The earthen-yellow sun of the third day climbed once more into the crimson-dark sky. It should have been another day of stench and stillness, yet panic gripped Lin Ping and Zhang Chenze inside the massage parlor.
Because Qi Xia was gone.
They searched every corner of the shop, even feeling the chill of his blood on the bed as the wind blew over it—but he was nowhere to be found.
At the far end of the hallway, the native resident was still massaging the desiccated corpse, an unsettling sight.
“He left…” Zhang Chenze murmured, staring blankly toward the door. “Just like he said he would. He was tired. He gave up.”
“N-no, that can’t be!” Lin Ping found it hard to believe. “Maybe he was too worried about us and went to join a game by himself…”
“All twenty ‘Dao’ are still here.” Zhang Chenze picked up the small cloth pouch on the bed and waved it at Lin Ping. “Qi Xia didn’t take a single one. How could he even enter a game?”
Lin Ping fell silent, at a loss for words.
Where could Qi Xia have gone?
Injured and without any ‘Dao,’ what could he possibly do in his weakened state?
“Lawyer Zhang,” Lin Ping steadied herself and spoke slowly, “would you be willing to join me in a game?”
“Just the two of us?” Zhang Chenze blinked in surprise. “Are you confident?”
“I’m nowhere near as strong as Qi Xia, so we should stick to ‘Human-level’ games. If we win, great. If we lose, at least we won’t die. And if Qi Xia ever comes back, we’ll have enough ‘Dao’ to bring him in again.”
Zhang Chenze thought for a moment, then nodded.
Would Qi Xia really come back?
With only seven days left before annihilation, his injuries would only worsen in the coming days—there was no chance of recovery.
Could he truly return?
The two packed their things and stepped out of the massage parlor under the new sun.
—
Qi Xia staggered down the street, clutching a map drawn in blood.
He had never imagined that blood loss could make his limbs so unresponsive. After just over an hour of walking, cold sweat drenched his forehead.
He glanced at the map in his hand—it was his last hope.
**”Paradise’s Edge.”**
After three days of probing, Qi Xia had a rough understanding of this place.
Gathering three thousand six hundred ‘Dao’ through these games was as impossible as climbing to the heavens.
The rewards for each game were simply too meager.
Even if ‘Human-level’ games allowed betting one’s life to increase winnings, ‘Earth-level’ games offered no such opportunity—participants faced lethal dangers just by playing.
In other words, whether ‘Human-level’ or ‘Earth-level,’ earning substantial rewards required gambling one’s life without hesitation.
The most dangerous game Qi Xia had encountered so far was Earth Ox’s Black Bear Hunt. Without Qiao Jiazhen and Zhang Shan, it would have been a death sentence.
Yet even in such peril, the maximum reward was only twenty ‘Dao.’
If Qi Xia truly wanted to collect ‘Dao’ through games, he would need to survive **one hundred and eighty** games as deadly as Earth Ox’s—in perfect condition.
How many would die along the way? How many injuries would he sustain?
What were the odds he’d even make it to the end?
After a night of calculations, Qi Xia couldn’t find a survivable probability.
All paths led to one conclusion: **Paradise’s Edge was his only hope.**
Zhang Shan had mentioned that they’d met people who escaped this place—and even found an “Escaper’s Notes,” now in the hands of their leader, Chu Tianqiu.
Following the map Zhang Shan had left behind, Qi Xia trudged forward, finally arriving at Paradise’s Edge headquarters by noon.
It was an abandoned school.
The sign was too worn to tell if it had been an elementary or middle school, but the buildings and basketball court were unmistakable.
A man stood guard outside the gate, scanning the surroundings warily.
Clad in a tank top with his hair tied in a ponytail, he looked no older than fifteen or sixteen.
Qi Xia tightened the bandage on his shoulder and approached.
Spotting him, the boy tensed. “Liangren?”
“Liangren?” Qi Xia found the term odd but nodded. “I’m a Liangren.”
“You… need help that way?”
His accent and grammar were both peculiar.
“I…” Qi Xia hesitated before replying, “I want to see Chu Tianqiu.”
“See Brother Chu…” The boy frowned slightly. “Name?”
“Qi Xia.”
After a moment’s thought, the boy nodded. “Wait here, brother.”
He slipped inside, locked the gate, then sprinted toward the school building.
—
In the southernmost classroom on the first floor, a man in a black dress shirt and glasses scribbled rapidly on the blackboard.
Nearby, a stunning woman sat painting her nails.
“Brother Chu! Sister Yun Yao!” The ponytailed boy called from the doorway.
“Come in,” Yun Yao said without looking up.
The boy entered, bowed, and addressed the man in black. “Brother Chu, someone outside wants to see you that way.”
Chu Tianqiu didn’t pause his writing. “Name?”
“Qi Xia.”
“Qi Xia?” His hand froze mid-stroke. He took two steps left, scanning the densely packed text on the board.
Soon, he found the line he sought:
**[No. 87: Liar, Bamboo After Rain, Death From Heaven, Cunning Serpent.]**
Underlining it, he fell into thought.
“What is it?” Yun Yao asked. “You know him?”
“That’s an extraordinarily dangerous individual.” Chu Tianqiu smiled faintly. “The three Zodiacs overseeing Interview No. 87 were all half-step into ‘Earth.’ What kind of games do you think they designed?”
Yun Yao’s eyes widened. “A total wipeout?”
“No.” Chu Tianqiu shook his head. “Because of this ‘Qi Xia,’ nine people survived that interview.”
“**All of them?**” Yun Yao’s gaze sharpened. Then realization dawned. “Wait—Qi Xia… isn’t that the Liangren Glasses has been raving about lately?”
The ponytailed boy seemed to grasp something. “Brother Chu, should I bring him in that way?”
“No.” Chu Tianqiu raised a hand. “Kim Won-hoon, ask him one question for me.”
“A question?”
“Mm.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “Ask Qi Xia: **’Which day did you arrive?’**”
“But brother, if I ask him, will he understand that way?”
“Don’t worry. Consider it Chinese practice.” Chu Tianqiu chuckled.
Though puzzled, Kim Won-hoon knew Chu Tianqiu’s decisions were never careless. He nodded and left.
“I don’t get it.” Yun Yao blew on her nails and recapped the polish. “You call Qi Xia ‘extraordinarily dangerous,’ yet you won’t recruit him?”
Chu Tianqiu smiled. “Yun Yao… this is why **kings must never meet.**”
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