“Damn it…” Qiao Jiajin’s mouth fell open in shock as he trembled, pointing to where the old man had just vanished. “Liar, did you see that?! A freaking Terminator!!”
“White Tiger…?” Qi Xia murmured the name, feeling an odd sense of unease.
This “White Tiger”… Could it be the same rank as “Vermilion Bird”?
The way he disappeared mid-air clearly wasn’t human—most likely a “Manager,” just like Vermilion Bird.
But why did he seem so… insane?
Despite being a Manager, he appeared to be helping Qi Xia escape this place.
As Qi Xia was lost in thought, Qiao Jiajin suddenly slapped him hard on the shoulder. “Liar! You’re not scared stiff, are ya?”
“Huh?” Qi Xia blinked. “Scared stiff?”
“How are you not shocked?!” Qiao Jiajin looked both terrified and exhilarated. “A real-life Terminator grandpa! Arnold ‘Old Man’ Schwarzenegger!”
He paused, then muttered, “Or maybe Arnold ‘Schwazen-old’-negger…”
“Stop,” Qi Xia waved him off. “You’re getting ridiculous. Let’s just head to ‘School.'”
Qiao Jiajin nodded reluctantly, still glancing back at the spot where the old man had disappeared. “Are we in a movie or something?”
Following the map Jin Yuanxun had given them, the two set off toward the school.
Along the way, they spotted numerous “Zodiacs” standing at building entrances. While Qi Xia had seen this before, it was clearly Qiao Jiajin’s first time, and he couldn’t hide his astonishment.
Last time, Qi Xia had dragged his injured body for a grueling four hours to reach the school. This time, they made it in under two.
Two unfamiliar faces stood guard at the entrance, scanning their surroundings warily.
Qi Xia approached slowly.
“Liang Ren?” a middle-aged man asked.
“Yes,” Qi Xia nodded. “We’re both Liang Ren, invited by Chu Tianqiu.”
The younger man beside him hesitated before asking, “Is either of you named ‘Qi Xia’?”
“That’s me,” Qi Xia confirmed.
The young man exchanged a glance with the middle-aged man—a detail Qi Xia caught immediately.
“Understood. Follow me, then,” the young man said with a faint smile, turning and beckoning them inside.
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exchanged their own look before stepping into the campus.
The young man deliberately quickened his pace, maintaining a calculated distance from them.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged man immediately headed in the opposite direction once they were inside.
“What kinda fancy school is this?” Qiao Jiajin tapped the rubberized basketball court underfoot, his face twisting in disbelief. “Damn, is this ground made of rubber? Must be way pricier than sand!”
Qi Xia glanced up at the school building. Shadows flickered in the windows—people watching them—but the moment he looked up, they all pretended to be busy and scattered.
“Something’s off,” Qi Xia muttered under his breath. “Qiao Jiajin, stay sharp.”
“Stay sharp?” The carefree expression on Qiao Jiajin’s face instantly hardened into something lethal—a thug’s cold readiness. “Trouble?”
“I don’t know, but it’s weird.” Qi Xia mentally reviewed the earlier details. “Paradise Gate” didn’t feel like it was welcoming newcomers—more like setting a trap.
As they followed the young man into the building, a group of people trailed them at a distance, neither approaching nor retreating, just hovering.
Qiao Jiajin noticed instantly, rolling his neck subtly.
“Sharp as ever, Liar. Saw this comin’ a mile away,” he muttered, cracking his knuckles next. “We’re surrounded.”
“How many?” Qi Xia asked.
“Nine,” Qiao Jiajin replied. “Four behind, one ahead, two on each side.”
Qi Xia’s expression darkened, his brow furrowing hard.
What the hell was going on?
Was “Paradise Gate’s” goal to kill them?
But if so, why not strike when they first arrived? Why go through all this trouble to bring them here?
Then again, something still didn’t add up.
Where were Li the Cop, Han Yimo, Dr. Zhao, and the others?
If this was truly an assassination attempt, Li—a police academy graduate—wasn’t someone just anyone could handle.
In this place, only Zhang Shan might stand a chance against him, but Qi Xia had met Zhang Shan—he wasn’t the type to kill indiscriminately. There was no reason for him to turn on them.
So what was with this bizarre encirclement?
Questions swirled in Qi Xia’s mind, but there was no one to answer them now.
“Liar, how’s your fighting?” Qiao Jiajin asked.
“Terrible,” Qi Xia admitted. “But I’ve read military strategy.”
“Strategy? Wasting you on nine guys, then.” Qiao Jiajin smirked. “Stay put. I’ll show you something.”
With that, he sped up, catching up to the young man and slinging an arm around his shoulders.
The young man stiffened, caught off guard.
“Hey, pretty boy, this place is huge,” Qiao Jiajin said cheerfully.
“Y-Yeah,” the young man forced a smile. “It was a school, after all.”
“Y’know what?” Qiao Jiajin’s tone turned serious. “If you’re gonna ambush someone, open ground’s better. This layout’s too messy—makes it easy to screw up.”
“Huh?” The young man’s eyes darted nervously. “I don’t follow…”
“Look around.” Qiao Jiajin gestured at the scattered desks and chairs. “Obstacles everywhere—slows down pursuers, gives me weapons. You really think nine guys can pin me here?”
The young man paled, trying to squirm free, but Qiao Jiajin’s grip was ironclad.
“Pretty boy,” Qiao Jiajin’s voice turned icy, “why the ambush? Where’s our team?”
Another futile struggle, then resignation.
“You’re good, I’ll give you that,” the young man forced a bitter laugh. “But you missed one thing—it’s not nine people surrounding you. It’s ten.”
The moment the words left his mouth, a door beside them exploded inward.
A massive figure, like a raging bull, charged straight at Qiao Jiajin.
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