Chapter 48: Harvest

“What did you say?” Qi Xia’s eyes widened in shock. “You said you’ve seen… someone escape from here?”

“Exactly,” Zhang Shan nodded. “But to be precise… we only found that person’s notes.”

“This…” Qi Xia felt something was off. “You only found notes, and you’re certain they escaped?”

Zhang Shan chuckled and nodded, then said to Qi Xia, “Listen, buddy, I’ll make this clear—if you join us, we can share this info with you. But as things stand… whether you believe it or not, that’s all I’ll say for now.”

Qi Xia roughly understood what Zhang Shan meant, but he couldn’t tell whether the man was lying or not.

Just then, a slightly plump girl overheard Zhang Shan and stepped forward. “Hey… are you guys still recruiting? I can do anything…”

Zhang Shan glanced at her and smiled. “Girl, it’s not that I don’t want you, but our goal is to ‘break all the games.’ Are you really prepared to face the dangers ahead?”

The girl lowered her head in silence for a moment before looking up. “I can.”

“Hah!” Zhang Shan didn’t seem convinced. He walked up to her and said, “Don’t push yourself. Just focus on staying alive.”

The girl failed to persuade him, her expression darkening.

With no one else in the room speaking up, Zhang Shan turned back to Qi Xia, pulled out a scrap of paper from his pocket, dipped his finger in his own blood, and quickly sketched a rough map.

“Here’s where we are,” Zhang Shan handed the paper to Qi Xia. “If you change your mind, come find us.”

Qi Xia took the paper, still eyeing the three with caution. Unbothered, Zhang Shan slung an arm around the bespectacled man, picked up the severed bear arms from the ground, and limped toward the door.

“Hey,” Qi Xia called out.

“Hm?”

Zhang Shan turned just in time to see something white flying toward his face. He quickly caught it.

A small cloth bag.

“I changed my mind this time—I’ll only take half,” Qi Xia said. “That guy with glasses seems decent. I won’t take his ‘Dao.'”

Zhang Shan stared at the bag in his hand, stunned for a few seconds before bursting into hearty laughter. “Hahaha! You’ve got style!”

The bespectacled man looked confused. “Huh? Why? I was willing to give it… You said earlier—”

“I’m a liar,” Qi Xia said coldly. “Don’t believe a word I say.”

“But… but Mr. Liar—”

“My name is Qi Xia,” Qi Xia cut in. “And don’t call me ‘Mr. Liar.’ Sounds terrible.”

“Qi Xia…” Zhang Shan repeated the name, amused. “Interesting. I’ll remember you.”

With that, he tossed one of the black bear’s forearms toward the four of them.

“Dang it!” Qiao Jiajin yelped, barely catching the furry, severed limb.

He realized it was unusually heavy, weighing at least twenty or thirty pounds, blood still dripping from it.

Zhang Shan shrugged. “We can’t eat all this, and it’s a pain to carry. You guys can toss it for us.”

“Toss it?”

Zhang Shan waved dismissively and turned away.

The four of them stared at the bear arm, speechless, until Zhang Shan and his companions left the room.

A moment later, Di Niu stepped forward and handed them four grimy cloth bags.

“Take them.”

Snapping out of their daze, Qi Xia and the others accepted their rewards.

This time, the “Dao” was plentiful—so much that they were almost overwhelmed. Thanks to Zhang Shan, they even got their hands on some long-awaited “food.”

The plump girl, standing a short distance away, glanced at Qi Xia and hesitantly approached. “Can… can I join you? My teammates all died in the ‘interview’…”

Qi Xia acted as if he hadn’t heard her. Instead, he weighed the bag in his hand and said to the other three, “Let’s go.”

Without another word, he turned and headed for the exit, leaving the girl standing awkwardly behind.

Qiao Jiajin shrugged apologetically at her. “Don’t take it personally. He’s always like that.”

Seeing that Qiao Jiajin seemed approachable, the girl grabbed his arm, her face tense with desperation. “Please let me join you… I’m so scared…”

“Well…” Qiao Jiajin gave an awkward smile. “I guess you could—”

“Hey, Qiao Jiajin,” Qi Xia called from a distance, turning back with a frown. “Let’s go.”

Qiao Jiajin glanced at Qi Xia, then nodded in understanding. “Right. Coming.”

He turned back to the girl. “Sorry, lass. Maybe next time.”

With that, he followed Qi Xia without another glance, leaving the girl behind.

Her expression shifted from pitiful to ice-cold, then twisted into something venomous.

Now, only she and Di Niu remained in the room—all other participants had left.

Di Niu, busy righting toppled chairs, finally looked up at her and spoke flatly, “Still up to your old tricks?”

“Yeah,” the girl replied. “Shame the job’s getting harder.”

“Why can’t you just be normal?” Di Niu turned to her. “Wouldn’t it be easier if we all just followed orders?”

“Ha!” The girl’s face twisted with fury as she grabbed Di Niu by the collar. “Who the hell do you think you are?! Talking about ‘normal’—what makes you ‘Zodiacs’ any better than us?!”

Di Niu turned away, speaking calmly. “At least we’re working toward the same goal…”

“Then let’s see who’s right,” the girl hissed, releasing him and striding toward the exit. Before leaving, she added coldly, “Zhang Shan can’t stay alive. As for Qi Xia… I’ll deal with him.”

……

“Swindler…” Qiao Jiajin whispered once they were outside, glancing back cautiously. “What was that about? Was that girl trouble?”

“I’m not sure, but probably,” Qi Xia said. “In a place like this, it’s best to be careful.”

“You can read faces now?” Qiao Jiajin chuckled. “She seemed harmless enough to me.”

“It’s not about appearances,” Qi Xia shook his head. “First, she said all her teammates died in the ‘interview.’ If that’s true, she must’ve done something extreme—otherwise, how does a lone, seemingly weak girl survive when nine others didn’t? Second, she’s been surviving alone this whole time, and her desperation in the game proves she’s no ordinary person. She was likely after our ‘Dao.'”

Qiao Jiajin’s eyes widened in realization. “Ah… Dang it, I actually felt bad for her.”

“Of course, I could be completely wrong,” Qi Xia added. “I just don’t trust easily.”

Then he turned back to the other three. “By the way, hand over your ‘Dao.’ I need it.”