“Is that so…?” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “So the big horse woman used a word game. These ‘balls’ do have rewards, but all the rewards are concentrated on the ‘Lucun’ star…”

Bai Jiu also suddenly thought of something. “Ah, then she’s so despicable… Isn’t this just guiding the ‘participants’ to choose to catch the balls as much as possible in the early stages? But those balls will kill you if you catch them.”

“It’s fine,” Qiao Jiajin said. “I’ve come out of retirement.”

“This…” When everyone heard Qiao Jiajin say this, although they felt very secure, they could see that the blisters on Qiao Jiajin’s burned arms were even more obvious. Saying nothing was wrong would be a lie.

The next two balls both belonged to “Earth.” Thinking optimistically, they were “stone balls.” But thinking pessimistically?

Wouldn’t that strange mechanism shoot out meteor hammers made of stone to kill people?

“I’ll catch them,” Qiao Jiajin said with determination. “This isn’t an area you’re good at… Since I appeared here as your ‘big boss,’ then I have the responsibility to protect you.”

“Big boss…?”

Everyone was somewhat hesitant. Wasn’t Qiao Jiajin their “leader”? When did he become a big boss?

Qiao Jiajin waved his hand to dispel the increasingly cold air in the venue, then walked step by step to stand in front of “Lucun.”

Starting from this round, the situation seemed to have changed somewhat.

Previously, all the mechanisms were on the right side of the straight track. They were arranged in a diamond shape, with each mechanism placed at a vertex of the diamond. These four precisely represented the last four stars of the Big Dipper.

Now it was the turn of the first three stars of the Big Dipper. These three stars were all on the left side of the track, arranged in a diagonal line.

The mechanisms on the right side and the mechanisms on the left side… was there any difference?

Since Qiao Jiajin had no idea what props would be shot out from this mechanism, he could only stop five or six steps away from “Lucun.”

At this distance, what would be the difference between a fist-sized “stone ball” and an “iron ball” hitting his body?

The only thing certain was that if these balls hit his body, they would definitely cause serious injury. It’s just that the “stone ball” would most likely shatter when hitting the body, while the “iron ball” wouldn’t.

“I can’t get tired yet…” Qiao Jiajin took a deep breath and slowly moved his palm closer to “Lucun.”

“We’re starting too!” Bai Jiu turned around to command everyone. Since everyone already had high proficiency, this time the cart pushing was faster than ever.

The “Lucun” in front of Qiao Jiajin also began to move. Before long, a gray-black “ball” shot out. He once again flipped his palm and pressed this ball hard onto the ground.

It was an ordinary “stone ball,” with neither blades nor high temperature.

“Huh…?” Just as Qiao Jiajin was puzzled by the sudden drop in difficulty this round, he suddenly heard chaos not far away.

He quickly turned his head, only to discover that every mechanism was now active. They simultaneously shot out stone balls. Some stone balls aimed at the “cart rider,” and some stone balls aimed at the “cart pushers.”

Even the two mechanisms beside Qiao Jiajin, “Tanlang” and “Jumen,” which shouldn’t have been active this round, also shot out stone balls simultaneously.

Since everyone had already formed a mental habit, no one had prepared in advance. Even Qiao Jiajin, who was beside the mechanisms, didn’t block these two balls.

“Oh no!”

In the distance, several men and women were cleanly knocked down by the stone balls without any preparation. The only one who reacted and fought back was astrology girl Ning Shiba.

She bent her arms to protect her chest and slightly turned her body to change the flying direction of the stone ball, letting it fly past her arm.

But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, she saw another stone ball flying toward Luo Shiwu on the “Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Ning Shiba leaped up from the icy surface and used her own body to forcefully block this stone ball.

This stone ball hit precisely on her ribs, causing her to spit out a large mouthful of fresh blood after landing.

“Hey!!” Qiao Jiajin’s eyes instantly turned red when he saw this scene. “You street-level despicable and vicious big horse woman, what the hell are you doing?! Did the rules say this?”

“Rules…?” Earth-Horse found it somewhat amusing. “What did my rules say?”

“Can these balls fly around chaotically in one round?!”

“I did mention rules, but when did I say only one mechanism would be active each round? And when did I say there would only be seven ‘balls’ each round?”

Qiao Jiajin was about to retort, but felt that what Earth-Horse said had no problems.

The rules indeed never mentioned these things. Whether it was the mechanisms’ “action sequence” or each round’s “number of attacks,” they were all deduced by them as participants.

“You’re misleading us…” Qiao Jiajin said through gritted teeth. “You actually used this strategy to attack my people?”

“Don’t get it wrong,” Earth-Horse said. “The most naive person in this game is you. If it really went as you wished, with one person blocking the mechanisms while everyone else could be completely saved… what would be the meaning of my existence as an ‘Earth-level’?”

“If there’s something, you can come at me…” Qiao Jiajin said with some disappointment. “Big horse woman, let me make a deal with you… how about all the mechanisms aim at me?”

“Heh…” Earth-Horse chuckled. “What a huge joke. Do you think I, ‘Earth-Horse,’ appeared here for what? To watch you race? To give you rewards? To let you play the hero? Don’t be silly! What I want is lives! The lives of participants!”

After hearing this, Qiao Jiajin’s eyes slowly turned cold. All the relaxed expressions on his face disappeared completely, replaced by the coldness of a killer.

“So that’s how it is…?” He paused slightly, then walked to the side of the “Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse” and helped up the people who had fallen in all directions one by one.

“Jiao… Jiu Ge…” Ning Shiba grabbed Qiao Jiajin’s hand, but couldn’t stand up no matter what. With blood hanging from the corner of her mouth, she said viciously through gritted teeth, “Don’t worry about me… I’m not going to make it…”

“Astrology girl, you’re the hero of this round. Even if you’re going to die, you’ll die after me.” Qiao Jiajin reached under Ning Shiba’s armpits and lifted her up.

“What kind of hero am I…” Ning Shiba wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and said with a bitter smile. “I should have thought earlier… the ‘Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse’ is for transporting military supplies… how could there be no danger on this road? How could we transporters possibly be so safe…? If only I had thought of it earlier…”

“No.” Qiao Jiajin shook his head and stopped Ning Shiba’s words. “Astrology girl, you really are a hero. Did you guess wrong about the iron balls before? Did you guess wrong about the fireballs before? Did you get the Five Elements of each star wrong? If it weren’t for you, I would be the one supporting teammates and vomiting blood right now.”