Officer Li didn't look at Qiao Jiajin. Instead, he faced Qi Xia and asked, "There is indeed something, about Han Yimo... did you not finish what you were saying just now? What does Han Yimo's death represent?
And what's the meaning of that sword?" Qi Xia narrowed his eyes, sizing up Officer Li carefully.
"Officer, your specialty is criminal investigation, and mine is fraud. Isn't it a bit strange for you to be asking me for advice on a case?"
Officer Li lowered his head helplessly and said, "We've already come to this godforsaken place. How could 'criminal investigation' possibly be of any use anymore?" After hearing this, Qi Xia fell silent for a moment before deciding to share the clues he had thought of.
"Officer, all I can say is... Han Yimo might have recognized that sword."
"Recognized it?"
Officer Li frowned, then nodded with a thoughtful look.
"You're saying he had seen that sword before?"
"These are no longer problems for you to consider," Qi Xia said.
"You should be more concerned about your own situation."
"What do you mean?"
Qi Xia sighed and turned to leave, but Officer Li grabbed him by the arm.
"Don't go. What exactly is my 'situation'?"
Lin Qin covered her nose, leaned close to Officer Li's ear, and whispered, "Officer, Qi Xia is unwilling to say it, but I can say it for him. There are two things you need to be careful of."
"Two things?"
"That's right. First, the only person here who could easily lift that heavy sword is that female clerk who went insane. Her strength is immense. In other words, if Han Yimo was truly murdered, then the female clerk is the prime suspect. You should all leave this place as soon as possible."
Officer Li nodded with a grave expression and asked, "And the second?"
"The second is your 'teammates'. They don't seem very trustworthy."
Officer Li's lips twitched slightly, as if he had thought of something. Currently on his side were Xiao Ran, a kindergarten teacher who was swayed by her emotions and didn't seem very bright; Zhang Chenze, a lawyer who was indifferent to everything and only considered pros and cons; and Doctor Zhao, who had once confronted him and was rather self-centered.
If a group of four like them were to face a life-threatening trial, could they truly trust each other? Officer Li struggled with his thoughts for a long time before finally speaking.
"Qi Xia, no matter what, I will use the convenience store as a base of operations and explore the few surrounding areas. If you all have any information... you can also come and exchange it with me."
Qi Xia neither agreed nor refused. He gave him a faint look, then turned and walked away. The other few people didn't know what to say and followed him.
Officer Li stared at the four receding figures for a while, lost in thought, before returning to the convenience store with Doctor Zhao and Xiao Ran. How could he not know that the four people outside were more trustworthy in a critical moment? But they were going to collect the "Dao".
In other words, they were looking for death. It wasn't safe to follow them either. To survive smoothly now, his only option was to first find a base and then plan for the long term. ...
Qi Xia led the group forward, and before long, they arrived at the square where they had first descended yesterday. He wanted to come here to confirm one thing. And that was the loud tolling of a bell he had heard in the early morning.
Just like yesterday, there was a huge electronic display screen in the center, and above the screen hung a bronze bell. The great bell had tolled at the moment Han Yimo was stabbed. Lin Qin blinked and said, "I seem to have heard the bell toll several times..."
"Several times?"
Qiao Jiajin paused and asked, "When?" Lin Qin's eyes shifted slightly as she recalled, "Do you all remember... when we first woke up in the room, that man whose head was smashed by the Goat-Head Man? When he died, it seemed like a bell tolled as well."
Tian Tian seemed to understand something.
"Could it be that... every time someone dies, the bell will toll?"
Everyone nodded, feeling that this guess was likely correct. The bronze bell before them seemed to be a death knell, announcing the number of deaths to everyone.
"That's not right."
Qi Xia shook his head.
"In that corridor we passed through, there were at least a thousand rooms. While we were undergoing the 'game', people were dying in every room. If this thing is a death knell, it's impossible that we've only heard it toll twice."
"This..."
Tian Tian felt that Qi Xia had a point, but if that was the case, what exactly were the conditions for the great bell to toll?
"Huh?"
Lin Qin looked up at the display screen and found it was completely blank.
"I remember there was a line of words on it yesterday."
Everyone looked up and saw that the words had indeed disappeared.
"It seemed to be... an echo of something..."
Qiao Jiajin said, rubbing his chin.
"I echoed Disaster's Call?"
"I heard the echo of 'Disaster's Call'," Qi Xia said.
"Ah, right..."
Qiao Jiajin nodded.
"What does that mean?"
Qi Xia shook his head. This wasn't something whose meaning could be figured out just by 'guessing'. Their understanding of this city was far too limited.
What was Disaster's Call? What was an echo? And who was 'I'?
"Forget it, let's go check somewhere else."
Qi Xia turned around, and just as he was about to leave, he suddenly froze. Before his eyes was a withered face, wearing a smile. He didn't know when this face had appeared behind him, but it was now staring straight at him.
Qi Xia's pupils constricted, and he quickly took two steps back. The other three were also startled. Before them was a withered old man, standing on his tiptoes, his body bent like a dead tree.
"I've remembered..."
The old man smiled faintly, revealing the single tooth he had left.
"The question you asked me, I've remembered!"
Being stared at by this old man, Qi Xia felt a chill run down his spine.
"Are you talking to me?"
The old man licked his chapped lips.
"Young man, I know the answer now! It's 'wagering your life'! As long as you gamble with your life, everything will be easy!"
He stretched out a hand with filthy fingernails and reached for Qi Xia.
"We are so close to getting out! As long as you're willing to gamble with your life..."
Qi Xia frowned and took a few more steps back. Although he couldn't understand what the old man was saying, his constant talk about wanting his life was just too bizarre.
"Hey! Old man, who are you?"
Qiao Jiajin asked with some suspicion.
"Have you met Qi Xia before?"
The old man's expression flickered as he turned his head to look at Qiao Jiajin. He opened his mouth with a complicated look, then asked, "You don't recognize me?"
"Why should I recognize you?"
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment. The old man's cloudy eyes darted back and forth. After a long while, he finally seemed to remember something.
"I see... You... have already met the 'Heavenly Dragon'..."
"Heavenly Dragon?"
The four of them looked at each other in confusion.
"There's no hope..."
The old man shook his head and slowly turned his back.
"We can't defeat him... We will be forever lost here... No wonder the 'Zodiac' has returned..."
Muttering to himself, he walked away, his figure looking incredibly desolate.