Chapter 101: Breaking Disaster

After hearing that, Qiao Jijin quickly retracted his hand.

But the slight force he had applied when touching the rope was enough to disrupt the strange balance.

From one of the holes, a massive chain noise erupted, making the rope tremble violently.

Qi Xia immediately grabbed a table board from the ground and shouted loudly:

"Han Yimo, get behind me!!"

Han Yimo hurried over and hid behind Qi Xia, clutching his clothes tightly, looking extremely tense.

"Murphy's Law...?"

Qi Xia held the table board and kept moving away from the holes, with Han Yimo following closely behind him.

Logically, Qi Xia was no longer in a direct line with the holes, so any harpoon shot from inside shouldn't fly toward them, let alone hit Han Yimo behind him. But Qi Xia still felt an inexplicable unease.

Qiao Jijin, standing near the hole, watched Qi Xia's actions in confusion. He glanced at the rope, then at Qi Xia, and asked doubtfully:

"Swindler, what are you up to?"

"Qiao Jijin, stay away from there. There's still a harpoon—be careful not to get hurt!" Qi Xia replied seriously.

No sooner had he spoken than a loud bang came from the hole, and two harpoons shot out at once.

The first was the intruder that had accidentally been shot into the hole earlier, while the second was clearly the fully charged original one.

Whoosh!!

Everything happened in a split second.

The first harpoon flew out of the hole and landed weakly on the ground nearby.

The second harpoon, however, was launched with full force, hurtling toward the side away from Qi Xia.

Just as Qi Xia started to feel a bit relieved that the harpoon's trajectory wasn't heading their way, he suddenly saw it strike the standing clock in the room with pinpoint accuracy.

This clock had been their main way of telling time for a long while, but now it had become a springboard for the harbinger of doom.

A metallic clang echoed as sparks flew everywhere.

Whatever material the clock was made of, it withstood the violent impact without toppling, but the collision changed the harpoon's direction.

Like a snake that had spotted its prey, the harpoon suddenly veered around and charged straight toward Qi Xia and Han Yimo.

It flew low to the ground, almost skimming the surface. Qi Xia reacted instantly, pushing Han Yimo backward and rushing forward with the table board.

Based on the harpoon's current path, it would hit the table board before reaching Han Yimo.

But just as the harpoon was about to collide with the board, its low flight caused it to strike the ground, bouncing it upward in an unbelievable arc.

This trajectory let it leap over Qi Xia, then hit the ceiling, changing direction again as it relentlessly headed for Han Yimo behind him.

To everyone watching, the harpoon was like a zigzagging bolt of lightning, dodging all obstacles to zero in on its target.

As Han Yimo had said, he was definitely going to be hit.

Every move of this harpoon was so eerie, with Han Yimo as its sole target from the start.

Qi Xia realized he couldn't reposition the table board in time to block it, and his expression turned to despair.

Now, no one could save Han Yimo. Even if there was a one-in-a-million chance, it would depend on him dodging it himself.

But seeing how he was trembling in fear, he probably couldn't even move an inch—he was doomed again.

Just as the harpoon was less than five centimeters from Han Yimo, Qiao Jijin, still standing by the hole, suddenly reached in and grabbed the rope shooting out, yanking it backward with all his might.

The rope pulled the harpoon, setting off a chain reaction.

His move was incredibly fast, throwing the speeding harpoon off balance like a flower caught in a gale.

The harpoon finally stopped its advance, wobbling reluctantly in midair before dropping to the ground.

The events of that second were so thrilling that everyone held their breath.

After a moment, Han Yimo collapsed onto the ground, his clothes soaked with sweat.

Qiao Jijin looked at the rope in his hand and grumbled:

"Is this harpoon here to party? Darting around the room like that—what the hell?"

Qi Xia lowered the table board, still shaken, and went over to help Han Yimo up, asking:

"How are you?"

"I'm fine... really fine now... You all saved my life. I'm so grateful... Qi Xia, you're like my savior..."

Qi Xia paused as he held Han Yimo's hand and noticed he had stopped trembling.

"So that's how it is..."

He nodded silently, now having a good idea of what "zhao zai" meant.

"From now on... will you still be afraid?" Qi Xia asked.

"A little... but not terribly so." Han Yimo forced a bitter smile and said, "Knowing you'll be with me in the next game, I feel a lot safer..."

Hearing that, Qi Xia felt that saving Han Yimo had been the absolute right decision.

Though he didn't fully understand the "zhao zai" ability yet, it seemed Han Yimo could foresee upcoming dangers.

If they faced the zodiac opponents together, Qi Xia could gauge the game's risks based on Han Yimo's fear level. With some luck, he might even figure out if they could risk their lives against them.

Of course, this was all just wishful thinking for now. The priority was to keep Han Yimo alive.

From this point on, there was no need to save anyone else who wasn't important.

For the upcoming "tian jiang si wang" and "shi yu fei," it didn't matter if only a few made it through.

"Officer Li." Qi Xia called out, "What about that harpoon you mentioned earlier?"

"Oh..." Li Jingguan snapped back to attention and quickly played along, "This harpoon has writing on it. Come take a look!"

Qi Xia pretended to examine the harpoon and then said:

"I see. So, the questioner this time has become 'Ren Yang,' but 'Ren Yang' is a liar..."

He laid out his deductions in detail to everyone, then walked straight to the area under the central hole in the room.

He knew the floor would collapse in a few minutes, and at that moment, a rope would drop from the ceiling hole to save them.

Qi Xia shared his deductions mainly to save some of them.

But to his surprise, everyone believed him without question.

When Qi Xia stood under the hole, the first to join him was Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran looked at him with an expression of admiration, trusting his words unconditionally.

Perhaps it was because Qi Xia's previous actions had all been flawless, sparking feelings of affection in Xiao Ran.

"Qi Ge, I don't know why, but I totally believe in you!" Xiao Ran flattered.

"Hah." Qi Xia smirked. "Well, thanks for that."