Zhu Que had disappeared.

Through this encounter, Qi Xia had formed a general deduction about the entire Land of Terminus, but now was not the time to sort it out. The urgent priority was to rescue Yun Yao.

Zhang Shan was still ramming the door with force. This iron door was more solid than imagined, and coupled with the accumulated water in the room that had already risen past the door, the resistance was unimaginably great.

When everyone looked through the glass window on the door, the accumulated water had already risen past Yun Yao’s forehead. She was now desperately tilting her head back, breathing with difficulty.

Zhang Shan made a snap decision and reached out to smash the glass window, but all the glass windows in this godforsaken place seemed to be custom-made and incredibly sturdy.

“Zhang Shan.” Qi Xia called out. “Don’t push inward, pull outward.”

“Pull outward?” Zhang Shan was stunned. “But this door opens inward…”

“You can’t resist the force of that accumulated water inside, so go with the flow.” Qi Xia said. “Pull outward and dismantle it.”

Zhang Shan immediately understood. He nodded, then gripped the door handle with both hands, placed one foot on the left wall, and leaned his entire body backward. Before long, his other foot also left the ground.

Now, as if standing on the wall, his legs and arms exerted force simultaneously, pulling the iron door outward.

The veins on his arms bulged one by one, and his entire face actually turned red from the exertion.

“I… damn…”

Qi Xia and Old Lu also hurried forward and grabbed Zhang Shan’s arms to help pull.

“Creak—”

With a tremendous sound, the iron door actually began to deform.

“You two leave first!” Zhang Shan said. “It’s too dangerous!”

Old Lu quickly nodded upon hearing this and came over to pull Qi Xia: “Little Qi, retreat!”

Qi Xia hurriedly dodged to the side. He felt like someone was missing from the team. Turning his head, he saw that Doctor Zhao had already run more than ten meters away.

“Clang—”

“Yun Yao! Grab the handcuffs!!” Qi Xia shouted loudly into the room.

Zhang Shan’s powerful physical strength forcibly tore open a large gap in the iron door. In the next second, a massive amount of accumulated water from inside the room gushed out, turning the gap into a huge crack in an instant.

The iron door finally couldn’t hold up anymore and flew out together with Zhang Shan.

Yun Yao inside the room was fortunate that someone had just shouted “grab the handcuffs,” otherwise, under the pull of this tremendous water flow, her wrist would very likely have dislocated.

She gripped the handcuffs tightly, letting that massive water flow sweep over her body. In a moment, she felt the pressure on her body lighten considerably.

At least now she could breathe normally.

After the water flow ended, several people went to help Zhang Shan up, then entered the room together.

Yun Yao looked somewhat weak.

The prolonged mental stress had exhausted both her body and mind.

“Oh…” Yun Yao smiled bitterly and said, “Why such a big commotion…”

“Girl Yun! You almost died!!” Old Lu shouted. “That damn rabbit cheated and nearly took your life!”

“How could that be… My luck is very good…” Yun Yao coughed a few times. “I already rescued you and got you out, so how could I possibly die here?”

Qi Xia knew she was forcing herself to be strong.

Old Lu said that Yun Yao “threw the wooden stick many times, and each time the stick bounced back into her hands.”

It clearly sounded like gambling, but fortunately she won the bet.

She didn’t have an “Echo” at all. Where would such good luck come from?

Zhang Shan stepped forward to inspect Yun Yao’s handcuffs and found they were very standard police handcuffs that couldn’t possibly be opened by bare hands. If so, how could they take her away?

But Zhang Shan was Zhang Shan after all, and he quickly had an idea.

If the handcuffs couldn’t be opened, wouldn’t it be fine to just break the iron pipe the handcuffs were attached to?

He once again extended his thick arms and gripped the iron pipe beside her.

Then he clenched his teeth, veins instantly bulging, and in the blink of an eye, he actually bent the iron pipe.

Under everyone’s astonished gazes, Zhang Shan bent the iron pipe back and forth, producing tremendous metallic noise.

In a very short time, cracks appeared in the iron pipe, and after just a few more bends, it broke apart with a sound.

Yun Yao’s handcuffs also slipped out from the broken side. She looked at the handcuffs attached to her hand and casually wore them on her wrist like a bracelet without caring.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” Yun Yao shook her arm.

“How are you? Can you walk?” Zhang Shan helped her up.

“No problem…” Yun Yao nodded. “I need to hurry back and change clothes… Otherwise I’ll catch a cold.”

Old Lu took off his jacket and draped it over Yun Yao.

“Thank you.” Yun Yao smiled. “What about the Man-Rabbit?”

“Don’t mention the Man-Rabbit.” Old Lu shook his head. “It was impersonated by a young girl. She really had ideas—trying to earn ‘Dao’ through this method? She was quite clever at the critical moment…”

“Impersonated…?” Upon hearing these two words, Yun Yao actually felt relieved. “It’s good that it was impersonated… Was it Xiao Ran who impersonated it?”

Qi Xia suddenly felt somewhat sympathetic toward Yun Yao.

She thought the “Zodiac” was impersonated, so the “Heaven’s Gate” plan to gamble the lives of all “Zodiacs” could still be executed.

But when she learned that she had the “Zodiac Ascension Gambling Contract” in her pocket, what would she think?

The “Zodiacs” here were endless.

Even someone like Xiao Ran, an ordinary person—once she voluntarily put on the mask, as long as her subsequent actions were reasonable and compliant, she would truly become the “Man-Rabbit.”

In other words, if “Heaven’s Gate” led participants to continuously gamble their lives with the “Zodiacs”…

The participants in the “Land of Terminus” would become fewer and fewer, while native residents and disappeared people would become more and more numerous.

One day, only “Zodiacs” and “native residents” would remain here.

When that day came, it would be impossible for anyone to collect three thousand six hundred “Dao,” and impossible for anyone to leave. That would be the true “Terminus.”

Yun Yao poured out some accumulated water from her ear and asked again: “What about Chu Tianqiu? Why didn’t that scheming man come to save me?”

“Hey, don’t mention it! That boy Chu told me something about ‘will definitely do his best,’ but he didn’t even come!” Old Lu cursed. “What kind of people are these? I thought I was selfish enough…”

“Old Lu, don’t sow discord.” Qi Xia said expressionlessly. “I’m guessing that Chu Tianqiu must have his reasons for doing this.”

Zhang Shan frowned on the side. He felt like this sentence was something Qi Xia deliberately said for Yun Yao to hear.

Who exactly was sowing discord?

“Yun Yao, don’t overthink it.” Zhang Shan knew his own tongue was clumsy and he couldn’t say anything eloquent, but it was indeed inappropriate not to say something at this moment. “As our guide, Chu Tianqiu definitely can’t show himself easily…”

“Zhang Shan.” Yun Yao called out. “I suspect the current Chu Tianqiu is impersonated by someone else.”

“Huh?” Zhang Shan, Old Lu, and Doctor Zhao on the side were all simultaneously stunned.