The group ate a small portion of the bear meat, then drank the meat broth clean.

It must be said, the broth tasted better than the bear meat.

Or perhaps it was because everyone was too thirsty, and anything they drank seemed sweet and fragrant.

“Let’s leave the remaining bear meat here,” Qi Xia said to everyone as he flexed his muscles and bones. “If we’re lucky enough to make it back alive tonight, we can have another meal.”

Xiao Xiao suddenly spoke up: “I want another bowl.”

With that, she picked up her bowl and scooped more bear meat into it.

“Suit yourself,” Qi Xia slowly stood up and looked at the sky. It should be afternoon now.

“We need to hurry,” Qi Xia said. “The four of us have only won ninety-five ‘Dao.’ At this pace, it’s far from enough. Today’s goal is three hundred and sixty.”

“You’re right.” Qiao Jiajin also stood up. “Let’s go.”

Tiantian and Lin Qin tidied up their things and dusted off their clothes. When the two turned around, they saw Xiao Xiao still hadn’t gotten up. She continued eating the meat in her bowl as if she hadn’t heard anything.

“Xiao Xiao, aren’t you coming?” Tiantian asked.

Xiao Xiao threw a large piece of fatty meat into her mouth and licked her fingers, but still didn’t respond.

“Don’t bother with her.” Qi Xia knew this woman’s motives weren’t pure, and it would be better if everyone parted ways sooner. “Let’s go.”

Qiao Jiajin nodded and turned to walk toward Qi Xia.

Just then, a huge bell sound came from the distance.

“CLANG!!!”

Everyone looked puzzled.

Qi Xia was about to say something when he suddenly saw a “wall” flying toward him.

“What?”

Before Qi Xia could react, he crashed heavily into that wall.

It took several seconds before he understood what was happening.

It turned out it wasn’t a “flying wall” at all—he had fallen face-down onto the floor.

He had never experienced such a bizarre feeling before, as if all his senses had become completely confused.

Qi Xia struggled to turn his head and found that Qiao Jiajin, Lin Qin, and Tiantian were all sprawled on the ground in various positions. Their eyes were closed, as if they had lost consciousness.

“What is this…”

Qi Xia felt the current situation was extremely strange, so he shook his head in disbelief. He tried to extend his left hand but extended his right hand instead.

He wanted to stand up but fell to the ground instead.

This feeling was exactly like being drunk, yet his mind was unexpectedly clear.

Xiao Xiao stared at her bowl, eating the remaining meat in large bites, as if she hadn’t seen anything.

“What… did you do?” Qi Xia stared at Xiao Xiao. “Did you poison us?”

Although he asked this, Qi Xia still felt somewhat puzzled.

Xiao Xiao had eaten more of this bear meat than anyone else. If it really was poisoned, why was she fine?

“Qi Xia, listen, the bell has rung,” Xiao Xiao said indifferently.

“The bell has rung… what does that mean?”

“It means… I want to negotiate a deal with you.” Xiao Xiao put down her empty bowl and stood up.

“A deal…?” Qi Xia looked at this plump woman before him with some disbelief. He had originally thought this woman was at most a bit scheming, but now it seemed she was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

Now the other party had completely seized control, and he had no right to refuse.

“What deal do you want to negotiate?” Qi Xia asked.

“Stop collecting ‘Dao,'” Xiao Xiao said. “Live peacefully here.”

“What…?”

Qi Xia had considered many possibilities, but this was the one thing he hadn’t expected.

The other party wasn’t here for the “Dao”?

“You’re telling me to live peacefully here?!” Qi Xia wanted to get up but found his hands and feet completely disobedient. He could only lie on the ground and say viciously, “Why the hell would I want to live here?!”

Xiao Xiao wiped the oil from her hands on her pants, then walked over to the four people and removed all the “Dao” from their waists.

Finally, she squatted down beside Qi Xia and said expressionlessly: “Because you’re too strong. You have a chance of collecting enough ‘Dao.'”

“Isn’t that perfect…” Qi Xia said through gritted teeth. “I’ll solve the mystery of this damned place and bring everyone out.”

“No, I can’t let that happen.” Xiao Xiao calmly shook her head. “I won’t allow anyone to succeed in collecting them. I want to protect this place. If you continue to be stubborn, I’ll make you regret it.”

“I see…” Qi Xia snorted coldly. “You look like a normal person, but you’re actually a lunatic… You want me to live here forever like those walking corpses? Didn’t anyone tell you that this damned place only has ten days left? This place is going to be annihilated!”

“This place is going to be annihilated?” Xiao Xiao nodded, seemingly unsurprised by this answer. “Then let me rephrase it. I want you to quietly wait for annihilation during these few days. You’re not allowed to collect ‘Dao’ anymore.”

“You… lunatic…” Qi Xia said slowly. “If I don’t comply, what will you do? Kill me?”

“Perhaps.”

“You won’t.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“Because you have the opportunity to kill me right now.” Qi Xia said. “You could have killed me directly, yet you want to ‘negotiate a deal’ with me. Why is that?”

After hearing this, Xiao Xiao frowned, turned around, moved the pot aside, and threw all the “Dao” into the furnace fire.

“Hey!!!” Qi Xia shouted loudly. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

As the furnace fire crackled and popped, all the “Dao” that Qi Xia and the others had risked their lives to obtain turned to ashes.

It was at this moment that Xiao Xiao turned back around and said to Qi Xia with a sorrowful expression: “I don’t kill you because I hope that someday in the future, you can join us.”

Qi Xia felt it was impossible to communicate with this woman called Xiao Xiao: “Don’t you understand? This place only has ten days left! Everything will disappear after ten days. What do you mean by ‘someday in the future join us’?”

After saying this, he paused and asked again: “And who are ‘us’?”

“Qi Xia,” Xiao Xiao said. “You’ll understand everything after ten days. This place, these people…”

She pointed at the three people lying on the ground and said to Qi Xia: “They’re not important. Their deaths wouldn’t be a loss. But you’re different. You need to live here.”

“Stop talking nonsense.” Qi Xia said. “How could you possibly know whether they’re important to me or not?”

“I…” Xiao Xiao paused for a moment, as if thinking of something, and said to Qi Xia: “I can prove it to you that their deaths wouldn’t be a loss.”

“What… what are you going to do?”

With that, Xiao Xiao took off her outer shirt, revealing a sports tank top underneath.

Only then did Qi Xia realize that this woman wasn’t “slightly plump” at all. Her muscle content far exceeded even Qiao Jiajin’s. Her abdominal muscles had clear definition, and her arms were like stone pillars.

When he first saw this woman with her large frame and broad shoulders, it was natural to assume she was overweight.

Although her face was thin, no one could have imagined that beneath that oversized T-shirt was a body of powerful muscles.