Going separate ways

Doctor Zhao came out as well, his expression evasive.

Judging by his demeanor, he had not come to stop her. If anything, he had come to back her up.

"There aren't four 'Dao.' There are only three left," Qi Xia said.

"Three?!" Xiao Ran frowned deeply. "You lost one?"

Qi Xia glanced at Doctor Zhao behind Xiao Ran, a trace of menace in his eyes.

Doctor Zhao seemed to notice his look too, and had no choice but to speak.

"Xiao Ran, Qi Xia didn't lose it. He traded one 'Dao' to that female shop assistant for a fishhook and fishing line."

"What..." Xiao Ran's eyes shifted slightly. Then she sighed and said to Qi Xia, "Fine. Trading with 'Dao' is your own business. Now I want you to return the two that belong to our team."

"The two that belong to you...?" Qi Xia's expression turned cold.

"Xiao Ran..." Tiantian, who had been silent for some time, suddenly interjected. "That's not fair, is it? If you insist on settling every last detail, that one 'Dao' was spent saving Han Yimo from 'your team.' It had nothing to do with us."

"I already said that was a trade Qi Xia chose to make himself. It has nothing to do with our team."

"Fuck your mother..." Qiao Jiajin stepped forward, his expression vicious. His already imperfect Mandarin gave way entirely to Cantonese. "I never hit women, but you've got no fucking shame!"

"Hey... calm down!" Lin Qin stepped forward and held Qiao Jiajin back. "Qi Xia won those 'Dao.' Let him decide how to divide them."

Qiao Jiajin pressed his lips together resentfully, barely suppressing his anger.

Qi Xia slowly reached up and rubbed his nose before speaking.

"Human Dragon said these 'Dao' were both our prizes and our 'stakes' for entering games. You're planning to wait here until you die, so I won't give you a single one."

"What, done 'conning' people and moving on to 'robbery'?" Xiao Ran laughed angrily. "Nowhere in this world is 'outside the law.' I suggest you think carefully. Is this right? We have a police officer here!"

Hearing the argument outside, Officer Li came out as well.

There had been no rift between the two teams, but this kindergarten teacher named Xiao Ran had now brought them to the brink of confrontation.

"What happened?" Officer Li asked Doctor Zhao. "I could hear all the commotion from inside."

"Nothing... Xiao Ran has something to say to Qi Xia." Doctor Zhao gave an awkward smile.

"She 'has something to say to me'?" Qi Xia's expression turned cold. "Doctor Zhao, you really are something... Are you sure it's Xiao Ran who has something to say to me?"

Qi Xia knew Xiao Ran was merely a "weapon," while Doctor Zhao was the one behind this. With Xiao Ran's intelligence and courage, she would never have come out to confront the four of them unless someone had egged her on.

Knocking away an opponent's "weapon" could halt an attack, but taking down the "person" wielding it would end the problem for good.

"I..." Doctor Zhao froze, then said to Qi Xia with some embarrassment, "Qi Xia, you might not like this... And yes, you did help us win those 'Dao'... But they belong to all of us. We contributed too... You ought to give us half."

"Really?" Qi Xia nodded earnestly, then replied, "But Doctor Zhao, that's not what you said last night when you and I were killing Han Yimo."

"What?!" Doctor Zhao's eyes went wide at those words. "Y-you bastard, what the hell are you talking about?! When did I ever kill Han Yimo with you?!"

Officer Li's and Xiao Ran's expressions changed instantly.

"Wasn't that what you said?" Qi Xia rubbed his hands together casually. "You told me, 'That man's wound hasn't even been stitched up properly. He's definitely not going to make it. One less person means one less burden, and the rest of us will have a better chance of getting out.'"

"Bullshit!!" Qi Xia had thoroughly enraged Doctor Zhao, and the veins on his forehead bulged. "Are you trying to smear me?! Han Yimo's wound was difficult to treat, yes, but I stopped the bleeding...! You... you..."

"Why are you so angry?" Qi Xia stepped forward and patted Doctor Zhao's shoulder, then addressed Xiao Ran and Officer Li. "Don't worry about it. I'm a con man. I made all that up."

"You...!" Doctor Zhao's mouth twisted with rage.

"Do you hate having the truth twisted?" Qi Xia said quietly. "So do I. If you and that woman keep pestering me for things that don't belong to you, I'll make sure you learn your lesson."

Those words badly frightened Doctor Zhao, and he finally realized that the man before him was no pushover.

Qi Xia might have repeatedly offered a helping hand in the previous games, but that did not mean he would let anyone walk all over him.

Something seemed to occur to Xiao Ran as well, and she murmured to herself, "So that's it... Because you're a doctor... You have to look after anyone who gets hurt, so you killed him to get rid of that burden..."

"I..."

"How could that be?" Before Doctor Zhao could speak, Qi Xia shook his head in denial. "Xiao Ran, I really did make that up. Don't believe a word of it."

But the seed of suspicion had already quietly taken root in Xiao Ran's heart. How could it be so easily uprooted?

"Qi Xia... what's this all about? What exactly happened?" Officer Li asked with a frown.

Qi Xia looked at the powerfully built man before him. He had a reasonably good impression of this officer, and only hoped he was not in league with the others, coveting his "Dao."

"Xiao Ran said I should give you two a share of the 'Dao.' What do you think?" Qi Xia asked.

Officer Li paused at that, then shook his head. "We've already tested it. 'Dao' can't be used as currency here, so keeping them won't do us any good. Besides, you were the one who won them. You should hold on to them."

"How is that acceptable?!" Xiao Ran said heatedly. "We put our lives on the line for those 'Dao'!"

Officer Li gave a rueful smile. "Since you know you put your life on the line for those 'Dao,' you should be all the more grateful to Qi Xia for saving it."

"I..."

Xiao Ran was left speechless, unable to respond for a moment.

Officer Li had a point. Without Qi Xia, she would have died in that terrifying room long ago.

Qi Xia nodded silently, took a small ball from inside his clothes, and tossed it toward Officer Li.

Officer Li caught it and turned his hand over to look. It was a "Dao."

"Hm?" He looked at Qi Xia in confusion. "What are you doing? I won't be entering any games. Giving me 'Dao' won't help."

"Just hold on to it for now." Qi Xia waved a hand. "Think of it as money laundering. Give you that one, and the two I'm holding become 'clean.' Then you can all stop bothering me."

"Well..." Officer Li was still somewhat confused, but did not know what to say.

Doctor Zhao's and Xiao Ran's expressions were even more complicated, their minds in turmoil.

The others waited a while, only to find that Officer Li was still standing there with no sign of leaving.

"Cop? Anything else?" Qiao Jiajin asked.