The Earth Bull did not reply. He merely swept his gaze over the surviving crowd, then said with some displeasure, "Nineteen 'Dao' for each person. The game is over.
Please come forward one by one to collect your 'Dao'." Little glasses looked at Zhang Shan's wounds and broke out in a cold sweat.
"Zhang Shan... are you really okay?"
"I'm perfectly fine," Zhang Shan said with a laugh, patting little glasses on the head.
"How did it go for you guys? I see you and Old Lu are still in high spirits."
"Ah...!" little glasses suddenly cried out.
"Zhang Shan, speaking of Old Lu, there's something I need to discuss with you..."
Old Lu also rushed over to Zhang Shan, waving his hands and feet as he spoke, "Yes, yes! You have to stand up for me!"
"Stand up for you? What happened?"
Seeing the three of them whispering, Qi Xia's expression darkened. He turned his head and asked Lin Qin, "What on earth happened on your side?" Lin Qin took a deep breath and said, "To be honest, I thought we were dead for sure..."
"That's right..."
Tian Tian added from the side.
"When the black bear came out, Lin Qin and I were so scared we couldn't even stand up."
"And then?"
Qiao Jiajin asked.
"Then..."
Lin Qin blinked, thinking for a moment before she spoke.
"I just remember that man named Zhang Shan shouting 'Get out of the way!' and then he lifted an iron plate by himself and charged the black bear with it."
"What?!"
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exclaimed in low voices at the same time.
"The two of us didn't dare to look..."
Lin Qin said.
"It was just too brutal. That man used the iron plate to knock the black bear down, pinning its body. Then he sat on the iron plate and kept hitting the black bear's head. The whole area was covered in blood..."
"Damn... He's a real Terminator..."
Qiao Jiajin said, gritting his teeth.
"That big guy is so fierce."
"He seemed to know the black bear's weakness. The game wasn't even over yet, and the black bear had already been beaten beyond recognition. Its nose was broken, and it lost a lot of its teeth..."
Lin Qin said. Tian Tian also added, "But that Zhang Shan didn't get off easy either. The black bear fought back before it died, flipping over the iron plate.
Then it kept swiping at him with its claws, covering him in blood. Luckily, the black bear collapsed less than a minute later. Thanks to him, the rest of us were fine..."
Hearing this, Qi Xia couldn't help but frown. No wonder Tian Tian and Lin Qin thought they couldn't win this game by themselves. It turned out that in their area, no one had used the same method as him to pass.
Instead, someone had used the heavy iron plate as a weapon and fought the black bear.
"If that's the case... why did you guys take so long to come up?"
Qiao Jiajin asked.
"The game was over for a few minutes before you returned. The con man and I were about to prepare your funerals."
"That's the even more terrifying part..."
Lin Qin pursed her lips and said with her head down, "After that big guy killed the bear, he suddenly said, 'I haven't eaten in days, and bear paws are a delicacy.' Then he ordered us to use the iron plate to smash the black bear's arms off..."
"So those two bear arms..."
Qiao Jiajin was about to say more when he suddenly saw the big man, little glasses, and Old Lu walking straight towards them. The three of them each had a small cloth bag hanging from their waists; it seemed they had already collected their 'Dao'.
The big man in the lead wore a cold expression, his eyes fixed on Qi Xia. It seemed he did not come in peace.
"Yo..."
Qiao Jiajin suddenly remembered the "deal" between Qi Xia and little glasses and knew the situation was not good.
"Con man, what's the plan?"
"The Matthew effect..."
Qi Xia muttered to himself in a low voice.
"For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
"What does that mean?"
Qi Xia didn't answer. He lowered his head and discreetly surveyed his surroundings, dragging a chair in front of him to ensure he could keep a distance from his opponent. There were a few more chairs beside him.
He looked closely and found that one of them, placed where he could most easily grab it, had a leg that was about to break. It was an excellent weapon. The bull-headed man was still ten paces away and couldn't intervene immediately.
Qi Xia knew that as long as everything went smoothly, he could definitely take down Zhang Shan.
"Not a big problem..."
Qi Xia looked at Zhang Shan with a cold gaze.
"He can kill a bear, but unfortunately for him, I am not a bear."
"What are you going to do...?"
Lin Qin felt a little scared. Qiao Jiajin also wore a serious expression as he watched the three men approach, slightly cracking his neck. The atmosphere instantly grew tense, thick with the smell of gunpowder.
If this big man was really here to "stand up for" the others, it was bound to be a vicious fight. Zhang Shan came to a stop in front of Qi Xia, looking at him thoughtfully. Qi Xia also raised his head, looking at the one-point-nine-meter-tall man.
"I heard... you had a little run-in with my friends," Zhang Shan said lightly.
"That's right," Qi Xia said.
"That uncle bought his life from me with 'Dao'."
"Fuck... who do you think you are..."
Zhang Shan used his pinky to scratch his ear.
"Buying a life from you? Are you the King of Hell?"
"I can be," Qi Xia said, taking a step forward to get closer to the chair.
"I can save a life, and I can take a life."
Zhang Shan frowned.
"What's with you? Don't you know how to talk properly?"
"Whether or not I talk properly mainly depends on whether you'll give me the 'Dao'."
"You're really annoying," the big man frowned.
"What do you plan to do if I don't?"
Hearing this, little glasses was stunned. He quickly whispered, "Zhang Shan! What do you mean?
This isn't what we agreed on!"
"Stay out of it," Zhang Shan whispered back.
"I have my own plans."
"If you don't give it to me, I'll take it myself."
"Huh? You tired of living, kid?"
Before Zhang Shan could react, Qi Xia immediately kicked the chair at his feet forward, crashing it into Zhang Shan's knees. Zhang Shan cried out in pain and quickly retreated two steps. Qi Xia seized the opening to rush forward, smoothly scooping up the chair on the ground by its leg.
He knew Zhang Shan was injured; now was the perfect opportunity to take him down.
"Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, to capture the bandits, first capture the king," Qi Xia thought to himself, then swung the chair.
Seeing this was bad, Zhang Shan immediately ducked, raising his hands to protect his head. The next second, the chair exploded against his forearms.
Crack!
Though the blow was painful, it didn't hit any vital spots.
"Crush their strength, seize their leader, and their body will fall apart," Qi Xia recited silently once more.
Zhang Shan was clearly angered.
"You're for real, kid?"
But before he could curse out loud, he saw that Qi Xia was still holding a broken chair leg in his hand. Qi Xia used his momentum to spin and swung the chair leg at the other man's head. Zhang Shan was clearly no ordinary person.
He immediately turned his head, using the hardest part, his forehead, to meet the wooden stick.
Snap!
The chair leg broke on impact, leaving a red mark on Zhang Shan's head.
"Interesting...!"
Zhang Shan said through gritted teeth.
"You fight to kill, kid... In that case, I won't be polite either!"