“The logical connection…”
No matter what, this superpower called “Echo” was beyond everyone’s comprehension.
In this eerie place, there were not only godlike individuals but also lunatics roaming the streets. Countless participants were being slaughtered indiscriminately, and now they could even gain superpowers… If this wasn’t a nightmare, who would believe it?
“Xia Qi…” Zhang Chenze looked at Xia Qi’s injuries, her expression filled with concern. “You didn’t fool Jiang Ruoxue earlier. What do we do now?”
“Fool?” Xia Qi clutched his wound and shook his head. “I wasn’t trying to fool anyone. I really meant to give up.”
“Huh?” The two of them were genuinely taken aback. “You’re really giving up?”
“Yes.” Xia Qi’s eyes were as lifeless as stagnant water. “Someone stabbed a gaping hole in me. There’s no way I can keep playing this game.”
Neither Zhang Chenze nor Lin Qin had expected Xia Qi to give up so decisively. For a moment, they were at a loss.
“Don’t lose heart. I know a bit about bandaging,” Lin Qin said. “Let’s find a place to stop the bleeding first. There are still many days ahead—it’s too early to give up.”
“Stop the bleeding…” Xia Qi looked up at the sky. The day had dragged on endlessly, yet it was only evening.
“Xia Qi…” Zhang Chenze chimed in. “You have the best chance out of all of us to collect 3,600 ‘Dao.’ If you give up, we really don’t know what to do.”
…
The three of them took shelter in a rundown massage parlor.
According to Zhang Chenze’s reasoning, massage parlors had private rooms and beds, at least giving Xia Qi a place to rest and recover.
Like most buildings here, the interior was in complete disrepair, but they managed to find some fabric curtains.
Lin Qin tore the curtains into strips, preparing to bandage the wound.
Zhang Chenze tidied up a clean armchair, and together they helped Xia Qi sit down before removing his shirt.
His shirt was completely soaked in blood, heavy to the touch. The slightest twist sent rivulets of blood dripping to the floor.
At that moment, they finally understood—just as Xia Qi had said, his injuries weren’t just making it impossible to continue the game; even standing required all his strength.
Lin Qin examined the wound and felt a chill run down her spine.
The bald man had twisted the dagger after stabbing Xia Qi’s shoulder.
That single motion had turned what should have been a clean cut into a grotesque, blossoming wound—like a red flower of torn flesh. Not only was the skin and muscle on the surface completely shredded, but internal tissue might have been damaged as well.
“We can’t stitch this…” Lin Qin said. “Bear with it for now. I’ll bandage it.”
“Bandaging alone won’t work.” Xia Qi pulled out an old metal lighter from his pocket. “Find a dry piece of wood. Lighting it can cauterize the wound.”
“This…” Lin Qin hesitated as she took the lighter. “It’s going to hurt…”
“It’s fine…” Just as Xia Qi was about to speak, a faint sound caught his attention.
It was rhythmic, like something repeatedly hitting a wall.
“What’s that?”
“Shh!” Xia Qi silenced them and listened carefully. “I think there’s someone else in this building.”
“Someone?” The two immediately lowered their voices and strained to listen. There was indeed a sound coming from somewhere inside.
“Could be a local…” Xia Qi slowly stood up. “No telling if they’re dangerous. Let’s find another place.”
“No, your injury won’t allow you to move around anymore. I’ll go check,” Zhang Chenze said. “If there was any danger, we’d already be dead after being here this long.”
“Don’t…” Xia Qi reached out to stop her, but Zhang Chenze was always quick to act. In a flash, she was already out the door. Left with no choice, Xia Qi turned to Lin Qin. “Go after her. There’s no need to take risks.”
Lin Qin nodded and hurried after her.
The massage parlor wasn’t large—just four partitioned rooms along a narrow hallway. Within seconds, Zhang Chenze found the source of the noise.
After a brief pause, she knocked on the door.
“Chenze!” Lin Qin whispered urgently. “Be careful of the ‘locals’!”
“The locals shouldn’t hurt us.” Receiving no response, Zhang Chenze pushed the door open.
The moment the door swung aside, a putrid stench assaulted them, forcing both women back a step.
Inside, a gaunt man stood with his back to the door, massaging a “client” on the bed.
The sight that greeted them sent a shiver down their spines.
True, the locals didn’t harm people.
But their actions were enough to chill anyone to the bone.
The “client” lying on the bed was nothing more than a desiccated corpse. Yet the emaciated man crossed his hands and continued pressing down on the corpse’s back.
He must have been at it for a long time—the corpse’s back had been flattened, and foul-smelling fluid had splattered all over the bed.
“Sir… is the pressure alright… sir… is the pressure alright…”
The man repeated the question mechanically as he forcefully pressed down.
His hands struck the bed frame through the corpse, producing a dull thud—thump, thump.
The two women stood frozen in place, unable to move.
Xia Qi slowly approached from behind and reached past them to close the door.
“Don’t let it get to you.”
With that, he found a relatively clean room and sat on the bed. “Go find some wood.”
Lin Qin snapped out of her daze, realizing stopping Xia Qi’s bleeding was the top priority. She hurried off to search for dry wood.
Meanwhile, Zhang Chenze stared at the closed door, lost in thought. After a few seconds, she asked, “Xia Qi… do you think these people were once like us?”
Xia Qi didn’t answer. Instead, he said, “Lawyer Zhang, don’t act so impulsively in the future. What if the room hadn’t been a local, but a group of desperate killers like that bald man earlier? What would you have done?”
Zhang Chenze lowered her head slightly. “I let my concern cloud my judgment. If we couldn’t rest here, your injury would only get worse.”
“Concern clouding judgment?” Xia Qi felt a pang of awkwardness. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Lawyer Zhang, you should know I saved you from that giant microwave only because it was necessary to win the game. It doesn’t mean I have any special regard for you.”
“I know…” Zhang Chenze nodded. “Maybe it’s because of what happened to Officer Li. Seeing such a good person die right in front of me… I’m afraid you’ll end up the same way.”
“Such a good person…?” Xia Qi fell silent.
He recalled the story Officer Li had shared with him in his final moments.
Could Officer Li really be called a “good person”?
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