Chapter 54

Holding an old aluminum pot, the two of them kept moving through the city.

Qixia had never imagined that a city without lights could be darker than the wilderness.

After just a few minutes of walking, the sky darkened as if ink had been dropped into it.

The rustling sounds of insects around them made Qixia feel restless.

"Linping, are you still there?" Qixia asked.

"I'm still here," Linping replied. "Walk a bit slower, be careful not to fall."

"We can't go any slower," Qixia looked at the sky. "We can still see the way a little bit, let's get to the convenience store early. Hold onto my clothes."

Linping nodded and reached out to grab Qixia's clothes.

Relying on their memory, they walked for about twenty minutes before finally arriving at the square where they had first descended.

Fortunately, the square was open, and they could roughly see the outlines.

Walking east into the square, they saw a store with a fire lit inside.

That should be the location of the convenience store.

"There's a fire..." Linping was a bit puzzled. "How did they find a source of fire?"

Then she understood. There was a female clerk in the store, and when they met her, she was making a fire to cook. The fire source must have been borrowed from her.

The two of them moved toward the light in the darkness and finally reached the entrance of the convenience store.

What puzzled them was that the restaurant across from the convenience store, which had a minotaur standing in front of it, was now empty.

"Officer Li, Lawyer Zhang, are you there?" Linping called out tentatively. "Xiaoran, Doctor Zhao?"

There was clearly movement inside, but no one responded.

"What's going on?"

Just as Linping was about to go in to check, Qixia held her back.

"Stay back, I'll go in first," he whispered to Linping.

Accompanied by the rustling sounds of insects, the two of them entered the store.

But as soon as Qixia stepped inside, a board flew toward his face.

Fortunately, Qixia was prepared and quickly dodged, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.

"Ah...!" Linping exclaimed, quickly supporting Qixia. "Are you okay?"

They then saw that the person holding the board was none other than Doctor Zhao, with Xiaoran behind him.

Doctor Zhao looked at Qixia and Linping, then managed a smile. "Ah! It's you two... I thought it was someone else..."

Qixia carefully observed the two, his face showing confusion.

Doctor Zhao was naked except for a white coat, not even wearing shoes. He wrapped the coat around himself like a trench coat, his expression very unnatural.

Xiaoran, behind him, had messy hair, disheveled clothes, and smudged makeup.

The two of them clung to each other like a couple who had just been robbed.

Qixia understood the situation but didn't know why it had happened.

"Qixia, don't misunderstand..." Doctor Zhao said with a forced smile. "Xiaoran said she was hurt, and I was helping her check."

"What are you explaining to him for?!" Xiaoran elbowed Doctor Zhao. "Stammering like that, are you even a man?"

Qixia shook his head. "I don't want to get involved in your affairs. Where are Officer Li and Lawyer Zhang?"

"Ah..." Doctor Zhao showed an awkward smile. "They went out to investigate the area during the day and haven't returned yet."

"What?" Qixia frowned. "They haven't returned yet?"

The sky had already turned completely dark, and Officer Li had said he would investigate the nearby area, so it was unlikely they would stay out overnight.

If they hadn't returned, could they be dead?

Or were these two lying?

Qixia slowly walked into the room and looked around.

Although the floor was still very messy, there were no fresh bloodstains or signs of a struggle.

A weak campfire was burning inside, and not far away, Han Yimo's body was placed, making the atmosphere both intimate and eerie.

Qixia turned to look at the two who seemed guilty and asked slowly, "Aren't you on the same team? They haven't returned by nightfall, and you're not worried, but instead, you're having fun here?"

"Well... worrying won't help," Doctor Zhao said. "It's so dark, we can't go out to look for them. We can only wait until morning..."

"What's it to you?!" Xiaoran shouted angrily. "When did it become your job to worry about our team members?"

Qixia didn't answer, walked to the staff room, and gently pushed the door open.

Inside, the female clerk was crouched in the corner, facing the wall, muttering to herself.

It seemed she hadn't moved from there.

Qixia closed the door and turned back to Doctor Zhao, as he was still somewhat reasonable to talk to.

"Is the 'Dao' still here?" Qixia asked.

"This..." Doctor Zhao's expression became defensive. "Qixia, what are you here for?"

"I'm here to borrow the 'Dao'," Qixia said. "The 'Dao' I left here during the day, I want to borrow it. I'll return it with interest."

"Borrow the 'Dao'?" Doctor Zhao thought for a moment, then looked at Qixia's even dirtier, blood-stained clothes. "What about your own 'Dao'? What about the thug and the prostitute?"

"They have names," Linping suddenly spoke up. "Don't call them that."

"Oh..." Doctor Zhao nodded dismissively.

"Putting on a show, are you?" Xiaoran wrapped her clothes tighter and walked over. "They didn't die in the game, did they?"

Qixia's face was heavy, and he nodded slightly. "Pretty much."

"Ha!" Xiaoran laughed angrily, her face mocking. "Didn't you swear to collect three thousand six hundred 'Dao' to leave here? Now you've killed your teammates and come to borrow our 'Dao'?"

Qixia looked up at the woman and said coldly, "While that's true, I advise you to know your limits."

Doctor Zhao quickly intervened. "Enough, enough, let's talk this out..."

Then he turned to Qixia. "We're not refusing to lend it to you, but Officer Li took the 'Dao'..."

"Took it?" Qixia paused.

"That's right," Doctor Zhao pointed to the restaurant across the street. "After you left, they went there to participate in the game and seemed to win. Then they went somewhere else."

Qixia followed Doctor Zhao's finger and quickly noticed the problem. "What do you mean 'seemed to win'? You're so close, and you don't even know if they won?"

"Well..." Doctor Zhao frowned and laughed dryly. "Xiaoran didn't want them to take the 'Dao' out, but Officer Li insisted on checking... They had different views, argued, and we couldn't ask, so we let them go. After all, who would want to go with them on a suicide mission..."

"Let... them go?"

Qixia's eyes widened instantly, and he grabbed Doctor Zhao's collar with great force.

"Hey?"

Xiaoran was stunned and quickly rushed at Qixia. "What are you doing?!"

Qixia sidestepped and tripped Xiaoran, causing her to fall flat on the dirty ground.

Qixia took a deep breath and said fiercely to Doctor Zhao, "I was being polite to you for Officer Li's sake, but you actually let them go your separate ways?!"