Mysteries

Officer Li did not look at Qiao Jiajin. Instead, he asked Qi Xia, "There is something, actually. About Han Yimo... did you leave something unsaid just now? What did Han Yimo's death mean? And what was the significance of that sword?"

Qi Xia narrowed his eyes and studied Officer Li. "Officer, your specialty is criminal investigation. Mine is fraud. Isn't it strange for you to ask me for help with a case?"

Officer Li lowered his head helplessly. "Now that we're in this hellhole, how could criminal investigation possibly be of any use?"

Qi Xia fell silent for a moment, then decided to share the clue he had thought of. "Officer, all I can say is... Han Yimo might have recognized that sword."

"Recognized it?" Officer Li frowned, then nodded thoughtfully. "You mean he'd seen that sword before?"

"Those aren't the questions you should be considering anymore," Qi Xia said. "You should worry about your own situation."

"What do you mean?"

Qi Xia sighed and turned to leave, but Officer Li grabbed him.

"Don't go. Just what is my 'situation'?"

Covering her nose and mouth, Lin Qin leaned toward Officer Li's ear and whispered, "Officer, if Qi Xia won't say it, I can say it for him. There are two things you need to watch out for."

"Two?"

"That's right. First, the only person there who could easily lift that enormous sword was the crazed shop assistant. She's incredibly strong. In other words, if Han Yimo really was murdered, she's the prime suspect. You should leave this place as soon as possible."

Officer Li nodded gravely, then asked, "And the second?"

"The second is your 'teammates.' They don't look particularly trustworthy."

Officer Li's lips twitched, as though something had occurred to him.

The people on his side now were Xiao Ran, a kindergarten teacher who was ruled by her emotions and did not seem particularly bright; Zhang Chenze, a lawyer who cared about nothing except costs and benefits; and Doctor Zhao, a somewhat self-centered man who had previously confronted him.

If the four of them faced a life-threatening trial, could they trust one another?

After a long internal struggle, Officer Li finally said, "Qi Xia, whatever happens, I'll use the Convenience Store as my base and explore the nearby areas. If you have any information... you can come find me to exchange it."

Qi Xia neither agreed nor refused. He gave him an indifferent glance, then turned and left.

The others did not know what to say either, so they followed him.

Officer Li stared after the four of them for a while, then returned to the Convenience Store with Doctor Zhao and Xiao Ran.

He knew perfectly well that those four would be more trustworthy in a crisis, but they wanted to collect "Dao." In other words, they were courting death.

Following them would not be safe either.

If he wanted to stay alive now, he would have to find a base first, then plan his next moves carefully.

Qi Xia led the others onward, and before long, they reached the square where they had arrived the day before.

He had come to confirm something.

The deafening toll of the bell they had heard that morning.

Just as it had been yesterday, a huge electronic display stood in the center, with a bronze bell hanging above it.

When Han Yimo had been stabbed to death, the enormous bell had rung.

Lin Qin blinked and said, "I think I've heard the bell several times..."

"Several times?" Qiao Jiajin paused. "When?"

Lin Qin's eyes shifted slightly as she recalled it. "Do you remember... the man whose skull Human Sheep smashed when we first woke up in that room? I think the bell rang when he died, too."

Tiantian seemed to realize something. "Could it be... the bell rings every time someone dies?"

The others nodded, feeling that this theory was probably on the right track. The bronze bell before them seemed to be a death knell, announcing the number of people who had died.

"No." Qi Xia shook his head. "That corridor we went through had at least a thousand rooms. While we were playing our 'game,' people were dying in all the other rooms, too. If this were a death knell, there's no way we would have heard it only twice."

"Well..." Tiantian thought Qi Xia had a point, too. But in that case, what exactly made the enormous bell ring?

"Huh?" Lin Qin looked up at the display and found it completely blank. "I remember there was a line of text up there yesterday."

Everyone looked up. The words had indeed vanished.

"It was something about... an Echo..." Qiao Jiajin said, rubbing his chin. "I echoed Calamity Summoning?"

"I heard the Echo of Calamity Summoning," Qi Xia said.

"Ah, right..." Qiao Jiajin nodded. "What does that mean?"

Qi Xia shook his head.

This was not something they could figure out just by guessing. They knew too little about this city.

What was Calamity Summoning? What was an Echo? And who was "I"?

"Forget it. Let's look somewhere else."

Qi Xia turned around and was about to leave when he suddenly froze.

Before him was a withered, smiling face.

At some point, that face had appeared behind him. Now it was staring straight at him.

Qi Xia's pupils shifted, and he hurriedly backed away two steps.

The other three were startled as well. Before them stood a withered old man, balanced on tiptoe, his body bent like a dead tree.

"I figured it out..." The old man smiled faintly, revealing his sole remaining tooth. "That question you asked me-I figured it out!"

Under the old man's stare, Qi Xia felt a chill run down his back. "Are you talking to me?"

The old man pressed his dry, cracked lips together. "Young man, I know the answer! It's 'betting your life'! As long as you stake your life, everything becomes easy!"

He reached out a hand with filthy nails and tried to grab Qi Xia.

"We're so close to getting out! As long as you're willing to stake your life..."

Frowning, Qi Xia took another few steps back. He could not understand what the old man was talking about, but the way he kept demanding his life was deeply unsettling.

"Hey! Old man, who are you?" Qiao Jiajin asked suspiciously. "Have you met Qi Xia before?"

The old man's expression shifted, and he turned to look at Qiao Jiajin.

He opened his mouth, a complicated expression on his face, then asked, "You don't recognize me?"

"Why would I recognize you?"

Silence settled over them. The old man's cloudy eyes flickered, and only after a long while did something finally occur to him. "I see... you... have already met Celestial Dragon..."

"Celestial Dragon?" The four exchanged looks.

"There's no hope..." The old man shook his head and slowly turned away. "We can't beat him... we're lost here forever... no wonder the Chinese Zodiac has returned..."

He walked away, still muttering, his retreating figure looking utterly forlorn.