Chapter 52: The Extreme Path

Xiao Xiao casually smashed a table, picked up a wooden board with nails from the ground, and slowly walked toward Joe Keung.

“Hey!!” Qi Xia sensed something was wrong. “What are you doing?! Wait a minute…”

“These people are better off dead,” Xiao Xiao said. “They don’t deserve to live. I’ll prove it to you.”

“Stop!” Qi Xia shouted urgently. “I get it! I’ll do whatever you say, just put that thing down first!”

As if deaf to his words, Xiao Xiao slowly raised the wooden board in her hand.

“Hey! I agree to all your conditions! You don’t need to prove anything to me!!”

Seeing Xiao Xiao acting like a madwoman, Qi Xia quickly turned to Joe Keung. “Hey! Joe Keung! Stop pretending to be dead! Get up!!”

The moment he finished speaking, Xiao Xiao swung the board down. The nail-studded side plunged straight into Joe Keung’s skull.

“Long live the Extreme Path,” she said with a smile.

Joe Keung’s body convulsed violently, his limbs twitching a few times before falling still.

“Hey… Joe Keung…”

Qi Xia’s eyes widened, his lips trembling.

“Say something, Joe Keung… What the hell are you playing at…? A bear couldn’t kill you… How could a nail…?”

But instead of a response, all Qi Xia saw was the spreading pool of blood.

He knew—no one could survive a nail driven into their brain.

Joe Keung was dead.

“Joe…” Qi Xia stared in disbelief, a single phrase echoing relentlessly in his mind—

*”You’ve got the brains, I’ve got the brawn. Let’s team up?”*

“See, Qi Xia?” Xiao Xiao said with a smile. “They don’t deserve to live.”

“Ahhh—!!!”

A piercing scream tore from Qi Xia’s throat as excruciating pain exploded in his skull. His arms and legs regained sensation, but all he could do was clutch his head and writhe on the ground.

Seeing Qi Xia suddenly able to move freely, Xiao Xiao paused in surprise.

The headache lasted an unbearable length of time. To Qi Xia, it felt as if the nail hadn’t struck Joe Keung—it had pierced his own brain instead, churning his thoughts into agony worse than death itself.

Two minutes later, the pain vanished abruptly. Qi Xia stood up, his face utterly blank.

“Impressive, Qi Xia,” Xiao Xiao said with a smirk. “Can you ignore my ‘Echo’?”

“I suggest you stop while you’re ahead…” Qi Xia said coldly. “If you have a problem, take it out on me…”

“No,” Xiao Xiao replied. “I need you to understand—these people are disposable. You can kill them too.”

“Why would I kill them…?” Qi Xia’s eyes were ice-cold, devoid of any emotion. “I’m not like you psychopaths. Don’t lump me in with you.”

“Seems you still don’t get it.” Xiao Xiao sighed, then yanked the nail-studded board out of Joe Keung’s skull. She flicked off the blood and turned to Qi Xia. “Once I kill them all, you’ll understand.”

Without another word, she strode toward Tian Tian.

“You lunatic, enough…” Qi Xia’s lips trembled. “We barely survived this long… Who gave you the right to decide who lives or dies…?”

“That’s exactly why it’s meaningless.” Xiao Xiao raised the board again.

This time, Qi Xia didn’t hesitate. He lunged at her, intending to knock her down—but despite the force of his charge, she didn’t budge.

Changing tactics, he wrapped his arms around her waist—thick as a load-bearing wall—and shoved her backward.

Xiao Xiao staggered two steps, her expression darkening.

“Qi Xia, I’m trying to help you, yet you refuse to see reason. How disappointing.” She grabbed his throat and flung him aside like a stray dog.

Qi Xia crashed into the wall with a pained groan. This woman’s strength was inhuman—she must have undergone brutal training.

“Long live the Extreme Path.” Xiao Xiao grinned as the board came down again, piercing Tian Tian’s skull.

In Qi Xia’s mind, Tian Tian’s voice echoed—

*”I only came here because there was no place for me back there.”*

The agony returned, worse than before. Qi Xia curled into a ball, clutching his head and screaming.

Tian Tian was dead too.

His skull felt like it was splitting apart.

Darkness swallowed his vision as consciousness slipped away.

Before passing out, he heard the distant toll of a massive bell.

—

“Xia, look.” Yu Nian’an held up a tattered shirt, as if proudly showing it off. “See here?”

Her delicate finger pointed to the chest pocket, where a cartoon lamb had been stitched.

“I fixed the torn part for you! Pretty good, huh?”

“Not bad,” Qi Xia said between bites of instant noodles. “But why not just buy a new one?”

“To save money!” Yu Nian’an laughed. “Once we’re rich, you can buy as many as you want. For now, just make do.”

Qi Xia paused mid-bite, setting the noodles down. “Xiao An, we’ll be rich soon. If this deal goes through, we’ll have two million…”

“I believe you,” Yu Nian’an said softly. “Xia, there are countless paths in this world, and everyone has their own. I know you’ll succeed.”

“Yeah.” Qi Xia nodded, feeling strangely at peace. He wanted to say more, but then his gaze drifted to the window.

The sky outside was a deep crimson, a murky yellow sun hanging low.

Blinking, Qi Xia frowned. Something felt off.

“What’s going on…?” He turned back—only to see Yu Nian’an’s face morph into Xiao Xiao’s.

Xiao Xiao smiled, her lips moving as she whispered, “Long live the Extreme Path.”

Behind her, two figures materialized—Joe Keung and Tian Tian.

Their foreheads oozed blood and brain matter, their eyes burning with hatred and resentment.

“You… you two… I…”

A wave of terror crashed over Qi Xia. He scrambled off the chair and bolted for the door.

He had to escape this nightmare.

But when he flung the door open, despair swallowed him whole.

An endless corridor stretched ahead, lined with countless doors. From each one, masked figures in animal masks emerged.

—

“Qi Xia! Qi Xia!!” A frantic voice pulled him back.

His eyes fluttered open to see Lin Qin’s tear-streaked face hovering above him.

“Lin…” Qi Xia winced, his head throbbing. “What happened?”

Lin Qin choked back a sob. “You scared me to death… I thought you’d died like Joe Keung and Tian Tian…”

The memories rushed back. Dazed, Qi Xia pushed himself up and stared at the bodies of Joe Keung and Tian Tian in the distance, his mind blank.

This wasn’t a dream.

It was a reality far worse.

“Qi Xia… what’s going on…?” Lin Qin whispered between sobs. “Who killed them?”

Instead of answering, Qi Xia studied her with empty eyes.

“Why are you still alive?” he asked quietly.