Seeking Dao

What did the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac represent?

And what lay at the end of the corridor?

The underworld?

In the dim corridor with no end in sight, the group shuffled forward, trembling.

After several intense rounds of "games," everyone felt exhausted in body and mind. Now that they could suddenly relax, the aura of death that had clung to them began to fade.

Qi Xia casually turned his head and saw Lin Qin standing beside him.

She kept her hand over her mouth and nose.

"Doesn't that feel uncomfortable?" Qi Xia imitated Lin Qin, placing his own hand over his mouth and nose. "It smells awful here, but doing that makes it hard to breathe."

"Breathe?" Lin Qin froze for a moment, then smiled. "I don't find it hard to breathe. It just feels strange when I don't cover my mouth and nose. Like..."

"Like what?"

"Like I'm not wearing any clothes." Lin Qin smiled sheepishly, then lowered the hand covering her mouth and nose.

She had a well-defined nose and rosy lips. There was no reason to hide them. Qi Xia did not understand what she meant by "like I'm not wearing any clothes."

Lin Qin smiled faintly, but she still felt uneasy, so she covered her mouth and nose again.

"It feels a little embarrassing... doesn't it feel awkward to you?" Lin Qin asked Qi Xia. "Leaving your mouth and nose exposed like this."

"Why would it feel awkward?" Qi Xia found that very strange.

"Because of masks..." Lin Qin looked at Qi Xia with equal bewilderment, as though he were an alien. "How can you all be so comfortable without wearing masks?"

"Mas..."

Before Qi Xia could process her words, an eerie glimmer suddenly appeared in the distance.

Drawn by the light, everyone looked ahead.

It was the exit.

Light resembling the glow of a sunset streamed in through it.

"We're getting out!" Qiao Jiajin cried excitedly. "I can see the sunset!"

His shout gave everyone a much-needed boost. Supporting Han Yimo, Doctor Zhao quickened his pace along with the others.

"Sunset?" Qi Xia thought for a moment, then said to the group, "It was twelve when we woke up. After over an hour of games, it should be around two now. Whether that's two in the morning or two in the afternoon, there's no way we could see a sunset."

"I think you're overthinking it." Officer Li shook his head. "The clock in that room wasn't necessarily accurate. It might really be evening now."

Qi Xia nodded slightly. He knew Officer Li was right. Everything he knew about the time came from the mantel clock in the room, but no one could guarantee that it had shown the correct time.

After a few more steps, they spotted a dark figure beside the exit.

As they continued forward, the shadow gradually took on a human shape. He too wore an animal mask, but this one made them feel sick.

Unlike all the other animal masks, his had not been made from a single animal's head. Instead, it was a creation made by stitching various organs together with yarn.

His mouth resembled a crocodile's, while his nose looked like a bull's. Fish scales covered the sides of his face, and snakeskin covered his neck. He had also sewn a lion's mane and a stag's antlers onto his mask.

This animal looked just like...

"Hello, everyone. I'm Human Dragon," the stitched-together monster said slowly. "Everyone survived? How novel."

"Dragon...?"

Everyone instinctively stopped, their nerves stretched taut.

It was not that there was anything frightening about a "dragon." They were simply all too familiar with this opening.

Whenever someone introduced himself this way, a horrifying game followed.

"Don't be nervous, everyone. Your 'trials' are over for now." Human Dragon waved a hand, and only then did they notice that he also wore gloves fitted with eagle talons.

All the animal parts on his body were somewhat rotten and swollen, giving off a foul odor. Yet he continued speaking as though he noticed nothing:

"I won't be giving you any new 'trials.' Just a little advice."

No one spoke. They huddled close together, watching Human Dragon warily.

"Ten days. You have ten days to change all of this," Human Dragon said slowly. "If you fail to obtain three thousand six hundred 'Dao' within ten days, the world you inhabit will be annihilated. Everything you can see will perish with it."

That brief statement left everyone baffled.

"Three thousand six hundred 'Dao'?" Qi Xia frowned. "What is 'Dao'? And what do you mean when you say the world we inhabit will be annihilated?"

"Questions. Heh heh heh. Good." Human Dragon nodded. "Questions mean you still have your wits about you. As for 'Dao,' it's..."

Human Dragon reached into the pocket of his black suit, rummaged around for a while, and pulled out four small golden balls.

The balls were white on the outside and gold on the inside, gleaming all over with golden light. They looked rather strange.

"This is 'Dao,'" Human Dragon continued. "With just three thousand six hundred 'Dao,' you can be saved."

Qi Xia considered this for a moment, then reached out and took one of the balls. It did not feel hard. It even had a little give to it.

"Take them. They're yours to begin with," Human Dragon said with a smile.

After a moment's thought, Qi Xia accepted all four "Dao."

"You passed four trials: 'Liar,' 'Bamboo Shoots After Rain,' 'Death From Above,' and 'Right and Wrong.' These are your rewards, as well as your 'stakes.'"

None of them had imagined that these unremarkable little beads were what they had risked their lives for time and again. Now they did not know what to say.

"'Dao'..." Qi Xia frowned and said helplessly, "So you mean that if we can't find three thousand six hundred little balls like these, this place will be destroyed?"

"Heh heh heh. Exactly. And if this place is destroyed... you won't be getting out." Human Dragon nodded. The fish scales and lion's mane on his face swayed along with his head, looking deeply unnatural.

"It seems you have quite a few of these balls. Can't you collect three thousand six hundred yourself?" Officer Li asked without hesitation. "Besides, you're stronger than any of us. You could clearly search for them yourself. Why choose us?"

"Me?" Human Dragon scoffed. "We're all sinners. Sinners cannot obtain 'Dao.' Only chosen ones like you can obtain 'Dao' and ultimately become 'gods.'"

"This is absurd!" Zhang Chenze interrupted Human Dragon. With her arms folded across her chest, she asked, sounding somewhat angry, "Do you even know what you're saying?"