Following Saturday’s instructions, Qi Xia and Qian Wu’s team advanced in tandem with Chen Junan’s team. After saving about half the time, they finally encountered that group by the roadside.
This team was different from both Qi Xia’s and Qiao Jiajin’s squads—neither entirely unscathed nor entirely injured.
Among them, two looked as good as dead, while the rest, including the leader, were lively and energetic.
What kind of bizarre situation was this?
“Well, well!!” Chen Junan waved cheerfully at Qi Xia and the others. “If it isn’t Old Qi, Old Qiao, Little Qian Dou, Big Brother Li, and Weekend! What a coincidence! Are you guys waiting here with your teammates for rescue too? Oh my, Old Qiao, you’ve lost weight! And Little Qian Dou, you—”
The sentence was clearly too long, and Chen Junan ran out of breath halfway through.
“Cut the nonsense,” Qi Xia said. “Rescue first.”
As soon as Qi Xia spoke, his gaze settled on little Jiang Shi.
The child was standing quietly to the side, holding his own grotesquely disfigured head. The single remaining lazy eye on the head darted around, looking utterly horrifying.
“This kid is—”
“*Unlucky* Jiang Shi,” Chen Junan said.
“*You’re* the unlucky one!” the head in Jiang Shi’s arms shouted. “Your whole family’s unlucky! I’m *Undying*! I… though, uh, I’m kinda close to dying now…”
“Fine, fine, you’re *Undying*. But if we don’t save you soon, you really *will* be unlucky…” Chen Junan sighed and looked up at Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin. “Old Qi, Old Qiao, what kind of team do I have here? One *Unlucky* Jiang Shi, and over there, a *Self-Destruct* Song Qi. Even a brilliant leader like me can’t keep things under control. These two are practically the *strongest shield* and the *strongest spear* in the *Land of the End*—one got his head knocked off while getting beaten up and now carries it around, and the other nearly blew himself up while attacking someone else and is still howling in pain.”
“Hold on—” Song Qi gritted his teeth. “Leader, I haven’t made a single sound.”
“Alright, alright, I meant the Earth Rabbit was howling.” Chen Junan nodded vigorously. “You didn’t make a peep. I hereby crown you *Beijing’s Toughest Man*.”
“Leader… I’m not from Beijing either…”
Chen Junan’s rambling left Qiao Jiajin and Officer Li chuckling bitterly. Having Chen Junan as their leader must have been some kind of karmic fortune for this team.
Qi Xia ignored Chen Junan, instead marveling at how someone could still talk without a head attached. Looking closer, the child was covered in wounds—his legs were broken, half his face seemed torn off, yet the torn skin wasn’t bleeding.
The severed neck and the base of his head revealed a pitch-black void, as if his body was filled with an abyss like the vast cosmos. On closer inspection, it even seemed to writhe slightly. Was this still a human?
Qi Xia frowned, feeling like he’d seen this state before. If his suspicions were correct… this was the most terrifying scenario possible.
*Even if Xuanwu had its head cut off, it wouldn’t die.*
Qian Wu gave Saturday a look, and she immediately stepped forward, taking Jiang Shi’s head and placing it back on his neck.
“Jiang Shi, bear with it,” Saturday said. “I’ll have Fifth Brother reforge you.”
Qian Wu glanced at the nearby group, realizing none of their physiques matched Jiang Shi’s small frame. With a sigh, he stepped forward and placed his left hand directly on Jiang Shi’s body.
The current body belonged to Luo Shiyi—much taller and broader than Jiang Shi’s original form. Though it didn’t fit his clothes, saving him took priority.
The moment Qian Wu made contact, Jiang Shi’s body began to change—though this transformation was far slower than before. He expanded like an inflating balloon, his bones cracking, while sweat poured down Qian Wu’s forehead.
Qi Xia roughly understood the downside of Qian Wu’s ability. *Twin Flowers* was never meant to be a healing power. Constantly swapping bodies in a short time must have placed a heavy burden on Qian Wu himself. After overusing his ability these past two days, even *Twin Flowers* must have left his mind foggy.
Qiao Jiajin, who’d never seen Qian Wu’s methods before, gasped in shock as he watched the headless boy being revived. “Wow! Shapeshifter, you’re a real cheat—”
Before he could finish, Qi Xia and Chen Junan simultaneously rushed over and covered his mouth.
“Mmph—?!” Qiao Jiajin’s eyes widened in confusion.
“Fists, shut up for now…” Qi Xia said sternly. “Qian Wu’s using *Echo* to heal. If you blurt it out, things could go wrong.”
“Yeah, Old Qiao,” Chen Junan added urgently. “The bell earlier was obviously yours! If you start spouting nonsense now—at best, Qian Wu loses control. At worst, his meridians rupture!”
“And *you* shut up too!” Qi Xia hissed. “Just wait until Qian Wu’s done… Fists is in *Echo* right now. It’s too risky.”
Only when they saw Qiao Jiajin nod in understanding did they release his mouth.
“Damn… is my *Echo* that scary? I can’t even talk freely?” Qiao Jiajin muttered, shaken.
The two merely frowned at him, refusing to answer.
Saturday, seeing Jiang Shi’s neck and head fully fused, finally let go.
Jiang Shi slowly opened his eyes. The mismatched proportions of his new body and youthful face made him look like an oversized child—grotesquely out of place, but at least he was alive.
“There’s another kid in the prison,” Qian Wu said. “Zheng Yingxiong…? I’ll swap your body again later. For now, just bear with this one.”
Jiang Shi tested his neck, then nodded. “Actually, no need to swap again, Fifth Brother. This body’s way better than Ninth Sister’s last time. I feel tall and strong now—couldn’t be happier…”
“Good.”
Qian Wu patted Jiang Shi’s shoulder before moving to treat Song Qi’s injuries. Song Qi’s wounds were lighter than Jiang Shi’s, and his recovery was nearly instantaneous. But Qian Wu’s face grew increasingly pale. Wiping sweat from his brow, he sat down, steadying his breathing.
Qi Xia glanced at Qian Wu, then at the now lively Jiang Shi, his brow furrowing deeper.
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