Next were the remaining two corpses, which were similarly swung up by Earth-Ox using the same method, then violently hurled into the distance.

The four corpses traced parabolic arcs, like four bloody comets streaking across the sky.

“They’re somewhat in the way here.” Earth-Ox patted her hands and turned back to say to the two, “Let’s continue.”

Seeing those four people land heavily in the distance, Brother Wang and the fat man’s hearts also went “thump.”

A question couldn’t help but arise in their minds.

They said that Earth-level physical qualities were stronger than normal “Participants,” but exactly how much stronger?

If they were to say that this thin female Earth-Ox before them could kill four men at once, they could barely imagine such strength.

But to simultaneously lift two corpses weighing over a hundred pounds each over one’s head and then throw them far away—how much strength would be needed to accomplish that?

Extrapolating from this, never mind killing four men at once—even killing forty men at once wouldn’t be difficult.

“B-Brother Wang… something doesn’t seem right…” The fat man reached out and tugged at Brother Wang. “Can we two really do this?”

Brother Wang was clearly also somewhat panicked. He turned back and slapped the fat man on the head. “It’s already come to this point—what’s the use of asking that?!”

“No… you also saw it…” The fat man said, “Even if we both exert force together, we couldn’t possibly throw a corpse into the sky… That woman threw out two at once…”

“Don’t be stupid!” Brother Wang swallowed and said, “Even if her strength is great, she can’t use her hands and feet—she can only lie on the ground! If we two can’t win even like this, it wouldn’t fucking matter how many people came!”

The fat man also knew there was no way back now. They had already lost four teammates. If they didn’t win the match, the problems they would face would be even more numerous.

How exactly should they explain to those two dead “echoers” that they didn’t win?

“All right…” The fat man gritted his teeth. “Let’s stick to our old rule—I’ll tie the rope first!”

After speaking, he picked up the pitch-black rope from the ground, then carefully and meticulously wound it around his waist. To prevent the rope from loosening, he deliberately tied several dead knots.

“Okay…” Brother Wang also nodded along. “Once the tug-of-war starts, you fall backward immediately. I’ll be responsible for shouting slogans. No matter what, we have to pull this woman over.”

“Shout what fucking slogans!” The fat man also appeared somewhat anxious. “I’ll fall backward directly. You’ll be the only one exerting force.”

“Damn… you’re right.” Brother Wang scratched his head and also reached out to grip the rope. “Then… then I’ll exert force by myself!”

The match hadn’t even started yet, and both men were already drenched in sweat.

Earth-Ox slowly walked to the other end of the rope but didn’t immediately pick it up.

Earth-Ox stretched her legs at this moment, then suddenly jumped into the air. Under the dumbstruck gazes of the two men, she extended both feet and stomped down forcefully.

“Boom!”

The yellow earth instantly sent dirt flying. Her feet also inserted into the ground at this moment, burying all the way to her ankles.

She unhurriedly pulled her legs out, then reached out and turned over the ground several times. The earth that appeared to have dried and hardened was casually shaped in her hands like enormous foam.

Before long, a small pit had been dug out. Earth-Ox estimated the size of the pit—it was just about enough for her to curl up her hands and feet and lie down inside.

“We can pretty much start now.” Earth-Ox nodded.

“What…” Brother Wang was slightly stunned after hearing this. “You can fucking dig pits too?!”

“Huh?” Earth-Ox turned back to look at them. “Did I prohibit it?”

“You…”

“You can also dig.” Earth-Ox said, “I used about twenty seconds. I’ll give you thirty seconds. If you like, you can even use these thirty seconds to bury yourselves.”

After hearing this, Brother Wang hurriedly looked down at the ground, then reached out to touch the yellow earth.

On this so-called “football field,” there wasn’t even a single blade of grass. The yellow earth underfoot was dry and hard. Even if they had tools, it would be impossible to dig out a pit in thirty seconds.

“Damn… we’ve been played.” Brother Wang said through gritted teeth, “What do we do now?”

Qi Xia standing on the side sighed helplessly and looked up again at the bead above his head. After so much time had passed, this bead looked precarious. If he couldn’t add fuel to this game’s fire, it would probably never end.

Thinking of this, he came back to his senses and said to the two hesitant men not far away, “I actually think it’s a good thing.”

“What…?”

“I just have some thoughts of my own. I don’t know if I should say them.” Qi Xia said, “After all, we’re strangers. You two may not necessarily listen to me.”

“No! Speak!” Brother Wang said, “I know you’re a clever kid. If you have any ideas, just say them.”

After hearing this, Qi Xia nodded. “All right. I believe that the reason Earth-Ox dug a pit for herself indicates the current situation has become very tricky.”

“Oh?” Brother Wang paused. “How so?”

“She can’t use her four limbs or exert force. The only thing she can do is slow down the speed at which you drag her away.” Qi Xia said coldly, “So this is the only method she could think of at present. If she wants to win this game, the best method is to exhaust your strength and make you voluntarily give up.”

“What does that indicate?” The fat man also asked uncomprehendingly, “We still can’t win.”

“You’re wrong.” Qi Xia said, “Her doing this indicates a very obvious problem—as long as you can pull her up from that pit, she loses. Inferring the cause from the effect—this is the ‘Retroactive Deduction Method.'”

After hearing this, the two were slightly stunned, then looked at each other, feeling that what the young man before them said seemed to make some sense.

“Even if you say so, pulling her out of the pit is definitely not a simple matter.” Brother Wang said, “The friction of the yellow earth is already very great. If she lies down in the pit… our difficulty will be even greater!”

“No, no, no.” Qi Xia shook his head. “If you continuously exert force, the difficulty is indeed great. What’s needed now should be instantaneous explosive power. That pit appears to be at most ten centimeters deep. Dragging a person out from inside isn’t as difficult as you imagine.”

“Instantaneous explosive power?”

“I suggest both of you tie the rope around your waists.” Qi Xia said, “At the instant the game begins, you both pull the rope and fall backward simultaneously. Borrowing your own body weight and pulling force, this way there’s a good possibility you’ll pull her out of the pit in an instant.”

“Hiss…”

After hearing this, Brother Wang thought about it and felt this method was indeed feasible. He hurriedly picked up the rope from the ground and also wound it several times around his waist.

At this moment, Earth-Ox slowly looked toward Qi Xia, then her lips moved slightly, using lip-reading to say two words: “Thank you.”

Qi Xia also smiled and nodded, using lip-reading to reply: “You’re welcome.”