"Very well."
Qi Xia nodded.
"I must survive here. If anyone stands in my way, the consequences will be extremely severe."
These words gave everyone present quite a scare. After all, the look in Qi Xia's eyes was exactly like that of a murderer. It seemed he really would kill someone.
Even Qiao Jiajin, who was always smiling and joking around, took on a serious expression at this moment. A question could not help but surface in his mind: Just what kind of person was Qi Xia? After this sudden turn of events, the crowd stood up as obediently as sheep and gathered behind the iron plate.
Seeing this, Qi Xia slowly let go of his hand. The middle-aged man and little glasses supported each other, still shaken from the scare. Qi Xia knew he had achieved his goal.
He was now the sole leader of this group.
"How are you going to keep everyone alive?" a slightly plump girl asked.
"It can be explained in one sentence."
Qi Xia answered slowly.
"The answer is Eagle Catches the Chicks."
"Eagle... catches the chicks?"
The crowd seemed a bit confused.
"We have all three roles right now."
Qi Xia reached out his hand and pointed at the black bear not far away.
"The eagle."
Then he pointed to the disheveled two men and five women, saying, "The chicks." Finally, he looked at Qiao Jiajin and called out, "The mother hen."
"Mother hen your mom..."
Qiao Jiajin said with a look of disgust.
"Can we change the name?!"
Everyone started to understand at this point. The iron plate on the ground was extremely heavy. If they wanted to use it to defend against the black bear, the best way was to roll it across the ground.
But the iron plate had a limited surface area and very poor flexibility. Once people scattered, the situation would become dangerous. The best method was to have one person move the plate while the rest lined up in a single file behind him.
Just as everyone was thinking, the black bear had already closed in. At this moment, it seemed to have no other targets in its eyes, staring solely at Qiao Jiajin.
"It is here!"
Qi Xia signaled to Qiao Jiajin in a low voice. Hearing this, Qiao Jiajin immediately stretched his legs back, angling his entire body, and pressed his shoulder against the iron plate. The next second, the black bear swung its thick forearms and slammed fiercely against the iron plate.
Clang!
A loud crash rang out. The black bear's attack was repelled, and both it and Qiao Jiajin took a step back. Fortunately, Qiao Jiajin had taken a defensive stance ahead of time.
Otherwise, even if that strike did not break the iron plate, it would have been enough to crush him into a meat pie. Seeing that things were looking bad, the crowd quickly stood closer together in the line. The four men stood at the front of the line, and the five women stood at the back.
The middle-aged man also obediently grabbed onto Qi Xia's clothes.
"Hey, con man, how many more times will there be attacks like this...?"
Qi Xia looked at the clock on the distant wall and said, "Do not worry, there are only seven minutes left."
"Seven..."
Qiao Jiajin froze for a moment.
"Damn it, does that not mean it just started?!"
"A black bear's stamina is not very good," Qi Xia said.
"I do not believe it will attack continuously for the rest of the time. We just need to survive the early phase. Do not let your guard down."
The black bear adjusted its posture and continuously shifted to the side. Qi Xia also pulled at Qiao Jiajin's clothes, controlling his direction and making the iron plate roll across the ground. This action completely stumped the black bear.
Although it possessed devastating power, it was ultimately not an agile hunter. It could not launch an attack from the side right away and could only keep moving its massive body. But no matter which position it moved to, the iron plate would face right toward it.
"Woo—" The black bear kept growling low.
It had already walked a full circle around the group, yet it still could not find any opening to attack. In truth, Eagle Catches the Chicks has a very easy method to counter. That is when the eagle suddenly changes direction.
For instance, if an eagle moving to the right suddenly shifts to the left, the line of chicks will be caught at the tail end due to the inertia of their movement. This was a tactic everyone had learned after playing the game many times in their childhood.
Qi Xia did not believe the black bear in front of them would come up with such a clever move in a short amount of time.
"Very good... very good..."
Qi Xia muttered to himself.
"Let's keep this stalemate going..."
At this time, everyone was holding onto each other one by one. Even though the line was long, they all maintained an absolutely safe distance from the black bear.
"This method of yours might actually work..."
Qiao Jiajin said softly.
"It is just that I am a little tired..."
"Endure it a little longer," Qi Xia said.
"Six or so minutes will pass by very quickly."
"But I haven't eaten anything for a day and a night, I..."
"It is coming!!"
Qi Xia shouted loudly. Qiao Jiajin immediately adjusted his center of gravity, lowered his entire body, and clashed against the black bear once again.
Clang!!
The force this time was clearly much greater than the last. Qiao Jiajin was almost knocked over along with the iron plate.
"This blind bear is really endless!!" the middle-aged man shouted nervously.
"Hey! Young man at the very front, you have to hold it steady!"
"Why don't you come try and hold it!"
Qiao Jiajin cursed in a bad mood. He only felt his entire body throbbing in pain from the shock, his bones feeling as if they were going to fall apart. The black bear found that its full power strike still failed to break the defensive line and appeared extremely enraged.
It paused in place for a moment, then began to slowly step back.
"What is the situation?" little glasses asked.
"Did it give up?"
Qi Xia furrowed his brows slightly, feeling that things were not right.
Stepping back?
"Oh no!"
He suddenly thought of something and immediately lowered his posture as well, pressing against the iron plate together with Qiao Jiajin. Then he turned his head and said to the middle-aged man, "Hey! You control the direction!"
"Ah?"
Even though he was a bit confused, the middle-aged man knew that the iron plate in front of them represented everyone's lives. Naturally, he did not dare to slack off. He could only mimic how Qi Xia did it just now, pulling on the two men's clothes to control the direction of the iron plate.
Just as Qi Xia had expected, the black bear stepping back did not mean it was giving up. Instead, it was preparing to use a running start to strengthen its assault.
"It is preparing to risk everything in one strike."
Qi Xia looked at Qiao Jiajin beside him and said, "If we can block it this time, nine times out of ten we will survive."
"Saying that is the same as saying nothing at all."
Qiao Jiajin shook his head helplessly.
"Our problem right now is that we don't know if we can block it!"
The black bear kept retreating until it reached the wall. Seeing this scene, the middle-aged man who had been controlling the direction could not help but swallow his saliva. The black bear's stationary strike was already fatal enough.
If it added a running start and threw in its entire body weight, could just this iron plate really block its charging surprise attack?
"Fatty!"
Qiao Jiajin yelled loudly.
"When it launches its attack, remember to call it out!"
But at this moment, the middle-aged man acted as if he had not heard a thing. His eyes darted around rapidly, as if he was thinking about something. The black bear scraped its front paws on the ground and suddenly began to accelerate.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man hesitated no longer. He directly abandoned the group and ran toward an empty clearing in the back.
"Hey... you!"
Before Qiao Jiajin could even start cursing, he already heard the heavy footsteps ringing out. He could only hurriedly lower his stance first. At this moment, little glasses stepped out, tugged at Qi Xia's clothes, and roared, "The direction isn't quite right!
A little more to the right!!" Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin both widened their eyes at the same time.
"It is too late to adjust the direction! Hold it steady!"
As soon as those words fell, the two of them felt as if they had been hit by a speeding truck. Their bodies, along with the iron plate, actually went airborne. They flew backward uncontrollably for half a meter before slamming heavily onto the ground.
This collision not only knocked the entire line completely off balance, but it also knocked the iron plate over, crushing it down onto the two men.