If their positions were reversed, Zhang Chenze knew she would absolutely never break her own hand to save the other person’s life.

But Officer Li had truly done just that.

His initial idea had been very simple—as long as he dislocated his palm, it would be easy to slip free from the handcuffs.

But he made a mistake.

Qi Xia remembered when Officer Li had saved Han Yimo from under that “harpoon”—the situation had been equally urgent, yet he hadn’t made any mistakes.

Perhaps this time he had truly been somewhat flustered.

When he was striking his palm, he accidentally hit the handcuffs with the wooden stick.

And that’s how handcuffs work—if force is applied from the outside, they only tighten more.

He knew that even if he shattered all the bones in his palm, it would be impossible to pull free.

Seeing the water in the fish tank already past Lawyer Zhang’s neck, Officer Li made a split-second decision. He abandoned the plan to smash his palm and instead turned toward his forearm.

This time his force was much greater than before, so great that he nearly passed out several times.

Lawyer Zhang could only tilt her head back, constantly searching for air at the water’s surface.

Just as her consciousness was about to blur, that man came.

He immediately shut off the water valve and then used the wooden stick to shatter the fish tank.

Then he used his remaining left hand to untie the wire binding Lawyer Zhang.

In just those short one or two minutes, the break in Officer Li’s right hand had already been bleeding profusely.

Zhang Chenze hastily broke off a section of wire and tied it tightly around his arm.

Only then did the two manage to escape from that cursed place.

Lawyer Zhang looked at Officer Li’s corpse with sadness and said, “Just as he said… he was a police officer, so he couldn’t watch someone die.”

“No…” Qi Xia slowly shook his head. “He might have just been making up for mistakes he’d made in the past.”

“Mistakes he’d made?” Everyone looked at Qi Xia in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Qi Xia had wanted to say something but swallowed his words back. What Officer Li had just recounted probably shouldn’t be known by too many people. Since he was already dead, let this secret be buried with him.

Lin Qin removed her outer jacket and draped it over Lawyer Zhang’s shoulders.

“Lawyer Zhang, you’re soaking wet. Be careful not to catch a cold.”

Old Lu on the side felt somewhat superfluous. After being at a loss for quite a while, he finally brought over the aluminum pot and said to Lawyer Zhang, “Hey, young lady, accept my condolences. Would you like to eat something?”

Lawyer Zhang was slightly startled. “This person is?”

“I’m Lu… just call me Old Lu.” Old Lu smiled foolishly. “Man is iron, rice is steel—skip a meal and you’ll be starving.”

“He’s someone we met while participating in games.” Lin Qin explained. “Lawyer Zhang, you must be hungry, right? Qi Xia specifically brought this pot of meat to find you all.”

“Meat…”

Lawyer Zhang was indeed somewhat hungry.

Counting from when she arrived here, she hadn’t eaten anything for two full days.

She hastily took the pot, grabbed the completely cooled, rank fatty meat inside, and began eating in large bites.

Watching her soaking wet, disheveled, and wolfing down food, no one would have thought she had once been a haughty lawyer.

After eating several pieces of meat, Lawyer Zhang finally said indistinctly, “Qi Xia, thank you…”

Qi Xia didn’t speak.

After all, this pot of meat had been for Officer Li. Now that Officer Li was dead, giving it to Lawyer Zhang wasn’t improper.

At least she seemed more reliable than Xiao Ran and Doctor Zhao.

“Qi Xia, I originally had some opinions about you.” Lawyer Zhang continued. “But you not only brought us food, you also brought cigarettes for Officer Li. You’re truly very thoughtful.”

She pointed at the cigarette dangling from Officer Li’s lips and said, “He spent a long time finding just two moldy cigarettes…”

After hearing this, Qi Xia pondered for a moment, stepped forward, and removed the cigarette from Officer Li’s mouth.

Qi Xia had never seen this brand of cigarette before. Four characters were written on the filter: “Cordyceps.” Bringing it to his nose for a sniff, there was a rich milky fragrance and the scent of Chinese herbs.

“That’s right, this is the cigarette I brought.” Qi Xia said with a complex expression. “It’s just a pity that Officer Li didn’t have time to smoke it before he died.”

Lin Qin felt somewhat puzzled. She had been practically inseparable from Qi Xia, yet she had never remembered him finding any cigarettes.

Qi Xia then picked up the metal lighter from Officer Li’s hand. “This lighter is also something I brought intending to give to Officer Li. Now it seems I can only use it myself.”

Everyone naturally had no objections, though Lin Qin was somewhat perplexed.

Qi Xia walked to the side, picking up the lighter and cigarette to examine them continuously.

He always felt this matter was inexplicably eerie. Could all of this be related to that bell?

Thinking this, he picked up the old cigarette pack from the ground and examined it carefully, but didn’t discover any mechanisms.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Qin walked over and asked softly. “Is something not right?”

Qi Xia furrowed his brow. There was simply no way to answer.

How could he tell Lin Qin?

That Officer Li had pulled cigarettes from a cigarette pack?

Or that Officer Li had pulled a lighter from his own pocket?

These unremarkable events wouldn’t strike anyone as strange when spoken, yet they left Qi Xia utterly baffled.

“Perhaps I just saw wrong myself.” Qi Xia put both the cigarette and lighter into the cigarette pack and turned back. “How is Lawyer Zhang?”

“Her emotions have stabilized. What should we do?”

Qi Xia nodded and said, “Our purpose has always been just one, hasn’t it?”

After speaking, he slowly walked toward Lawyer Zhang and said, “Lawyer Zhang, I’ll speak plainly… can I borrow a ‘Dao’ from you?”

“Borrow… a ‘Dao’?” Lawyer Zhang raised her eyebrows, somewhat puzzled.

“That’s right.” Qi Xia nodded. “To be honest, our ‘Dao’ were burned by someone. Now we don’t have a single one left.”

After hearing this, Lawyer Zhang slowly lowered her head, seemingly contemplating something.

“Qi Xia… I can give you all the ‘Dao.'” Lawyer Zhang raised her head with a serious expression. “Let’s team up.”

Qi Xia pressed his lips together and said, “It’s not that I don’t want to team up with you… it’s just that staying by my side seems to be dangerous…”

He briefly explained Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian’s fate to Zhang Chenze, then said, “I’m being targeted now. They’ll kill the people around me to stop me.”

“Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian died—were you affected?” Lawyer Zhang asked.

“Well…”

“You weren’t affected at all.” Lawyer Zhang said. “In other words, killing the people around you to threaten you—that tactic doesn’t work.”

“Theoretically, yes.”

“Then I’m safe.” Lawyer Zhang slowly stood up. “Let’s make an agreement. I’ll give you all my ‘Dao,’ and I’ll also help you in the time ahead. But in exchange, you have to help me escape from here.”