What Is a Flyer?

"Huh?" All three stared at Qi Xia in shock. The plan wasn't complicated, but every part of it sounded dangerous.

"You're going to keep betting your life against them?!" Lin Qin asked. "That sounds way too..."

"This is our way out for now," Qi Xia said. "If you agree... we can get started right away."

Qiao Jiajin thought for a moment, then asked, "Swindler, are you really not afraid to die?"

"I am," Qi Xia said. "But I have to get out."

Tiantian sighed, then suddenly turned serious. "Qi Xia... you know I didn't join this team because I trusted you or wanted to rely on you. I came 'here' because there was no place for me 'there.'"

"I know." Qi Xia nodded.

"So I find it hard to believe you'll split the 'Dao' equally with me in the end. I don't think I can beat you at the last moment and become the sole survivor, either."

"So?"

"So my cooperation with you is temporary. If I think the situation is working against me, I'll betray you at any time." Tiantian gave a bitter smile. "To me, surviving isn't much different from dying here, but if there's hope, I'll still fight for it. In short, I'm only staying with the three of you to get my share."

Qi Xia showed no unusual reaction to her words. Instead, he nodded with some relief. "That's good."

"Good?" Tiantian blinked. "Wasn't I clear enough? I'm only here for the 'Dao.' You don't have to trust me too much, either."

"The strongest relationship in this world is an employment relationship," Qi Xia said. "I have no objections."

Qiao Jiajin and Lin Qin exchanged a glance. Tiantian had already gone that far... could they really trust her?

"Since we've all settled things, let's go."

Tiantian seemed surprised that Qi Xia had agreed so readily, and it left her uneasy. But on second thought, was there anything left he could trick her out of?

With different feelings weighing on each of them, the four headed deeper into the city once more.

The silent city constantly radiated danger. Qi Xia realized they seemed to be moving farther into what had once been a bustling district.

Here, they could make out a few "natives," wandering the ruined streets like the walking dead.

"There seem to be more people..." Qi Xia murmured to himself.

Not only were there all kinds of natives here, but they could also occasionally see Animal Masks standing in front of buildings. It seemed the deeper they went into the city, the more people they encountered.

As Qi Xia spoke, he saw a "native" carrying a stack of papers walk straight toward the four of them.

The person was as emaciated as the female shop assistant, little more than a skeleton.

Qiao Jiajin frowned and stepped forward.

He had expected danger, but the man merely held out a sheet of paper to him and said, "Interested in swimming and fitness?"

Before Qiao Jiajin could reach out to take it, the man released his grip like a zombie, and the flyer fell to the ground.

Yet he slowly walked away as though he hadn't seen a thing.

"Heroic sword god?" Qiao Jiajin blinked. "What the hell is a heroic sword god...?"

He picked up the sheet and looked at it. The lettering had almost entirely worn away, and the paper looked very old.

"They even have people handing out flyers here?" Tiantian found it hard to believe.

"If the Convenience Store has a shop assistant, people handing out flyers on the street aren't that strange," Qi Xia said.

"What's a 'flyer'?" Lin Qin asked.

That brief question made all three of them freeze for a moment.

"What did you say?" Qi Xia thought he had misheard.

"I asked, what's a 'flyer'?" Lin Qin repeated clearly.

What was a "flyer"?

All three gave Lin Qin strange looks.

Was that a question a normal person would ask?

"You don't know what a 'flyer' is?" Qi Xia asked.

"No." Lin Qin shook her head matter-of-factly. "Do all of you know?"

None of them answered, but their doubts remained.

Lin Qin had behaved strangely from the very beginning. She liked covering her mouth and nose, had insisted on following Qi Xia, and now she didn't even know something so basic...

Could she... not be human?

Or... was she one of the "Organizers"?

That terrifying possibility began circling in Qi Xia's mind.

If she really wasn't human, what was her purpose?

"Listen, Lin Qin..." Qi Xia finally spoke. Unless he cleared up who Lin Qin really was, he would never be able to relax. "A 'flyer' is an everyday object. How could you not know what it is?"

"Everyday?" Lin Qin looked thoroughly confused. "Just because the three of you know about it, that makes it 'common knowledge'?"

Qiao Jiajin cut in. "This isn't about whether the three of us know. 'Flyers' aren't rare. Everyone should know what they are. Why don't you?"

"Exactly..." Tiantian nodded as well. "Have you really never seen a flyer?"

"You're all so strange." Lin Qin was growing irritated by their questions. "I don't know what a 'flyer' is. So what? You're going to suspect me over this piece of paper?"

Qi Xia studied the girl before him. Her behavior really was difficult to understand.

If she was one of the "Organizers" and had exposed such an obvious flaw, she should at least have told a lie to explain it away. But she didn't look as though she was hiding anything. She genuinely seemed a little angry.

She didn't think there was anything wrong with not recognizing a "flyer."

Could she be innocent?

But how likely was it that a normal person wouldn't know what a "flyer" was?

Qi Xia thought it over... If he had to allow for the possibility, there was indeed a tiny chance that someone had never seen a flyer. Perhaps Lin Qin was the daughter of a wealthy capitalist, had frequented exclusive venues since childhood, and had always been chauffeured everywhere. Or perhaps she had pursued further studies elsewhere and only recently returned to the country.

But no matter how he looked at it, the chances were slim. Besides... she was only a Psychological Counselor.

"A 'flyer' is an advertisement printed on paper," Qiao Jiajin told Lin Qin. "You've never seen one?"

"Never." Lin Qin nodded earnestly.

Qi Xia didn't know what else to ask. He kept frowning in thought.

"Hey! Buddy!"

A sudden shout from across the road startled them.

A man wearing glasses and ragged clothes was waving from the other side. "Over here! Buddy!"

This was the first time they had seen another normal person here, and they couldn't help feeling nervous.

Was this newcomer a friend or an enemy?

"Are you calling me?" Qi Xia tried speaking to him.

"That's right! You're 'Normal People' too, aren't you?" The man with glasses smiled.

"'Normal People'?"

"People who are normal," the man said. "Don't you call them that?"

Qi Xia paused before replying, "We don't exactly look like lunatics, do we?"

"Ha! I knew it!" the man said with a laugh. "We found a pretty good game. Interested in earning some 'Dao' together?"

The man kept his distance from Qi Xia and the others the entire time, apparently wary of them as well.

Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exchanged a glance, unsure whether to trust him. But on closer thought, the rules here didn't allow anyone to steal "Dao." If the man had ill intentions, his only option was deception.

And when it came to deception, Qi Xia had never feared anyone.