Chapter 51: Xiaoxiao
After the group had eaten a small portion of the bear meat, they also drank up all the broth.
It had to be said, the broth tasted a bit better than the bear meat.
Perhaps it was also because everyone was extremely thirsty—anything they drank tasted sweet and fragrant.
"Leave the remaining bear meat here," Qi Xia said as he stretched his muscles and joints, speaking to the group. "If we're lucky enough to make it back tonight, we can have another meal."
Xiaoxiao suddenly spoke up. "I want another bowl."
With that, she took her bowl and picked out some more bear meat.
"Whatever you want." Qi Xia slowly stood up and looked at the sky; it should be around afternoon now.
"We need to hurry," Qi Xia said. "The four of us only won ninety-five 'Dao.' Judging by the progress, that's far from enough. Today's goal is three hundred and sixty."
"That makes sense," Qiao Jiajin also stood up. "Let's go."
Tiantian and Lin Qin packed up their things and brushed the dust off their clothes. When they turned to look, Xiaoxiao still hadn't gotten up. She continued eating the meat in her bowl as if she hadn't heard anything.
"Sister Xiaoxiao, aren't you coming?" Tiantian asked.
Xiaoxiao tossed a large piece of fatty meat into her mouth, then licked her fingers, but still didn't answer.
"Don't bother with her." Qi Xia knew this woman's intentions weren't pure; it was better for them to part ways sooner. "Let's go."
Qiao Jiajin nodded and turned to walk toward Qi Xia.
Just then, a deafening bell sound rang from afar.
「DONG!!!」
Everyone looked confused.
Just as Qi Xia was about to say something, he suddenly saw a "wall" flying toward him.
"What?"
Before Qi Xia could react, he slammed hard into that wall.
It took several seconds for him to realize what was happening.
It turned out that wasn't a "flying wall" at all—he had fallen face-first onto the floor.
He had never experienced such a bizarre sensation; it was as if all his senses were completely scrambled.
Qi Xia struggled to turn his head and saw Qiao Jiajin, Lin Qin, and Tiantian also sprawled on the ground, their eyes closed as if they had lost consciousness.
"What is this..."
Qi Xia felt the situation was extremely strange. He shook his head in disbelief. When he tried to extend his left hand, his right hand moved instead.
When he tried to stand up, he fell to the ground.
This feeling was very much like being drunk, yet his mind was oddly clear.
Xiaoxiao stared at her bowl, eating the leftover meat in big mouthfuls, as if she hadn't seen anything.
"Did you... do something?" Qi Xia stared at Xiaoxiao. "Did you poison us?"
Although he asked this verbally, Qi Xia was still puzzled.
Xiaoxiao had eaten more of that bear meat than anyone else. If it really was poisoned, why was she fine?
"Qi Xia, listen. The bell rang," Xiaoxiao said calmly.
"The bell rang... what does that mean?"
"It means... I want to negotiate a condition with you." Xiaoxiao put down her empty bowl and stood up.
"A condition...?" Qi Xia looked at this slightly plump woman with some disbelief. He had originally thought she was at most a bit scheming, but now it seemed she was more terrifying than he had imagined.
Now she had completely taken control, and he had no right to refuse.
"What condition do you want to negotiate?" Qi Xia asked.
"Stop collecting 'Dao,'" Xiaoxiao said. "Settle down and live here peacefully."
"What...?"
Qi Xia had imagined many possibilities, but this was the last thing he expected.
She wasn't after the "Dao"?
"You're telling me to live here peacefully?!" Qi Xia tried to get up, but found his hands and feet completely unresponsive. He could only lie on the ground and growl, "Why the hell would I live here?!"
Xiaoxiao wiped the grease from her hands on her pants, then walked over to the four of them and took all the "Dao" from their waists.
Finally, she crouched beside Qi Xia and said expressionlessly, "Because you're too strong. You have a chance to collect enough 'Dao.'"
"Isn't that a good thing..." Qi Xia gritted his teeth. "I'll unravel the mystery of this damn place and take everyone out."
"No, I can't let that happen." Xiaoxiao shook her head calmly. "I won't allow anyone to succeed. I want to protect this place. If you keep being stubborn, I'll make you regret it."
"I see..." Qi Xia sneered. "You look like a normal person, but you're actually a lunatic... You want me to live here forever, like those walking corpses? Hasn't anyone told you this damn place only has ten days left? It's going to be annihilated!"
"It's going to be annihilated?" Xiaoxiao nodded, as if she wasn't surprised by this answer. "Then let me put it another way. I want you to quietly wait for annihilation in these few days and stop collecting 'Dao.'"
"You... madwoman..." Qi Xia said slowly. "If I don't comply, what will you do? Kill me?"
"Maybe."
"You won't."
"Oh? Why?"
"Because you have the chance to kill me right now," Qi Xia said. "You could have just killed me outright, but you chose to 'negotiate a condition' with me. Why is that?"
Xiaoxiao frowned upon hearing this. She turned around, removed the pot, and threw all the "Dao" into the stove fire.
"Hey!!" Qi Xia shouted. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
As the stove fire crackled, all the "Dao" that Qi Xia and the others had risked their lives to obtain turned to ashes.
At that moment, Xiaoxiao turned back and said to Qi Xia with a sorrowful expression, "I didn't kill you because I hope that one day in the future, you'll join us."
Qi Xia felt it was impossible to communicate with this woman named Xiaoxiao. "Are you deaf? There are only ten days left! In ten days, everything will disappear. What do you mean by 'one day in the future, join us'?"
After a pause, he asked, "And who is 'us'?"
"Qi Xia," Xiaoxiao said. "In ten days, you'll understand everything. This place, these people..."
She pointed at the three people lying on the ground and said to Qi Xia, "They're not important. Their deaths don't matter. But you're different. You need to live here."
"Cut the crap," Qi Xia said. "How would you know whether they're important to me or not?"
"I..." Xiaoxiao paused briefly, as if something had occurred to her, and said to Qi Xia, "I can prove to you that their deaths don't matter."
"You, what are you going to do?"
With that, Xiaoxiao took off her top, revealing a sports vest underneath.
Only then did Qi Xia realize that this woman in front of him was far from "slightly plump." Her muscle mass even surpassed Qiao Jiajin's. Her abdominal muscles were clearly defined, and her arms were like stone pillars.
When he had first seen this woman, her large frame and broad shoulders naturally made him assume she was overweight.
Although her face was lean, no one could have imagined that beneath that loose T-shirt lay such a powerfully muscular physique.