When Song Qi stepped out of the teaching building, the expressions of all the “Cat” team members changed.
Several people quickly moved forward to check his injuries, but he waved them off.
“Everyone leave behind their right hand,” Song Qi said, lifting his head. “The men will handle the cutting, the women will handle the stopping of the blood.”
After those words, most of the group had already drawn their daggers and pressed them against their wrists.
Qi Xia sat by the window, watching this bizarre scene unfold on the distant sports field, his brow slowly furrowing.
“Song Qi… Luo Shiyi?” He stared at the two familiar faces on the field, lost in thought. It seemed they did indeed belong to the same organization—but why would they collectively sever their right hands?
“Could it be… a ‘transaction’?” Qi Xia glanced at Chu Tianqiu in the distance, piecing together the sequence of events in his mind.
What could make these mercenaries pay such a heavy price?
“Could it be… me?” But soon, Qi Xia frowned, stroking his chin. “Am I really that important?”
As he pondered, a faint footstep sounded behind him.
He turned and saw Officer Li staring at him with a grave expression, as if he had something to say.
“What’s wrong?”
Officer Li sat down beside Qi Xia, looked up at him, then hesitated.
“Speak your mind,” Qi Xia said. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”
Officer Li met his gaze and spoke slowly, “Qi Xia, do you remember? You said that as long as I stood by your side, you’d help me deal with Zhang Huanan.”
“That’s right,” Qi Xia nodded seriously. “Is it settled now?”
At this question, Officer Li’s expression darkened. He let out a bitter laugh. “I never expected you to still be so calm and collected… Qi Xia, why did you lie to me?”
“Lie to you…?” Qi Xia paused.
“I chose to believe you, but you deceived me… Was your promise to help me with Zhang Huanan just a stalling tactic?”
There was no anger in Officer Li’s eyes—only a deep disappointment.
“What…?” Qi Xia was genuinely confused. “How did I deceive you?”
Officer Li fell silent for a moment, reaching into his pocket before remembering it was empty.
“Last time, you gave me a phone number… told me to contact the fourteen-year-old you.” Officer Li instinctively reached for a cigarette, only to find none. He sighed. “But that number was disconnected.”
“Disconnected…?” Qi Xia’s frown deepened. Something was off.
“To escape my own predicament… I memorized that number countless times. I imagined all sorts of possibilities—even how to convince your younger self. But I never once thought the number would be wrong.”
Qi Xia stayed silent, lowering his head in thought.
“So why did you lie to me…?” Officer Li’s weary eyes, filled with disappointment, locked onto Qi Xia, as if he had lost all hope of escape once again.
Qi Xia shook his head slowly. “Officer Li, believe it or not, I had no reason to deceive you.”
“But Qi Xia…” Officer Li gave another bitter laugh. “No one helped me… From start to finish… no one helped me. What was the point of me returning to reality?”
“Are you sure the number was correct?” Qi Xia pressed.
Officer Li closed his eyes and recited the number from memory.
It was a landline—the number of the house Qi Xia had grown up in. Every digit matched.
“You’re saying it was disconnected?” Qi Xia asked.
“Do you think I came all this way just to lie to you…?”
No matter how he looked at it, this was bizarre.
Qi Xia had given Officer Li the real number—yet it didn’t connect. Where had things gone wrong?
A sudden movement caught his eye. On the sports field, Chu Tianqiu pointed in his direction. Song Qi and the others, having identified their target, began approaching.
“Trouble…” Qi Xia turned back to Officer Li with a frown. “Officer Li, I don’t know why the number didn’t work, but leave me your number.”
“My number…?” Officer Li was baffled. “Your timeline is ahead of mine. Even if I give you my number, how could you help the ‘me’ from your past?”
Qi Xia shook his head. “The issue isn’t about helping you anymore. I just want to know… whether the two of us can actually connect in the real world.”
“What…?” Officer Li was stunned. “Are you suspecting…?”
“I’m not suspecting anything,” Qi Xia said. “Just running an experiment. Besides, our lives are already stuck—what’s another ten days?”
After a moment of hesitation, Officer Li recited a string of digits.
“Given my profession, this number shouldn’t change easily,” he added. “If you can’t reach me… it means I no longer exist in your world.”
“No longer exist…?”
“I made mistakes. I’ll be lost to history.” Officer Li smiled bitterly. “I won’t make it to the bright future you all can see.”
“Bright future…” Qi Xia echoed with a wry smile. “Let’s hope so.”
As silence settled between them, the classroom door creaked open. A group of “Cats” filed in.
No one in the room moved—they simply watched.
Song Qi stepped forward, locking eyes with Qi Xia. “I should’ve known you weren’t ordinary.”
Qi Xia said nothing. Nearby, Qiao Jiajin slowly rose to his feet.
“Not ordinary?” Qiao Jiajin smirked. “So you’re here to pay respects?”
At the sight of the shirtless man, the group instinctively took half a step back.
“Qiao Jiajin…” Song Qi murmured. “This time, we’re taking Qi Xia with us. I hope you won’t interfere.”
“Hah?” Qiao Jiajin grinned. “How about this—you don’t take him, and I won’t interfere. Deal?”
Officer Li also stood, shoulder-to-shoulder with Qiao Jiajin. He’d never seen these black-leather-clad individuals before, but years on the force told him this was an organized group.
“Troublesome…” Song Qi glanced between Qiao Jiajin and the burly Officer Li. “These two won’t be easy to handle.”
Then, his gaze landed on Han Yimo in the corner.
This man left a strong impression—when he died, a violent explosion had taken out three “Cat” team members.
Song Qi suspected he might be the second person in Zhongyan, aside from himself, capable of triggering a blast.
Han Yimo, too, seemed to recall something. A faint sense of dread crept in, his ears ringing faintly.
“This room is quite lively…” Song Qi’s expression darkened.
Qi Xia, Qiao Jiajin, a combat-trained officer, the extremist Lin Qin, and a man who could cause explosions.
Then he turned to Su Shan. “And a long-lost strategist…”
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