Escape

As the onlookers watched in alarm, Earth Ox slowly walked over.

"You two, stop." He spoke flatly. "I don't care if you kill each other, but please take it outside this room."

Neither man would listen. They paid Earth Ox no mind at all, both gritting their teeth as they strained against each other.

Earth Ox looked at the two grappling men and simply stopped trying to persuade them. Instead, he bent down and effortlessly pulled Qiao Jiajin's arm away from Zhang Shan's neck. Then he seized Zhang Shan's collar with his left hand and Qiao Jiajin's arm with his right. With a gentle toss, he sent them flying in opposite directions like a pair of pebbles, knocking over every chair.

"Holy shit..." Qiao Jiajin felt as though his bones had nearly snapped.

Zhang Shan fared no better on the other side. He lay on the floor, rolling in pain, blood flowing from every wound on his body.

"Fuck... you damned old ox. One day, I'll skin you alive..."

Everyone hurried over to check on the two men.

"Hey, Qiao Jiajin, are you still alive?"

Qiao Jiajin gave a bitter smile. "What do you think...?"

Tiantian and Lin Qin came over too, and the three of them helped Qiao Jiajin to his feet.

On the other side, Little Glasses and Old Lü helped Zhang Shan up as well.

"Are you okay, Zhang Shan?" Little Glasses asked.

"I'm fine." Zhang Shan scratched his head and at the wounds on his body, feeling distinctly uncomfortable. Still, he collected himself and told Little Glasses, "Looks like you were right. Those two are pretty interesting."

"Right?" Little Glasses smiled happily, as though he himself had been praised. "The guy with the tattoo sleeves is really strong, and that 'Liar Boy' is incredibly smart. Those two definitely qualify."

Old Lü kept curling his lip beside them, apparently disagreeing with Little Glasses.

"Come on, let's go talk to them again." Zhang Shan gave an easy laugh and led the two men forward once more.

Before he had taken three steps, Earth Ox reached out a pitch-black hand and pressed it onto Zhang Shan's shoulder.

"Planning to cause more trouble?"

Zhang Shan looked at Earth Ox. "Relax. We're just going to talk."

Earth Ox considered this briefly, then withdrew his hand.

"Watch yourself. I've got my eye on you."

A few steps later, Zhang Shan stood face-to-face with Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin again.

Qiao Jiajin stepped forward, shielding Qi Xia. "Big guy, ready to settle this once we get outside?"

"Forget it." Zhang Shan scratched at the alarming wounds on his chest. "I'm out of strength today. We'll set something up next time."

"Ha." Qiao Jiajin laughed at that. "If you're not here to fight, what do you want with us?"

"That's hardly fair." Zhang Shan shook his head helplessly. "I wasn't looking for a fight in the first place. Your buddy suddenly attacked me."

Qiao Jiajin thought about it and realized that was indeed what had happened.

"You weren't looking for a fight?" Qi Xia found the man before him rather strange. "Then what did you want with us?"

Zhang Shan turned around and waved to Little Glasses and Old Lü. Both took cloth bags from their waists and handed them to him. Although Old Lü looked thoroughly unwilling, he seemed wary of Zhang Shan and could only do as he was told.

Zhang Shan weighed the two cloth bags in his hands, then tossed them to Qi Xia.

"Thirty-eight 'Dao' in total. They're yours."

Qi Xia caught the two bags in disbelief and opened them. Sure enough, they held little golden balls.

"What's this supposed to mean?" Qiao Jiajin gave Zhang Shan a suspicious look. "We haven't settled our fight yet. Why are you giving us your 'Dao'?"

"Because that was the deal during the game. If you make a bet, you have to accept the loss." Zhang Shan glanced back at Little Glasses and continued, "Besides, Little Glasses has praised you over and over, saying you two are pretty good."

"Pretty good?" Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exchanged glances, unsure what he was after.

"I wasn't trying to cause trouble when I first came over, either." Zhang Shan raised a finger and tapped his temple as he addressed Qi Xia. "Little Glasses told me you used this to beat that black bear. Is that true?"

Qi Xia did not answer. He continued watching Zhang Shan warily.

"Don't overthink it," Zhang Shan said. "We're gathering a group of capable people so we can get out of this place together. Would you two be interested in joining?"

"No," Qi Xia answered.

"Don't turn us down so quickly..." Zhang Shan gave a guileless smile and reached out to pat Qi Xia's shoulder. "You can think it over."

"Exactly!" Little Glasses stepped forward too and addressed Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin. "Mr. Qiao, Mr. Liar, you're both exceptionally capable. We have a real chance of getting out of here."

"Mr. Liar?" Qi Xia thought he had misheard. "You mean me?"

"Yes..." Little Glasses thought he had said something wrong. "Hasn't Mr. Qiao been calling you 'Liar Boy'...?"

Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. "Never mind. A name is just something to call someone by. Call me whatever you like, but I won't be joining you."

"Why are you so adamant?" Little Glasses did not quite understand. "As the saying goes, there's strength in numbers. Besides, I've played a game with you, so I know you're a trustworthy teammate. If we work together..."

"But I don't trust you," Qi Xia interrupted. "Besides, only one person can get out of this place. What good will gathering more people do? Won't they just be cannon fodder at the very end?"

"O-only one person can get out?" Little Glasses froze for a moment. "What nonsense are you talking about? Why would only one person be able to get out?"

"Isn't that the case?" Qi Xia countered. "Those Animal Masks said..."

Qi Xia was about to continue, but suddenly froze.

Wait.

Why did I think only one person could get out?

Had anyone said anything like that?

No. No one had.

Human Sheep had told Qi Xia that if they won the games, one of them would become a "god."

At the time, Qiao Jiajin had very clearly asked Human Sheep, "What happens if we can't win the games?"

Human Sheep's answer had been, "If you can't win, that would be such a shame."

He had never said anything about escaping this place.

Could I have misunderstood...?

The word "shame" was highly ambiguous.

Who had Human Sheep felt it would be a "shame" for?

For himself... or for the participants?

Qi Xia blinked, feeling as though he had grasped something.

In this godforsaken place, besides "becoming a god" and "being destroyed," could "escaping" also be an option...?

"Why... do you think you can escape this place together?" Qi Xia asked.

"Because we've seen people who escaped, of course," Zhang Shan answered.