“How do you earn ‘Dao’?” Qi Xia asked again.
“We found a Bull-type game. According to the rules, it can earn a lot of ‘Dao,’ but the game requires twenty people to start. We’re still five short. Do you want to join?”
“Still need five?” Qi Xia was taken aback. “You’ve already gathered fifteen?”
It seemed there really were many participants here.
“Exactly,” the bespectacled man nodded, pointing into the distance where a crowd was indeed gathered.
Qi Xia thought for a moment before nodding. “Alright, we’ll go take a look.”
“Great! I’ll go ahead and wait for you there!” The bespectacled man tactfully walked away.
“Hey!” Qiao Jiajin felt uneasy. “We’re just going like that?! What if it’s a violent gang? You want me to show off my skills?”
“No way,” Qi Xia said. “Each room holds a maximum of nine people. In this environment, forming a gang of over ten is too much of a stretch. Forget about strangers—even we, who came from the same room, don’t fully trust each other.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Lin Qin, as if implying something.
Lin Qin looked displeased, seemingly unaware why she was being doubted. Was it just because she didn’t recognize that “flyer”?
After crossing an old street, the four arrived in front of a large building.
Just as the bespectacled man had said, a man wearing a buffalo mask stood at the entrance.
Outside, groups of participants stood in clusters, deliberately keeping their distance from one another.
Though they were all strangers, seeing so many normal people gathered together gave Qi Xia and the others a rare sense of security.
No matter how unpleasant these people looked, they were still living, breathing human beings.
“Nice work, Four-Eyes!” A middle-aged man clapped the bespectacled man on the back. “You found four people in one go!”
Qi Xia studied the bull-headed man before stepping forward. “What are the rules of the game?”
The bull-headed man replied calmly, “Bull-type game. Entry fee is one ‘Dao’ per person. Requires twenty players to begin. Players will be eliminated during the game. At the end, each remaining player earns ‘Dao’ equal to the number of survivors.”
“Equal to the number of survivors?!” Qi Xia was stunned. “You mean, if twenty remain, each of them gets twenty ‘Dao’?!”
“Yes.”
Qiao Jiajin’s jaw dropped. “Dang it! That’s hitting the jackpot! That’s four hundred ‘Dao’ in one go!”
“Is it really that easy…?” Tian Tian sounded skeptical. “Hey, Bull-man, you’re not gonna cheat us, are you?”
The bull-headed man fell silent for a moment before shaking his head. “Allow me to correct you. I am not a ‘Human Bull.'”
“Not a ‘Human Bull’?” Tian Tian frowned at the towering figure. “But aren’t you all called ‘Human-something’?”
“I am an ‘Earth Bull,'” the bull-headed man said flatly. “If you mistake me for a ‘Human Bull,’ you’ll regret it.”
Only then did the group notice that this “Earth Bull” was indeed different from the other animal-masked figures they’d seen. His mask was pristine, lifelike as if it were real. His black suit was immaculate, as if freshly pressed. When he spoke… his mask’s mouth seemed to move slightly.
But what was the difference between a Human Bull and an Earth Bull?
“Earth Bull…” Qi Xia scratched his head, unable to grasp the distinction. He looked up and asked, “Earth Bull, what kind of game is this?”
The Earth Bull paused briefly before replying, “Pay the fee, learn the rules.”
“Pay the fee…”
The only thing troubling Qi Xia now was that if all four of them joined the game, their earlier strategy would fall apart.
They’d all be thrown into an unknown game—an enormous risk.
But with stakes this high, the risk and reward seemed proportionate.
“Scammer, what do you think a ‘Bull’ game is like?” Qiao Jiajin asked beside him.
Qi Xia thought for a moment. “Probably the type I hate the most.”
“Oh? There’s a game type you hate?” Qiao Jiajin perked up. “What is it?”
“Bulls are born to plow. If I had to guess, it’ll be a ‘physical’ game.” Qi Xia glanced at Qiao Jiajin. “Might suit a brute like you.”
“Ha!” Qiao Jiajin rolled up his sleeves, revealing his muscular tattooed arms. “Finally, my time to shine—wait, who are you calling a brute?”
Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. “If it weren’t for the ‘Dao,’ I wouldn’t step into a ‘Bull’ room.”
“Relax. Just call me ‘boss,’ and I’ll carry you through any Bull game.” Qiao Jiajin grinned mischievously. “Sounds like a good deal, huh?”
Qi Xia turned to look at him. “You and I look about the same age, mid-twenties at most. Why should I call you ‘boss’?”
“Now you’ve got me curious!” Qiao Jiajin scratched his head. “What year were you born?”
Qi Xia couldn’t help but notice how carefree Qiao Jiajin was, still cracking jokes in such a grim environment.
“Instead of wasting time, you should warm up,” Qi Xia said dismissively. “Don’t cramp up later.”
“Come on,” Qiao Jiajin pressed. “Just tell me! If you’re older, I’ll call you ‘boss’!”
“Ugh.” Qi Xia sighed in resignation. “Fine. You first—what year?”
“1979,” Qiao Jiajin said with a smirk.
“1979… funny, huh?” Qi Xia frowned. “You’ll go to any lengths to get that ‘boss’ title. I’m done with this.”
“Wait, why?” Qiao Jiajin blinked. “Just tell me your birth year! Are you younger than me?”
Tian Tian chuckled beside them. Being around Qiao Jiajin was the right choice—his personality lifted the gloom hanging over them.
Qiao Jiajin called Qi Xia’s name a few more times, but when he got no response, he shrugged in defeat.
Several minutes passed, and the group was still stuck at nineteen.
It seemed that while there were many participants, they weren’t easy to find. Gathering twenty people quickly was no simple task.
“Still not here?” the middle-aged man asked the bespectacled man. “Did he oversleep?”
“No idea. He said he’d come this morning.” The bespectacled man scratched his head. “Want me to go find someone else?”
“Forget it…” The middle-aged man waved a hand. “We’ve got nineteen now. Let’s just wait. I don’t want to die for nothing.”
Qi Xia overheard every word.
“Die?” His brows furrowed. “What do you mean ‘die’? Does this game kill people?”
Before he could dwell on it, a lazy figure appeared in the distance.
Bare-chested, covered in scars, wearing camouflage pants, the man stretched lazily as he ambled toward them.
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