Chapter 39: Iron Plate

The black bear took another step forward, now barely a meter away from Qiao Jiajin.

This time, Qiao Jiajin didn’t dare move forward no matter what. The bear had a long reach, and advancing any further would put him within its attack range—certain death.

So, he could only slowly take a step back.

Seeing this, Qi Xia’s expression tightened with tension.

The rules of confrontation between animals were simple: if one side retreated, it meant fear.

Fear meant becoming prey.

When the black bear saw Qiao Jiajin retreat, its hesitant demeanor gradually turned savage. It was now almost certain that the creature before it posed no threat.

After a three-second pause, the bear suddenly lunged forward, its massive forelimb swinging down like a stone pillar.

Qiao Jiajin didn’t push his luck. He ducked, narrowly avoiding the strike, then rolled backward and immediately broke into a sprint.

The bear roared and gave chase on all fours.

Now, the black bear had fully marked Qiao Jiajin as prey.

“Liar Boy! Hurry the hell up!” Qiao Jiajin shouted as he ran. “I’m betting my sorry life on you!”

“Don’t trust me too much!” Qi Xia called back nervously. “I don’t even know what that iron plate is…”

“Shut the fuck up!” Qiao Jiajin cursed. “Just go ‘pick up the goods’ already!”

As the bear chased after Qiao Jiajin, Qi Xia dashed toward the iron plate on the ground.

Logically, none of the previous “games” had been unwinnable—there was always a “way out.” In this bare room, that way out had to be connected to the iron plate.

Upon closer inspection, the plate’s surface was mottled with rust and wear.

“This…”

Qi Xia ran his fingers over it and realized it was just an ordinary circular iron plate—no mechanisms, no hints, nothing.

“What the hell…” He felt like he’d been tricked. The thing might as well have been random scrap metal.

After running about a dozen steps, Qiao Jiajin realized the bear was right on his heels. He abruptly stopped, spun around, and roared, “You idiot!!”

The bear was startled and immediately retreated, standing on its hind legs again.

Qiao Jiajin smirked, jabbing a finger at it menacingly. “Scared ya, huh? Absolute moron. You think I’m afraid of you? Listen up—”

The bear blinked dumbly, as if actually waiting for him to continue.

The others in the room were equally stunned, all eyes fixed on Qiao Jiajin, wondering what he could possibly have to say to a black bear.

But before anyone could react, Qiao Jiajin—without hesitation—turned tail and bolted.

Realizing it had been tricked, the bear let out an enraged roar and resumed its chase.

Meanwhile, Qi Xia had flipped the iron plate over and was studying it closely. The thing was heavy, with no handles—useless for fending off a bear.

Before he could think further, a sharp pain shot through his back as something slammed into him.

Already crouched, the force sent him sprawling.

It was the middle-aged man from their group.

The man glanced at Qi Xia and muttered, “Sorry,” before lifting the iron plate, gritting his teeth as he slowly pushed it toward the corner. Once there, he propped it up like a shield and cowered behind it, trembling.

Qi Xia frowned. This was bad.

He’d considered the same idea—using the plate to block the bear while hiding in a corner would drastically improve survival odds. But that meant only one person would live, rendering the “game” pointless.

Betting a life for a single “token,” only to win back that same “token.”

If it were up to him, Qi Xia wouldn’t choose that outcome.

“Liar Boy, still not done?!” Qiao Jiajin bellowed. “You really don’t give a damn about me, huh?!”

“Wait, wait…” Qi Xia hesitated. “Just a little more time…”

His mind raced. Even if he reclaimed the plate now, it wouldn’t help—he needed to save both himself and Qiao Jiajin.

But the plate was barely big enough for one.

What now?

Thanks to Qiao Jiajin, the other eight participants were safe—for now. But only a minute had passed. Surviving ten minutes couldn’t rely solely on him.

A slightly plump woman ran toward the middle-aged man, voice trembling. “Can I hide with you? Please… I don’t want to die…”

“No, no!” the man barked from behind the plate. “Only one fits here! We’d both die!”

“It’ll work!” The woman’s legs shook uncontrollably. “We can each take a side—we won’t die!”

As they argued, the bespectacled man from the middle-aged man’s team rushed over. Without asking, he yanked the plate aside and squeezed into the corner.

“Hey! Glasses!” the middle-aged man panicked. “What the hell?!”

The bespectacled man gritted his teeth. “Old Lü, you can’t just save yourself!”

With two people now crammed behind it, the plate wobbled precariously. Old Lü’s bulky frame made it impossible to shield both of them.

Seeing this, the plump woman stopped pleading and wedged herself into the corner from the other side.

The remaining four participants, no longer running aimlessly, also converged on the plate—their last hope.

“Idiots…” Qi Xia muttered, edging closer. Within seconds, the group had devolved into a bloody brawl over the plate.

“Old Lü! Stop being selfish! Give up the plate—we’ll figure something out!”

“Glasses! You’re young—you can outrun the bear! I can’t!”

“Grab the plate now!”

“Get off! There’s no room left!”

At this critical moment, every one of them looked capable of single-handedly killing a bear. Yet, rather than facing the beast, they preferred strangling and tearing at each other, mouths bloodied, while the plate lay abandoned on the floor.

Meanwhile, Qiao Jiajin had been backed into a corner by the bear. With no escape, he repeated his earlier tactic—whirling around with a shout.

This time, the bear flinched but didn’t retreat. It swiped at him with a massive paw, which Qiao Jiajin barely dodged. The claws left deep gouges in the wall.

“Damn it!” Qiao Jiajin glared at the bear. “You’re pushing your luck…”

Qi Xia knew if he didn’t act now, Qiao Jiajin was dead—and without him, the others would be slaughtered one by one.

Qiao Jiajin was the only one daring enough to face the bear head-on. Expecting him to fend off the beast *and* protect everyone else was beyond absurd.