This wasn’t question-and-answer time, yet Xu Qian still received a phone call from Chen Junnan.

“Qian Jie!” Chen Junnan called out enthusiastically, “How about it? Did you hear it?”

Xu Qian’s voice gradually lowered: “You… can really control the timing of killings?”

“More or less.” Chen Junnan nodded. “I promised to let you see a dead person within three rounds, and now it’s the second round.”

Xu Qian felt that the man on the other end of the phone didn’t seem as frivolous as he appeared on the surface—he seemed somewhat dangerous.

“You’re just killing people so casually… aren’t you afraid that someone will kill you later…”

“No, Qian Jie, what kind of harsh words are you saying here?” Chen Junnan asked somewhat puzzled, “Whether or not someone wants to kill me later, what does that have to do with you… This young master just wants you to help call an Earth-level Zodiac, why is this so difficult?”

Only then did Xu Qian realize that Chen Junnan’s purpose from the very beginning was to summon Earth-Snake, but because she herself was unwilling to cooperate, it had gradually turned into a threat.

“It’s my problem…” Xu Qian said, “I… I’ll call Earth-Snake over now.”

“There we go.” Chen Junnan nodded. “Counting on you, Qian Jie.”

Xu Qian was about to hang up the phone, but Chen Junnan stopped her.

“Don’t hang up.”

“Ah?”

“Hold the phone, that’s the only way I can ensure you’re safe.”

“This…”

Xu Qian slowly stood up, walked to the door of her own room holding the phone, and reached out to knock on the door.

“Referee! Earth-Snake!” she shouted loudly, “Come here for a moment! I need to see you!”

Earth-Snake was slightly startled and looked toward Xu Qian’s door.

“Come over quickly!” Xu Qian continued shouting loudly.

“Oh…?” Earth-Snake gave a cold laugh, then moved his hunched body toward that door. “This time the young lady is calling for help really early.”

After a few steps, he arrived at the door and said through it: “What’s wrong, little lady? Scared?”

With only a door separating them, Xu Qian seemed to already smell the unpleasant odor coming from Earth-Snake’s body.

She turned her head and said quietly: “Hey! That old geezer is right outside my door now, what should I say?”

“Have him open the door,” Chen Junnan said.

“O-open the door?” Xu Qian swallowed. “Are you sure he won’t just kill me the instant he opens the door?”

“No.” Chen Junnan shook his head. “If he did that, he’d be violating the rules, after all, in this game he can’t freely slaughter Participants.”

“O-okay… I’ll try.” Xu Qian slowly raised her head and said, “Earth-Snake, can you open the door?”

“Oh…?” Earth-Snake pressed against the door, transmitting his sleazy voice inside. “Little girl, can’t wait any longer?”

Those few short words gave Xu Qian goosebumps all over, the greasy tone making her feel especially disgusted.

Can’t wait?

She desperately wished Earth-Snake would die.

“A-anyway, just open the door.” Xu Qian gathered her courage and said, “I have something to tell you.”

After hearing this, Earth-Snake pressed his wrinkled old face close to the door panel again and said in a strange voice: “Little girl, if you dare try anything funny, even if I don’t kill you… I definitely won’t let you off easy, understand?”

“I, I understand…” Xu Qian agreed, then immediately lowered her head to quietly ask through the phone, “Hey, I feel like I’m courting death… can you really handle this?”

“Of course.” Chen Junnan laughed. “This young master might bully anyone but would never bully a lady. Just go ahead and have him open the door.”

Xu Qian knew that she was now in a situation where there was no turning back. The Earth-Snake before her was dangerous, but wasn’t Chen Junnan equally dangerous?

He had found the pattern in the game and could perceive the timing of killings. Whether she cooperated or not, she was already caught in crisis.

If she had to choose between Earth-Snake and Chen Junnan to align with, she leaned more toward Chen Junnan. Although normally “Referees” were more rule-abiding than “Participants,” Earth-Snake was an exception—he was just too disgusting.

He was like certain male senior colleagues in the workplace who thought themselves venerable and respectable, staring with lecherous eyes, saying what they thought were considerate words, then using their position of authority to satisfy their private desires by any means necessary.

“Earth-Snake… open the door first.” Xu Qian smiled bitterly. “You’re ‘Earth-level,’ I don’t have the guts to try anything…”

“Hehe… good that you know…” Earth-Snake turned the door handle from outside, unlocked it, then pulled the door open.

The scene inside the door was somewhat confusing.

This woman was still holding her phone.

“You…” Earth-Snake was slightly stunned, his brow slowly furrowing. “What are you doing?”

“My goodness…” Being so close to Earth-Snake, Xu Qian felt every hair stand on end. She could only dumbly hold up the phone and ask, “What exactly is your plan…”

“Have him listen to the phone,” Chen Junnan said.

“Ah?” Xu Qian’s eyes widened.

“Have him listen.”

After hearing this, Xu Qian could only silently extend her hand and say quietly: “Your phone call…”

Earth-Snake looked at the phone in her hand and couldn’t help becoming cautious.

“Who’s on the other end of the phone?” he asked.

“You…” Xu Qian shook her head helplessly. “I can only receive calls from my upstream neighbor.”

“Upstream neighbor…?” He turned his head to look at the door to the room on Xu Qian’s right. If he remembered correctly, this was that “troublemaker’s” room.

Earth-Snake rolled his bright yellow eyes and looked at Xu Qian, asking puzzledly: “He has something to say to me… why are you the one who told me to open the door?”

“I don’t know either.” Xu Qian answered truthfully. “My life was threatened, so I had no choice but to call you over.”

“Not good…!” Earth-Snake’s eyes widened instantly. He reached out to close the door, but heard two words come from the phone receiver.

“Bet lives!”

Earth-Snake’s hand stopped moving, and his entire person froze in place, unable to move.

The corners of Chen Junnan’s mouth lifted slightly, and he added: “…I mean you and I.”

Hearing this rather scheming inverted sentence structure, Earth-Snake’s entire body slowly began to tremble.

What kind of life-betting method was this?

He actually had another person deliver the life-betting declaration phone right to his face—this way, even covering his mouth couldn’t be done!

What should he do next?

Die…?

“AHHHHHHH!” Earth-Snake suddenly covered his head and wailed, “Too terrifying… too terrifying!”

Why was there really someone who wanted to bet lives with him?!

He could clearly have been living a heavenly existence here!

What right did this person have to disturb him?!

“AHHHHHHH!” Earth-Snake was like someone who had seen a ghost, continuously pulling at his own facial skin while screaming.

“Good grief…” Chen Junnan asked through the phone, “What’s wrong with that old man? You better be my witness here, I didn’t touch him, don’t try to frame me.”

Although Xu Qian was somewhat surprised by Earth-Snake’s behavior, she was more surprised by Chen Junnan’s methods.

“You said you could keep me safe… this is your strategy?” she asked with a trembling voice. “Are you going to die here?”

“Die?” Chen Junnan shook his head. “Not so, not so. I won’t necessarily die, but there is a possibility I could strike down an Earth-level here and give Old Qi a meeting gift after seven years apart.”