“Hmm… never before…” Bai Jiu shook her head. “We usually don’t train for these things since we don’t participate in games.”
“That’s really troublesome,” Qiao Jiajin said. “You rarely exercise, and you lack coordination and teamwork. If something goes wrong, we’ll only find out after the game starts.”
Qiao Jiajin thought for a moment, then suddenly came up with an idea.
“Hey!” he called out to Di Ma from a distance. “Can we give it a test run first?”
“T-test run?” Di Ma was taken aback. “Test what?”
“Can we push that ox-cart first?” Qiao Jiajin asked. “We just want to see how easy it is to push. If it’s too hard, how are we supposed to play?”
“No such rule!” Di Ma snapped. “I’ve never let anyone test-push my ‘Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse’ before. Don’t try to take advantage.”
At that moment, a tall, cold-faced man beside Qiao Jiajin let out a mocking laugh and said, “Di Ma, this meticulously crafted ‘Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse’ of yours… is its purpose to kill people on ice?”
Qiao Jiajin glanced up at the man—if he remembered correctly, this was “Gale” Chou Ershi.
“Of course not!” Di Ma replied, visibly irritated. “Haven’t I said it many times? This is a carefully restored lost artifact!”
Qiao Jiajin nudged Bai Jiu with his elbow. “What’s this guy up to? Looks like he’s about to pick a fight with Di Ma.”
Bai Jiu smirked and whispered to Qiao Jiajin, “Leave this to Ershi. He’s good at handling things like this.”
“Then why won’t you let us push it on flat ground?” Chou Ershi adjusted the collar of his leather jacket. “Let me take a wild guess—the reason your ‘Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse’ uses spheres instead of wheels at the bottom… is because it’s completely unusable on flat ground, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“No wonder… no wonder…” Chou Ershi nodded. “Sorry, we shouldn’t have made such a request. For a craftsman family like yours… well, never mind. It wouldn’t be good if word got out. We all understand.”
Each sentence seemed to hit Di Ma’s sore spots, making her visibly uneasy. “Are you provoking me?! I know this is your ploy, but no one gets to insult ‘craftsmen.'”
“So what…?” Chou Ershi scratched his ear. “I provoked you. Are you taking the bait?”
“Whether it’s a ‘ploy’ or not doesn’t matter,” Di Ma said. “You can test-push the cart now, but I’ll raise the difficulty later. Deal?”
“How are you going to raise the difficulty?” Qiao Jiajin frowned.
Di Ma pointed to the wooden boxes lining the track. “See these boxes?”
“How could we miss them?” Qiao Jiajin shot back. “What’s the trick with them?”
“These boxes will shoot ‘balls’ at you during your round trips.”
“Balls?” Qiao Jiajin found the word amusing. “What kind of ‘balls’? Handballs or cricket balls?”
Bai Jiu examined the boxes—three on the left, four on the right, each labeled with words like “Greedy Wolf” or “Breaking Army.”
“What kind of ‘balls’ you get depends on your luck,” Di Ma said. “Each box contains different ‘ammunition.’ There are seven materials in total.”
Though the game hadn’t started yet, everyone sensed that seven materials was definitely a trap.
“What’s the point of these balls?” Bai Jiu asked.
“To kill you, of course,” Di Ma replied. “Each ball travels at 80 km/h. If the rider is hit, they’re out immediately, but the pusher isn’t affected.”
Yun Shijiu nodded. “So the pusher can ‘block’ the balls for the rider.”
“Not just that,” Di Ma added. “If you’re skilled enough, you might even catch some of them. Some balls even have item rewards written on them, which can help you move better on the ice.”
Bai Jiu twirled her ponytail around her finger and interjected, “So can the rider catch the balls, or just the pusher?”
“Both,” Di Ma said after a pause. “If you’re bold enough, anyone can catch them.”
“I see,” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “But if that’s the case, aren’t you actually making it easier for us? A ball at 80 km/h, at this distance…”
He subtly cracked his neck.
“I might just get lucky and catch one.”
“Hopefully,” Di Ma said flatly. “I’ve heard that line many times, but I’d still advise you to dodge if you can.”
“So how are you raising the difficulty?” Bai Jiu asked.
“If you choose to test-push the cart now…” Di Ma took two steps forward. “In the final round, I’ll be the ‘pitcher.'”
“What?” Qiao Jiajin had never directly fought a Di-level before, but he knew they were incredibly strong. “You’re pitching? Are you trying to kill us?”
“Exactly. My original goal was always to kill,” Di Ma said. “This is just a fair trade.”
Qiao Jiajin felt torn. If they didn’t test-push the cart now, they might waste precious time figuring out how to handle the wheel-less cart during the game. But if they agreed, this monster might end up killing their teammates with her throws.
“So what do we do…?” he asked, turning to the others.
“Of course we agree,” Bai Jiu said with a smile. “Brother Qiao, let’s take her deal.”
“I want to agree too,” Qiao Jiajin said. “But, little sis, didn’t you hear? She’ll be pitching…”
“She’ll pitch either way.”
“Huh?”
Bai Jiu took a step forward, her petite frame contrasting sharply with Di Ma’s towering presence.
“Sis… you lied,” Bai Jiu said sweetly.
“Oh?” Di Ma’s lips curled slightly. “Did I? How so, little girl?”
“Though it’s been a while since I played…” Bai Jiu played with her hair, her smile sweet but sharp. “Can you ‘Di-level’ really change the game rules on a whim?”
“Clever girl,” Di Ma said flatly.
“So whether we test-push the cart or not, you’ll definitely be the ‘pitcher’ in the final round, right?”
Di Ma fell silent, her gaze fixed on the small girl before her.
“That means this test-push opportunity is a free gift from you, sis,” Bai Jiu said, linking arms with Di Ma. “Why are you so kind?”
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