Chapter 87

The earth-colored sun of the third day climbed up the dark red sky once again. It should have been another day of stench and silence, but Linping and Zhang Chenze in the massage parlor were in a panic.

Because Qi Xia had disappeared.

They searched every corner of the massage parlor and could still feel the coolness of Qi Xia's blood on the bed, but there was no sign of him.

At the deepest part of the corridor, the native was still massaging the mummy, which made them feel very uneasy.

"He's gone..." Zhang Chenze looked in the direction of the door, lost in thought, "Just as he said, he's tired and has given up."

"No, no way?" Linping found it hard to believe, "Maybe he's so worried about us that he went to participate in the game himself..."

"We have all twenty 'Dao' here." Zhang Chenze picked up the small cloth bag on the bed and waved it at Linping, "Qi Xia didn't take a single 'Dao.' How could he participate in the game?"

Linping was speechless, not knowing what to say.

Where could Qi Xia have gone?

He was now injured and had no 'Dao.' What could he do with his heavily injured body?

"Lawyer Zhang, are you willing to participate in the game with me?" Linping steadied herself and said slowly.

"The two of us?" Zhang Chenze was slightly taken aback, "Are you sure?"

"I'm definitely not as strong as Qi Xia, so we'll try to find some 'Human-level' games. If we win, it's a bonus; if we lose, we won't die. If Qi Xia can come back one day, we'll have enough 'Dao' to welcome him back."

Zhang Chenze thought for a moment and then nodded.

Can Qi Xia come back?

With only seven days left until annihilation, Qi Xia's injuries would only worsen over the next few days, making it impossible for him to recover.

Can he really come back?

The two of them packed their things and walked out of the massage parlor, facing the new sun.

...

Qi Xia held a map drawn in blood and staggered down the street.

He had never thought that excessive blood loss would make his limbs unresponsive. After just over an hour, he was already drenched in sweat.

He looked down at the map in his hand, knowing it was his last hope.

"Heaven's Gate."

After three days of exploration, Qi Xia had a general understanding of the situation here.

To collect 3,600 'Dao' from these games was as difficult as ascending to heaven from the ground.

After all, the rewards from each game were extremely scarce.

Even if 'Human-level' games could increase the rewards through life-or-death bets with the zodiacs, 'Earth-level' games offered no such opportunity, and participants faced fatal dangers in the games.

In other words, to gain a significant reward from either 'Human-level' or 'Earth-level' games, one had to unhesitatingly risk their life.

The most dangerous game Qi Xia had seen so far was the black bear hunt by the Earth Ox. Without the presence of Qiao Jiajin and Zhang Shan, it would almost certainly be a death sentence.

Yet, in such a dangerous situation, each person could only obtain up to twenty 'Dao.'

If Qi Xia really wanted to collect 'Dao' by participating in games, he would need to win 180 consecutive 'Earth-level' games like the one with the Earth Ox.

How many people would die? How many would be injured?

What confidence did he have to survive until the last moment?

Qi Xia calculated all night but could not determine his chances of survival.

After much thought, he concluded that "Heaven's Gate" was the best place to go.

Zhang Shan had once mentioned that they had seen someone escape from here and found the notes of the "Escapee," which were now in the hands of the leader, Chu Tianqiu.

Qi Xia followed the map Zhang Shan had left and finally arrived at the headquarters of "Heaven's Gate" at noon.

It was an abandoned school.

Since the school's sign was already broken, Qi Xia couldn't tell if it was an elementary or middle school. He could only see the teaching building and basketball court.

A man stood outside the school gate, vigilantly watching the surroundings.

He wore a sports tank top and had a braid, looking only about fifteen or sixteen years old.

Qi Xia tightened the bandage on his shoulder and walked toward the young man.

Seeing someone approach, the boy became more alert and asked, "Are you a good person?"

"Are you a good person?" Qi Xia found the man's accent strange but could only nod, "Yes, I am a good person."

"Do you... need help?" The man's accent and grammar were both strange.

"I..." Qi Xia thought for a moment and then said, "I want to see Chu Tianqiu."

"See Brother Chu..." The man frowned slightly, "May I ask your name?"

"Qi Xia."

The boy thought for a moment, nodded at Qi Xia, and said, "Brother, please wait."

He walked into the school gate, locked the door, and then quickly ran toward the teaching building.

In the classroom on the south side of the first floor, a man in a black shirt and glasses was writing something on the blackboard.

Not far from him, a beautiful woman was sitting in her seat, painting her nails.

"Brother Chu! Sister Yun Yao!" The boy with the braid called out at the door.

"Come in." Yun Yao didn't even look up as she spoke.

The boy pushed the door open, looked at the two of them, bowed, and said to the man in the black shirt, "Brother Chu, there's someone outside who wants to see you."

"Who is it?" Chu Tianqiu continued writing and asked casually.

"Qi Xia."

"Qi Xia?" Chu Tianqiu paused, then moved two steps to the left.

He searched through the dense text on the blackboard.

Soon, he found the line he was looking for.

"Number: 87, Liar, Spring After the Rain, Death from the Sky, Deceptive Snake."

He drew a line under this text and lowered his head, thinking.

"What's wrong?" Yun Yao asked, "Have you heard of this name?"

"He's an extremely formidable person." Chu Tianqiu smiled, "The three zodiacs responsible for interviewing Number 87 were all on the verge of reaching 'Earth.' What kind of game do you think they designed?"

Yun Yao was also taken aback, "Wouldn't that be a game where everyone dies?"

"No." Chu Tianqiu shook his head, "Because this young man named 'Qi Xia' survived the interview with nine others."

"Everyone survived? Is that possible?" Yun Yao looked up at Chu Tianqiu, suddenly remembering something, "Isn't 'Qi Xia' the 'good person' that Little Glasses has been talking about for the past two days?"

The boy with the braid seemed to understand and nodded, "Brother Chu, should I bring him in now?"

"No..." Chu Tianqiu stopped the boy and said, "Jin Yuanxun, can you ask him a question for me?"

"A question?"

"Yes." Chu Tianqiu nodded, "Ask the person named Qi Xia, 'What day did you come here?'"

"Brother, but if I ask him a question, will he understand?"

"It's fine. You can use this opportunity to practice your Chinese." Chu Tianqiu smiled.

Although the young man named Jin Yuanxun was puzzled, he knew that Chu Tianqiu always thought things through carefully, so he nodded and left the room.

"I don't understand." Yun Yao dried her nail polish and screwed the cap back on, "You said that Qi Xia is an 'extremely formidable person,' yet you don't plan to recruit him?"

Chu Tianqiu smiled, "Yun Yao, this is 'King does not meet King.'"