“Oh…?” Qi Xia’s expression also turned cold. “Is that how it is?”
Di Ma nodded. “In my game, I am the only rule. Anything I haven’t explicitly ‘allowed’ is ‘forbidden.'”
Hearing this, Qi Xia stared into Di Ma’s eyes once more, probing the motives hidden deep within her.
“Di Ma…” Qi Xia called out. “You just said you didn’t want to face us… So have you met us before?”
Noticing a slight shift in Di Ma’s expression, Qi Xia ventured further: “Where…?”
He studied her face closely, but the two words didn’t seem to faze her. So he changed his approach. “How long ago…?”
Di Ma frowned. Despite saying nothing, she felt as if this man was already seeing right through her.
“Ten years… more than ten years…?” Qi Xia pressed, his gaze unrelenting as he threw out phrases to provoke her. “Twenty years? Or even longer?”
“You…” Di Ma finally averted her eyes, turning her head away. “There’s no need to ask. We’re not on the same side now. Why should I give you any information?”
“Right…” Qi Xia narrowed his eyes and took a step forward, lowering his voice. “If you’ve been stuck here for over twenty years… why would you choose to become this… monstrosity?”
The words struck a nerve. As a woman, who would willingly trade their face for this grotesque form? Who would willingly wear this foul-smelling, fur-covered animal skin?
Qi Xia’s gaze lingered on Di Ma’s bizarrely lipsticked mouth, and his lips curled slightly. “Even a white horse has black lips… How pitiful. How much lipstick did you have to smear just to dye them red again?”
Di Ma’s eyes flickered with unmistakable sorrow. She had once found this lipstick on a dead participant and instantly treasured it.
She had thought that applying it might help her reclaim what little humanity she had left.
But no matter how much she smeared, the black lips of her equine form refused to show any trace of color. In desperation, she spread the lipstick further, staining the white fur around her mouth crimson.
Yes… only when her lips looked red could she feel like her complexion had improved.
But did this make her look more human?
No. It only made her feel more like a monster.
A white horse-headed abomination with blood-red lips—as if she had just feasted on human flesh.
Seeing the unmistakable despair in Di Ma’s eyes, Qi Xia softened his tone slightly. “Join us… in destroying this place.”
“Destroy—?!” Di Ma’s shock erased all traces of sorrow, replaced by panic. “What kind of nonsense are you spouting?! You’re just a ‘participant’!”
Her reaction told Qi Xia that the “Zodiacs” likely shared similar attitudes toward this idea.
“I’m just making a suggestion… You don’t have to take it,” Qi Xia replied. “But I’d like to know—what would it take for you to even consider the possibility?”
“You—!” A hot breath snorted from Di Ma’s black nostrils. “I… would never consider it…”
“Good.” Qi Xia’s tone was flat.
Their conversation ended on a sour note, and Qi Xia’s expression was no better than Di Ma’s.
Just how bizarre were the implications of what Di Ma had said?
Over twenty years…?
He was only twenty-six years old. Had he really been in this “Land of Finality” for more than twenty years?
What kind of absurd life was this?
Had he spent more time here than in the real world? Or were all his memories nothing but lies?
The others had no time to dwell on the two’s exchange—they had a far more pressing problem to face.
Since Di Ma had outright forbidden two people from riding together… didn’t that mean she would definitely throw a ball in the seventh round?
“Trickster…” Qiao Jiajin turned to Qi Xia. “Got any ideas?”
Snapping out of his thoughts, Qi Xia stroked his chin. “Nothing comes to mind yet.”
To his surprise, Qiao Jiajin grinned. “But I do.”
“You…?” Qi Xia felt a flicker of unease. “What’s your plan?”
Qiao Jiajin walked over and picked up the metal bat, flashing Qi Xia a confident smile. “This is my plan, Trickster.”
“That…?” Qi Xia frowned, already piecing it together. “Your plan seems…”
“Even if that horse woman throws the ball herself, I’ll knock every last one of them away with this bat.”
His simple declaration sent a ripple of concern through the group.
Using a metal bat to deflect a “ball” thrown by an Earth-level Zodiac… Wasn’t that the same as a regular “participant” challenging a Zodiac one-on-one?
“Are you serious…?” Qi Xia hesitated. “We have no idea what an ‘Earth-level’ is truly capable of. Do you really think you can stop her throws?”
“Exactly because we don’t know their limits that we have to try. Once we test it once, we’ll have a better idea for the future.” Qiao Jiajin swung the bat casually. “This round, we proceed as usual. Next round, everyone waits at the starting point… I’ll stake my life on knocking every last ball out of the air.”
Qi Xia knew that in non-strategy-based games like this, his role was limited. The team’s success hinged on the physical prowess of its strongest member.
But even if that female Di Ma had no combat or throwing training, her pitches would undoubtedly be anything but ordinary. What were the odds Qiao Jiajin could actually stop them?
The group quickly finalized their strategy, repositioned the cart, and had the relatively slender Yun Shijiu board first.
“Ready?” Qiao Jiajin asked.
“Ready!”
The others synced with his rhythm, mustering all their strength to send the cart hurtling forward. Unbalanced, it spun wildly as it shot down the track.
This round’s “Jumen” star attribute was still “earth,” but it was nothing like the previous one.
The traps launched globs of wet, muddy projectiles that streaked through the air, leaving trails of eerie smoke.
Yun Shijiu prided himself on his mental fortitude, but sitting in an unprotected cart speeding across ice while dodging a barrage of mud balls made his heart skip several beats.
Roller coasters were one thing, but a coaster with no safety restraints and deadly projectiles? How many people had ever experienced that?
Fortunately, Qi Xia’s strategy held up. The traps needed time to activate and the balls needed time to fly—by the time they were in motion, the cart was already long gone, making it nearly impossible to target.
As the cart came to a stop at the finish line, the group rushed to turn it around—only to find the previously fallen mud balls releasing thick smoke, engulfing the entire track in seconds.
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