Die Now Episode 12 Recap
> Die Now Recap
In a perilous game where the "sky fell," Meng Qin executed a last-second jump to a designated square, his clothes tearing to reveal his muscles. The other two participants deemed his move extremely dangerous, but Meng Qin confidently stated he had discerned the pattern: the square behind Player Six was the final safe spot. They confirmed his observation that each fall reduced the number of safe squares, leaving only two for the next round.
Player Six and Player Three, who were originally brothers, turned against each other, neither willing to exit the game. Player Six feigned an offer to cede the safe spot to Player Three but then brutally pushed him off the square while "entrusting" him. Meng Qin criticized Player Six's lack of ethics, accusing him of hypocrisy.
Player Six, in turn, mocked Meng Qin, prompting Meng Qin to ponder whether Player Six's perspective held some truth and how he and Xia Chi would act in a similar situation. During the ultimate "sky fall," Meng Qin leaped to the central position, successfully fooling Player Six, who believed his own spot was safe and was consequently eliminated. The crucial element of this game was the ground patterns.
From the tenth round onward, the pattern formed by the previous fall indicated the next safe location. Each safe spot was a combination of patterns from two earlier safe points. By the seventeenth "sky fall," the "complete pattern" that should have been derived from two safe points proved nonexistent, suggesting an undiscovered pillar marked with a pattern. According to the pattern convention, patterns became more complete towards the center, implying a hidden central pillar bearing a complete pattern.
However, as a complete pattern was absent from the ground, and escape routes were seemingly random, it was clear the game was designed to disorient players and was rife with traps. The game concluded with the GM announcing Player Five (Meng Qin) as the victor, with an account balance of five points and a B-rank evaluation. Meng Qin later found himself back in a dormitory, indistinguishable from the real world, causing him to question if this was the "Win World."
He tested the reality by slapping himself, yelping in pain. At that moment, Jia Li, a computer science student, entered the dormitory and smiled at him. Concurrently, during the "last strategy implementation" of another game, Sun Panpan was running with all his might, his body sore and weak, feeling on the verge of collapsing. He ran mechanically, recalling how he was once mocked on the track.
His coach had bluntly told him to relinquish his spot in the city sports meet, despite Sun Panpan having won the tryouts. The coach claimed his victory was a fluke, his performance too unstable, and he lacked talent for running, advising him to pursue another path. Sun Panpan, however, loved running and pleaded for one more chance. The coach refused any reprieve and tore off his number. Weeping, Sun Panpan resolved to complete the remaining 2.
4 kilometers for himself, even if it was his last race. Just then, Xia Chi and Zhou Chen arrived at the finish line, cheering him on with twenty seconds remaining. A wave of warmth filled Sun Panpan's chest, and his nose stung with emotion, moved by his teammates' support. He stumbled and fell but struggled to his feet, reminding himself that someone was waiting for him at the finish line.
He finally staggered across the finish line in the nick of time. This round was a victory, earning each participant twenty points. Sun Panpan tearfully thanked Xia Chi and Zhou Chen for their encouragement. The trio shook hands, exchanging farewells. Xia Chi earned five points in this round, receiving an A-rank evaluation, bringing his account balance to 20. 5 points, and was in the process of exiting the game.
Xia Chi subsequently arrived in the "Win World," where Qing Zhi and others awaited him at an amusement park. Observing Qing Zhi's smile, Xia Chi wondered if the "Win World" version of her was genuine. Meng Qin, using the excuse of buying things, drew Xia Chi aside. It was then that Xia Chi realized this was the real Meng Qin. They high-fived, and Xia Chi congratulated Meng Qin on passing the "newbie trial."
Meng Qin shared that Jia Li had become very clingy after he exited the game, a "sweet burden." They pondered the fate of the "Win World" Meng Qin—did he simply vanish upon the real Meng Qin's arrival? They were perplexed about who controlled this "evil game."
Meng Qin, considering how to spend his earnings, used his card to rent the entire amusement park, leading to a sweet date for the four of them (Meng Qin, Jia Li, Xia Chi, and Qing Zhi), who enjoyed all the attractions. Jia Li presented Meng Qin with a bracelet and personally fastened it on his wrist. The amusement park had just introduced a new challenge, testing companions'tacit understanding: five cards, each with a positive integer, lay on a table.
Two players were to choose one card each, and their product had to be eight or sixteen. Explicit or implicit communication was forbidden. The game was won by correctly guessing the other player's number; failure resulted in a drop tower penalty. The time limit was ten minutes. On the drop tower, Meng Qin, who suffered from acrophobia, screamed in terror. With their shared intuition, Meng Qin and Xia Chi quickly won the game.
They explained their winning strategy: for the product to be eight or sixteen, there were only five possible numbers: one, two, four, eight, or sixteen. First, Xia Chi stated he didn't know his number, which eliminated sixteen as a possibility for him. Meng Qin also stated he didn't know his number, eliminating sixteen for himself. Second, Xia Chi still didn't know his number, which ruled out one as a possibility for him.
At this point, Meng Qin, seeing the number he held, instinctively knew Xia Chi's number was two. As they left the amusement park, fireworks lit the sky. Qing Zhi took Xia Chi's hand and rested her head on his shoulder, and they smiled at each other. Qing Zhi's family arrived to pick her up, and she bade Xia Chi goodnight before leaving. Suddenly, Chun Xuxiang ran over and embraced Xia Chi's shoulder, exclaiming that she missed him.
Xia Chi quickly clarified that Chun Xuxiang was his cousin, as Qing Zhi and Jia Li departed. Chun Xuxiang had sought them out to discuss game matters. She had heard that a player challenged "Duan Nao" (the game's central system) in the previous game. To challenge Duan Nao, one had to achieve "high-level player" status. Although Chun Xuxiang had accumulated enough points, her evaluation score was still too low to qualify. She believed this "Duan Nao" challenge was a critical step, but they didn't know any high-level players. Meng Qin then recalled a formidable expert they knew: Bo Bian.
