Chapter 148 Master Manipulator
Qi Xia fashioned a simple gravestone for Tian Tian using scrap wood, carefully carving the name {Zhang Lijuan} into it. If she had been given a choice, Tian Tian would likely never have wished to bear the name {Tian Tian}.
"We should head back."
The three of them made their way back to the campus, their expressions filled with a complex mixture of emotions. As they neared, they spotted Zhang Shan, anxiously glancing around.
"Done?" Zhang Shan asked as he approached Qi Xia. "It looks like your other teammates have returned, though they seem to have had a difficult time. You should go check on them."
"Alright." Qi Xia nodded. Just as he was about to walk away, an unsettling feeling washed over him. Other teammates?
What other teammates?
Tian Tian, Qiao Jiajin, and himself had been together. Lin Qin and Han Yimo had returned earlier, while Officer Li and Lawyer Zhang were at Mortal Dragon’s game venue.
Who else could there be?
"Yeah, looks like they’ve been through a lot, but at least they got Mortal Rabbit’s mask back," Zhang Shan nodded. "Seems all the suffering wasn’t for nothing."
"Are you fucking kidding me...?" Qi Xia muttered under his breath, pushing past Zhang Shan and quickly walking toward the teaching building. Qiao Jiajin and Yun Yao followed close behind.
The trio arrived at the classroom where Qi Xia’s team had been staying. Inside, they found Doctor Zhao trying to coax Xiao Ran into removing her soaking wet clothes.
"Qi ge?" Xiao Ran immediately noticed Qi Xia's presence and hurriedly began removing her clothes, leaving only her undergarments. "I’m in the middle of changing—how could you just barge in like that?"
Qiao Jiajin helplessly turned his head to the side.
Qi Xia’s gaze turned cold as he surveyed Xiao Ran and Doctor Zhao, a growing sense of suspicion knotting in his chest.
This was all too strange. Xiao Ran had clearly been bound in the fish tank, her clothes drenched, yet here she was, seemingly unharmed. How was that possible? These two had somehow managed to outwit Mortal Rabbit’s game and even led the earthly branch to her demise…?
Could someone be deceiving him?
“You... both of you are unharmed?” Qi Xia asked, his voice edged with suspicion.
“Qi ge, you’re worried about me?” Xiao Ran, clad only in her undergarments, approached with a playful smile, slipping her arm through his and pressing her skin against his. "How could I be alright? I was nearly scared to death!"
“Then why didn’t you die?” Qi Xia asked, his tone cold.
With a dramatic sigh, Xiao Ran pouted. "You’re still asking? Just moments ago, Doctor Zhao wouldn’t lift a finger to save me, no matter how much I begged."
“I had no choice…” Doctor Zhao chuckled awkwardly. "I was handcuffed and unable to move at all."
"Qi ge, that Mortal Rabbit’s game was really poorly designed," Xiao Ran remarked, twirling her damp hair between her fingers. "She trapped me in this enormous fish tank, but the seal wasn’t secure. When the water started to overflow, one of the tank’s walls couldn’t withstand the pressure and collapsed. That’s how I managed to survive."
"Exactly..." Doctor Zhao nodded in agreement. "Once one side of the fish tank fell, Xiao Ran was able to kick the key out with her foot. I unlocked the handcuffs and rescued her."
"Wha—" Qi Xia's eyes slowly widened, his mind racing with a thousand curses that he barely held back. So the key to breaking the {Mortal Rabbit} game was to... {turn a blind eye}?
"Motherfu..." Qi Xia ground his teeth, cursing under his breath.
For what fucking reason?
This game had been designed to {kill good people}!
Officer Li’s death stemmed from his desperate attempt to save Zhang Chenze. If only his heart had been just a little more ruthless, if he had waited until the tank was completely full, both of them might have been saved.
But who would dare take such a gamble?
Even if Qi Xia himself were willing to risk it, Officer Li certainly wouldn’t have been. From everything Qi Xia knew about him, if anyone were in danger, whether facing a mountain of knives or a sea of flames, Officer Li would undoubtedly charge in to save them.
