# Chapter 41: I'm the Hen
"Very good." Qi Xia nodded. "I must survive here. If anyone tries to stop me, the consequences will be very severe."
This statement startled everyone present, because Qi Xia's eyes looked exactly like those of a murderer.
He really seemed capable of killing.
Even Qiao Jiajin, who was always grinning and joking, now had a serious expression.
A question couldn't help but arise in his heart—
What kind of person is Qi Xia, really?
After this incident, everyone meekly stood up like sheep and moved behind the iron plate.
Seeing this, Qi Xia slowly released his grip. The middle-aged man and Little Glasses, still shaken, supported each other.
Qi Xia knew he had achieved his goal. He was now the sole leader of this group.
"How are you going to make sure everyone survives?" asked a slightly chubby girl.
"One sentence explains it." Qi Xia replied slowly. "The answer is 'Eagle Catching Chicks.'"
"Eagle... Catching Chicks?" The crowd seemed confused.
"Now we have all three roles." Qi Xia extended his hand and pointed at the Black Bear not far away. "The eagle."
Then he pointed at the disheveled group of two men and five women. "The chicks."
Finally, he looked at Qiao Jiajin and called out, "The hen."
"Hen your mom!" Qiao Jiajin said with a disgusted expression. "Can't you pick a different name?!"
The others were starting to understand now.
The iron plate on the ground was very heavy. The best way to use it against the Black Bear was to roll it along the ground. But the plate had limited surface area and poor maneuverability. Once the group scattered, the situation would become dangerous.
The best approach was for one person to move the plate while the rest lined up in a column behind them.
Just as everyone was thinking this over, the Black Bear had already approached. At this moment, its eyes seemed to have no other target—it was only focused on Qiao Jiajin.
"Here it comes!" Qi Xia quietly signaled to Qiao Jiajin.
Hearing this, Qiao Jiajin immediately extended his legs backward, leaning his entire body at an angle, using his shoulder to brace against the iron plate.
The next second, the Black Bear swung its thick forearm and slammed violently into the iron plate.
*Clang!*
A deafening sound rang out. The Black Bear's attack was deflected, and both it and Qiao Jiajin took a step back.
Fortunately, Qiao Jiajin had assumed a defensive stance in advance. Otherwise, even though the attack wouldn't have broken through the plate, it would have been enough to crush him into a meat patty.
Seeing this, everyone quickly tightened their formation.
The four men stood at the front of the line, and the five women stood at the back.
The middle-aged man obediently grabbed hold of Qi Xia's clothes.
"Hey, Liar, how many more attacks like that...?"
Qi Xia glanced at the clock on the far wall. "Don't worry. Only seven minutes left."
"Seven..." Qiao Jiajin was stunned. "Damn, isn't that just the beginning?!"
"The Black Bear doesn't have good stamina," Qi Xia said. "I don't believe it will attack non-stop for the remaining time. As long as we endure the early phase, we'll be fine. But don't let your guard down."
The Black Bear adjusted its stance, slowly shifting to the side.
Qi Xia also tugged at Qiao Jiajin's clothes, controlling his direction, making the iron plate roll along the ground.
This move stumped the Black Bear.
Although it possessed destructive strength, it wasn't an agile hunter. It couldn't immediately launch an attack from the flank, so it could only keep moving its massive body.
But no matter where it moved, the iron plate always faced it.
"Rooar—"
The Black Bear kept growling lowly. It had already circled the group completely, yet still couldn't find an opening to attack.
In fact, there was a very simple way to break the "Eagle Catching Chicks" strategy—if the "Eagle" suddenly changed direction. For example, if the "Eagle" had been moving right and then suddenly moved left, the "Chicks" line would, due to inertia, have the last person caught.
This was a tactic everyone had learned from playing the game countless times in childhood. Qi Xia didn't believe the Black Bear in front of him would come up with such a clever move in a short time.
"Very good... very good..." Qi Xia muttered to himself. "Just keep it like this..."
At that moment, everyone was holding onto each other. Although the line was long, they were all maintaining a safe distance from the Black Bear.
"Your method might actually work..." Qiao Jiajin said quietly. "I'm just a bit tired..."
"Hang in there a little longer," Qi Xia said. "Six more minutes will pass quickly."
"But I haven't eaten for a whole day and night, I—"
"Here it comes!" Qi Xia shouted loudly.
Qiao Jiajin immediately adjusted his center of gravity, lowering his entire body, and collided with the Black Bear once again.
*Clang!!*
This time, the force was clearly greater than the last. Qiao Jiajin almost got knocked over along with the plate.
"This damn bear just won't stop!" the middle-aged man yelled nervously. "Hey! The young man at the front, you better hold strong!"
"Why don't you try holding it yourself!" Qiao Jiajin cursed angrily. He felt his whole body aching from the impact, as if his bones were about to fall apart.
The Black Bear, enraged that its full-force attack still hadn't broken the defense, paused in place and slowly began to retreat.
"What's going on?" Little Glasses asked. "Is it giving up?"
Qi Xia furrowed his brow slightly, sensing something was wrong.
Retreating?
"Damn it!"
He suddenly thought of something, quickly lowered his body, and pressed against the iron plate together with Qiao Jiajin. Then he turned back to the middle-aged man and said, "Hey! You control the direction!"
"Huh?"
Although confused, the middle-aged man knew that the iron plate represented everyone's lives, so he didn't dare slack off. He mimicked what Qi Xia had been doing, pulling at the clothes of the two men to steer the direction of the plate.
Just as Qi Xia had expected, the Black Bear wasn't retreating to give up—it was preparing to build up momentum for a charge.
"It's going for an all-out effort," Qi Xia said, looking at Qiao Jiajin beside him. "If we can block this one, we've got a good chance of surviving."
"That's like saying nothing at all," Qiao Jiajin shook his head helplessly. "The problem is, we don't know if we can block it!"
The Black Bear kept backing up, until it reached the wall.
The middle-aged man, who had been controlling the direction, saw this and couldn't help but swallow hard.
The Black Bear's stationary attacks were already deadly enough. If it added a running start and threw its full body weight behind it, could that iron plate alone withstand its charge?
"Fatty!" Qiao Jiajin shouted. "If it attacks, remember to give a warning!"
But the middle-aged man seemed to hear nothing. His eyes darted quickly, as if he was contemplating something.
The Black Bear scraped its front claws on the ground, then suddenly began to accelerate.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man didn't hesitate any longer. He abandoned the group and ran toward an empty space behind.
"Hey... you!" Before Qiao Jiajin could curse, he already heard the heavy footsteps thundering toward him. He could only hurriedly lower his stance.
At that moment, Little Glasses stepped forward, tugged at Qi Xia's clothes, and yelled, "The direction's off! Move a bit to the right!"
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin's eyes widened simultaneously. "No time to adjust direction! Brace yourselves!"
The moment the words left their mouths, it felt like they had been hit by a speeding truck. Their bodies, along with the iron plate, were lifted off the ground, flew backward uncontrollably for half a meter, and then crashed heavily to the floor.
This collision not only sent the entire line tumbling, but also knocked the iron plate over, pinning the two men beneath it.