Chapter 48: Harvest

"What did you say?" Qi Xia's eyes instantly widened. "You said you've seen... someone escape from here?"

"That's right." Zhang Shan nodded. "But to be precise... we only found that person's notes."

"This..." Qi Xia felt the situation was a bit strange. "You just found the notes and concluded that the person escaped from here?"

Zhang Shan smiled and nodded, saying to Qi Xia, "Buddy, I'll lay it out straight—if you want to join us, we can share this info with you. But for now... whether you believe it or not, that's all I'm saying."

Qi Xia roughly understood what Zhang Shan meant, but he couldn't tell if the other man was telling the truth or lying.

At that moment, a chubby girl overheard Zhang Shan's words and approached, asking, "Bro... are you still taking people? I can do anything..."

Zhang Shan looked at the girl and smiled. "Miss, it's not that I don't want to take you, but our goal is to 'break through all the games.' Do you have the determination to face the dangers ahead?"

The chubby girl lowered her head silently after hearing this, thought for a moment, and then said, "I can."

"Ha!" Zhang Shan didn't seem to believe her. He slowly stepped closer and said, "Miss, don't force yourself. Just stay alive."

The girl couldn't convince Zhang Shan and her expression darkened.

Seeing that no one else in the room was speaking, Zhang Shan glanced at Qi Xia, pulled a piece of scrap paper from his pocket, dipped his finger in his own blood, and quickly sketched a rough map.

"This is our location." Zhang Shan handed the scrap paper to Qi Xia. "If you change your mind, you can come find us."

Qi Xia took the scrap paper, still watching the three of them warily, but Zhang Shan didn't mind. He put his arm around the bespectacled guy, picked up the two bear arms from the ground, and limped toward the door.

"Hey." Qi Xia called out.

"Hmm?"

Zhang Shan turned back, only to see a white object flying toward his face. He quickly reached out and caught it.

It was a cloth bag.

"I've changed my mind this time—I'll only take half." Qi Xia said. "As for the bespectacled guy, his 'Dao' I don't want."

Zhang Shan looked at the cloth bag in his hand, paused for a few seconds, and then burst into hearty laughter. "Ha! You're alright!"

The bespectacled guy stood nearby, looking confused. "Ah? Why? This was my choice... you clearly said before..."

"I'm a liar." Qi Xia said coldly. "Don't believe a word I say."

"But, Mr. Liar..."

"I'm called Qi Xia." Qi Xia said. "Don't call me Mr. Liar—it's awful."

"Qi Xia..." Zhang Shan repeated the name. "Interesting. I'll remember you."

With that, he raised one of the black bear's forelimbs and tossed it to the four of them.

"Whoa!" Qiao Jia Jin was startled but still caught the furry severed limb.

He realized it was extraordinarily heavy, at least 20 or 30 pounds, and it was dripping blood with a sloshing sound.

"This thing is too much for just the three of us to eat," Zhang Shan said. "It's also heavy to carry—you guys can take it and throw it away for me."

"Throw it away?"

Zhang Shan waved his hand and turned to leave.

Qi Xia and the other three stared at the bear limb, not knowing what to say, until Zhang Shan and his two companions had gone out the door.

A moment later, Di Niu stepped forward and handed them four dirty cloth bags.

"Take these."

Qi Xia and the others snapped back to reality and accepted their rewards.

This time, the "Dao" was abundant, so much so that everyone felt a bit overwhelmed. Thanks to Zhang Shan, they also got some long-awaited "food."

The chubby girl stood a short distance away, glanced at Qi Xia, and slowly approached, tentatively asking, "Can... can I join you? My teammates all died in the 'interview'..."

Qi Xia seemed not to hear the girl's words. He just weighed the cloth bag in his hand and said to the three others, "Let's go."

With that, he turned and headed toward the exit, leaving the girl standing there awkwardly.

Qiao Jia Jin shrugged at the girl helplessly. "Don't be mad—he's always like this."

Seeing that Qiao Jia Jin seemed easy to talk to, the girl grabbed his arm and said nervously, "Please let me join you... I'm so scared right now..."

"Well..." Qiao Jia Jin smiled apologetically. "Alright, I guess... miss, why don't you come along for now..."

"Hey, Qiao Jia Jin." Qi Xia called from a distance, turning back. "Let's go."

Qiao Jia Jin looked at Qi Xia and noticed him frowning slightly.

"Oh, okay, I'm coming." Qiao Jia Jin seemed to understand. He nodded and turned back to say, "Miss, not this time. Maybe next time."

With that, he ignored the girl just like Qi Xia had and walked toward the exit.

The chubby girl watched Qiao Jia Jin leave, her original expression of grievance turning cold and sinister.

Now, only she and Di Niu remained in the room, as the participants had all gone.

Di Niu was picking up the chairs scattered on the floor when he looked up at her. After a moment, he said flatly, "Still up to your old tricks?"

"Yeah." The chubby girl nodded. "It's a real shame—our line of work is getting harder and harder."

"Why can't you just act normal?" Di Niu turned to her and asked. "Wouldn't it be better for us to follow the orders together?"

"Ha!" The chubby girl burst into an angry laugh. She stepped forward, grabbed Di Niu's collar, and said fiercely, "Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?! When it comes to 'normal,' how are you 'Zodiac' people any better than us?!"

Di Niu turned his head away and said quietly, "At least we're all working toward the same goal..."

"Then let's each do our own thing and see who's right." The chubby girl released him, turned toward the exit, and before leaving, added seriously, "Zhang Shan can't stay. As for Qi Xia... I'll think of something."

...

"Trickster..." Once outside, Qiao Jia Jin glanced back cautiously and whispered, "What's going on? Is that woman trouble?"

"I'm not sure, but it's probably the case." Qi Xia said. "In a place like this, it's better to be careful."

"You can read faces?" Qiao Jia Jin chuckled. "She looks so kind and gentle—I didn't see anything wrong."

"It's not about reading faces." Qi Xia shook his head. "First, she said her teammates all died in the 'interview.' If that's true, she must have used some extreme methods; otherwise, it's hard to believe a weak woman would be the only one to survive out of nine. Second, she's managed to stay alive on her own, and considering her survival tactics in the game, she's no ordinary person. She's likely approaching us just for our 'Dao.'"

Qiao Jia Jin nodded in sudden realization. "Oh, I see... I thought she was just pitiful."

"Of course, everything I said could be wrong." Qi Xia added. "I just don't want to trust people easily."

With that, he turned back to the three of them and asked, "By the way, lend me your 'Dao' for a bit."