{Mortal Rabbit} was, after all, a {Mortal}—her game should have been relatively simple. Just as she herself had claimed, it was a straightforward escape game, so simple, in fact, that there was no real need to escape.
"Truly, the good die young, and the scoundrels live forever," Qi Xia muttered under his breath.
"What?" Xiao Ran, feeling as though she had misheard him, leaned in. "What did you say, Qi ge?"
"Scram." Qi Xia slowly sat down nearby, his face etched with frustration.
Indeed, if Officer Li and Tian Tian had never attempted to save others, they might not have met such tragic ends. But is this truly the right worldview?
In the final days... what kind of freaks will remain behind here? Is it that the good are doomed to be eliminated early on, leaving only the scum to witness the end?
Xiao Ran, clearly growing agitated, stepped in front of Qi Xia. "Qi ge, you're going too far, aren't you? Who are you calling a {scoundrel}?"
Qi Xia’s brows furrowed slightly as he cast a cold glance at Xiao Ran. His mood was already dark, and was this woman really trying to stir up trouble here? "Didn’t you hear me clearly?" he replied, his voice tinged with disdain. "Lift your ears and listen carefully, you’re one of those {scoundrels} that {live forever}."
"Are you mental?" Xiao Ran sneered, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "I’ve been giving you face every single day, and now you really think you're something special?"
Qi Xia slowly rose from his chair, his expression growing increasingly cold, his eyes narrowing into a frosty glare.
"Hey... Swindler lad..." Qiao Jiajin, sensing the situation rapidly escalating, hurried over and whispered in Qi Xia's ear, "Even though she's irritating, you know...shouldn't be hitting a woman—"
"And you!" Xiao Ran interrupted, her finger stabbing the air at Qiao Jiajin with venomous intent. "You walk around like some tough guy, with those tattooed arms, swaying around like a damn peacock. And don’t even get me started on the disgusting words inked on your back—what do you think you are?"
Qiao Jiajin froze, slowly turning his head toward her. For a moment, the words of {not hitting women} slipped from his mind entirely.
Xiao Ran's lips curled into a slight smirk. "And you know what else I am aware of? That hooker… she finally died."
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin’s expressions darkened in an instant. Their fists clenched with a sharp, visceral anger.
Xiao Ran sneered. "I’m actually giving you enough face by calling you {Qi ge}. You go out with all these people, not only failing at killing those Earthly Branches, but you let that worthless bitch die in the process. So, what exactly are you so proud of? You're even worse than me."
Seeing the tension escalate, Doctor Zhao hurriedly stepped in, trying to defuse the situation. "Aiya, hey... Xiao Ran, enough, enough. We’re all just having a rough day."
"Bullshit!" Xiao Ran stepped forward, her tone full of venom. "What, where did the awe-inspiring authority you two had before go? Always picking on me, the weak woman, huh? Let me guess, when your game took a turn for the worst, the two of you just pushed that worthless bitch to the front to take the hit, right?"
"Xiao Ran, stop talking!" Doctor Zhao could sense the situation was getting out of hand.
"What?" Xiao Ran tilted her head back, eyes wide with defiance. "Got all the guts to hit a woman? Come on! Let everyone here see how Qi Xia hits a woman! Come on, everyone, gather 'round!"
Qi Xia was shaking with rage. He didn’t possess the moral integrity that Qiao Jiajin had, and right now, just wanted this woman to be silenced—permanently. How dare Xiao Ran, a good-for-nothing, speak so vilely about Tian Tian?
Seeing Qi Xia's aloof silence, Xiao Ran's arrogance only grew. "Can't get the job done yourself, so you take it out on a woman?"
"You're courting death!"
Just as Qi Xia was about to step forward and shut Xiao Ran’s mouth, a tall figure suddenly surged forward. The woman grabbed Xiao Ran by the hair and slammed her to the ground with brute force. Without a moment's hesitation, she straddled Xiao Ran, swinging her fair arm back with vicious intent, delivering a resounding slap across her face.
Before Xiao Ran could comprehend what was happening, she was assaulted by a relentless barrage of slaps, each one landing with cruel precision, sending her spiraling into stunned silence.