“But the rest of you…” Qi Xia said, “I have a very challenging task for you.”
Everyone turned their gaze to Qi Xia, silently awaiting his instructions.
“If I’m not mistaken, this cart will be attacked every eight meters on the way to the finish line and every six meters on the way back.” Qi Xia glanced at Bai Jiu after speaking. “Am I correct?”
“Correct!” Bai Jiu nodded. “That’s exactly how it is.”
“So, I need your cart to accelerate from around seven meters to nine or ten meters when moving forward.” Qi Xia paused to gather his thoughts before continuing, “This task might be a bit difficult for you, but if the goal is ‘to survive,’ it should still be achievable.”
“Understood!” The group nodded in unison. “Though this task would be hard for other participants… we are, after all, ‘Cats.’ Leave the teamwork to us.”
After this interaction, Qi Xia had gained a rough understanding of the “Cats.”
It seemed that the number of powerful “Echoers” among the “Cats” wasn’t particularly high. Compared to the current “Paradise,” they were slightly inferior—after all, the “Echoers” who had revealed themselves in “Paradise,” such as Zhang Shan, Aunt Tong, Jin Yuanxun, and Yun Yao, were no ordinary individuals, and their numbers far exceeded those of the “Cats.”
However, the “Cats” had their own distinct advantages. They were far more united, fearless, like a steel army. They obeyed only Qian Wu’s orders and were willing to face death without hesitation.
The group had already positioned themselves on either side of the cart, while Qiao Jiajin stood in front of it.
“Everyone…” Qiao Jiajin said, “This round might be worse than you imagined…”
“Brother Qiao, don’t say any more.” Bai Jiu shook his head. “You have no idea how bad our original expectations were. If not for you, someone would definitely be dead by now.”
“But the current situation isn’t much better.” Qiao Jiajin replied. “I may have to focus entirely on countering the balls thrown by the Horsewoman… As for the rest of you…”
“We’ll take responsibility for our own lives.” Bai Jiu said firmly. “Brother Qi just gave us a strategy. If we coordinate well… there shouldn’t be any major problems.”
Qiao Jiajin nodded. “Then it’s settled… I leave my back to you…”
“Don’t worry, Brother Qiao!”
The group glanced at the Horsewoman, then at the three-minute countdown on the wall, before stepping onto this hellish journey.
Qiao Jiajin swung his metal bat continuously, eyes locked on the Horsewoman’s every move as he inched forward.
The group maintained a few steps’ distance behind him. Just before reaching the eight-meter mark, Yun Shijiu quickly moved to the front while the others pushed the cart forward.
At that moment, traps on both sides launched a barrage of “balls,” seemingly combining all the attributes from the previous six rounds into one assault.
Ning Shiba didn’t participate in pushing the cart this time. She stood beside the group, one hand resting on Saturday’s shoulder, watching anxiously.
“‘Greedy Wolf’ round… governing ‘Fortune and Misfortune’…” she muttered softly. “What awaits us—’Fortune’ or ‘Misfortune’?”
“Tch…” Though Saturday’s tone was impatient, her furrowed brows betrayed her worry. “What are you doing? Stop talking. Later, come back with me to see Fifth Brother.”
“Sister Six…” Ning Shiba lowered her head, tears slowly falling. “How could there be ‘Fortune’ for us here…? What awaits us can only be ‘Misfortune’…”
“Stop spouting nonsense!” Saturday wrapped an arm around Ning Shiba’s waist to steady her, her eyes brimming with concern. “Tch, Little Eighteen, are you delirious from pain? What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”
“Sister Six…” Ning Shiba seemed truly overwhelmed by pain, her voice choked with sobs. “Do you know… I’ve cast countless divinations for us… But… how do we get out of here…?”
“Shut up.” Saturday snapped harshly, but then gently patted Ning Shiba’s arm. “We’ll be fine, Little Eighteen. All of us will be fine.”
After speaking, she turned and shot Luo Shiyi a meaningful glance.
Luo Shiyi understood immediately, raising a hand to lightly touch Ning Shiba’s back. “Little Eighteen, Sister Six is right. We’ll all be fine.”
A wave of “Forget Sorrow” passed through Ning Shiba’s body, numbing the excruciating pain that had wracked her. The sudden relief made her feel as if she had ascended to heaven.
“Sister Six…” Ning Shiba blinked slowly a few times. “I’ve cast so many divinations for us…”
In the distance, Yun Shijiu stopped the cart at around ten meters, bringing it to a steady halt as all the traps gradually ceased their attacks.
Though Qi Xia’s strategy had been somewhat challenging, for the “Cats,” who had carried out countless missions together, it was nothing extraordinary.
Just as the group was about to relax, the Horsewoman slowly twisted her body and raised the stone ball high above her head.
Qiao Jiajin immediately signaled for everyone to take cover behind him, gripping the metal bat with both hands.
Would they live or die when this stone ball came hurtling toward them?
The Horsewoman drew the stone ball behind her head and, with an amateurish stance, hurled it with tremendous force.
In that instant, Qiao Jiajin realized just how naive he had been.
The moment the ball left her hand, a deafening sound erupted as it shot through the air like a pitch-black streak, heading straight for the space behind Qiao Jiajin.
Before Qiao Jiajin could even raise his arms, a sharp crack echoed from the distance.
The eyes of the group trembled before they slowly turned to look at Ning Shiba in the distance.
A perfectly circular hole had been punched through her abdomen by the speeding stone ball, yet her expression remained unchanged, save for the slow trickle of blood from her lips.
“I’ve been divining for five years…” Ning Shiba coughed lightly, then turned to Saturday. “Sister Six, I’ve divined for all of us… But not a single reading was ‘auspicious’… What do we do…?”
Blood poured from her mouth like an open faucet, splattering crimson everywhere.
Saturday’s face twisted with barely contained fury, yet her trembling hand gently rested on Ning Shiba’s pale cheek as she whispered, “Little Eighteen, no more divinations. No more. Just rest now.”
“It’s so exhausting, Sister Six…” Ning Shiba slowly leaned her head against Saturday’s shoulder. “We can’t escape…”
Her voice grew fainter until, against Saturday’s shoulder, it faded into silence.
The expressions of every “Cat” on the field shifted at that moment, all sharing the same thought…
What would it cost to kill the Horsewoman here?
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