The group ate a small portion of the bear meat, then drank the meat broth clean. It had to be said, the meat broth tasted slightly better than the bear meat itself. Or perhaps it was because everyone was just too thirsty, making anything they drank taste sweet.
"Let's leave the rest of the bear meat here," Qi Xia said to the group while stretching his limbs.
"If we survive to come back tonight, we can have another meal."
Xiaoxiao suddenly spoke up, "I want to eat another bowl." After saying that, she grabbed her bowl and picked out some more bear meat to put inside.
"Suit yourself," Qi Xia said as he slowly stood up.
He looked up at the sky; it should be afternoon by now.
"We need to hurry," Qi Xia said.
"The four of us have only won ninety-five Daos. Looking at our progress, it's far from enough. Our goal for today is three hundred and sixty."
"You're right."
Qiao Jiajin also stood up.
"Let's go."
Tian Tian and Lin Qin packed their things and patted the dust off their clothes. The two of them turned around, only to see that Xiaoxiao still hadn't stood up. She continued eating the meat from her bowl as if she hadn't heard a thing.
"Xiaoxiao, aren't you coming?"
Tian Tian asked. Xiaoxiao tossed a large piece of fatty meat into her mouth and licked her fingers, completely ignoring the question.
"Leave her be."
Qi Xia knew this woman's motives weren't simple. It was better for them to part ways sooner rather than later anyway.
"Let's go."
Qiao Jiajin nodded and turned to walk toward Qi Xia. Right at that moment, the resounding chime of a massive bell echoed from the distance.
Clang!!!
Looks of confusion appeared on everyone's faces. Qi Xia was just about to say something when he suddenly saw a wall flying right at his face.
"What?"
Before Qi Xia could react, he crashed heavily into that wall. It took him several seconds to realize what had just happened. It turned out there was no flying wall at all; instead, he had fallen face-first onto the ground.
He had never experienced such a bizarre sensation before, as though all his senses had been completely scrambled. With great difficulty, Qi Xia turned his head and discovered that Qiao Jiajin, Lin Qin, and Tian Tian had also collapsed onto the ground, sprawled out in all directions. Their eyes were closed as if they had lost consciousness.
"What is this..."
Qi Xia felt the situation was incredibly strange. Shaking his head in disbelief, he tried to reach out with his left hand, but his right hand moved instead. He tried to stand up, only to fall back onto the ground.
It felt exactly like being dead drunk, yet his mind was surprisingly clear. Xiaoxiao just stared at her bowl, taking large bites of the leftover meat as if she had seen nothing at all.
"What... did you do?"
Qi Xia stared at Xiaoxiao.
"Did you poison us?"
Despite asking this, Qi Xia still felt somewhat doubtful in his heart. Xiaoxiao had eaten more of the bear meat than anyone else. If it really was poison, why was she perfectly fine?
"Qi Xia, listen, the bell has rung," Xiaoxiao said calmly.
"The bell has rung... what is that supposed to mean?"
"It means... I want to make a deal with you."
Xiaoxiao set her empty bowl down and stood up.
"A deal...?"
Qi Xia stared at the slightly chubby woman before him in disbelief. He originally thought she was just a bit scheming at most, but looking at her now, she seemed far more terrifying than he had imagined. Right now, she had complete control over the situation, and he had no right to refuse.
"What deal do you want to make?"
Qi Xia asked.
"Stop collecting Daos," Xiaoxiao said.
"Just live here in peace."
"What...?"
Qi Xia had thought of many possibilities, but this was the one scenario he had never expected. She wasn't after their Daos?
"You're telling me to just live here in peace?!"
Qi Xia tried to crawl up, only to find that his limbs completely refused to obey him. He could only lie flat on the ground and say fiercely, "Why the hell would I live here?!"
Xiaoxiao wiped the grease from her hands onto her pants, then walked over to the four of them and took all the Daos hanging from their waists. Finally, she squatted down next to Qi Xia and said expressionlessly, "Because you are too strong. You actually have a chance of collecting enough Daos."
"Isn't that a good thing..."
Qi Xia said through gritted teeth.
"I will solve the mysteries of this hellhole and get everyone out."
"No, I cannot let that happen."
Xiaoxiao shook her head calmly.
"I will not allow anyone to successfully collect them. I have to protect this place. If you remain stubborn, I will make you regret it."
"I see..."
Qi Xia sneered.
"You look like a normal person, but it turns out you're a lunatic. You want me to become like those walking corpses and live here forever? Has no one told you that this hellhole only has ten days left? This place is going to be annihilated!"
"This place is going to be annihilated?"
Xiaoxiao nodded, seemingly unsurprised by the answer.
"Then let me rephrase. I want you to quietly wait for annihilation over these next few days. You are not allowed to go collect Daos anymore."
"You... are insane..."
Qi Xia said slowly.
"And if I refuse to do as you say, what then? Will you kill me?"
"Perhaps."
"You won't." "Oh? Why is that?"
"Because you have the chance to kill me right now," Qi Xia said.
"You could have just killed me outright, yet you want to make a deal with me. Why is that?"
Xiaoxiao frowned upon hearing this. She turned around, moved the pot aside, and threw all the Daos straight into the fire.
"Hey!!"
Qi Xia roared.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
As the fire crackled and popped, the Daos that Qi Xia and the others had risked their lives for were all reduced to ashes. At that moment, Xiaoxiao turned back around and looked at Qi Xia with a sorrowful expression.
"I am not killing you because I hope that someday in the future, you will join us."
Qi Xia felt it was completely impossible to communicate with this woman named Xiaoxiao.
"Are you not listening? There are only ten days left! Ten days from now, everything will disappear. What do you mean someday in the future you will join us?"
After he said that, he paused for a moment and then asked, "And who exactly is us?"
"Qi Xia," Xiaoxiao said.
"Ten days from now, you will understand everything. This place, these people..."
She pointed at the three people lying on the ground and said to Qi Xia, "None of them matter. It wouldn't be a pity if they died. But you are different.
You need to live here."
"Cut the crap," Qi Xia said.
"How could you possibly know whether they matter to me or not?"
"I..."
Xiaoxiao blanked for a moment. As if she had just thought of something, she said to Qi Xia, "I can prove it to you. It wouldn't be a pity if they died."
"What... what are you going to do?"
Without another word, Xiaoxiao took off her top, revealing a sports bra underneath. It was only then that Qi Xia realized the woman before him wasn't slightly chubby at all. Her muscle mass far exceeded even that of Qiao Jiajin.
Her abs were sharply defined, and her arms were like pillars of stone. When he had first seen her massive frame and broad shoulders, it was natural to assume she was just fat. Even though her face was thin, no one could have ever imagined that beneath that baggy T-shirt was a body of pure, rippling muscle.