Chapter 83: The Omen of Abandonment

"Logic relations..."

No matter how you looked at it, this ability called "Huí Xiǎng" was beyond anyone's comprehension. In this bizarre place, there were people who seemed god-like, as well as lunatics roaming the streets. Numerous contestants were being slaughtered indiscriminately here, and now it was possible to gain superpowers...

If this wasn't a dream, who would believe it?

"Qí Xià..." Zhāng Chénzé looked at Qí Xià's wounds, her expression full of worry. "You managed to fool Jiāng Ruòxuě just now, but what should we do next?"

"Fool?" Qí Xià covered his wound and shook his head. "I wasn't fooling anyone; I really am giving up."

"Huh?" The other two were genuinely stunned. "You're really giving up?"

"Yes." Qí Xià's eyes were like a stagnant pool. "With this huge hole stabbed into me, it's impossible for me to continue in the game."

Zhāng Chénzé and Lín Qín never expected Qí Xià to give up so decisively, and for a moment, they didn't know what to do.

"Don't lose heart; I know a bit about bandaging," Lín Qín said. "Let's find a place to stop the bleeding for you first. We still have many days ahead, so it's too early to give up."

"Stop the bleeding..." Qí Xià lifted his head and glanced at the sky; the day had felt extraordinarily long, and it was only evening now.

"That's right, Qí Xià..." Zhāng Chénzé chimed in from the side. "You have more hope than us of collecting three thousand six hundred 'Dào'. If you give up, we really won't know what to do."

...

The three of them found shelter in a rundown massage shop.

According to Zhāng Chénzé's thinking, the massage shop had private rooms and beds, which at least would let Qí Xià rest properly.

Like the other buildings, the shop was almost completely dilapidated, but they managed to find some fabric curtains.

Lín Qín tore the curtains into strips to prepare for bandaging.

Zhāng Chénzé cleared out a clean single sofa, and together they helped Qí Xià onto it, then removed his shirt.

Qí Xià's shirt was completely soaked in blood, feeling heavy in their hands, and as soon as they twisted it, blood water poured out with a splash.

Only then did the two fully understand what Qí Xià meant—his injuries made it not just impossible to continue the game, but even standing took all his strength.

Lín Qín examined Qí Xià's wound and felt it didn't look good.

When the bald man had stabbed the dagger into Qí Xià's shoulder, he had twisted the blade.

That action turned what should have been a simple cut into a blooming red flower of flesh, not only tearing the skin completely but possibly damaging the internal muscle tissue as well.

"We can't suture the wound..." Lín Qín said. "Just bear with it for now; I'll bandage it for you."

"Bandaging alone won't help." Qí Xià pulled out that old metal lighter from his pocket. "Find a dry piece of wood, light it up, and use it to cauterize the wound."

"This..." Lín Qín took the lighter hesitantly. "It might hurt a lot..."

"It's fine..." Qí Xià was about to say something when he suddenly heard a faint rustling sound nearby.

The noise was like something rhythmically bumping against the wall.

"What was that?"

"Shh!" Qí Xià signaled for them to be quiet and listened carefully. "It seems like there's someone in this building."

"Someone?" The other two quickly lowered their voices and listened; indeed, there was something moving inside the room.

"It could be the locals..." Qí Xià slowly got up and said, "We don't know if it's dangerous; let's find another place."

"No, your injury won't allow you to move around more," Zhāng Chénzé said. "I'll go check it out. We've been here for a while, and if there was danger, we'd already be dead."

"No..." Qí Xià tried to stop Zhāng Chénzé, but she always acted swiftly, darting out in an instant. Seeing this, Qí Xià turned to Lín Qín and said,

"Quick, stop her—there's no need to take the risk."

Lín Qín nodded and hurried after her.

But the massage shop wasn't large; with only four rooms along the hallway, Zhāng Chénzé found the source of the noise in seconds.

She paused for a moment, then knocked on the door.

"Zhāng Chénzé!" Lín Qín whispered anxiously, "Be careful of the 'locals'!"

"The locals probably won't harm us." Zhāng Chénzé said, and when there was no response, she pushed the door open.

As soon as the door opened, a foul stench wafted out, forcing both of them to step back.

Inside, a gaunt man was facing away from the door, giving a back massage to the "guest" on the bed.

The sight made both of them gasp in shock.

Yes, the locals wouldn't hurt anyone.

But their behavior always sent chills down your spine.

The "guest" on the bed was nothing but a dried corpse, yet the gaunt man had his hands crossed, pressing down hard on its back repeatedly.

He must have been at it for a long time; the entire back of the corpse was flattened, and foul-smelling fluid was splattered all over the bed.

"Guest... is the pressure okay... Guest... is the pressure okay..."

The gaunt man asked mechanically while pressing down with force.

His hands hit the bed board through the corpse, making a "thump, thump" sound.

The two women stood frozen in place for a while.

Qí Xià walked over slowly, reached from behind them, and closed the door.

"Don't let it affect you."

With that, Qí Xià found a relatively clean room and went inside, sitting on the bed. "Go find that piece of wood."

Lín Qín snapped out of it, realizing that stopping Qí Xià's bleeding was the priority, so she quickly turned to search for dry wood.

Meanwhile, Zhāng Chénzé stared thoughtfully at the room they had just seen. After a few seconds, she asked, "Qí Xià, do you think these people... were once like us?"

Qí Xià didn't answer; instead, he said to Zhāng Chénzé, "Lawyer Zhāng, you shouldn't be so impulsive in the future. If that room had been full of desperados like that bald guy before, what would you have done?"

Zhāng Chénzé lowered her head slowly and replied, "I guess I was just 'overly concerned.' If we can't rest here, your injury will get worse."

"Overly concerned?" Qí Xià felt a bit awkward. He thought for a moment and said to Zhāng Chénzé, "Lawyer Zhāng, you need to understand, I saved you from that giant microwave because it was the only way to win the game. It doesn't mean I have any special care for you."

"I know..." Zhāng Chénzé nodded. "It might be because of Officer Lí's death—a person that good died right in front of me... I'm worried the same could happen to you."

"A person that good...?" Qí Xià fell silent.

He recalled the story Officer Lí had told him in his final moments.

Could Officer Lí really be considered a "good person"?