“You ask me…if I lack women?” Zhuque’s eyebrows twitched slightly upon hearing this, revealing a meaningful smile.
“You—you can make me do anything…bro…” Xiao Ran’s face twisted into an unbearably ugly grin. “I can provide any kind of service…just please don’t kill me?”
“Hoh.” Zhuque feigned surprise, his smile not reaching his eyes. “Xiao Ran, you know what? I’ve killed countless people, but this is the first time I’ve heard such a plea for mercy.”
Xiao Ran’s trembling hand reached out, grasping Zhuque’s pale arm.
“Bro…I-I’m not begging for mercy…I want to become ‘one of your own’…” Xiao Ran’s face was a mess, caught between crying and laughing. “I never knew there were rules to being a ‘Zodiac’…I just made a tiny mistake…there’s no need for this…”
“Ah!!” Zhuque suddenly let out a sharp cry, startling everyone present.
Xiao Ran collapsed onto the ground.
Zhuque slowly broke into a grin. “Xiao Ran! I’ve got it!”
“G-got what?”
“I can let you choose for yourself!!” Zhuque laughed, raising both clenched fists in front of Xiao Ran. “I’ve got two paths here—one is ‘Life,’ the other is ‘Death.’ Which will you pick?!”
“Complete death…or complete life. Which do you choose?” Zhuque looked exhilarated, crouching down to stare expectantly at Xiao Ran.
Hearing this, Qi Xia’s expression darkened.
This was a death sentence disguised as a choice.
He shot a glance at the others, who all stepped back cautiously.
Zhuque was clearly something beyond a mere “Zodiac.” Among them, only Qi Xia had any memory of him—no one knew how to handle this situation.
Zhang Shan furrowed his brow, silently calculating. If he were ever hunted by this madman…would his “Echo” even work on him?
“Complete…life?” Xiao Ran stammered. “What does that mean?”
At this, Zhuque’s smile vanished instantly. “Xiao Ran, I told you to *choose*, not to *ask*.”
“Ah! Right, right…” Xiao Ran nodded frantically. “I-I choose ‘complete life’…”
Qi Xia shook his head in resignation. “She lost.”
“What?” Dr. Zhao beside him blinked in confusion.
Zhuque immediately lit up with glee. “Good! Good! Xiao Ran, I can let you live forever! But in exchange, I’ll be taking your ‘sanity’!”
With that, he waved a hand over Xiao Ran’s forehead.
The terror on her face faded, replaced by eerie blankness.
Soon, she stood up expressionlessly, her eyes dull as she turned to Qi Xia. “Bro, do you want a woman? I’m a kindergarten teacher. Just give me money.”
Qi Xia took a step back.
He knew what “complete life” meant—she wouldn’t perish with the “End,” but would remain here forever, reduced to a mindless “native.”
She had lost all chance of escape, along with every shred of reason.
She wouldn’t become a “god” or a “Zodiac.” She would exist here, driven only by instinct.
When Qi Xia ignored her, she shuffled toward Zhang Shan. “Bro, you’re so strong. You’ll have to pay extra if you want me to go home with you.”
Zhang Shan also retreated.
Qi Xia sighed.
Perhaps, for Xiao Ran, this was the deserved end of her own making.
“No one wants me…?” Xiao Ran blinked. “Then I’ll go back to the classroom. I’m a teacher, after all.”
She pushed past the group and wandered off into the distance.
Dr. Zhao seemed to want to say something, but the words died on his lips.
“Hahaha!” Zhuque roared with laughter. “What a virtuous day! I didn’t even kill anyone!”
Qi Xia slowly turned his gaze toward him.
He was utterly insane.
The moment Zhuque posed the choice between “complete life” and “complete death,” Xiao Ran’s fate had been sealed.
Whether as a native or a rule-breaking Zodiac, she would never appear in the interview room again.
Snapping back to the present, Qi Xia asked Zhuque, “Does this ‘game’ still count?”
“Hm? Oh!” Zhuque nodded, then shook his head. “The ‘game’ is gone. The venue’s abandoned.”
“Go save them,” Qi Xia muttered to Zhang Shan.
Zhang Shan quickly nodded and rushed to the door, throwing his weight against it.
But the room was flooded, the water creating immense resistance.
Zhuque, meanwhile, studied Qi Xia, his expression darkening. “Ah…now I see. Isn’t this Qi Xia?”
Qi Xia had expected Zhuque wouldn’t let him off easily. He stopped evading and countered, “Funny, I was just thinking the same. Isn’t this Zhuque?”
“Qi Xia…why are *you* here?” Zhuque sneered.
“I go where I please,” Qi Xia replied. “Where do you want me to be?”
“How pitiful, Qi Xia. Truly pitiful.” Zhuque’s face twisted with smug delight. “You don’t even know why you’re here. A mere mortal who can’t ‘Echo’—how tragic.”
“How do you know I can’t ‘Echo’?”
Qi Xia was well aware that chances to interrogate Zhuque were rare. He had to extract as much information as possible.
“HAHAHAHAHA!” Zhuque burst into laughter. “What are you pretending for?”
He stepped forward and patted Qi Xia’s chest. “Planning to face ‘Tianlong’ in this fragile body? How many lives do you have to gamble with him?”
Qi Xia’s mind raced, weighing his next words. One misstep, and Zhuque might vanish without another word.
“Then what would you suggest? How *should* I face ‘Tianlong’?”
Zhuque sneered again, pointing at the grimy “Human Rabbit” mask on the ground. “Wear that. Accumulate lives step by step, strengthen your body—only then can you reach the peak, my dear Qi Xia.”
Qi Xia gritted his teeth.
“Are you mocking me? If I put on a ‘Zodiac’ mask, I’d just end up as ‘Tianlong’s’ dog.” His tone turned sharp. “Even the conditions for strengthening my body require a contract with him. How could I ever reach the peak?”
“Pfft—” Zhuque’s pale face twisted into a manic grin. “HAHAHAHA! Qi Xia, you never change! Even in this state, you’re still acting. I’m *Zhuque*! Do you really think your lies fool me?”
Qi Xia frowned. He’d miscalculated.
Zhuque was insane, but he wasn’t stupid.
“Rot here, Qi Xia.” Zhuque began floating upward, his voice growing distant. “Even if everyone else escapes, you’ll decay in this place. Remember this well—because you’re Qi Xia, your only fate is to die here.”
Qi Xia had heard those words once before. But now, they carried a new weight.
“Zhuque, who exactly have I offended?” Qi Xia called out.
“Offended?” Zhuque’s form blurred as he rose higher. “Isn’t ‘Tianlong’ enough?”
With those final words, he vanished into the air.
“I offended…’Tianlong’?”
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