Chapter 53: New Goal

Hearing this, Lin Geng was clearly stunned.

“What do you mean by ‘how am I still alive’?” She gradually stepped back, feeling that the Qi Xia in front of her was somewhat dangerous. “You... what are you going to do?”

Seeing Lin Geng’s reaction, Qi Xia seemed to understand something, so he slowly walked over to where Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian were.

“Qi Xia... do you know something?” Lin Geng asked with a tremble in her voice. “What exactly happened?”

Qi Xia squatted down, staring at these two “comrades” he had spent only two days with, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Although he felt downcast, every time he thought about the moments he shared with them, it was as if a worm in his mind was trying to burst out, giving him a splitting headache.

Lin Geng looked at Qi Xia with a bit of fear: “Say something... you...”

“That woman named Xiao Xiao killed them,” Qi Xia said in a low voice. “I’m going to make her pay with her life.”

“Xiao Xiao...?” Lin Geng blinked in disbelief. “The girl we met before...?”

Qi Xia gently touched Tian Tian’s forehead, where there was a small hole.

It was the mark left by a nail piercing through.

Tian Tian had once said she could die here.

But now, she didn’t even know why she had died.

“But I don’t understand why...” Lin Geng said. “Why did she kill Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian?”

Qi Xia paused slightly and replied, “I want to know why she did this too. And I want to know even more... why she didn’t kill you.”

“No wonder you asked me that...” Lin Geng seemed to grasp Qi Xia’s meaning. “But I don’t know why I survived either. Even if you suspect me, I have no way to prove my innocence.”

“When I first woke up, I did suspect you, but I don’t anymore. After all, you just seemed afraid I might kill you, which isn’t the expression of an accomplice.” Qi Xia glanced reluctantly at Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian once more, then slowly stood up. “You thought I killed them, right?”

“I...” Lin Geng lowered her head in frustration. “Yes, after all, only the two of us survived, so the killer could only be...”

Qi Xia didn’t dwell on it and continued, “Xiao Xiao told me to give up searching for the Dao, but I’m not planning to listen to her.”

Lin Geng furrowed her brow, carefully pondering the words, and couldn’t help but ask, “She wants you to give up searching for the Dao? Why?”

“I don’t know.” Qi Xia shook his head. “They seem to be an organization, and if I’m not wrong, they’re trying to stop others from collecting the Dao.”

“This is just too strange...” Lin Geng said, while reaching for her waist. “Ah! Where’s my Dao?”

She looked at Qi Xia’s waist, then down at Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian’s waists.

Everyone’s Dao was gone.

“That’s exactly what I wanted to tell you,” Qi Xia murmured. “That woman isn’t collecting the Dao—she’s destroying it.”

After saying this, Qi Xia pointed to the extinguished stove not far away and said to Lin Geng, “I saw her burn our Dao with my own eyes.”

“But that doesn’t make sense...” Lin Geng seemed unable to comprehend. “Didn’t you say the Caipan wouldn’t allow something like ‘killing to seize the Dao’ to happen?”

Qi Xia thought for a moment before answering, “That woman named Xiao Xiao is very clever... or rather, she understands the rules here perfectly. First, as I said, she didn’t ‘seize the Dao’—she just destroyed it. Second, when she took or destroyed the Dao, Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian were still alive. From any angle, she didn’t violate the rules.”

“So that means ‘killing’ is allowed, but ‘seizing the Dao’ isn’t...” Lin Geng crouched down, her expression full of sorrow. She sat on the ground and asked Qi Xia, “Now that we don’t have any Dao left... we can’t participate in the game anymore... right?”

Qi Xia looked at Lin Geng and said flatly, “Do you really care about participating in the game? I didn’t get the sense before that you wanted to get out of here.”

Lin Geng nodded. “Yes, I originally had no interest in this place at all, but now... I have something I must go back and confirm.”

“Go back and confirm?”

“That’s right.” Lin Geng looked at Qi Xia seriously. “I need to return to the real world to confirm something.”

Qi Xia stared into Lin Geng’s eyes for three seconds, as if judging whether she was lying.

After a while, he slowly stood up and said, “Lin Geng, no matter what, let’s part ways.”

“Part ways?”

“Yes, part ways.” Qi Xia nodded. “That woman is after me. If you stick with me, you’ll be in great danger.”

Lin Geng also stood up and replied, “I can’t leave. I have to act with you, otherwise I won’t be able to confirm that matter even if I go back.”

Qi Xia paused slightly and asked, “The thing you mentioned—is it related to me?”

“Yes.”

“Is your interest in me also because of that thing?”

“Yes.”

“What exactly is it?” Qi Xia rarely encountered situations he couldn’t figure out, and this girl named Lin Geng was making him extremely curious.

“I’m sorry, I really can’t say.” Lin Geng shook her head. “You just need to remember, we’re not enemies.”

Qi Xia was silent for a moment, then said earnestly, “If you stay with me, you might die.”

“Um...” Lin Geng hesitated a bit but still replied, “I’m willing to take the gamble. Maybe I won’t die and can even get out of here.”

Seeing how determined Lin Geng was, Qi Xia stopped trying to persuade her. He slowly walked to the door and looked at the darkening sky.

“In that case, let’s gamble together.” Qi Xia said, “We’re not completely without a Dao—there’s one stored with an acquaintance.”

“You mean...” Lin Geng thought of something. “Will Li Jingguan give you the Dao?”

“He will.” Qi Xia paused and added, “But his three teammates won’t.”

“What do we do then?”

Qi Xia shifted his gaze to Qiao Jia Jin on the ground, gritted his teeth, and said, “I’ll beg them. I have to get that Dao. As long as I keep playing the game, that woman named Xiao Xiao will show up again. I can’t let Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian die without justice.”

With that, he picked up the remaining bear meat along with the pot, pushed the door open, and walked out, with Lin Geng following closely behind.

By now, the sky had grown dim, and the city was filled with the sounds of insects chirping, with crickets rustling everywhere.

“We need to hurry.” Qi Xia said, “I hope they’ll value this bear meat.”

Lin Geng looked up at Qi Xia again, feeling a sense of emptiness in her heart.

This man seemed to have no emotions; he was indifferent to everyone’s death.