Chapter 193 Fair Play
It took Qiao Jiajin nearly three minutes to painstakingly make his way to the bottom.
The dimness was suffocating, his eyes struggling to adjust to the near pitch-black environment. He squinted into the darkness, his gaze lingering for what felt like an eternity, until he finally spotted the massive boulder that had fallen earlier. With swift determination, he released the rope and leaped onto the rock.
‘Strange…’ he thought, crouching low, his senses alert as he surveyed his surroundings. There was no sign of anyone.
A faint beam of light shone directly from above, casting an eerie glow onto the boulder beneath him. Beyond this small circle of light, however, the surroundings were swallowed by an impenetrable blackness, as though he had descended into the very depths of the ocean.
"Kung Fu gal!" Qiao Jiajin called out, his voice strong yet tinged with urgency. "Are you here?" His words reverberated, echoing off the walls of the chasm. Soon after, the faint {shuffling} of footsteps reached his ears, coming from two different directions.
‘I see…’ Qiao Jiajin thought, his instincts sharpening. With a determined leap, he sprang off the rock and into the depths of the darkness. "Because it's so dark here, neither of you dares to make a move, right?"
The silence that followed was thick and oppressive. No response came from the shadows, only the eerie stillness that amplified Qiao Jiajin’s growing unease.
He knew that Li Xiangling must have been gravely injured, or else she would not have remained silent at the sight of her teammates. His priority now was to ensure her safety, no matter the cost.
A faint sound of footsteps reached his ears once again, and Qiao Jiajin’s keen instincts immediately sharpened.
He fell silent, his words fading as he subtly shifted his position, creeping closer to the source of the sound. Every step was calculated, his senses acutely aware of the surrounding stillness.
"Hey! If you refuse to move, then I’ll come find you instead!"
As he advanced, the tension thickened. Gradually, he felt himself closing the distance—only a step away from the unknown figure. But he couldn’t be certain whether it was Li Xiangling or Luo Eleven. There was only one way to find out.
With slow, deliberate movements, Qiao Jiajin raised his hands, poised to restrain the person before him, prepared for whatever action they might take.
In the suffocating darkness, Qiao Jiajin’s right hand brushed against something. His expression immediately darkened. Without hesitation, he snapped out his hand, grabbing hold of the figure. His grip closed around a slender arm
A woman's voice escaped in a soft cry.
Qiao Jiajin quickly adjusted his grip, supporting her as he drew closer. "Kung Fu gal?" he whispered, his voice low and steady, "Don’t be afraid."
"Qiao ge..." Li Xiangling, still trembling, exhaled a shaky breath, her tone filled with a mixture of relief and lingering fear. "You scared me to death..."
"Are you alright? Any injuries?"
"I have a few wounds bleeding, and I’m too weak to move right now..." Li Xiangling replied, her words tinged with pain and exhaustion. "That man... he was too vicious..."
"Leave it to me. You handle your wounds first," Qiao Jiajin said.
He reached out, patting Li Xiangling’s shoulder in an effort to comfort her, but something felt off. A strange sensation lingered at the contact—Li Xiangling felt different. Taller, perhaps?
His hand lingered for a moment, then he quickly pulled it away, only to realize that it was now slick with blood.
"You..." Qiao Jiajin's expression darkened. "How badly are you injured?"
"Just superficial wounds..." Li Xiangling replied weakly. "Don’t worry about me... you need to be careful of that man..."
"Alright," Qiao Jiajin nodded. "What exactly happened?"
Li Xiangling took a deep breath before continuing, her voice strained with effort. "There’s a table in the center... with a candle and a key on it. We started fighting over the key... but then a large boulder fell from above, crushing the key and candle under it, and the place became pitch black..."
Qiao Jiajin’s eyes darkened as he sensed Li Xiangling’s strength waning. Her words grew faint, and he could feel her growing weaker with each breath.
"Don’t speak anymore," he said gently. "I understand the situation. Leave the rest to me. We’ll talk when we’re safe."
His face hardened, the icy chill of determination settling in as he turned away, no longer concealing his movements. The urgency in his step grew as he headed directly toward the source of the faint footsteps that had echoed earlier. Reflecting on it now, he knew the location—this was where that scoundrel had been hiding all along.
