“I see…” Qi Xia nodded, thinking to himself that the person who designed this game was very clever.

The “rope” appeared to be a weapon for cowards, yet it could make the opponent feel pain beyond imagination.

When two cowards fought with “ropes,” one side was extremely likely to be enraged.

When humans become enraged, they might kill the other party.

So among this deck of cards, the seemingly most harmless “rope” was actually like its name—it could become the fuse for everything.

The two endured the severe pain and whipped each other several times. The ten seconds had already been exhausted.

They stopped, angrily threw away their items, and then returned to their original positions.

But this time the situation was a bit different—both appeared to be in pain all over.

Doctor Zhao kept clutching his lower abdomen, while Zichen kept clutching his arm.

Their eyes had changed. They seemed to be slowly accepting the rules of this “ten-second deathmatch.” At this moment they were gathering their strength, just waiting for the next round’s items to arrive.

“Sixth round, please draw a card.”

Qi Xia looked up at Su Shan. She showed no intention of drawing a card, so he unceremoniously reached out and drew a new card.

The cards in his hand were still stable—”Shield,” “Knife,” “Stick,” “Stone,” “Stone.”

No matter what this new card was, it wouldn’t put him at a disadvantage. He would formulate new tactics based on the card face.

But when Qi Xia actually saw this card, his pupils contracted uncontrollably.

The card depicted a handgun, and above the handgun was written “JOKER” in English.

“This is… a trump card?”

He came back to his senses, slowly took the card into his hand, and his mind began constantly contemplating countermeasures.

Earth-Chicken had said there were two “life cards” and one “death card” in this deck. But was this trump card with “JOKER” written on it a “life card” or a “death card”?

“Wait, hold on…”

Qi Xia gently touched his forehead with his hand, then looked carefully at this card once more.

This situation was truly beyond expectation.

A gun kills in just an instant.

Whether the person holding the gun was a coward or a real murderer, they only needed one second of killing intent—that would be enough.

Even if they would regret it, that would be after firing the shot.

Thinking of this, he turned his head to look at the glass room again.

This room wasn’t large. Doctor Zhao and Zichen were at most a dozen or so steps apart.

At this distance, the advantage of a gun was enormous.

So… should he play this “gun” card next round?

What if the opponent had a “shield”?

Qi Xia had to admit this “handgun” card was truly beyond his expectations. For a moment, he hadn’t controlled his micro-expressions well.

If Su Shan caught this opening and played a “shield” accordingly, the situation would be somewhat thorny.

“No, that’s not right…”

Qi Xia suddenly thought of a problem—the shields in this game were wooden!

They couldn’t block a “gun”!

This card was a guaranteed win!

Just as Qi Xia was lost in thought, Su Shan placed a card face-down on the table.

“I’ve chosen,” she said.

Qi Xia raised his head. He knew that this round he had shown an opening, and it wasn’t suitable to play the “gun.”

Although bullets could penetrate wood, their lethality would still decrease.

If he wanted to kill the opponent’s “Fighter” with complete certainty, now was not the time.

Qi Xia could only place a “Stick” card face-down on the table.

“Please reveal your cards.”

Su Shan had played another “Rope.”

Just as Qi Xia expected, this was the opponent’s “rope phase.”

Qi Xia somewhat regretted not directly playing the “gun,” but thinking carefully, every card played was related to his own life. Being cautious wasn’t wrong.

Doctor Zhao had learned his lesson. He directly raised his hand and caught the stick before it hit the ground, then charged forward without a word.

Before Zichen could pick up the rope on the ground, Doctor Zhao struck him down with one blow of the stick.

Then he swung the stick and viciously struck him five or six more times.

One could only say this was all karmic retribution. If Zichen hadn’t pressed Doctor Zhao to the ground and beaten him with a brick, Doctor Zhao wouldn’t have gotten so angry.

“Zichen…” Su Shan stood up with a worried expression, constantly peering into the glass room.

She had become somewhat flustered.

“Stop hitting him… make him stop…” Su Shan turned to Qi Xia and said, “Make him stop!”

“He’ll naturally stop when time’s up,” Qi Xia said.

After hearing this, Su Shan’s face showed a trace of displeasure. Then she slowly sat down and said: “Qi Xia, concede defeat. I’ve drawn a ‘life card.'”

“Hm?” Qi Xia was startled, then looked at the opponent. “Do you think I’ll believe you?”

“Whether you believe it or not, I already drew the ‘life card’ in the second round. It’s just that I’ve been looking for a solution that benefits everyone, so I haven’t rashly played it,” Su Shan said. “At one point, I thought I could let everyone survive.”

Qi Xia looked at Su Shan’s eyes, unable to judge the truth or falsehood of this statement based on her expression.

This girl’s thoughts were hidden very deep.

Ten seconds had passed. Earth-Chicken had them stop.

But Qi Xia and Su Shan still hadn’t moved.

“You say you drew a ‘life card.’ Then tell me, what does the ‘life card’ show?” Qi Xia asked.

After hearing this, Su Shan slowly extended her thumb and index finger, forming them into the shape of a gun.

“It’s something that kills in one strike,” she said. “Nothing can block it.”

After hearing this, Qi Xia paused slightly, his mind calculating again.

This statement could still be false.

If it was false, the situation was even more dire.

Because the girl before him was too intelligent—she had actually guessed the content of the “life card” through her own deductions.

“So if you concede now, we won’t have to kill each other. Perhaps you won’t have to die either,” Su Shan said.

Qi Xia knew that no matter how intelligent this girl was, her experience was ultimately shallow. She didn’t even know this hellish place had its own “rules.”

Since “Participants” came to participate in “Earth”-level games with their own heads on the line, they had to be prepared for death.

Failure in the game meant death. Escaping midway still meant death.

“I won’t concede,” Qi Xia said. “I came to participate in this chicken’s game precisely to kill my opponent and win the game.”

“Are you all insane…” Su Shan’s emotions became somewhat out of control. “If we kill each other in the games, how could anyone possibly get out in the end?! If we Participants kill until the very end, will anyone really be able to collect 3,600 ‘Dao’?!”

Qi Xia didn’t answer her. He had come to this hellish place twice already. No, to be precise, this was already the third time.

He had long since lost the confusion in his heart.

Now he only wanted to follow the rules of this place and hope that one day he could get out alive and find Yu Nian’an.

“Stop talking, Su Shan. Let’s continue.”

Qi Xia silently drew a new card.

Su Shan also drew a card after a long silence.

The two looked at their cards and simultaneously frowned.

Su Shan had really drawn the “gun.”

And Qi Xia had drawn the “death card.”