Officer Li looked at Jin Yuanxun and Little Glasses beside him, then glanced at Zhang Chenze on the other side, feeling somewhat uneasy.

Although he had briefly teamed up with Lawyer Zhang, frankly speaking, he wasn’t very familiar with any of these three people.

In such a bizarre place, was it really reasonable for unfamiliar people to team up for a game?

What was that person called Chu Tianqiu’s intention in arranging things this way?

“Mr. Li, I heard you’re a police officer?” Little Glasses asked.

“Yes.” Officer Li nodded. “Isn’t it ironic to meet a police officer in a place like this?”

“Not really.” Little Glasses shook his head very politely. “In here, we’re all the same.”

“What do you do?” Officer Li asked.

“I’m a teacher,” Little Glasses said. “We’re both in very demanding professions, so I understand you very well.”

Officer Li nodded after hearing this. He looked at Little Glasses’s appearance—this man had a lean build, and his eyes were bright and spirited. It was somewhat hard to tell his age.

“So you’re a teacher?”

“Yes.” Little Glasses nodded, and the two of them ran out of things to say.

Officer Li sighed helplessly. If that person called Chu Tianqiu hadn’t arranged the teams this way, he would have preferred to move together with Han Yimo.

If he couldn’t keep watch over that guy, he might end up getting the people around him killed.

Zhang Chenze looked at Jin Yuanxun at this moment. The youth seemed to be daydreaming while walking, which looked somewhat comical.

“Are you a student?” she asked.

“Huh… me?” Jin Yuanxun laughed awkwardly. “Sister, I am indeed a student.”

Zhang Chenze noticed that although this youth was only thirteen or fourteen years old, there was a mature depth in his eyes.

The four of them chatted very awkwardly and soon arrived at a game venue.

Standing at the entrance was a monster wearing a stitched mask.

Officer Li stared at the monstrous face before him and couldn’t help scratching his head.

Just like the Man-Dragon he had seen once before, the person in front of him also wore a mask pieced together from many animal skins, but it looked somewhat different from the Man-Dragon.

The Man-Dragon mask he had seen before was assembled from the faces of an ox and a crocodile.

The person before them now used a horse head and snake skin. Their build was very thin and weak, and they had also attached enormous deer antlers to the mask.

“Hello everyone.” That person spoke, and the voice revealed it was actually a woman. “Would you like to play my game?”

Having been killed by Man-Rabbit last time, Officer Li felt somewhat wary upon hearing a female referee’s voice.

Little Glasses looked at the person before them, then took out the map from his pocket to check it. His expression showed some hesitation.

This trip had been arranged by Chu Tianqiu, but why was the destination such a monster?

“Jin Yuanxun, could we have taken a wrong turn?” Little Glasses held the map in front of Jin Yuanxun. “Help me check.”

Jin Yuanxun took the map and looked at it, feeling the direction was correct.

But the location on the map clearly said “Man-Tiger” and included several dozen characters of strategy.

Where did the monster before them resemble a tiger?

“I am ‘Man-Dragon,'” the woman said. “Free game. Does anyone want to play?”

The four people looked at each other.

She was actually “Man-Dragon.”

It was just that her mask wasn’t in the same style as the “Man-Dragon” they had seen before.

“That makes sense…” Little Glasses nodded. “Mr. Chu said the games here are all classified according to the twelve zodiac animals, so encountering ‘Dragon’ isn’t strange. After all, it’s within the twelve zodiac.”

The remaining three nodded. Except for Officer Li, the other three hadn’t retained their memories, so they could only act according to Chu Tianqiu’s instructions.

But even Officer Li, who retained his memories, was encountering a dragon-type game for the first time.

Now that the map had an error, should they participate in the game?

“I don’t think it’s necessary to take the risk,” Officer Li said. “The map has an error, which means the strategy Chu Tianqiu gave won’t work either. We should just go back.”

“But no Dao needed,” Jin Yuanxun said.

“What?”

“Bro, no Dao needed at all,” Jin Yuanxun explained. “No admission fee like that, no loss, right?”

Little Glasses frowned, understanding Jin Yuanxun’s meaning.

This was a free game, which meant the worst-case scenario was breaking even.

If they won, they could even make some contribution to the organization. After all, Chu had said that most “Human”-level games were safe.

But what was the content of “Dragon’s” game?

Little Glasses suddenly thought of something. “By the way, Officer, Mr. Chu said you’re an ‘Echo’?”

Zhang Chenze was startled after hearing this. She and Jin Yuanxun looked at each other. “‘Echo’…? What’s that?”

“I am indeed an ‘Echo.'” Officer Li nodded. “But I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you. I was eliminated very early on, so what I know is extremely limited. I don’t know what ‘Dragon’ is.”

“I see…” Little Glasses nodded and said to the three of them, “Currently we only have two choices before us. Either we turn back, get another map, and set out again. Or we take a gamble here, but this isn’t just my decision alone, so I need to discuss it with all of you.”

Officer Li thought for a moment and said, “Let’s vote. Does anyone decide to go back?”

Seeing that no one raised their hand, Officer Li raised his own hand. “I personally suggest we think this through carefully. Rashly participating in an unknown game is a bit risky.”

After waiting a few more seconds and finding that no one responded, he sheepishly lowered his hand and asked again, “Then does anyone decide to participate in this game?”

Jin Yuanxun raised his hand.

Little Glasses thought for a moment, then also raised his hand.

Two to one.

Everyone turned to look at Zhang Chenze. She still hadn’t taken a position.

“I abstain,” Zhang Chenze said. “Without detailed information, I won’t rashly make any choice.”

“That’s fine, we already have a result.” Officer Li nodded. “Since we’re a team, the minority follows the majority. We’ll go to ‘Man-Dragon’s’ game and give it a try. Even if we fail, we’ll try to bring back a strategy guide.”

The three of them all nodded and walked toward Man-Dragon.

As they entered that building, Man-Dragon closed the door.

But the next second, the entire building suddenly vanished from the street.

It was as if this had always been an empty plaza with nothing there.

Doorway to Heaven.

Chu Tianqiu sat in a dim room. The shelves around him were filled with bloodstained animal masks.

He hummed classical music softly, tapping out the rhythm with his fingers, looking to be in a very good mood.

Before long, he opened his eyes and looked at the chess board on the table.

Black chess pieces and some worn plastic toys were placed on it.

He picked up four “pawns” and gently placed them in front of a huge monster toy, asking himself aloud, “Dragon Slayers, the opportunity has been placed before you. How will you choose to die?”

After speaking, he laughed, then looked behind the monster toy.

There were another four chess pieces placed there.

A “King,” a “Queen,” a “Knight,” and a “Bishop.”

These four pieces, together with the previous four “pawns,” surrounded the plastic monster from both sides, forming a siege.

“Qi Xia, why do you think that is?” Chu Tianqiu closed his eyes and continued humming classical music.

“Why is there always only one ‘King’ on the chessboard?”