Capture the Leader

Earth Ox said nothing, merely sweeping his gaze over the survivors before saying with mild displeasure, "Nineteen Dao each. The game is over. Please come forward one at a time to collect your Dao."

Little Glasses looked at Zhang Shan's wounds, breaking into a cold sweat. "Zhang Shan... are you really okay?"

"I'm fine, damn it." Zhang Shan smiled and patted Little Glasses on the head. "How did things go on your side? You and Old Lü both look pretty lively."

"Ah...!" Little Glasses suddenly cried out. "Zhang Shan, speaking of Old Lü, there's something I need to discuss with you..."

Old Lü hurried over to Zhang Shan as well, gesturing wildly. "Yes, yes! You have to stand up for me!"

"Stand up for you? What happened?"

Seeing the three whispering among themselves, Qi Xia's expression darkened. He turned to Lin Qin and asked, "What exactly happened on your side?"

Lin Qin took a deep breath. "Honestly, I thought we were done for..."

"That's right..." Tiantian added from beside her. "When the black bear came out, Lin Qin and I were so scared we could barely stand."

"Then what?" Qiao Jiajin asked.

"Then..." Lin Qin blinked, thinking back. "All I remember is that man named Zhang Shan shouting, 'Get out of the way!' Then he lifted the iron plate all by himself and swung it at the black bear."

"What?!" Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exclaimed together.

"Neither of us dared to look..." Lin Qin said. "It was absolutely brutal. He knocked the bear down with the iron plate and pinned its body beneath it. Then he straddled the plate and kept attacking its head. There was blood all over the arena..."

"Damn... he really is the Terminator..." Qiao Jiajin said through gritted teeth. "That big guy's a beast."

"He seemed to know the black bear's weak spots. Before the game even ended, he'd beaten its face beyond recognition. Its nose was broken, and he knocked out a lot of its teeth..." Lin Qin said.

Tiantian added, "But Zhang Shan didn't get off lightly either. The bear fought back as it was dying, throwing off the iron plate and clawing at him over and over until he was covered in blood. Luckily, it collapsed in less than a minute. Thanks to him, everyone else was fine..."

Qi Xia frowned at this. No wonder Tiantian and Lin Qin thought they could never have won this game on their own.

No one in their arena had cleared the game using his method. Instead, someone had used that heavy iron plate as a weapon and fought the black bear.

"In that case... why did you take so long to come back up?" Qiao Jiajin asked. "The game had been over for three or four minutes by the time you returned. The swindler and I were about to start planning your funerals."

"That part was even scarier..." Lin Qin pressed her lips together and lowered her head. "After that big guy killed the bear, he suddenly said, 'I haven't eaten in days. Bear paws are good stuff.' Then he directed us to smash off both of the bear's arms with the iron plate..."

"So those two bear arms..." Qiao Jiajin was about to say more when he spotted the big man, Little Glasses, and Old Lü walking straight toward them.

Each of the three had a small cloth pouch hanging from his waist. It looked as though they had already collected their Dao.

The big man leading them wore a cold expression, his eyes fixed on Qi Xia. He did not seem to have come with friendly intentions.

"Oh..." Qiao Jiajin suddenly remembered the "deal" between Qi Xia and Little Glasses and realized things were looking bad. "Swindler, what's the plan?"

"The Matthew Effect..." Qi Xia murmured under his breath. "For whoever has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."

"What does that mean?"

Qi Xia did not answer. He lowered his gaze and discreetly surveyed their surroundings, then dragged a chair in front of himself to ensure some distance between him and the other man.

There were three more chairs beside him. On closer inspection, he found that the one within easiest reach had a leg on the verge of breaking. It would make an excellent weapon.

The bull-headed man was ten paces away, too far to intervene immediately. Qi Xia knew that as long as everything went smoothly, he could definitely take Zhang Shan down.

"No big problem..." Qi Xia regarded Zhang Shan with icy eyes. "He can kill a bear, but unfortunately for him, I'm not a bear."

"What are you going to do...?" Lin Qin felt a little frightened.

Qiao Jiajin also watched the approaching trio with a serious expression, loosening his neck a little.

The atmosphere grew tense, the air thick with the promise of violence.

If this big man really had come to stand up for the others, a fierce fight was inevitable.

Zhang Shan stopped in front of Qi Xia and studied him thoughtfully.

Qi Xia raised his head as well, looking at the towering man, who stood six foot three.

"I heard... you had a little run-in with my friends," Zhang Shan said flatly.

"That's right," Qi Xia said. "That older man paid me Dao to save his life."

"Fuck... who do you think you are...?" Zhang Shan scratched his ear with his little finger. "Paying you for his life? Are you the King of Hell?"

"I can be." Qi Xia took a step forward, moving closer to the chair. "I can save lives, and I can end them."

Zhang Shan frowned. "What's wrong with you? Can't you talk like a normal person?"

"Whether I can talk nicely mainly depends on whether you hand over the Dao."

"You really are an annoying bastard." The big man frowned. "What are you going to do if I don't?"

Little Glasses froze at those words, then hurriedly whispered, "Zhang Shan! What do you mean? This isn't what we agreed on!"

"Stay out of it," Zhang Shan whispered back over his shoulder. "I have a plan."

"If you don't hand it over, I'll take it myself."

"Huh? You got a death wish, kid?"

Before Zhang Shan could react, Qi Xia kicked the chair at his feet forward, slamming it into Zhang Shan's knees.

Zhang Shan recoiled in pain and hastily stepped back twice.

Seizing the opening, Qi Xia immediately rushed forward and scooped up the chair from the floor, gripping it by a leg. He knew Zhang Shan was wounded. If he wanted to take him down, this was the perfect opportunity.

Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems: capture the leader, Qi Xia told himself, then swung the chair.

Sensing danger, Zhang Shan immediately ducked and raised his arms to protect his head.

The next second, the chair shattered against his arms.

Crack!

The blow hurt, but it had missed his vital areas.

Break their strength, seize their chief, and their ranks will fall apart, Qi Xia silently recited again.

Zhang Shan was visibly enraged. "You're serious, you little bastard?"

But before he could curse, he realized Qi Xia was still holding a broken chair leg.

Qi Xia spun with the momentum, then swung the chair leg at Zhang Shan's head.

Zhang Shan was clearly no ordinary fighter. He immediately turned his head and rammed the hardest part of his forehead into the wooden club.

Snap!

The chair leg broke on impact, leaving a red mark on Zhang Shan's head.

"Interesting...!" Zhang Shan said through gritted teeth. "You fight to kill, you little bastard... then I won't hold back either!"