. That leaves only No. 1. Although No. 1 is a bit chubby, he’s not too fat.”

Qin Man said, “I think so too… The remaining ones all have obvious flaws, not even as good as Candidate 1. But we haven’t observed Candidate 1 up close, what if he has some major hidden issues? For instance, maybe he was previously married or has children…”

Sun Lianhu replied, “I don’t think so. If Candidate 1 had such a major issue, then none of the candidates would meet the requirements. Candidate 2 clearly has a bad temper; Candidate 4 is a factory worker and quite short; Candidate 5 is an overweight chef, neither his physique nor his job fits the criteria. Candidates 3 and 6 were already recommended earlier, so they’re out. That leaves only Candidate 1.”

Although Sun Lianhu was annoying, his analysis wasn’t wrong.

At this point, they had no choice but to give Candidate 1 a try.

Even if they made the wrong recommendation again, there was no need to worry.

After being struck twice earlier, they had learned that one strike wouldn’t be fatal, it took two strikes to potentially die.