Chapter 765: A Normal Dog

“You’re trading Old Qi for fruits and little cakes…?” Chen Junnan blinked. “What kind of exchange rate is that…?”

Qiao Jiajin turned to Qi Xia in surprise: “Liar… you can do that? Can you trade for beer too?”

“Trade me?” Qi Xia said. “With whom?”

Zhang Chenze sighed, her face tinged with sorrow: “The irony is… I’m the only one who remembers this now. The rest are all…”

Then, as if realizing something, she shook her head and added, “Sorry, that was a bit one-sided. Now that Qin Dingdong is back, it’s just her and me who remember. Everyone else is dead.”

“Let’s not focus on them being dead for now,” Qi Xia said. “Tell me who that ‘Zodiac’ is.”

Zhang Chenze nodded and handed Qi Xia a slip of paper.

“This is a rough map I just drew,” she said with a wry smile. “Though I’m not particularly interested in little cakes or fruits, we did promise that ‘Zodiac.’ It wouldn’t be fair to him if we backed out unilaterally.”

Qi Xia took the paper and gave a slight nod.

“But it’s also unfair to just send you there without warning,” Zhang Chenze continued. “I don’t know what kind of danger you might face. So I’ve passed on the message—whether you go or not is up to you.”

“Got it,” Qi Xia replied before asking, “Lawyer Zhang, what ‘Zodiac’ is he?”

“A ‘Dog,'” she answered.

“Dog…” Qi Xia murmured, then asked, “Under what circumstances did he say he wanted to see me?”

Zhang Chenze thought carefully before answering: “Around the third day, the four of us finished the ‘Earth Dog’ game. It was getting late, and we were all a bit injured, so we rested at his venue overnight. The next morning, when he came back to work, he stopped us as we were about to leave and suddenly—out of nowhere—asked to see you.”

“That’s it…?” Qi Xia frowned. “He mentioned me first?”

“Yes,” Zhang Chenze nodded. “None of us had brought up your name before that.”

Qi Xia examined the map Zhang Chenze had given him and realized the location matched the one marked as “Dog” on Qinglong’s map.

“Another identity confirmed,” Qi Xia said.

“What…?” Zhang Chenze paused.

Qi Xia didn’t answer, but Chen Junnan stepped forward: “Big-shot lawyer, what’s that ‘Dog’ like?”

“What do you mean by ‘like’…?” Zhang Chenze asked.

“His character,” Chen Junnan clarified. “Is he a creep? Gross or not?”

“Well…” Zhang Chenze chuckled. “He *is* our ‘enemy’… It’s hard for me to have any goodwill toward him. But objectively speaking, aside from trying to kill us, he didn’t do anything particularly outrageous. Overall, he seemed pretty normal.”

“I see…” Qiao Jiajin shook his head. “Lawyer sis, I feel like describing someone as ‘normal’ here is already high praise.”

“Hmm… true enough,” Zhang Chenze nodded.

“A normal ‘Dog’…” Qi Xia repeated the words.

This unremarkable “Dog” had also appeared in Earth Tiger’s accounts.

“See!” Chen Junnan turned to Qi Xia. “Old Qi, you were absolutely right. These people definitely—”

“I know,” Qi Xia cut him off. “Enough. I’m going.”

“To see the Dog first?” Chen Junnan asked. “You sure you don’t want us to come with…?”

“I’m sure,” Qi Xia nodded, pocketing the slip of paper before turning back to Zhang Chenze. “Don’t worry. If he gives me the little cakes and fruits, I’ll bring them back for you.”

Zhang Chenze smiled and shook her head. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“I know,” Qi Xia said flatly. “But those things aren’t useful for the three of us anyway.”

“Alright,” Zhang Chenze nodded. “I’ve passed on the message. I won’t keep you.”

Watching the ever-precise Zhang Chenze bow politely before gracefully turning to leave, the others weren’t sure how to respond.

Qi Xia steadied himself and said, “I’ll head out then. See you tonight.”

Qiao Jiajin seemed about to say something, but Chen Junnan subtly held him back.

“Alright, Old Qi, go ahead. We’ll sweep and cook while waiting for you.”

Qi Xia nodded and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Once he was gone, Qiao Jiajin gave Chen Junnan a puzzled look: “Junnanjie… what’s the plan? We’re really not going with Liar?”

“Old Qi’s working toward his own goal, and we’ve got our own place to be,” Chen Junnan said. “Remember that big rat from before?”

“Oh!” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “That sarcastic old mouse!”

“We got info about the fat monkey from him. Now let’s ask if he knows anything about the others…” Chen Junnan’s expression darkened. “I don’t know exactly what that rat knows… but something tells me the ‘eight people’ he mentioned might be connected to the ‘eight’ on Old Qi’s map.”

“But who *is* that rat…?” Qiao Jiajin frowned. “Liar’s map doesn’t have him either…”

“Then we’ll see if he’s willing to tell us the truth,” Chen Junnan said. “We get along with him, so let’s dig for info. Maybe we can help Old Qi indirectly.”

Qiao Jiajin nodded. “Good point. Let’s hurry, then.”

“Yeah, let’s go before it gets dark!” Chen Junnan said. “If we don’t leave soon, we’re in trouble…”

Just as they were about to step out, a figure blocked the doorway.

Chen Junnan’s expression stiffened as if facing a natural disaster.

“D-Dongjie…?”

Qin Dingdong ignored him, instead smiling at Qiao Jiajin: “Hey, Ajin, your muscles are still as solid as ever. Good to see you in such high spirits.”

“Uh…?” Qiao Jiajin was momentarily speechless. “So you’re…”

“You damn bastard…” Qin Dingdong’s face suddenly twisted in anger as she snapped at Chen Junnan. “Chen Junnan! Where the hell are you running off to this time?! Am I some kind of monster?!”

“N-No…” Chen Junnan gulped. “Dongjie, I wasn’t running—we were just about to get you…”

“You better have been!” Qin Dingdong yelled. “I don’t care where you’re going—I’m tagging along! Deal with it!”