Qi Xia’s expression grew somewhat heavy after hearing this. He sighed and said, “Aren’t you being too optimistic? I don’t know how to escape from this godforsaken place.”

“Officer Li once said that if this place can truly be escaped from, Qi Xia would most likely be the one to do it.”

Qi Xia fell silent upon hearing this.

In his life, things rarely went beyond his expectations.

He usually controlled everything with meticulous plans.

But ever since arriving here, he had felt powerless many times.

Everything here seemed unwilling to develop according to his plans.

At first, Qi Xia had formulated tactics, wanting to rely on “gambling with life” to obtain “Dao,” but immediately encountered the “Earth-Ox” that could kill in games.

Later, Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian died right before Qi Xia’s eyes, and despite his endless unwillingness, he was completely powerless to stop it.

Now, he had intended to team up with Officer Li to discuss the next strategy.

But Officer Li was also dead.

He could only be forced to team up with Lawyer Zhang.

But what kind of person was Lawyer Zhang exactly?

“The feeling of being unable to strategize and control everything really makes me uncomfortable.” Qi Xia murmured to himself. “Lawyer Zhang, may I ask you a few questions?”

“Ask me a few questions?” Lawyer Zhang pondered for a moment and said, “Alright, as long as it doesn’t involve privacy, go ahead and ask.”

“What is your reason for having to get out?”

“I…” Lawyer Zhang found this question somewhat interesting. “Even if I didn’t have a reason to get out, I couldn’t possibly be willing to stay here, right?”

Qi Xia nodded, then asked, “Do you think ‘killing to seize Dao’ is feasible?”

“Killing to seize ‘Dao’…” Lawyer Zhang held her chin, carefully considering this question, then answered cautiously, “I think this method is feasible, but I don’t want to do it—it violates the law.”

Qi Xia thought for a while, then said, “Good, one last question… Have you ever made a mistake?”

“Made a mistake?” Lawyer Zhang was startled. “Do you mean committed a crime?”

“It’s unrelated to ‘the law.'” Qi Xia said. “Rather, it’s the kind of mistake that’s enough to change your entire life’s trajectory—one that fills you with regret, makes you endlessly remorseful, and has you repaying the debt for the rest of your life.”

Lawyer Zhang’s gaze suddenly turned icy. She stared straight at Qi Xia and asked, “What do you mean? What does this question have to do with our teaming up?”

She didn’t answer, but Qi Xia already knew the answer.

It seemed everything originated from the first game.

Everyone had lied.

“Alright, I understand. Let’s act together.” Qi Xia nodded and extended his hand to Lawyer Zhang.

Lawyer Zhang looked at Qi Xia with some suspicion, then slowly extended her hand and grasped his.

Watching everyone’s performance, Old Lu felt like he had become an outsider again, as if joining this small group would require some effort.

He knew Qi Xia was no ordinary person—acting together with him would greatly increase the probability of obtaining “Dao.”

Thinking of this, Old Lu walked forward with a simple-minded laugh, then said to Qi Xia, “Since we’ve found the person, should I be going now?”

Qi Xia nodded expressionlessly and said indifferently, “I won’t see you out.”

“Huh?” Old Lu was slightly stunned. “Qi kid, aren’t you planning to keep me?”

“There’s no need for that.” Qi Xia turned around and slowly sat down, continuing to examine the lighter in his hand.

Old Lu stood awkwardly in place. He had originally wanted to stage a touching scene of “everyone reluctant to part, forced to stay,” but the young man before him completely didn’t buy into this act. What should he do now?

He turned to look at Lin Qin, his eyes still carrying a trace of expectation.

But Lin Qin understood Qi Xia too well—he couldn’t possibly keep a stranger by his side.

After all, the previous ordeal with Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian was caused by that stranger called Xiao Xiao, so Lin Qin didn’t respond to Old Lu at all.

Seeing that Lin Qin hadn’t reacted for a long time, Old Lu could only look toward Zhang Chenze.

He thought to himself that this woman also looked kind-hearted and shouldn’t be so heartless.

So he bent down beside Lawyer Zhang, helped wrap her clothes more tightly around her, then said, “Little miss, I’m really leaving now. You must take good care of yourself.”

What Old Lu didn’t expect was that Zhang Chenze was even more cold-blooded than Lin Qin.

“Uncle, don’t trouble yourself with concern.” Zhang Chenze said coldly. “Also, let me make this clear to you—unless it’s an urgent situation or a medical setting, please don’t touch me.”

“You all…” Old Lu was so angry his teeth itched, but he had nothing to say, since he was the one who proposed leaving.

He’d seen people who created steps down for themselves before, but never seen someone use a step to mount themselves on a cliff’s edge.

This time it was Old Lu’s turn to be reluctant to leave.

He walked toward the door with three backward glances, discovering that indeed no one was trying to keep him, so he could only walk outside in embarrassment.

Just as he was about to leave, Old Lu suddenly thought of something and quickly returned, saying to everyone, “This morning I discovered a game that requires a four-person team to participate… Are you interested?”

Hearing this, Lin Qin and Zhang Chenze both looked toward Qi Xia.

Qi Xia slowly raised his head, and after thinking for three seconds asked, “What animal?”

Seeing that Qi Xia was indeed interested in “Dao,” Old Lu simply sat down with a thump.

“Hehe, it’s ‘Dog’!” Old Lu said. “This is definitely a game that tests our team coordination—there’s no problem at all!”

“Dog?” Qi Xia was startled and lowered his head to ponder for a while.

“Dog” was a “team coordination” type game. Lin Qin and Zhang Chenze weren’t stupid people, and they would follow his commands—coordination shouldn’t be a big problem. The only variable was Old Lu before him.

Qi Xia stared at Old Lu with a complicated expression, as if considering the feasibility of a team game.

“Qi kid, what’s wrong? You don’t trust me?” Old Lu became somewhat anxious. “I told you, the more critical the moment, the smarter I get!”

“Old Lu, can you promise me one thing?” Qi Xia asked.

“Yes! Go ahead!”

“During the game, listen to all my commands.”

Old Lu’s eyes rolled after hearing this, then he nodded. “Alright, what else?”

“That’s it, just this one requirement.”

“Hey, and here I thought it was something big!” Old Lu waved his hand with a smile. “Don’t worry, Qi kid, I’ll listen to you when the time comes.”

Qi Xia still felt it wasn’t reliable and instructed again, “Perhaps I’ll make decisions that seem very strange, but to win the game you must listen to me.”

“Alright, I understand!” Old Lu nodded seriously.

Seeing Old Lu’s solemn face, Qi Xia stopped pressing the matter and turned to Lawyer Zhang’s side, asking, “Have you eaten your fill?”

“Mm.” Zhang Chenze picked up a relatively clean piece of waste paper from the ground and carefully wiped the grease from her hands.

“Although this might be a bit inappropriate to say, do you want to change into Officer Li’s clothes?” Qi Xia said.

Lawyer Zhang was startled after hearing this. She looked at her own soaked clothes, then at Officer Li’s blood-covered T-shirt, thought for a moment, and shook her head.

“I have a cleanliness obsession. I’ll just wear what I have on.”