Chapter 267: Day of Harvest

After hearing this, Qi Xia blinked slightly and said:

"Di Yang, this conversation isn't about the game content, so you don't need to lie."

"Lie?" Di Yang looked up at Qi Xia. "Tian Yang is my path to promotion. If he still exists, it means I have no hope of advancing, so how could I be so diligent?"

Qi Xia was taken aback, feeling his thoughts getting muddled again.

If "Tian Yang" was vacant... wouldn't that mean "Di Yang" was already the highest rank of sheep here?

Then what about Yu Nian An?

Qi Xia had a growing sense of unease. He had once hypothesized that the real Yu Nian An was either dead here or had risen smoothly to become a "Sheng Xiao." But now, it seemed more like she had died here.

"Qi Xia," Di Yang suddenly said, "don't you want to become a 'sheep'?"

"What?"

"Collecting 'Dao' is too difficult. Why not consider becoming a 'Sheng Xiao'?" Di Yang asked again.

"Do you 'Sheng Xiao' actively recruit people?"

"No... but there are so few 'sheep.' " Di Yang sighed. "Right now, there are five 'Ren Yang,' one 'Di Yang,' and 'Tian Yang' is completely vacant. We 'sheep' have the fewest among all 'Sheng Xiao.' "

"What does that have to do with me?" Qi Xia found it a bit amusing. "Even if all the 'sheep' die out, so what?"

"I can only tell you... collecting 'Dao' isn't realistic. One day, you'll realize that becoming a 'Sheng Xiao' is the fastest way to leave this place."

Qi Xia nodded silently. "You're right, but I can't become a 'Sheng Xiao' right now, because for me... collecting 'Dao' is faster."

Seeing that his words weren't getting through, Di Yang shook his head and pulled out a large bundle from under the table—it was all the "Dao" he had prepared.

"Oh?" Qi Xia glanced at the bundle. "So, our deal is successful then?"

"What do you think?" Di Yang replied irritably. "Do you really think I could kill you here?"

Qi Xia nodded, opened the bundle, and took a quick look. It was indeed a pile of shimmering spheres. Time was running short, so he couldn't count them one by one, but considering Di Yang had handed over such a large quantity, it probably wasn't a trick.

Qi Xia tied up the bundle, slung it over his shoulder, and asked Di Yang for two fans. The two of them paired up successfully.

With so many "Dao" on him now, it was both dangerous and safe. If anyone killed him for these "Dao," Xuan Wu would intervene, so his situation was relatively secure. But if the killer didn't take the "Dao" and instead did something like what "Ji Dao" had done...

Qi Xia shook his head and headed toward the exit.

After three steps, he stopped, sensing something odd—a strange sense of dissonance.

He slowly set the bundle down from his back, opened it again, and sniffed carefully.

This whole bundle of "Dao" had no rotten smell at all.

How was that possible?

The "Dao" that Chu Tian Qiu had given him before had a pungent odor as soon as you opened a small opening. Yet here, with over a thousand "Dao"... there was no smell?

Qi Xia felt puzzled and leaned in to sniff more closely.

There was a faint, odd fishy scent.

But it definitely wasn't the rotten smell.

He picked up one "Dao," examined it in his hand, and turned back to ask:

"Di Yang... are you deceiving me?"

"What?"

"Why are these 'Dao' different from the ones I've seen before?"

"Different?" Di Yang furrowed his brow instantly. "Qi Xia, are you trying that again? I've already given you the 'Dao'... and now you're saying it's not right?"

Qi Xia thought it over carefully and realized something was off. How could Di Yang have anticipated his strategy and prepared over a thousand fake "Dao" in advance?

Thinking about it that way... it was more likely that Chu Tian Qiu's were fake.

But then, why hadn't "Di Hu" noticed that those 2,900 "Dao" were fake? "Di Hu" dealt with "Dao" all the time—if there was a problem, he would have pointed it out right away. That meant... both kinds of "Dao" were real?

As Qi Xia pondered this, Di Yang headed toward the exit on his own.

"Time's almost up; I'm not sticking around." Di Yang said as he climbed the stairs.

Qi Xia checked the electronic clock on the wall and saw it was nearly 120 minutes, so he stopped hesitating, hoisted the bundle onto his back, and followed Di Yang.

The two of them exited the casino one after the other, and as the time ran out, the game ended.

Di Yang turned to say something, but Qi Xia quickly retreated back into the casino and shut the door behind him.

Di Yang was stunned, then grew angry. Qi Xia's little scheme was practically thrown in his face.

Di Yang had planned to give everyone IOUs, which would surely cause a uproar. If the crowd noticed Qi Xia carrying a big bundle of "Dao," it could lead to uncontrollable chaos.

"Damn it..." Di Yang muttered to himself. "You're really sneaky."

Qi Xia stood behind the closed door, chuckling to himself. Di Yang, who seemed so rigid, now had to face the crowd's backlash—who knew if he could handle it?

Sure enough, less than a minute later, chaos erupted outside the door.

What was this about "IOUs"? No one had ever imagined that after going through all this, they'd end up with just a piece of paper.

And besides... did an IOU from a "Sheng Xiao" even count?

In the crowd, one middle-aged woman was shouting the loudest. Ironically, before the game, no one would have dared speak to Di Yang like that.

After a while, the crowd quieted down. Qi Xia cracked the door open a bit and scanned the group for Song Qi.

Song Qi spotted Qi Xia just as quickly. The two exchanged a glance, and Song Qi made his way over.

"Hey, brother," Song Qi said. "I thought you were dead."

Before he could say more, Qi Xia handed him five "Dao."

"This is what we agreed on earlier." Qi Xia said, then pulled out another five and handed them over.

"What's this?" Song Qi looked at the ten "Dao," a bit confused.

"These five are from me personally. I want you to do me a favor."

"A favor?" Song Qi found the man in front of him intriguing. "Why pick me? Looks like you've made a killing here. Aren't you afraid I'll double-cross you?"

"Because you said your name is Song Qi." Qi Xia replied. "With your reputation, it's enough to ensure a fair deal in Zhong Yan Zhi Di."

"Ha!" Song Qi laughed. "You're alright, brother. Go on, what do you need?"

Qi Xia paused and said: "I want you to go to Tian Tang Kou and deliver a message for me. Help me find someone named Qiao Jia Jin and tell him I need assistance."

"Tian Tang Kou...?" Song Qi was surprised. "Are you from Tian Tang Kou?"