According to Old Lu, he and Yun Yao had formed a team today to tackle a Man-level game.

When passing by a “Man-Rabbit” game venue, Yun Yao froze.

Because she clearly remembered this location. Supposedly yesterday, someone had gambled this rabbit to death.

Yet that “Zodiac” was clearly standing at the building entrance, as if nothing had happened at all.

“What’s going on?” Yun Yao found it incomprehensible. “How could a ‘Zodiac’ that died in a life-or-death gamble possibly be resurrected?”

Old Lu went forward with her to inquire about Man-Rabbit’s game. That Man-Rabbit’s voice was extremely unpleasant.

Based on Man-Rabbit’s description, Yun Yao discovered the game rules hadn’t changed. Everything was just as she’d heard, except the “Zodiac” had been resurrected.

Old Lu said he couldn’t understand why Yun Yao would be so shocked. They were simply a bunch of lunatics who had killed countless people. Whether they were dead or alive, it was best not to provoke them. Yet Yun Yao refused to leave as if possessed.

“What happened next?” Chu Tianqiu asked.

“Then she insisted on participating in that game…” Old Lu said somewhat frantically. “But from my observation, that game had no way out at all!”

“What?” Qi Xia furrowed his brow. “You’re saying she stayed there on her own?”

“Yes…” Old Lu nodded. “I was tied up in a fish tank, but I escaped… She had no way to escape!”

Qi Xia thought for a moment and asked, “Was she handcuffed to the side?”

“Yes!”

“Where are the handcuff keys?” Qi Xia asked.

“That’s exactly the problem!” Old Lu was nearly in tears. “There were no handcuff keys in the room at all! Yun Yao’s luck was really good. She threw wooden sticks several times in a row to strike the fish tank, and the sticks bounced back to her hand each time. She just smashed the fish tank like that… I could escape, but she can’t!”

“Hm?” Qi Xia’s brow was so furrowed it looked like a twisted rope. No matter how he heard it, this matter was bizarre. “That ‘Zodiac’ just let you leave?”

“Yes!” Old Lu nodded. “That ‘Zodiac’ said I escaped, so I could go… But what about that girl Yun Yao?!”

Qi Xia wanted to ask more, but Chu Tianqiu slowly said, “I understand. Go rest first.”

“Rest… rest?” Old Lu was stunned. “What do you mean? You’re not going to save her?”

“I’ll make arrangements.” Chu Tianqiu reached out and patted Old Lu’s shoulder. “You go back first. Leave the rest to me.”

Old Lu looked at Chu Tianqiu suspiciously, then at Qi Xia. “Don’t think you’re so smart that you can just stand by and watch someone die.”

“Don’t worry.” Chu Tianqiu smiled elegantly. “Yun Yao is one of us. We’ll do our best.”

After hearing this, Old Lu nodded half-believingly, then sized up Chu Tianqiu once more before leaving the classroom.

“Qi Xia…” Chu Tianqiu said, “There’s actually something I’ve been keeping from you.”

“What?”

“Yesterday morning, the ‘Man-Rabbit’ mask your teammate brought back was stolen.” Chu Tianqiu answered.

After hearing this, Qi Xia instantly felt somewhat angry.

“Xu Liunian, you’re really not suited to be a leader,” Qi Xia said bluntly. “You don’t say a word of what should be said, yet your mouth is full of what shouldn’t be said.”

Why was Yun Yao so determined to investigate inside the “Man-Rabbit’s” game?

Why was she acting as if possessed?

It was all because she had inherited the false will of “Heaven’s Mouth.”

She truly wanted to gamble all the “Zodiacs” to death, but now a “Zodiac” had been resurrected before her eyes. If she didn’t figure out this issue, her beliefs would completely collapse.

Qi Xia turned around, about to push the door and leave.

“Where are you going?!” Chu Tianqiu asked.

“I’m going to save someone.”

“There’s no need!” Chu Tianqiu said, “You should know this too, right? That Man-Rabbit is being impersonated by one of our internal people. Most likely someone was dissatisfied with Yun Yao and resorted to this scheme. How will you resolve this personal grudge? Even if you bring them both back, you still won’t be able to resolve it.”

After hearing this, Qi Xia paused slightly and turned back to say, “Xu Liunian, if you don’t want Yun Yao, I do. Even if human lives are ‘chess pieces,’ you can’t play this game carelessly.”

He pushed open the door and walked out, leaving Chu Tianqiu standing alone in place.

“Saying I’m not suited to be a leader…?” Chu Tianqiu’s eyes slowly dimmed. “These orders were clearly arranged by Chu Tianqiu…”

A thought kept circling in Xu Liunian’s mind.

Had Chu Tianqiu made a mistake?

Disregarding teammates’ lives like this… could everyone truly escape?

Qi Xia encountered Old Lu pacing back and forth in the corridor.

“Old Lu, come with me.” Qi Xia called out.

“Huh?” After hearing this, Old Lu jogged over. “Young Qi, do you have a plan?”

“Yes, you’re coming with me to save someone.”

As Qi Xia spoke, he went to the classroom specifically for the injured. He pushed open the door and looked at the situation inside. “Doctor Zhao, have you finished treating them?”

“Just about.” Doctor Zhao wiped the sweat from his forehead. “What’s wrong?”

“Come out with me for a moment.” Qi Xia turned his head to look at Zhang Shan. “Zhang Shan, you come too.”

Qiao Jiajin, lying on the side, felt something was off. He turned over and got up, asking, “What’s wrong, Liar? Something happened?”

“Rest and recover.” Qi Xia said. “It’s not a big matter. I’ll handle it.”

Qi Xia knew he couldn’t bring Qiao Jiajin this time, otherwise he might try to stop him.

Doctor Zhao and Zhang Shan looked at each other and had no choice but to follow Qi Xia out the door.

Qi Xia led the three of them quickly out of the campus.

“What’s wrong?” Doctor Zhao asked in confusion. “Are we going to participate in a game?”

“No…” Qi Xia shook his head and asked, “Doctor Zhao, I want to ask you a question.”

“What?”

“In your heart, what is Xiao Ran?” Qi Xia asked.

This question left Doctor Zhao bewildered.

“You… what do you mean by asking this?”

“This cycle, you’ve been very protective of Xiao Ran from the start. I want to know why.” Qi Xia asked. “Do you like Xiao Ran?”

“I…” Doctor Zhao lowered his head with difficulty and said quietly, “Qi Xia, I feel like I owe her.”

“Owe her?”

“Yes…” Doctor Zhao nodded. “Last time, although you stopped me, in the following days, I still ‘did that’ with Xiao Ran…”

“Mm, I can imagine.”

Doctor Zhao’s expression looked extremely unpleasant. “That feeling… damn it, don’t even mention how uncomfortable it was. I seemed to have treated Xiao Ran as a tool, a stepping stone. I was using her to gain power for myself… Do you understand that feeling?”

After hearing this, Qi Xia slowly stroked his chin and said, “But Xiao Ran agreed to it too, right?”

“Hm?” Doctor Zhao was stunned.

“Looking at you two, she didn’t seem forced. In fact, she also had something she wanted.”

“Yes…” Doctor Zhao nodded. “Xiao Ran once said, ‘Brother Zhao, I’ve liked brain doctors since I was little. If we get out, remember to keep in touch with me’… She indeed wanted something, but for me…”

“I understand.” Qi Xia sighed. “I just wanted to know where you stand.”

“But why are you suddenly asking this?”

Qi Xia stopped in his tracks, turned back to stare into Doctor Zhao’s eyes, and answered, “Xiao Ran cannot be kept. I’m planning to eliminate her.”