"Hey," Qiao Jiajin called out, his voice laced with mockery, "Where’s all your bravado from before? After beating up a girl, you just hide away?"
From the darkness ahead, a deep, trembling voice responded, "Thug, I admit defeat, I’m not fighting you anymore."
Qiao Jiajin shook his head, his expression cold and unforgiving. "No," he replied firmly. "If you had injured me, I could accept you giving up. But you injured my teammate, and now I’m here for {revenge}. {Revenge} doesn’t accept defeat."
"Don’t force me...!!" Luo Eleven’s voice quivered with desperation from the shadows. "If you force me, I’ll hunt both of you down... again and again..."
"How could you say that I'm forcing you?" Qiao Jiajin took a step forward. "I know you're injured, so how about this? I'll show mercy and give you a chance—no use of both legs."
Luo Eleven faltered for a moment, his breath catching. "What did you say?"
Qiao Jiajin shrugged nonchalantly. "Isn’t it obvious? I don’t need my legs. From here on out, I’ll just stand still, and I won’t employ any kicking techniques."
Luo Eleven's voice cut through the air. "Are you looking down on me?"
"Yes, I do look down on you," Qiao Jiajin nodded. "I don’t like people who bully the weak and fear the strong."
"You'll regret this..." Luo Eleven hissed, his voice tinged with venom, but he remained shrouded in the darkness, unwilling to emerge.
"I’ll even give up my right hand," Qiao Jiajin swung his right arm behind his back with a mock flourish. "I don't need it either. Does that make it easier for you? Now, will you come out and fight me?"
Luo Eleven remained concealed in the shadows, the silence heavy with the weight of his thoughts.
"I won't even fucking use both hands!" Qiao Jiajin barked, placing both hands behind his back in a bold display. "Coward! I'll give up all four limbs—so are you man enough to come out and fight now?!"
"Are you fucking insulting me?!"
Finally, Luo Eleven stepped out of the shadows.
As he drew nearer, Qiao Jiajin, illuminated by the faint light above, could make out the appalling severity of Luo Eleven's injuries.
The brutal clash between them had clearly taken its toll.
Luo Eleven’s forehead was still exposed, revealing ghastly white bone, while his face was smeared with a grim mixture of blood and dirt. Both of his hands seemed to be severely wounded, trembling violently as he hobbled forward, clutching a stone he'd scavenged from the ground.
"Don't think just because I'm injured that you can win," Luo Eleven sneered, exposing a malicious grin. "If I get serious, even if you're a {Reverberatee}, you won’t stand a chance."
"I have no intention of underestimating you," Qiao Jiajin replied, his voice calm. "And I’m a man of my word. I won’t use any of my limbs. If I move them even the slightest, it’s your win."
"You asked for it!" Luo Eleven grinned viciously, prepared to charge with the stone in hand.
But Qiao Jiajin’s voice cut through the tension, cold and unyielding. "However, for the sake of fairness, you can't cheat either."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Luo Eleven’s body erupted in a sudden, faint glow. The light unfurled like dandelion seeds caught in the wind, flooding the entire cavern with a strange radiance.
"AHHH!!!!!!" Luo Eleven let out a guttural, heart-wrenching scream, his voice growing hoarse with the intensity of his pain.
His body crumpled to the ground, collapsing onto his knees. He clutched at his forehead, then his hands, and finally, his abdomen, as if the agony he had endured since the beginning of the game finally came crashing down upon him all at once.
The internal injuries from Li Xiangling’s earlier attack finally took their toll. After a few violent coughs, Luo Eleven spat out a mouthful of blood, his body slowly crumpling to the ground.
"Motherfucker... you..." Luo Eleven lifted his head, his gaze slowly focusing on Qiao Jiajin. "What kind of ability is this... What the hell are you thinking?"
"I don’t even know what this ability is," Qiao Jiajin responded, shaking his head. "I wasn’t thinking much—I just wanted a fair one-on-one fight."
"You’re terrifying... you..." Luo Eleven coughed up more blood, his movements growing slower and weaker until they finally ceased.
The man had succumbed to the unbearable agony, his body still as death took hold.
"Puk-gaai[1] zai..." Qiao Jiajin muttered under his breath, his voice cold and resolute. "Try killing me the next time we meet, I'll be waiting for you."