Chapter 454: Lian Zhen

In the third round, the group prepared to have the tall girl named Feng Shiqi ride the “Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse.”

Although she appeared tall, her weight was relatively light, making her the most suitable candidate for this round.

But at this moment, Qiao Jiajin felt a new idea forming in his mind.

“Astro-girl,” Qiao Jiajin called out.

“Here, bro.”

“What’s the third round?” He glanced at the wooden crates in the distance. If things continued as they were, it might get troublesome.

“It should be ‘Lian Zhen,'” Ning Shiba pointed at the third crate. “This round might be even more dangerous than the last.”

“More dangerous than the iron ball?” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “What’s its material?”

“I can’t say for sure,” Ning Shiba shook her head. “But ‘Lian Zhen’ is the third star of the Big Dipper, associated with ‘Yin Fire.'”

“Yin Fire…?” Qiao Jiajin frowned, then suddenly widened his eyes. “A fireball?”

“Well…” Ning Shiba sighed. “It’s possible… But honestly, those mechanisms are wooden. How could they possibly shoot fireballs?”

“Is that so…” Qiao Jiajin nodded thoughtfully and stroked his chin.

The chin was a strange thing. Just touching it made his mind fill with thoughts of stubble.

“Forget it, I won’t overthink it.” Qiao Jiajin looked up at the group. “I was originally planning to ride this round, but now it seems I can’t.”

“Huh?” Bai Jiu was stunned. “You were going to ride? Qiao-ge, didn’t we agree to have the strongest person go last?”

“That’s the general idea, but something feels off.” He glanced at the iron ball in the distance. “The difficulty of this game contradicts our setup. If I were on the cart in the final round, none of us would stand a chance against that ‘ball.'”

With those words, everyone understood his point.

It was like Tian Ji’s horse race—except they were making the wrong choices.

It seemed the difficulty of each “ball” was skyrocketing. Could they really afford to have Qiao Jiajin ride last?

“But I still can’t ride this round. I need to block the ball.” Qiao Jiajin’s expression darkened. “A ‘fireball’ would be too much for you all…”

Though he couldn’t imagine how a wooden mechanism could shoot fire, riding now would be a terrible idea. These youngsters would die.

“Astro-girl, will any of the next rounds have safer ‘balls’?”

“Yes.” Ning Shiba lowered her head and did some quick calculations. “The fourth star, ‘Wen Qu,’ is associated with ‘Yin Water.’ The fifth, ‘Lu Cun,’ is ‘Ji Earth.’ The sixth, ‘Ju Men,’ is ‘Yin Earth.’ Even the last one, ‘Tan Lang,’ is ‘Water-Wood.’ None sound as dangerous as ‘Yin Fire.'”

Qiao Jiajin felt he understood. If the next star, “Wen Qu,” was “Yin Water,” it would likely shoot an ice ball like the first round—a buffer with manageable difficulty.

The best plan was for him to deal with “Lian Zhen’s” fire, then let the others handle “Wen Qu’s” water next round.

“Alright, uh… A-Feng?” Qiao Jiajin looked at Feng Shiqi. “I can’t remember your name. What’s your ‘Echo’?”

“Huh?” Feng Shiqi, seemingly socially awkward, gave an embarrassed smile. “Mine is ‘Flash Burst’…”

“Flash-girl.” Qiao Jiajin said decisively. “That makes it way easier to remember.”

“Uh…” Feng Shiqi clearly couldn’t handle Qiao Jiajin’s bluntness and could only nod awkwardly. “You’re right, Qiao-ge.”

“Flash-girl, you ride first. The rest of you, stick to the plan.” Qiao Jiajin cracked his neck. “No idea what ‘Lian Zhen’ is like, but I’ll deal with it.”

Having already defeated “Wu Qu” single-handedly, the group trusted his strength. But this time, it might be a fireball—something you couldn’t even touch. How could he block it?

Qiao Jiajin didn’t dwell on such concerns. He stretched and walked up to “Lian Zhen.”

Upon closer inspection, this mechanism was different—its color was darker.

“Lian Zhen, what’s your heartbeat like…?”

He clenched one fist, opened the other into a palm, planted his feet wide, and steadied himself sideways. Then, he slowly reached out and touched “Lian Zhen.”

It didn’t feel right. The surface was warm.

“Let’s move!” The cart-pushers called out.

As the cart rolled forward, Qiao Jiajin sensed “Lian Zhen’s” heartbeat shift—growing wilder inside.

True to its name, “Lian Zhen” was pure and scorching.

“Intense heartbeat…” Qiao Jiajin’s expression darkened. For a moment, he truly believed this wooden crate could spew flames. “This is tricky, dang it.”

With every passing second, his fingertips burned hotter.

As the cart reached the six-meter mark, “Lian Zhen” erupted with thick smoke, launching a black “ball” streaked with red lines.

Qiao Jiajin sensed extreme danger and yanked his hand back before it burned. But the ball was already flying toward his face.

He twisted his torso, leaning back, arms raised to shield his head. Just before his skull hit the ground, he arched like a carp and caught himself on his hands.

Though he dodged the “Yin Fire,” what about the cart-pushers?

No time to think. Still on his back, he kicked upward, slamming his foot into the black-and-red ball.

*Crack!*

A sharp sound rang out. His foot burned, and the ball’s texture was unlike the others—more brittle than ice.

Fragments of fire scattered midair. In an instant, thick smoke and black mist billowed above Qiao Jiajin, heat surging from the shattered remains.

“Ah! Dang it!”

Embers rained onto him. He frantically rolled across the ice to extinguish them.

“What the hell?!” Qiao Jiajin angrily stood up, scratching his hair and flicking out sparks. “Ground Mare, what’s your deal?!”

The Ground Mare finally smiled in satisfaction. “What’s wrong?”

“Damn it…” Qiao Jiajin yelled. “This is a lit coal ball?! Is this how you play games?!”

“I warned you earlier—if you don’t want to die, stay away from the balls.” The Ground Mare shrugged. “You insisted on catching them. What can I do?”