“Good.” Qi Xia nodded. “I must survive here. If anyone gets in my way, the consequences will be dire.”
His words sent a chill through the crowd—his gaze was eerily reminiscent of a murderer.
He genuinely seemed capable of killing.
Even Qiao Jiajin, who was usually all smiles, turned serious.
A question surfaced in his mind—
What kind of person is Qi Xia, really?
After this shift, the group obediently stood up like sheep and gathered behind the metal plate.
Seeing this, Qi Xia slowly released his grip. The middle-aged man and the bespectacled guy shakily supported each other, still shaken.
Qi Xia knew his goal was achieved—he was now the undisputed leader of the group.
“How are you going to keep everyone alive?” asked a slightly plump girl.
“It can be explained in one sentence,” Qi Xia replied calmly. “The answer is ‘Eagle Catches the Chicks.'”
“Eagle… catches the chicks?” The group seemed confused.
“All three roles are present now.” Qi Xia pointed at the black bear in the distance. “The eagle.”
Then he gestured at the disheveled group of two men and five women. “The chicks.”
Finally, he glanced at Qiao Jiajin and declared, “The mother hen.”
“Mother hen my ass!” Qiao Jiajin scowled. “Can’t you pick a better name?!”
The others began to understand.
The metal plate on the ground was heavy. To use it effectively against the bear, the best method was to roll it, but its limited size and poor maneuverability made it dangerous if the group scattered.
The optimal strategy was to have one person move the plate while the rest lined up behind them in a column.
As they pondered this, the black bear approached. Strangely, it seemed to focus solely on Qiao Jiajin.
“It’s coming!” Qi Xia warned in a low voice.
Hearing this, Qiao Jiajin braced himself, extending his legs backward and leaning at an angle, pressing his shoulder against the plate.
A second later, the bear swung its massive forelimb, slamming into the plate with a deafening—
**CLANG!**
The impact sent both the bear and Qiao Jiajin stumbling back a step.
Had Qiao Jiajin not prepared, the force—though not enough to break the plate—would’ve crushed him flat.
Alarmed, the group tightened their formation.
The four men stood at the front, the five women behind.
Even the middle-aged man obediently clutched Qi Xia’s shirt.
“Hey, liar,” Qiao Jiajin muttered, “how many more attacks like this…?”
Qi Xia glanced at the wall clock. “Don’t worry, just seven minutes left.”
“Seven—?” Qiao Jiajin froze. “Damn, that’s just the beginning!”
“Bears have poor stamina,” Qi Xia said. “I doubt it’ll keep attacking nonstop. We just need to hold out early on. Stay sharp.”
The bear adjusted its stance, shifting sideways.
Qi Xia tugged Qiao Jiajin’s shirt, guiding the plate’s movement to roll it along the ground.
This stumped the bear.
Though devastatingly strong, it wasn’t agile enough to flank them quickly. It lumbered around, but no matter where it moved, the plate always faced it.
**”Grr—”**
The bear growled, circling the group without finding an opening.
There was one simple way to break “Eagle Catches the Chicks”—if the “eagle” suddenly reversed direction, the “chicks” would lose balance, exposing the last in line.
A tactic everyone learned as kids. Qi Xia doubted the bear would figure it out so fast.
“Good… good…” Qi Xia murmured. “Just keep this stalemate…”
The group held tight, maintaining a safe distance despite the long line.
“This might actually work,” Qiao Jiajin whispered. “But I’m exhausted…”
“Hang in there,” Qi Xia said. “Six minutes will pass quickly.”
“But I haven’t eaten in a day—”
**”Here it comes!!”** Qi Xia shouted.
Qiao Jiajin instantly dropped his stance, bracing for impact.
**CLANG!!**
This strike was far stronger—Qiao Jiajin nearly toppled over with the plate.
“That damn bear won’t quit!” the middle-aged man yelled nervously. “Hey, kid up front! Hold it steady!”
“You try holding it!” Qiao Jiajin snapped back, his entire body aching from the reverberation.
Frustrated, the bear paused, then began backing away.
“What’s it doing?” the bespectacled guy asked. “Giving up?”
Qi Xia frowned. Something was wrong.
Backing up?
**”Shit!”**
Realization struck. He crouched beside Qiao Jiajin, pressing against the plate, then turned to the middle-aged man. “You! Take over steering!”
“Huh?”
Confused but aware of the stakes, the man mimicked Qi Xia’s earlier actions, gripping their shirts to adjust the plate’s angle.
Just as Qi Xia predicted—the bear wasn’t retreating. It was building momentum.
“It’s going all out,” Qi Xia told Qiao Jiajin. “If we block this, we’ll probably survive.”
“That’s not helpful,” Qiao Jiajin grumbled. “The question is **can** we block it?”
The bear kept backing up until it hit the wall.
The middle-aged man, still guiding them, gulped.
A stationary strike was deadly enough. With a running start and its full weight behind it—could the plate withstand that?
“Fatty!” Qiao Jiajin yelled. “Warn us when it charges!”
But the man stood frozen, eyes darting as if calculating something.
The bear scraped its claws, then suddenly lunged.
The middle-aged man abandoned the group, bolting for open space.
“You—!” Qiao Jiajin’s curse was cut off by thunderous footsteps. He barely had time to brace.
The bespectacled guy yanked Qi Xia’s shirt. “Angle’s off! More to the right!!”
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin widened their eyes. “No time! HOLD!”
The next moment, they were airborne—hit with the force of a speeding truck. The plate flew back half a meter, crashing down atop them.
The collision scattered the group, toppling the plate and pinning them beneath it.
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