As the onlookers watched in mounting anxiety, Terrestrial Ox approached with an unhurried demeanor.
"Cease your actions," he said calmly, "It doesn't matter if you kill each other, but please leave this room before doing so."
The two combatants, however, remained fixated on their struggle, their teeth clenched and their muscles straining, ignoring Terrestrial Ox's presence entirely.
Terrestrial Ox observed the wrestling match for a moment before giving up on persuasion. With a swift motion, he bent down and effortlessly removed Qiao Jiajin’s arm from Zhang Shan’s neck. Grasping Zhang Shan by the collar with his left hand and Qiao Jiajin’s arm with his right, he flicked them both aside. The two men flew through the air like pebbles, crashing into and toppling over the surrounding chairs.
"Damn it..." Qiao Jiajin groaned, feeling as though his bones were about to shatter.
Zhang Shan fared no better. He writhed on the ground, wincing in pain as his numerous wounds began to bleed anew.
"Fuck... you damned Ole Ox, I’ll make sure to skin you alive one day..."
Spectators hurried over to assess the situation.
Qiao Jiajin managed a bitter smile in response. "What do you think?..."
Tian Tian and Lin Qin joined them, and together, the three helped Qiao Jiajin up.
On the other side, Specs and Ole Lu assisted Zhang Shan to his feet.
"Are you okay, Zhang Shan?" Specs asked with concern.
"Lǎozi is fine," Zhang Shan replied, scratching his head uncomfortably due to his wounds. He then added, "It seems you were right—those two are indeed interesting."
"Right?" Specs laughed happily as if he had just been praised. "The man with the tattoos has lots of strength, and the one called {Swindler Lad} is very smart. The two of them are definitely qualified."
Ole Lu stood off to the side, his lips curled in apparent disagreement with Specs's assessment.
"Let's have another chat with them," Zhang Shan said with a hearty smile, leading his friends forward.
Before they had taken more than a few steps, Terrestrial Ox extended his pitch-black hand and placed it firmly on Zhang Shan's shoulder.
"Are you still planning to cause trouble?"
Zhang Shan glanced at him and replied, "Don't worry, it’ll just be a simple conversation."
Terrestrial Ox considered this for a moment before withdrawing his hand. "Be careful; I’m watching you."
With that, Zhang Shan, Qi Xia, and Qiao Jiajin stood face to face once more.
Qiao Jiajin stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Qi Xia. "Buff lou, are you ready to continue and settle our battle outside?"
"Nah," Zhang Shan scratched at the severe wound on his chest. "I don't have the strength today. I'll take a rain check."
"Ha." Qiao Jiajin chuckled at the response. "Since you’re not here to fight, what brings you in front of us now?"
“It’s truly unreasonable,” Zhang Shan shook his head helplessly. “I didn’t come here to fight. It was your buddy who made the first move.”
Qiao Jiajin reflected for a moment and realized that Zhang Shan was right.
“You didn’t come for a fight?” Qi Xia regarded the towering man with a touch of suspicion. “Then why did you come to us?”
Zhang Shan turned around and signaled to Specs and Ole Lu, who then removed the cloth bags from their waists and handed them over. Despite Ole Lu's evident reluctance, he appeared to be suppressing his fear of Zhang Shan and complied.
Zhang Shan took the two bags, weighed them in his hand, and then tossed them to Qi Xia.
"A total of thirty-eight {Dào}. It’s all yours."
Qi Xia took the two bags in disbelief, opened them, and confirmed they were indeed filled with golden, dazzling orbs.
"What’s the meaning of this?" Qiao Jiajin asked, eyeing Zhang Shan warily. "We haven't settled on the winner yet. Why are you giving us these {Dào}?"
"Because it was agreed upon in the game. In any gamble, there must be a loser," Zhang Shan replied, glancing at Specs. "Besides, Specs spoke highly of you two, saying that you’re quite impressive."
"Impressive?" Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exchanged puzzled glances, unsure of the towering man’s intentions.
"I never came to you to cause trouble." Zhang Shan extended a finger, tapped his temple, and said to Qi Xia, "Specs told me you defeated the black bear using this. Is that true?"
Qi Xia, still wary, did not respond.
"Don’t overthink it," Zhang Shan continued, "We’re trying to assemble a group of capable individuals to escape this place together. Are you two interested in joining us?"
"No," Qi Xia replied curtly.
"Don’t refuse so quickly..." Zhang Shan smiled warmly and patted Qi Xia on the shoulder. "Take some time to consider it."
"Yeah!" Specs stepped forward, adding, "Mr. Qiao, Mr. Swin, both of you have outstanding abilities, and we are very eager to escape from here."
"Mr. Swin?" Qi Xia asked, puzzled. "Are you referring to me?"
"Yeah..." Specs, realizing a possible mistake, tried to correct himself. "Didn't Mr. Qiao keep calling you {Swindler Lad}?"
Qi Xia shook his head in resignation. "Forget it, names are just titles. You can call me whatever you like, but I won’t be joining you."
"Why are you so adamant?" Specs asked, puzzled. "As the saying goes, there’s strength in numbers. Besides, having participated in a game together, I know you are a trustworthy teammate. If we join forces—"
"But I don’t trust any of you," Qi Xia interrupted. "Moreover, only one person can escape this place. What’s the point in gathering more people? At the final juncture, wouldn’t everyone else just be cannon fodder?"
"On—Only one person can make it out?" Specs was taken aback. "What nonsense are you talking about? Why can only one person escape?"
"Is it not?" Qi Xia countered. "Those masked figures mentioned—"
Qi Xia was about to elaborate but suddenly froze.
Why did he think that only one person could escape?
Had anyone actually said something along those lines?
Mortal Goat once stated to Qi Xia that if they won the game, one of them would become {God}.
At that time, Qiao Jiajin clearly asked Mortal Goat, {what if we don’t win}?
Mortal Goat's response was — {It would be regrettable if you can't win}.
He hadn't mentioned anything about escaping this place.
‘Did I misunderstand it?…’
The term {regrettable} was indeed quite ambiguous.
Who was Mortal Goat feeling {regrettable} for when he mentioned {regrettable}?
For himself... or for the participants?
Qi Xia blinked, as a dawning realization began to surface.
In this accursed place, beyond {becoming God} and {facing annihilation}, was {escape} truly another option?...
"Why do you people... think more than one person can escape from here?" Qi Xia inquired.
"Because we’ve seen others who have done it." Zhang Shan answered.