“This…” Doctor Zhao saw this scene and slowly took a step back. “Qi Xia, this thing looks too terrifying. Let’s switch to another one…”

“Really?” Qi Xia turned his head and asked. “It’s just a chicken. Among the twelve zodiac animals, the ‘Chicken’ sounds like the safest animal. What are you afraid of?”

“But… but where in this world is there such a large rooster?” Doctor Zhao shook his head like a rattle-drum. “In any case, it looks very eerie. We should still switch to another…”

“I’ve already decided it will be this one,” Qi Xia said. “Doctor Zhao, our goal is to escape from here. Whether it’s three thousand six hundred ‘Dao’ or breaking through all the games, we must take down the ‘Earth-Chicken,’ right?”

“But, but Qi Xia… you…” Doctor Zhao slowly retreated another step.

However, Qi Xia stepped forward at this moment and grabbed his arm in one swift motion.

“Doctor Zhao, even if I have to knock you unconscious, I will inevitably bring you to sign up for the ‘Earth-Chicken’ game. At that time, you might not even know why you died.”

“You… Qi Xia, have you already gone mad?” Doctor Zhao’s eyes turned cold, and he suddenly pushed Qi Xia. “What exactly is your purpose?”

“My purpose is to escape from here,” Qi Xia said. “If you can be of use to me, I’ll take you out of here together.”

Doctor Zhao’s gaze gradually turned stern. He looked at Qi Xia in front of him, then looked at the Earth-Chicken in the distance.

“But do you have confidence?” Doctor Zhao asked.

“I can’t say for certain, but I will definitely do my best,” Qi Xia answered.

Seeing Qi Xia’s resolute expression, Doctor Zhao stroked his chin and contemplated for a while.

This gesture made the corners of Qi Xia’s mouth curl upward.

As expected, everyone was lying.

Doctor Zhao, what is your true nature?

“If you really want to participate in a ‘Chicken’ type game, I suggest finding a mask that looks more shabby.”

“No, this one,” Qi Xia said. “Doctor Zhao, I’ll give you one more chance to think about it.”

“Damn it…” Doctor Zhao cursed. “Why won’t you listen to advice?! Do you know what this lifelike ‘Chicken’ represents?!”

“This isn’t about whether to listen to advice or not,” Qi Xia revealed a strange expression. “Doctor Zhao, I want to form a deep friendship with you, so I must experience life and death together with you.”

“Deep friendship…?” Doctor Zhao was stunned. “Are you serious?”

“Sort of,” Qi Xia nodded ambiguously.

Doctor Zhao lowered his head and remained silent for a long time, pondering something unknown.

“Qi Xia, does this game require many people to participate?”

“It should.”

“Will there be girls?”

“Girls…”

Qi Xia furrowed his brow, feeling this question was very strange.

“How would I know?” Qi Xia answered. “This isn’t something I can decide.”

After a long while, Doctor Zhao raised his head and looked at the empty distance, then said, “Alright, let’s give it a try.”

Qi Xia helplessly shook his head. He felt that he and Doctor Zhao didn’t seem to be on the same wavelength—he couldn’t guess what the other was thinking at all.

The two slowly walked toward the Earth-Chicken.

“You two! Join quickly!!” The Earth-Chicken immediately shouted, startling the two of them. He should be a man, but his speaking pitch was very high. “We’ve been waiting for you two!!!”

“Oh? There are already other people?” Qi Xia asked. “How do we join?”

“Five ‘Dao’ per person!! If you win, each person gets fifteen ‘Dao’!!” The Earth-Chicken shouted loudly. “Each group of two people can participate!!”

“Quite expensive…” Qi Xia slowly turned his head to look at Doctor Zhao. “Let’s take this gamble.”

“Suit yourself,” Doctor Zhao said helplessly.

Qi Xia took out all ten ‘Dao’ from his pocket and handed them to the Earth-Chicken, then turned back and asked, “Doctor Zhao, what type of game is ‘Chicken’?”

“‘Chicken’…” Doctor Zhao paused. “How would I know?!”

“I’m a ‘Contest’ type game!!” The Earth-Chicken suddenly interrupted. “Each time there will be a small number of players participating in an exciting ‘Contest’!!”

After hearing this, Qi Xia raised his eyebrows. “Then this time…”

“Two versus two!!” The Earth-Chicken shouted.

It seemed his temperament was extremely impatient, giving direct answers every time.

“Isn’t this perfect?” Qi Xia turned back and patted Doctor Zhao. “Let’s see how well you and I can coordinate.”

“Don’t regret it if you die.”

“Alright, I humbly accept your advice.”

The two followed the Earth-Chicken into the room.

This was a renovated mahjong parlor, decorated very luxuriously.

The entire venue had only a delicate square table placed in the center, with a stack of cards placed in the middle of the table.

Three walls of this room were built with antique-style birch wood panels, but what made people feel strange was precisely the fourth wall.

Right on the left side of the square table stood a wall built entirely of transparent glass.

This place was like a recording studio. Sitting by the square table, one could clearly see the situation behind the glass wall.

“Earth-Chicken, didn’t you say you were only waiting for the two of us? Where are our opponents?” Qi Xia asked.

“The other people haven’t come yet!!” The Earth-Chicken said anxiously. “It’s fine that you came! We’ll count whoever we trick into coming! We’ll wait slowly!”

Qi Xia sighed helplessly, thinking to himself that this Earth-Chicken was truly impatient.

He said “slowly” wait, but he kept pacing back and forth the entire time. He constantly went outside the door to look, hoping to immediately find the next group of people.

“We’ve already paid the entrance fee. Can you tell us the rules first?” Qi Xia asked.

“Too troublesome!!” The Earth-Chicken roared. “The rules I set are too troublesome! So I can only explain them once! Wait until everyone is here and I’ll explain them together!”

Qi Xia nodded slightly, then looked at the cards on the table.

“If you can’t explain the rules, can we at least look at the props first?”

“No! You’re too sneaky!!” The Earth-Chicken roared. “I’ll kill you!!”

Hearing this, Qi Xia swallowed slightly.

No matter how crazy the other party appeared, he was still “Earth” level.

This type of enhanced monster only needed to move a finger to kill someone.

Since the Earth-Chicken didn’t plan to reveal the rules, Qi Xia could only make rough deductions.

A deck of cards was placed in the center of this square table. Could it be that four people would sit around together to play cards?

But if that’s the case… how would the “Contest” be manifested?

What was the glass room on the side for?

Thinking it over, Qi Xia simply couldn’t fathom what kind of game this madman in front of him would design, so he could only helplessly shake his head and close his eyes to rest.

Doctor Zhao nervously kept surveying the surrounding environment. His expression was somewhat complex, appearing both expectant and fearful.

After waiting about half an hour, they finally welcomed the second group of participants.

The Earth-Chicken, as if pumped with chicken blood again, used both coaxing and deception to bring a man and a woman into the room.

The man was very tall, probably close to 1.9 meters. The girl looked very gentle and quiet, with exceptionally profound eyes.

After they walked into the room, they nervously looked at Qi Xia and Doctor Zhao, then also came to sit down by the table.

“H-hello, you two,” the man spoke.

Neither Qi Xia nor Doctor Zhao responded. They only watched the two coldly.

Since this was a “Contest” type game, naturally there was no need for greetings.