Joe stepped forward and reached out to touch Luo Shiyi’s neck. After confirming his death, he hurried over to Li Xiangling.
“Kung Fu Girl…” he called out with concern. “You okay?”
“I’m fine…”
“Come on, I’ll get you out of here.” Joe grabbed Li Xiangling’s arm.
“No… don’t…” She let out a bitter laugh. “I think I’ll stay here for now…”
“Huh?” Joe frowned. “What kind of nonsense is that? Planning to settle down here?”
“Heh…” she chuckled weakly. “I’ve got a little problem… can’t really move…”
“What?” Joe sensed something was wrong. He hesitated for a moment before reaching out again.
Just as his hand was about to touch her, his fingers brushed against something hard—a wooden pole sticking out.
Like a table leg.
“My luck’s just awful…” Li Xiangling said with a strained smile. “When that boulder fell, it smashed the table… and this leg flew right at me…”
“Don’t joke about this…” Joe muttered. “You…”
“My right arm’s pinned to the wall…” She shifted slightly, trying to ease the discomfort. “Even if I pull it out, I don’t think I’ll make it…”
“You haven’t even ‘echoed’ yet. Stop talking about dying.” Joe kept feeling around the table leg, trying to locate her wound. “Kung Fu Girl, the three of us fought side by side, and we won. If you dare forget that, I won’t let you off easy.”
“How’s… Mountain?” she asked.
“He’s fine,” Joe nodded. “That big guy could probably punch out a bear right now…”
But as soon as he said it, he realized something was off. “Dang it, stop asking questions like that. You sound like you’re giving last words. I’m getting you out of here.”
Finally, Joe found the wound—her right upper arm. The table leg was thin, missing the bone but piercing straight through her bicep.
“Not fatal… Thank god.” Relief washed over him. The priority now was treating the wound. “Kung Fu Girl, where did you say the key was?”
“Don’t waste your time, Joe… It’s under the boulder. We can’t move that thing…”
“The boulder…?”
Joe turned and stared at the massive rock. After a moment of thought, he walked over.
He placed his hands on the stone, but they were slick with Li Xiangling’s blood, making it hard to focus.
“Please… Let the miracle happen one more time…” he muttered, trying to recall the state he was in during the fight.
“There was never a rock here…” he whispered.
But the boulder didn’t budge.
“Damn it…” Sweat dripped down his face. “Come on… Give me that star-like miracle!”
The harder he tried, the further the miracle seemed to slip away.
Despair crept onto Joe’s face.
Was Li Xiangling really going to be left here, hanging, waiting to die?
“Don’t… I hate gambling and cheats more than anything… No one else should die because of them…”
The moment those words left his lips, the boulder trembled—then shattered into countless glowing specks, scattering like fireflies in the night.
**DONG!!**
At the same time, a massive bell tolled again, clearing the noise in Joe’s mind.
He exhaled sharply and, under the glow of the fading light, spotted a metal key on the ground.
“Perfect!”
He grabbed it and looked around—the faint light illuminated a wooden door not far away.
“Kung Fu Girl… I’m taking you with me,” Joe said firmly.
“Joe…” Li Xiangling gritted her teeth. “Forget it. I’d just slow you down.”
“Teammates who fought together are never dead weight.”
Now that he could see her clearly, Joe realized she was covered in injuries—mostly superficial, except for her right arm. It was raised high, pinning her against the wall.
“But how are you gonna get me down…?”
Joe walked over, assessing the situation. Li Xiangling was suspended about thirty centimeters from the wall, her weight pulling painfully on her arm.
“I told you, I trained in Wing Chun,” he answered.
“Wing Chun…?” She blinked. “Does Wing Chun have a move for this…?”
“Nah, you got it wrong.” Joe positioned himself behind her, one hand open, the other in a fist, pressing against opposite sides of the wooden pole. “When I practiced Wing Chun, I noticed something interesting.”
“What?”
“If the force is just right, I can break a wooden dummy with ease.”
**CRACK!**
With a sharp burst of power, the wooden pole snapped instantly.
“Huh?!”
Li Xiangling barely felt a thing before she dropped from the wall—right into Joe’s arms.
He set her down gently, then went to open the wooden door.
Beyond it was a staircase leading upward.
“Let’s go, Kung Fu Girl.”
Li Xiangling looked into Joe’s clear eyes and felt something strange in her chest.
Those eyes made her heart race.
“Come on.”
“R-Right…”
—
Meanwhile, Qi Xia paced the hall, his expression troubled. He’d heard every bell toll.
Why were they so loud this time?
Who had “echoed”?
Did Joe “echo”?
And why had that stone-obsessed lunatic retreated like a coward?
“Hey, Qi Xia.” A soft voice came from the doorway.
He turned—Jiang Ruoxue had arrived.
Qi Xia said nothing, calmly taking a seat.
“Ignoring me again?” She smiled wryly. “You always do.”
“Different paths don’t cross.” Qi Xia shook his head. “Here to pick up your teammate?”
“No, just came to see you.” She sat beside him. “But seriously, we’ve met a few times now. When have I ever seemed like we’re on ‘different paths’?”
Qi Xia opened his mouth to retort, then paused.
The first time they’d met was during the “Earth Dog” messenger game. She’d been an enemy spy but caused no trouble. Worse, when A Mu and his group tried to kill him, she’d activated her “Causality” ability—making one of them impale himself on Lawyer Zhang’s glass shard.
Honestly, she’d saved him that time.
The second time was yesterday. She’d repeatedly tried to talk Xiao Xiao, that madwoman, down—but Xiao Xiao was too far gone to listen.
If Jiang Ruoxue hadn’t called herself an “Extremist,” Qi Xia would’ve thought she was just another normal “participant”—maybe even a decent one.
“You and Xiao Xiao are still a team,” he said. “No sane person would work with her.”
“Never said I was sane.” She stretched lazily. “I did come to pick her up, but I doubt she’s coming back.”
“Why?”
“Too many people ‘echoed.'” She counted on her fingers. “At least five just now. Zhang Shan’s odds were five in six—too high.”
Qi Xia fell silent again. He couldn’t figure out what she was thinking.
Just then, rustling sounds came from the wooden door nearby.
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