Chapter 79: Strange Logic

Finally, at the last moment before being caught, Old Lu reached Qi Xia’s side.

“Kid Qi!! Murder!!” Old Lu pushed Qi Xia in front of himself. “You’ve got to save me…”

“What happened?” Qi Xia asked, confused.

Seeing Qi Xia blocking his path, A-Mu was visibly furious.

“Get out of the way!!”

Instead of moving aside, Qi Xia extended an arm to stop A-Mu.

“Hey, buddy, let’s talk this out. What exactly happened?” he asked urgently. “Did my teammate here piss you off?”

A-Mu gradually slowed to a stop, eyeing Qi Xia suspiciously. “Are you their leader?”

Qi Xia scratched his head at the question but didn’t answer directly. Instead, he said, “Just hold off on fighting for now. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Fine. Since you’re asking, I’ll let him die knowing why.” A-Mu growled viciously. “This old bastard just—”

Before he could finish, a metal box flew straight at A-Mu’s face.

He never expected the man in front of him to strike so suddenly. With no time to dodge, the box smashed into his nose.

Staggering briefly, A-Mu quickly regained his balance.

“Damn… You’ve got guts.”

Though his nose still throbbed, A-Mu realized the man before him wasn’t to be underestimated. If he let his guard down, he might very well be killed before “punishment” arrived.

No sooner had he steadied himself than Qi Xia threw another punch, landing squarely on his face again.

A-Mu had initially dismissed Qi Xia’s amateurish stance, assuming the punch wouldn’t do much. Yet the impact sent him crashing to the ground, his temple throbbing with pain.

Before he could react, Qi Xia stomped hard on his jaw, leaving him unable to get up.

Seeing his opponent incapacitated, Qi Xia slowly dropped the lock he’d been gripping. A hit like that to the temple would keep most people down for good.

“Who cares what happened?” Qi Xia said coldly. “You dare lay a hand on my teammate… If you play the game, be ready to lose.”

Just then, Baldie and Goldie arrived on the scene.

Qi Xia found it odd—why were their cabinet doors open too?

Had they cracked the password right after them?

“A-Mu!”

The two rushed forward, only to find A-Mu already beaten to the ground.

“Kill them…” A-Mu gasped weakly. “If we don’t act now, we’ll be punished…”

“Damn it!” The two stood up, each pulling out a folding knife from their pockets.

At the sight, both Qi Xia and Old Lu took a step back.

Though Qi Xia had fought ruthlessly, facing two knife-wielding thugs with full focus left him with no clear counter.

“Hey! Earth Dog!!” Qi Xia shouted through gritted teeth. “Players fighting each other—aren’t you going to stop this?!”

A few seconds passed before Earth Dog’s sluggish voice echoed from a distance. “Stop it? Of course! But hold on, I’m packing up right now. I’ll deal with it later.”

“Hah…” Baldie slowly raised his knife. “The ‘Zodiacs’ want us to kill each other in the games. Why would they interfere?”

Qi Xia’s expression darkened. He never imagined the rules tacitly allowed players to slaughter one another.

Back when they’d fought Zhang Shan in Earth Ox’s game, Earth Ox had only stepped in at the last moment.

This time, things were bound to be worse.

“Old Lu… take Zhang Chenze and run,” Qi Xia whispered. “The room I was in has a window. Break it and escape.”

“Kid Qi… what about you?!” Old Lu panicked.

“I’ll find a way to handle them.”

“You—” Old Lu’s eyes darted before he made up his mind. “Fine! Be careful!”

He turned, grabbed Zhang Chenze’s hand, and dashed into the room. Shoving Jiang Ruoxue aside from her seat, he lifted a chair and smashed the window.

“Go!” Old Lu yelled at Lawyer Zhang. “Those guys are desperate—they’ll really kill people!”

Jiang Ruoxue, standing nearby, watched the two with amusement, a faint smile curling her lips.

“No, I can’t leave,” Zhang Chenze said. “Sir, please don’t touch me.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Old Lu felt the girl was being absurdly stubborn. “We’re running for our lives here! What’s wrong with grabbing your hand?!”

“If Qi Xia isn’t leaving, neither am I,” Zhang Chenze replied. “If you want to run, go ahead.”

With that, she picked up a long shard of glass from the floor, gripped it in a reverse hold, and turned to head for the door.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Old Lu was nearly frantic. He grabbed her wrist. “What are you gonna do with that piece of junk? They’ve got knives!”

“Please don’t touch me.” A chill flashed in Zhang Chenze’s eyes. “If we want to survive here, running isn’t enough. I’ll fight them head-on.”

Jiang Ruoxue burst into laughter at their exchange.

“You two are just too funny…” She covered her mouth, giggling at the worst possible moment.

Both of them glanced at her but ignored her.

Old Lu kept pleading with Zhang Chenze. “Kid, haven’t you watched TV? People who could’ve escaped but go back to die—that’s just making things worse! Isn’t that what you’re doing?”

Zhang Chenze thought for a moment. “If Qi Xia is alone, his chances of dying are high. But if I join the fight armed, our combined survival odds increase exponentially.”

“What kind of nonsense—” Old Lu was baffled. “You think waving a glass shard will magically make things better?”

Jiang Ruoxue couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Zhang Chenze asked.

“I…” Jiang Ruoxue stepped closer. “Tell me, how exactly do you plan to take on those two?”

“I don’t know,” Zhang Chenze admitted, eyeing the glass in her hand. “If I’m lucky, I can stab one in the throat.”

Jiang Ruoxue slowly reached out and clasped Zhang Chenze’s hand, speaking deliberately. “Sister, you need to understand the ‘logical relationship’ here.”

“Logical relationship?” Zhang Chenze frowned.

“Exactly. Like you said yourself,” Jiang Ruoxue grinned, “your presence increases both your and Qi Xia’s survival odds. So if you show up, you *will* kill one of them. And to kill one, you *must* stab their throat with that glass. It’s all predetermined—so don’t say ‘if I’m lucky.’”

“What do you mean…?” Zhang Chenze still didn’t get it. “Aren’t you on their side?”

“When death’s at my doorstep, why would I care about teams?” Jiang Ruoxue released her hand. “Go on. There’s a life waiting for you to take.”