When Song Qi walked out of the teaching building, all the Cat team members’ expressions changed.

Several people hurried forward to check his injuries, but he waved his hand to stop them.

“Everyone leaves behind one right hand,” Song Qi said, raising his head. “Men are responsible for cutting, women for stopping the bleeding.”

After that single statement, more than half the people had already pulled out daggers and pressed them against their own wrists.

Qi Xia sat by the window, watching this bizarre scene on the distant playground, and slowly furrowed his brow.

“Song Qi… Luo Shiyi?” He stared at those two familiar faces on the field and fell into thought. It seemed they truly belonged to the same organization, but why would they collectively sever their own right hands?

“Could it be… a ‘transaction’?” Qi Xia looked at Chu Tianqiu in the distance again, constructing the cause and effect of this matter in his mind.

What kind of matter could make this group of mercenaries pay such a huge price?

“Could it be me…?” But soon Qi Xia was stroking his chin and frowning. “Am I that important?”

While he was pondering, a faint sound of footsteps came from behind him.

He turned to look and saw Officer Li staring at him with a heavy expression, as if he had something to say.

“What’s wrong?”

Officer Li sat down beside Qi Xia, raised his head to look at him, but hesitated to speak.

“Just say what you need to say,” Qi Xia said. “Did you encounter some difficulty?”

Officer Li glanced at Qi Xia and slowly said, “Qi Xia, do you still remember? You said that as long as I stood on your side, you would help me settle the matter with Zhang Huanan.”

“That’s right.” Qi Xia nodded seriously. “Is it settled now?”

Hearing this question, Officer Li’s expression darkened, then he smiled bitterly. “I didn’t expect that even now, you’re still calm and collected… Qi Xia, why did you lie to me?”

“Lie to you…?” Qi Xia paused.

“I chose to believe you, but you deceived me… Was your promise to help me deal with Zhang Huanan just a temporary delaying tactic?”

There was no anger in Officer Li’s eyes, only traces of disappointment.

“What…?” Qi Xia couldn’t quite grasp the current situation. “Where did I deceive you?”

Officer Li pondered for a moment and reached to touch his pocket, then remembered it was already empty.

“Last time you gave me a phone number… told me to contact the fourteen-year-old you,” Officer Li wanted to reach for a cigarette but found he had none, so he could only say with disappointment, “But that phone number was disconnected.”

“Disconnected…?” Qi Xia slowly furrowed his brow, feeling things were somewhat beyond his expectations.

“To escape my own predicament… I’ve memorized the phone number you gave me countless times. I thought of many possibilities and even considered how to convince the fourteen-year-old you, but I never once thought that the phone number would be wrong.”

Qi Xia didn’t speak, just lowered his head in silence.

“So why did you lie to me…?” Officer Li looked at Qi Xia with eyes full of disappointment and weariness, as if he had once again lost the motivation to escape.

Qi Xia silently shook his head. “Officer Li, whether you believe it or not, I had no motive to deceive you.”

“But Qi Xia…” Officer Li smiled bitterly. “No one is helping me… from beginning to end… no one is helping me… What’s the point of me returning to reality?”

“Are you certain the phone number is correct?” Qi Xia asked again.

Officer Li closed his eyes slightly and repeated the phone number.

It was a landline number, also the number from the house where Qi Xia had lived since childhood. Not a single digit was wrong.

“You’re saying this is disconnected?” Qi Xia asked.

“Would I make a special trip here to lie to you…?”

No matter how he thought about it, this matter was too strange.

After all, the phone number Qi Xia gave Officer Li was genuine, yet it couldn’t reach him. Which link had gone wrong?

Qi Xia turned his head and saw Chu Tianqiu on the playground pointing in his direction. After Song Qi and his group confirmed their target, they all walked over.

“Trouble…” Qi Xia frowned and turned back to look at Officer Li. “Officer Li, although I don’t know what’s going on with the disconnected number, leave me your phone number.”

“My phone number…?” Officer Li felt somewhat confused. “Your time is later than mine. If I leave you my number, how will you help me back then?”

Qi Xia shook his head. “The problem now isn’t about ‘helping you’ anymore, but I want to know… whether we two can actually make contact in the real world.”

“What…?” Officer Li was startled. “Are you suspecting…”

“I’m not suspecting anything,” Qi Xia said. “Just conducting an experiment. Besides, both our lives are stuck anyway—these ten days won’t make a difference.”

After pondering for a moment, Officer Li recited a string of phone numbers.

“Due to the special nature of my profession, this number shouldn’t be easily changed,” Officer Li added. “If you can’t get through… it can only mean I no longer exist in your world.”

“Don’t exist…?”

“I made a mistake, so I’ll sink into history,” Officer Li said with a bitter smile. “I can’t reach that bright future… that you all can see.”

“A bright future…” Qi Xia smiled bitterly. “Let’s hope so.”

While the two were in silence, the classroom door was pushed open, and a group of Cats walked in.

No one in the room moved, just quietly looked toward them.

Song Qi stepped forward, looked at Qi Xia, and spoke. “I should have realized you weren’t an ordinary person.”

Qi Xia didn’t speak. Not far away, Qiao Jiajin slowly stood up.

“Not an ordinary person?” Qiao Jiajin smiled. “So are you here to pay respects?”

Seeing this bare-chested man before them, everyone took half a step back.

“Qiao Jiajin…” Song Qi pondered. “This time we’re taking Qi Xia with us. I hope you won’t obstruct us.”

“Huh?” Qiao Jiajin laughed. “How about we each make a concession—you don’t take him away, and I won’t obstruct you. Deal?”

At this moment, Officer Li also stood up, standing shoulder to shoulder with Qiao Jiajin. He had never seen these people in black leather jackets before, but with so many years on the force, he could tell at a glance this was a gang.

“Troublesome…” Song Qi looked at Qiao Jiajin, then at the well-built Officer Li beside him, and spoke. “These two probably won’t be easy to deal with.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Song Qi also noticed Han Yimo sitting in the corner.

This person also left a deep impression on him. When he died, a violent explosion had occurred, directly killing three Cat team members.

Song Qi felt he was probably the second person in the Land of Finality who could cause combustion explosions, aside from himself.

And Han Yimo instantly recalled something as well. A faint sense of fear arose spontaneously, and he felt a buzzing in his ears.

“This room is quite lively…” Song Qi’s expression gradually darkened.

Qi Xia, Qiao Jiajin, a police officer skilled in combat, the Extreme Path member Lin Qin, plus someone who could cause combustion explosions.

After speaking, he looked at Su Shan again. “And a long-absent strategist…”