Chapter 208: Pretending

Zhuque had disappeared.

Through this encounter, Qi Xia had formed a general understanding of the events in Zhongyan Zhidi, but now wasn't the time to sort through it all. The immediate priority was to rescue Yun Yao.

Zhang Shan was still slamming into the door with all his might, but the iron door was far sturdier than expected, and with the water inside the room now overflowing the threshold, the resistance was unimaginably strong.

When the group peered through the glass window on the door, they saw that the water had already risen above Yun Yao's forehead. She was straining to tilt her head back, struggling to breathe.

Zhang Shan acted decisively, reaching out to smash the glass, but it seemed all the windows in this cursed place were custom-made and incredibly tough.

"Zhang Shan," Qi Xia called out, "don't push inward—pull outward."

"Pull outward?" Zhang Shan hesitated. "But this door opens inward..."

"If you can't fight the force of the water inside, go with the flow," Qi Xia said. "Pull it outward and tear it off."

Zhang Shan quickly understood. He nodded, grabbed the door handle with both hands, planted one foot on the left wall, and leaned back. Soon, his other foot left the ground as well.

Now positioned as if standing on the wall, he used his legs and arms together to pull on the iron door with all his strength.

Veins bulged on his arms, and his face turned red from the effort.

"I... can't..."

Qi Xia and Lao Lv rushed over to help, grabbing Zhang Shan's arms.

A loud creak echoed—

Under the immense noise, the iron door actually started to deform.

"You two get out of here!" Zhang Shan said. "It's too dangerous!"

Lao Lv nodded quickly and pulled at Qi Xia: "Qi boy, let's go!"

Qi Xia hurried to the side. He felt like the team was short one person, and when he looked back, Zhao Yisheng was already ten meters away.

A sharp crack sounded—

"Yun Yao! Grab the handcuffs!!" Qi Xia shouted into the room.

With Zhang Shan's powerful physical strength, he ripped a large gap in the iron door. In the next second, a massive rush of water from inside the room turned the gap into a huge fissure almost instantly.

The door finally gave way and flew out with Zhang Shan.

Yun Yao inside the room was grateful that someone had yelled for her to grab the handcuffs, or her wrists might have dislocated from the powerful water surge.

She gripped the handcuffs tightly as the massive current swept over her, and in moments, she felt the pressure on her body lessen considerably.

At least now she could breathe normally.

Once the water flow subsided, the group helped Zhang Shan up and entered the room together.

Yun Yao looked a bit weak.

The prolonged mental strain had left her physically and emotionally exhausted.

"Yoh..." Yun Yao gave a bitter smile. "What a big production..."

"Yun girl! You nearly died!!" Lao Lv yelled. "That rabbit bastard played dirty and almost took your life!"

"How could that be... I'm really lucky..." Yun Yao coughed a few times. "I already saved you, so how could I die here?"

Qi Xia knew she was putting on a brave front.

Lao Lv had said that Yun Yao "threw a stick several times, and it bounced back into her hands each time."

It sounded like outright gambling, and luckily, she had won.

But she didn't have any "resonance"—so where did this luck come from?

Zhang Shan stepped forward to check Yun Yao's handcuffs and realized they were standard police-issue cuffs that couldn't be opened by hand. So, how were they going to get her out?

But Zhang Shan was Zhang Shan—he quickly came up with an idea.

If the handcuffs couldn't be unlocked, then just break the iron pipe they were attached to.

He extended his muscular arms again and gripped the nearby iron pipe.

Gritting his teeth, veins popped up instantly, and in the blink of an eye, he bent the pipe.

Under the astonished gazes of the others, Zhang Shan kept bending the pipe back and forth, producing loud metallic noises.

In a short time, cracks appeared in the pipe, and with a few more pulls, it snapped clean.

Yun Yao's handcuffs slid free from the broken end. She glanced at the cuffs still on her wrist and casually wore them like a bracelet.

"Looking good?" Yun Yao wiggled her arm.

"How about it—are you able to walk?" Zhang Shan helped her up.

"No problem..." Yun Yao nodded. "I need to get back and change clothes quick... or I'll catch a cold."

Lao Lv took off his jacket and draped it over Yun Yao.

"Thanks." Yun Yao smiled. "What about that person rabbit?"

"Don't even mention the person rabbit." Lao Lv shook his head. "It was just some little girl pretending. She's got some nerve, trying to mess with 'Dao' like that. But she was pretty clever at the crucial moment..."

"Pretending...?" Yun Yao breathed a sigh of relief at the word. "Good that it's pretending... Was it Xiao Ran?"

Qi Xia suddenly felt sympathy for Yun Yao.

She thought the "Shengxiao" was fake, so the "Tianguangkou" plan to gamble the lives of all "Shengxiao" could still go ahead.

But when she found out about the "Shengxiao Ascension Gambling Contract" in her pocket, what would she think?

Here, the "Shengxiao" kept coming endlessly.

Even someone ordinary like Xiao Ran, once she willingly put on the mask and followed the rules properly, would truly become the "person rabbit."

In other words, if "Tianguangkou" kept leading participants in life-or-death gambles against the "Shengxiao"...

The participants in Zhongyan Zhidi would dwindle, while the natives and the vanished ones would multiply.

Eventually, only "Shengxiao" and "natives" would remain.

When that day came, no one would collect the 3,600 "Dao," and no one would escape—that would be the true "Zhongyan."

Yun Yao cleared some water from her ears and asked, "What about Chu Tianqiu? That scheming guy—why didn't he come to save me?"

"Ah, don't get me started! That Chu kid told me he'd 'do his best,' but he didn't even show up!" Lao Lv grumbled. "What kind of people are these? I thought I was selfish enough..."

"Lao Lv, don't stir up trouble," Qi Xia said flatly. "I bet Chu Tianqiu has his reasons for that."

Zhang Shan frowned slightly nearby; he felt like Qi Xia had said that on purpose for Yun Yao to hear.

Who was really stirring up trouble?

"Yun Yao, don't overthink it." Zhang Shan knew he wasn't good with words, but he had to say something. "As our guide, Chu Tianqiu can't just show up casually..."

"Zhang Shan," Yun Yao said, "I suspect the current Chu Tianqiu is an impostor."

"Huh?" Zhang Shan, Lao Lv, and Zhao Yisheng standing nearby all froze in surprise.