Chapter 495: The Strongest Spear

“Huh?” Jiang Shi was taken aback. “Wait a second… Did I hear that right? You want to reattach my head?”

“Yeah, you’re way too ‘down’ right now. It’s not a good look.”

“‘Not a good look’…? Have you ever had your head knocked off before?”

“Uh…” Chen Junnan pondered seriously for a moment before replying, “Probably not knocked off, but definitely blown up.”

“Is that the same thing?” Jiang Shi, who had seemed fearless just moments ago, suddenly grew nervous. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this idiot leader in front of him was utterly unreliable.

“You’re already like this…” Chen Junnan cradled Jiang Shi’s head in his arms and rummaged through his pockets for a while before pulling out a black metal hairpin. “I figure you can’t get much worse, pain-wise… Your wound doesn’t look like flesh—more like a sculpture. I’ll just pin your head back to your body with this, like a dough figurine.”

“Eh…?” Jiang Shi blinked in disbelief after hearing the plan. “Wait, that doesn’t make sense… This hairpin’s so short, won’t my head just fall off again? If I run, it’ll drop right off! And it’s filthy… covered in mud!”

“Still better than you carrying your head around! Stop whining!” Chen Junnan wiped the black grime off the hairpin, then positioned Jiang Shi’s head in place. “So, yes or no? Want me to attach it or not?”

“Uh…” Jiang Shi pursed his lips. “F-Fine, go ahead…”

“It’s gonna hurt like hell.”

“I’m already in pain…”

“Alright then!” Chen Junnan felt the dry, wood-like surface of Jiang Shi’s severed neck before driving the black metal hairpin straight down, leaving the pointed end sticking out.

“Owwww—!!” Jiang Shi’s head screamed from under Chen Junnan’s arm. “That hurts so much!! Did you hit my spine?! What if I’m paralyzed?!”

“Oh, shut up…” Chen Junnan lifted Jiang Shi’s head with a sigh. “I’m actually curious—how does pain travel to your head when your body’s detached?”

“That’s not weird at all…” Jiang Shi muttered. “When my arm got torn off once, it could still move on its own… even crawled around on the ground…”

“Okay, okay…” Chen Junnan, on the verge of losing his sanity trying to understand Jiang Shi’s physiology, quickly cut him off. “Kid, grit your teeth. I’m putting your head back on!”

“Ah! Got it!” Jiang Shi instantly clenched his eyes shut and bit down hard.

Seizing the moment, Chen Junnan raised Jiang Shi’s head and—*snap*—plugged it back onto his neck.

“AAAAHHHH!!” Jiang Shi stood frozen, eyes wide, howling in agony as his arms flailed uncontrollably. “My head hurts! My head hurts! MY HEAD HURTS!!”

“Uh…”

Chen Junnan couldn’t help but feel guilty seeing Jiang Shi like this, but at least now the kid could move freely with both hands. And honestly, he looked more human than before—so it was progress, right?

“Kid… you… okay?”

“Okay my ass!!” Jiang Shi shrieked. “No—I mean, my head’s NOT okay! It hurts inside!”

Tears welled up in Jiang Shi’s eyes, and Chen Junnan’s heart ached. Despite having just met, this kid had already endured more than enough.

“Then… should I take it off again…?” Chen Junnan offered with a wry smile. “You can just carry your head while running?”

“N-No need…” Jiang Shi gritted his teeth and tested his neck. The hairpin was just the right length—his head stayed firmly in place, even if the pain inside was excruciating. Still, the more he thought about it, the weirder it felt. He really did resemble a dough figurine now, with broken limbs held together by metal.

“Where’s my sword…?” Jiang Shi turned and bent down to search the ground. The sudden movement nearly dislodged his head again, forcing him to steady it with one hand while grabbing Lü Dongbin’s enchanted sword with the other to use as a cane. “This… should work…”

“Tch…” Chen Junnan frowned at him. “You mind locking the door, then?”

“No problem…”

Fortunately, Jiang Shi was tougher than most kids. Though limping, he managed to hobble over to the door where the Earth Rabbit had gone and—*click*—locked it.

“So what now…?” Jiang Shi asked. “Where do we…?”

“Just follow my lead.” Chen Junnan smirked and lowered his voice. “From now on, unless I speak, no one says a word.”

“Uh… got it…”

In Room Ten, the Earth Rabbit pricked up its ears, its expression slowly darkening as it listened.

This team was… bizarre.

That guy who had challenged it to a bet had pulled off a classic “relieve the besieged by besieging the base” tactic—while it was busy cornering him, he’d gone straight for the kid and revived him.

“Sounds like you even locked the door…” The Earth Rabbit’s ears and nose twitched as it strained to catch every sound in the arena.

“「Participants」 turn ends. 「Zodiac」 may now act.”

Without hesitation, the Earth Rabbit entered Room Six—the same room Chen Junnan had been taunting it from earlier. Just one more turn, and it would catch up to Chen Junnan and that unkillable brat. Even if they locked doors, one of them would inevitably be left behind.

“That’s right…” The Earth Rabbit grinned. “I’ll kill you all… right here…”

Its eyes glazed over as murderous thoughts flooded its mind. A strange figure seemed to flicker in its vision, and all it could think about was tearing that person to shreds.

When it snapped back to reality, the Earth Rabbit found itself standing in the center of the room, as if it had just experienced an imperceptible hallucination.

“What just… happened?” It touched its head in confusion.

Had it… spaced out?

“「Zodiac」 turn ends. 「Participants」 turn begins.”

Just as the Earth Rabbit was convinced of its impending victory, a figure flashed through the open door to the north. A lean man with a braid stepped inside, closed the door behind him, and stood silently before it.

“You—”

“I’m Song Qi.” The man stated calmly. “This name ensures a fair duel between us in the 「Final Land」. No one will interfere until a victor is decided.”

“What the hell…?” The Earth Rabbit was baffled. In all its years running this game, it had never seen anyone willingly approach it—let alone hunt it down. “How did you get here?”

“My turn, right?” Song Qi stared at the Earth Rabbit intently. “I’ll make the first move?”

Though wary, the Earth Rabbit wasn’t afraid—Song Qi was still too far away to pose an immediate threat. Still, it studied the man cautiously, trying to anticipate his attack.

“Then I won’t hold back.” Song Qi pulled a small stone from his pocket, rubbed it with his thumb, and tossed it lightly toward the Earth Rabbit.

The Earth Rabbit wasn’t stupid. It knew Song Qi’s last thrown stone had been a bluff—but now, trapped in the same room, every move was life or death. There was no way this was another feint. It hastily crossed its arms in defense.

“「Exhaustion」…?” The Earth Rabbit’s eyes locked onto the stone—only for it to suddenly spark with electricity midair.

“Oh no—!”

Before it could react, the stone struck its forearm and erupted in a searing explosion.

***BOOM!!***

A blast of heat engulfed the room. The Earth Rabbit’s arm erupted in flames, the force hurling it backward like Jiang Shi had been earlier—slamming it hard against the wall.