Chapter 445: Negotiations Before the War

"Uh... I've never done that before..." Bai Jiu shook her head. "We don't usually need to train for these things, since we don't have to participate in the games."

"That must be troublesome," Qiao Jiazhuang said. "You all rarely exercise, and you don't have much coordination or teamwork. If there are any issues, we'll only find out after the game starts."

Qiao Jiazhuang thought for a moment, then suddenly came up with a good idea.

"Hey!" he called out from a distance to Di Ma. "Can we try it out first?"

"Try... try what out?" Di Ma was a bit stunned. "Try what?"

"Can that Mu Niu Liu Ma give us a push first?" Qiao Jiazhuang said. "We should test if it's easy to push. If it's not, how can we play?"

"There's no such rule!" Di Ma said. "I've never let anyone try pushing my 'Mu Niu Liu Ma' before. Don't think you can get an advantage."

At that moment, a tall man with a stern face standing next to Qiao Jiazhuang sneered and spoke up: "Di Ma, is your carefully crafted 'Mu Niu Liu Ma'... just meant for killing people on the ice?"

Qiao Jiazhuang looked up at the man. If he remembered correctly, he was "Jing Feng" Qiu Ershi.

"Of course not!" Di Ma replied, somewhat displeased. "Haven't I said it many times? This is my meticulous recreation of a lost artifact!"

Qiao Jiazhuang nudged Bai Jiu with his elbow. "What's this guy up to? He seems about to argue with Di Ma."

Bai Jiu smirked and whispered to Qiao Jiazhuang: "Leave this kind of thing to Ershi. He's really good at it."

"Then why don't you let us push it on flat ground?" Qiu Ershi reached up to adjust the collar of his leather jacket. "Let me venture a guess. Your 'Mu Niu Liu Ma' uses spheres instead of wheels at the bottom... could it be because it doesn't work on flat ground at all?"

"What?"

"No wonder... no wonder..." Qiu Ershi nodded. "Sorry, we shouldn't make this request. Otherwise, for someone from a craftsman family like yours... well, never mind. It's not good to spread it around—everyone gets it."

These few words hit Di Ma's sore spots one after another, making her instantly restless. "Are you trying to provoke me?! I know it's your scheme, but no one can insult 'craftsmen'."

"So...?" Qiu Ershi scratched his ear. "I provoked you—do you fall for it or not?"

"It doesn't matter if I fall for it or not," Di Ma said. "You can try the handcart now, but I'll increase the difficulty later. Deal?"

"How will you increase the difficulty?" Qiao Jiazhuang asked, furrowing his brow.

Di Ma pointed to the wooden boxes on both sides of the track and said to everyone: "Do you see these boxes?"

"How could we not see them?" Qiao Jiazhuang retorted. "What's strange inside these boxes?"

"These boxes will shoot out 'balls' while you're going back and forth."

"Balls?" Qiao Jiazhuang found the word intriguing. "What kind of balls? Handballs or cricket balls?"

Bai Jiu looked at the wooden boxes—three on the left, four on the right, each labeled with words like "Tan Lang" and "Po Jun."

"What balls will be shot... it depends on your luck," Di Ma said. "Each box contains different 'ammunition,' and the balls flying toward you will be made from seven kinds of materials in total."

Although the game hadn't started yet, everyone felt that these seven kinds of materials were definitely a trap.

"What's the point of these balls?" Bai Jiu asked from the side.

"Of course, it's to kill you," Di Ma said. "Each ball can reach a speed of eighty kilometers per hour. Anyone sitting on the Mu Niu Liu Ma who gets hit will be eliminated immediately, but the people pushing the cart won't be affected."

Yun Shijiu nodded. "So, that means the people pushing the cart can help shield the ones riding from the balls."

"Not only that," Di Ma said. "If you're skilled enough, you can even use these 'balls' to your advantage. Some of them even have item rewards written on them, which can help you move better on the ice."

Bai Jiu twirled a strand of her ponytail with one finger and couldn't help but interject: "So, can the person riding the cart 'catch' the balls, or can the person pushing catch them?"

"Anyone can," Di Ma paused before adding, "if you have the guts, that is."

"I see," Qiao Jiazhuang nodded. "But if that's the case... aren't you making it easier for us? Balls at eighty kilometers per hour, at this distance..."

Qiao Jiazhuang casually stretched his neck.

"Maybe I'll get lucky and catch one."

"Hopefully," Di Ma nodded. "I've heard similar things many times, but I still advise you to dodge them as much as possible."

"Then how will you increase the difficulty for us?" Bai Jiu asked.

"If you choose to push the cart ahead of time..." Di Ma quietly took two steps forward, "in the final round, I'll act as the 'pitcher.'"

"What?" Although Qiao Jiazhuang had never directly fought with someone at Di Ma's level, he knew these people were extraordinarily strong and powerful. "You'll pitch? Isn't that trying to kill us?"

"Yes, my original purpose was to kill," Di Ma said. "This is just a fair trade, that's all."

Qiao Jiazhuang felt this was a tough choice. If they didn't let everyone get a feel for the so-called "Mu Niu Liu Ma" now, they might waste a lot of time getting used to this wheel-less handcart during the game.

But if they agreed, this monster might end up smashing their teammates with balls.

"What should we do...?" he asked, turning back.

"Of course, we should agree," Bai Jiu said with a smile. "Qiao Ge, let's agree to it."

"I want to agree too," Qiao Jiazhuang said, "but Xiao Mei, didn't you hear? She's going to pitch..."

"She'll pitch no matter what," Bai Jiu said.

"Ah?"

Bai Jiu slowly stepped forward, her petite frame contrasting sharply with Di Ma's tall stature.

"Sister... you're lying," Bai Jiu said with a laugh.

"Oh?" Di Ma's lips curved up slightly. "Is that so? Little sister, how did I lie?"

"Although I haven't participated in games for a long time..." Bai Jiu flashed a sweet smile while smoothing her hair, "you 'Di Ji' can change the game rules based on each situation, right?"

"Little sister, you're quite clever," Di Ma said expressionlessly.

"So, no matter whether we push the cart now or not, you'll definitely be the 'pitcher' in the final round, won't you?"

Di Ma fell silent, just staring intently at the small girl in front of her.

"So, this chance to push the cart early is basically a free gift from you, sister." Bai Jiu laughed and linked arms with Di Ma. "Why are you so nice, sister?"