Rounding a street corner, the three arrived at a dilapidated police station. A rabbit-headed person stood at the entrance.
"Right here!"
Old Lu said, "It seems to be over already..." Qi Xia glanced at the rabbit-headed person. This seemed to be another woman.
Her mask was badly worn, and her suit was covered in dust. She was clearly a Human Rabbit. This meant that if Officer Li had indeed participated in her game, his life wouldn't be in danger.
"Do you want to play my game?" the Human Rabbit asked with a smile.
"No..."
Qi Xia shook his head.
"I want to ask, are the man and woman who came to participate in the game earlier still here?"
"A man and a woman?"
The Human Rabbit crossed one arm over her chest and rested her chin on the other hand, looking somewhat charming.
"Oh... you mean that sturdy young man, right?"
"That's right."
"He was a man who didn't understand romance at all."
The Human Rabbit waved her hand coyly.
"I even said I didn't need a Dao, as long as he kept me company for a day, but he was just like a block of wood..."
Qi Xia sighed impatiently, "Where is he?"
"Young man, you are quite handsome yourself..."
The Human Rabbit suddenly reached out and touched Qi Xia's face. This action startled him.
"Although you don't look that sturdy, as long as you can keep me company for a day, I will not only give you a Dao but also tell you where that man went. How about it?"
Qi Xia pushed the Human Rabbit's hand away, turned back and said to the two, "Forget it, let's just look around the area." Old Lu and Lin Qin also knew well that they couldn't get tangled up with the Zodiac, so they turned and left following Qi Xia.
"If you want to search by yourselves... you'd better be quick."
The Human Rabbit smiled sweetly.
"That young man is heavily injured. If you are late, it will be too late."
"What?"
Qi Xia had just taken three steps when he suddenly froze in place.
"Why would he be injured?"
Qi Xia turned back in confusion.
"Is your game that dangerous?"
"Not really."
The Human Rabbit twisted her waist and took a step forward.
"My games are all escape-type games. I designed very precise mechanisms. But that young man, relying on his good physique, insisted on using brute force to break through. What could I do?"
Qi Xia didn't say anything more after hearing this. Turning his head, he suddenly saw a few traces of fresh blood on the ground. His expression turned cold as he spoke, "Let's go."
The group kept moving forward, following the blood trail. Judging from the amount of blood, Officer Li shouldn't be heavily injured. The Human Rabbit was likely just being an alarmist.
Very soon, the group followed the blood to the entrance of a pharmacy. Crashing sounds continuously came from inside the room, so there were clearly people inside.
"Officer Li?"
Qi Xia called out. The noise inside stopped for a moment, and Lawyer Zhang was the first to walk out.
"Qi Xia?!"
She looked a bit different; her originally neat appearance now seemed somewhat disheveled. She was completely soaked, as if she had just been in the water.
"What happened?"
Qi Xia asked.
"Where is Officer Li?"
Lawyer Zhang's eyes suddenly went wide, and she grabbed Qi Xia in one motion.
"Quick, help me! Officer Li is not going to make it!"
"What?!"
Qi Xia felt somewhat confused. They had followed the sparse trail of blood all the way here, and it looked like a scratched arm at most. How could he be dying?
The three followed Lawyer Zhang through the door, and a very strong smell of rust drifted out. After just a few steps, they saw Officer Li, whose whole body was dyed red. His entire body was covered in fresh blood, making it impossible to tell where he was injured for a moment.
They only saw that his lips were pale, his face was ashen, and he was slumped weakly on the ground.
"Wh-what happened..."
Lin Qin ran forward trembling.
"Officer Li... where exactly are you hurt?"
Officer Li turned his head to look at Qi Xia and Lin Qin, squeezing out a bitter smile on his face. He slowly reached out his hand, as if he wanted to say something. Qi Xia looked down, and his heart gave a violent jump.
This wasn't a question of "where he was hurt" at all— Officer Li's entire right hand was completely gone. There was a very rough stump at his wrist. It didn't look like it had been cut off at all, but rather torn off.
And it seemed that to stop the bleeding, he had found a piece of iron wire and tied it around his arm. That wire dug tightly into his flesh, turning the surrounding flesh purple from the pressure. Because of this, only a small amount of blood flowed from the severed arm.
"My God..."
Lin Qin wanted to help do something, but realized she couldn't help at all.
"Lawyer Zhang, what exactly happened?"
"That rabbit's game..."
Zhang Chenze bit her lip hard.
"That woman is simply a pervert..."
Qi Xia's eyes gradually turned cold and dark. He came to Officer Li's side and wanted to say something, but every word caught in his throat. He had imagined many scenarios of meeting the other party, but he never expected it to be like this.
"Lawyer Zhang, take them out," Officer Li suddenly spoke.
"I want to talk to Qi Xia alone."
"Talk alone?"
The few people were somewhat puzzled after hearing this. Zhang Chenze thought for a moment, nodded, and led Lin Qin and Old Lu out of the room. Seeing everyone leave, Officer Li gave a bitter smile and said to Qi Xia, "Why are you frowning?
You look like you've suffered some great grievance."
"I..."
Qi Xia sighed and could only say, "I will get revenge for you.
That rabbit..."
"No..."
Officer Li shook his head.
"That woman is crazy. Do not participate in her game."
The words Qi Xia hadn't yet spoken caught in his throat again, and he didn't know what to say. Officer Li chuckled weakly.
"Did you find a way to leave this place?"
"No..."
Qi Xia said in dejection.
"I think I might have been wrong. Not only did I not find a way to leave, but I even caused the deaths of Qiao Jiajin and Tian Tian."
With only Officer Li left here, Qi Xia finally spoke the sorrow hidden in his heart.
"I thought everything was too simple..."
Officer Li's pale lips parted in a slight grin, then he shifted his body to make his sitting posture a bit more comfortable.
"What's wrong?"
Officer Li asked.
"Are there still things you can't solve?"
Qi Xia didn't know how to describe the matter regarding Xiaoxiao, so he could only shake his head. Now that even the trusted Officer Li was going to die, Qi Xia felt his headache acting up again. He shook his head and pretended nothing was wrong as he asked, "Why did you keep me here alone?"
"I have some things I want to say to someone before I die."
Officer Li patted his pockets and took out a torn cigarette box. Unexpectedly, there were two moldy cigarettes inside. He probably found them in some abandoned building.
He took a cigarette and hung it from his mouth, then patted his other pockets and muttered a curse word in a low voice.
"I forgot I didn't find a lighter. I won't even be able to have this puff before I die..."