Chapter 45: Capture the Ringleader

Di Niu remained silent, merely scanning the surviving crowd before saying with a hint of displeasure, "Each of you gets nineteen 'Dao'. The game is over. Please come forward one by one to collect your 'Dao'."

Xiao Yanjing glanced at Zhang Shan's wound and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

"Zhang Shan... are you really okay?"

"I'm fine, damn it." Zhang Shan laughed and patted Xiao Yanjing on the head. "What about you guys? You and Lao Lü look pretty spirited."

"Ah...!" Xiao Yanjing suddenly exclaimed, "Zhang Shan, speaking of Lao Lü, I have something to discuss with you..."

Lao Lü hurriedly approached Zhang Shan, gesturing animatedly as he spoke.

"Yeah, yeah! You have to stand up for me!"

"Stand up for you? What happened?"

Seeing the three whispering among themselves, Qi Xia's face darkened, and he turned to ask Lin Qian, "What exactly happened over there?"

Lin Qian took a deep breath and said, "Honestly, I thought we were done for..."

"That's right..." Tian Tian added from the side, "When the black bear came out, Lin Qian and I were so scared we could barely stand."

"Then what?" Qiao Jia Jin asked.

"Then..." Lin Qian blinked, thinking for a moment before continuing, "I only remember that man named Zhang Shan shouting, 'You all get out of the way,' and then he single-handedly lifted the iron plate and charged at the black bear."

"What?!" Qi Xia and Qiao Jia Jin both exclaimed softly.

"We didn't even dare to watch..." Lin Qian said, "It was brutal. He knocked the black bear down with the iron plate, pinned it, and then straddled the plate, pounding its head relentlessly. The whole area was covered in blood..."

"Holy crap... that's a total terminator..." Qiao Jia Jin gritted his teeth and said, "That big guy is incredibly fierce."

"He seemed to know the black bear's weak points. The game wasn't even over yet, and the bear was already unrecognizable—its nose was broken, and it had lost a bunch of teeth..." Lin Qian explained.

Tian Tian chimed in, "But Zhang Shan didn't get off easy either. The black bear fought back desperately, flipping the iron plate and clawing at him, leaving him covered in blood. Luckily, it collapsed in less than a minute. Thanks to him, the rest of us made it out okay..."

After hearing this, Qi Xia furrowed his brow. No wonder Tian Tian and Lin Qian thought they couldn't win the game on their own.

In their area, no one had passed using the same method as him. Instead, someone had turned that heavy iron plate into a weapon and taken on the black bear directly.

"In that case... why did it take you so long to come back?" Qiao Jia Jin asked. "The game ended three or four minutes ago, and we were about to prepare your funeral rites, me and Pian Ren Zai."

"That's the scary part..." Lin Qian pursed her lips and lowered her head. "After the big guy killed the bear, he suddenly said, 'I haven't eaten in days; bear paws are a delicacy,' and then he directed us to use the iron plate to smash off the bear's arms..."

"So those two bear arms..." Qiao Jia Jin started to say something, but then he suddenly noticed the big guy—Zhang Shan, Xiao Yanjing, and Lao Lü—walking straight toward them.

Each of them had a small cloth pouch hanging from their waist, apparently having already collected their 'Dao'.

The leader, Zhang Shan, had a cold expression, his eyes fixed on Qi Xia, suggesting trouble.

"Hey..." Qiao Jia Jin suddenly remembered the "deal" between Qi Xia and Xiao Yanjing, realizing the situation was getting dicey. "Pian Ren Zai, what do we do?"

"The Matthew effect..." Qi Xia muttered quietly to himself, "For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them."

"What do you mean?"

Qi Xia didn't respond. He lowered his head and subtly surveyed the environment, dragging a chair in front of him to keep a distance from the others.

There were three more chairs nearby. He examined them closely and noticed one was within easy reach, its leg nearly broken—perfect as a weapon.

Niu Tou Ren was still about ten steps away, unable to intervene immediately. Qi Xia knew that if everything went smoothly, he could definitely take down Zhang Shan.

"No big problem..." Qi Xia glanced at Zhang Shan with icy eyes. "He can kill a bear, but unfortunately, I'm not a bear."

"What are you going to do...?" Lin Qian asked, feeling a bit afraid.

Qiao Jia Jin also stared seriously at the approaching trio, rolling his neck slightly.

The atmosphere grew tense, the air thick with gunpowder.

If this big guy was really here to back up the others, it would be a fierce fight.

Zhang Shan stopped in front of Qi Xia and looked at him thoughtfully.

Qi Xia lifted his head and met the gaze of the six-foot-tall man.

"I heard... you had some trouble with my friends."

"That's right." Qi Xia replied, "That old guy used 'Dao' to buy his life from me."

"The hell... who do you think you are..." Zhang Shan scratched his ear with his pinky finger. "Buying life from you? Are you the king of the underworld?"

"I can be." Qi Xia stepped forward, getting closer to the chair. "I can save lives, or I can take them."

Zhang Shan frowned. "What's your deal? Can't you just talk normally?"

"Whether I talk normally depends on whether you give me the 'Dao'."

"You're really annoying." The big guy frowned. "What if I don't give it to you?"

Xiao Yanjing was stunned and whispered quickly, "Zhang Shan! What do you mean? This isn't what we agreed on!"

"Don't worry about it." Zhang Shan replied quietly. "I have my own plan."

"Then I'll take it myself."

"Hmm? Kid, are you asking for it?"

Before Zhang Shan could react, Qi Xia kicked the chair at his feet, slamming it into Zhang Shan's knee.

Zhang Shan winced in pain and stumbled back two steps.

Seizing the opportunity, Qi Xia dashed forward, grabbed the chair from the ground, and gripped its leg. He knew Zhang Shan was injured, and this was the perfect chance to take him down.

"Thirty-Six Stratagems: Capture the enemy by capturing the leader." Qi Xia thought to himself, then swung the chair upward.

Zhang Shan reacted quickly, ducking and raising his arms to protect his head.

With a crack, the chair shattered against his arms.

It hurt badly, but it didn't hit a vital spot.

"Break their strength, seize their leader, and unravel their formation." Qi Xia murmured again.

Zhang Shan was clearly angry now. "You little punk, you're serious about this?"

But before he could say more, he saw that Qi Xia still held a broken chair leg in his hand.

Qi Xia used the momentum to spin around and swing the chair leg at Zhang Shan's head.

Zhang Shan wasn't an amateur; he turned his head and met the blow with his forehead.

With a snap, the chair leg broke, leaving a red mark on Zhang Shan's head.

"Interesting...!" Zhang Shan gritted his teeth. "You fight to kill... then I won't hold back either!"