Chapter 53

After hearing this, Linping was clearly taken aback.

"What do you mean by 'how am I still alive?'" She gradually took a step back, feeling that Qi Xia seemed dangerous, "W-What are you going to do?"

Qi Xia seemed to understand something from Linping's reaction and slowly walked to Qiao Jiajin and Tian Tian's side.

"Qi Xia... Do you know something?" Linping asked with a trembling voice, "What exactly happened?"

Qi Xia squatted down, staring at these two "comrades" he had only known for two days, feeling a mix of emotions.

Although he was depressed, every time he thought about the moments spent with them, it felt as if a worm in his brain was trying to break out, causing him excruciating headaches.

Linping looked at Qi Xia with fear, "Say something... You..."

"That woman named Xiaoxiao killed them," Qi Xia said in a low voice, "I will make her pay with her blood."

"Xiaoxiao...?" Linping blinked in disbelief, "Is she the girl we met before...?"

Qi Xia gently touched Tian Tian's forehead, where there was a small hole.

This was the mark left by the nail that had pierced her.

Tian Tian had once said she could die here.

But now, she didn't even know why she had died.

"But I don't understand why..." Linping said, "Why did she kill Qiao Jiajin and Tian Tian?"

Qi Xia paused for a moment and said, "I also want to know why she did this, and I want to know even more... why she didn't kill you?"

"No wonder you asked me that..." Linping seemed to understand Qi Xia's meaning, "But I don't know why I survived either. Even if you suspect me, I have no way to prove my innocence."

"I did suspect you when I first woke up, but now I have no doubts. After all, you were..."

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...afraid that I would kill you. That's not the kind of expression a conspirator would show." Qi Xia gave another reluctant look at Qiao Jiajin and Tian Tian, then slowly stood up, "You thought I killed them, didn't you?"

"I..." Linping lowered her head in frustration, "Indeed, since only the two of us survived, the killer could only be..."

Qi Xia didn't mind and continued, "Xiaoxiao told me to give up on finding the 'Way,' but I don't plan to listen to her."

Linping frowned, trying to understand his words, and couldn't help but ask, "She told you to give up on finding the 'Way'? Why?"

"I don't know." Qi Xia shook his head, "They seem to be part of an organization. If I'm not mistaken, they are trying to prevent others from collecting the 'Way.'"

"That's too strange..." Linping said, reaching for her waist, "Ah! Where is my 'Way'?"

She looked at Qi Xia's waist, then at Qiao Jiajin and Tian Tian's waists.

Everyone's 'Way' was gone.

"That's exactly what I wanted to tell you," Qi Xia murmured, "That woman isn't collecting the 'Way,' she's destroying it."

He pointed to the nearby extinguished furnace and said to Linping, "I saw her burn our 'Way' with my own eyes."

"But that doesn't make sense..." Linping seemed to be struggling to understand, "Didn't you say the 'Judge' wouldn't allow 'killing to steal the Way'?"

Qi Xia lowered his head in thought and replied, "The woman named Xiaoxiao is very smart... or rather, she understands the 'rules' here. First, as I said, she didn't 'steal the Way,' she just destroyed it. Second, when she removed or destroyed the 'Way,' Qiao Jiajin and Tian Tian were still alive. From any angle, she didn't violate the 'rules.'"

"So, killing is allowed, but stealing the 'Way' isn't..." Linping bent down, her expression particularly sad. She sat on the ground and asked Qi Xia, "Now that we have no 'Way' left... we can't participate in the game anymore, right?"

Qi Xia looked at Linping and said calmly, "Do you really care about participating in the game? I didn't feel that you wanted to leave here before."

Linping nodded, "Yes, I had no interest in this place at all, but now... I have something I must go back to confirm."

"Go back to confirm?"

"Yes." Linping also looked at Qi Xia seriously, "I need to return to the real world to confirm something."

Qi Xia stared into Linping's eyes for three seconds, as if trying to determine if she was lying.

After a while, he slowly stood up and said, "Linping, no matter what, we should part ways."

"Part ways?"

"Yes, part ways." Qi Xia nodded, "That woman is after me. If you continue to follow me, you will be in great danger."

Linping also stood up and replied, "I can't leave. I must act with you; otherwise, I won't be able to confirm that thing when I return to reality."

Qi Xia paused for a moment after hearing this and asked, "The thing you mentioned, is it related to me?"

"Yes."

"Your interest in me is also because of that thing?" Qi Xia asked.

"Yes."

"What is it?" Qi Xia rarely encountered a situation he couldn't understand. The girl named Linping was really making him curious.

"Sorry, I really can't say." Linping shook her head, "You just need to remember, we are not enemies."

Qi Xia was silent for a moment, then earnestly advised, "If you stay with me, you might die."

"Um..." Linping seemed hesitant but still answered, "I'm willing to take the risk. Maybe I won't die, and I might even get out of here."

Seeing Linping's determination, Qi Xia stopped persuading her. He slowly walked to the door and looked at the darkening sky.

"Since that's the case, let's take the risk together." Qi Xia said, "We're not completely without the 'Way.' There's one stored with an acquaintance."

"You mean..." Linping also thought of something, "Will Officer Li give you the 'Way'?"

"He will." Qi Xia paused and added, "But his three teammates won't."

"What should we do?"

Qi Xia shifted his gaze to Qiao Jiajin on the ground and said through gritted teeth, "I'll beg them. I must get that 'Way.' As long as I keep playing the game, the woman named Xiaoxiao will definitely appear again. I can't let Qiao Jiajin and Tian Tian die without knowing why."

With that, he picked up the remaining bear meat and the pot, then pushed the door open and walked out. Linping followed closely behind.

The sky was already darkening, and the city seemed to be filled with insect chirping, the sound of crickets rustling everywhere.

"We need to hurry," Qi Xia said, "I hope they will accept this bear meat."

Linping looked up at Qi Xia again, feeling a void in her heart.

The man in front of her seemed emotionless, indifferent to everyone's death.