Chapter 52: The Extreme Path
Xiao Xiao casually smashed a table, picked up a wooden board with nails from the floor, and slowly walked over to Qiao Jiajin.
"Hey!" Qi Xia sensed danger. "What are you doing?! Wait a minute..."
"These people deserve to die anyway," Xiao Xiao said. "They're not worth regretting. I'll prove it to you."
"Stop!" Qi Xia shouted anxiously. "I understand! I'll do whatever you say, just put that thing down!"
Xiao Xiao acted as if she hadn't heard a thing, slowly raising the wooden board in her hand.
"Hey! I agree to all your conditions! You don't need to prove anything to me!"
Seeing that Xiao Xiao seemed to have gone mad, Qi Xia quickly called out to Qiao Jiajin: "Hey! Qiao Jiajin! Don't play dead! Get up!!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Xiao Xiao's board came down, the nail-studded side embedding directly into Qiao Jiajin's skull.
"Long live the Extreme Path," she said with a smile.
Qiao Jiajin's body trembled, his limbs twitching violently a few times before falling still.
"Hey... Qiao Jiajin..."
Qi Xia's eyes widened, his lips trembling slightly.
"Say something, Qiao Jiajin... What the hell are you pretending for... Even a bear couldn't kill you... How could a nail do it...?"
Qi Xia didn't get an answer from Qiao Jiajin, but instead saw the spreading pool of blood.
He knew that when a nail pierced the brain, no one could survive.
Qiao Jiajin was dead.
"Qiao..." Qi Xia stared in disbelief at the scene before him, a single phrase echoing over and over in his mind: *"You've got brains, I've got brawn. Let's work together, yeah?"*
"See, Qi Xia?" Xiao Xiao said with a smile. "They're not worth regretting."
"AHHH——"
Qi Xia suddenly let out a scream, an excruciating pain tearing through the depths of his skull. His hands and feet instantly regained sensation, but he could only curl up, clutching his head and rolling on the ground.
Seeing that Qi Xia could suddenly move freely, Xiao Xiao paused noticeably.
This headache lasted an unusually long time. Qi Xia felt as if the nail hadn't pierced Qiao Jiajin, but had instead been driven into his own brain, stirring his gray matter endlessly, making him wish for death.
Two minutes later, the headache abruptly vanished. He stood up expressionlessly.
"Impressive, Qi Xia," Xiao Xiao laughed. "You can ignore my 'Echo'?"
"I suggest you stop where you are," Qi Xia said coldly. "If you have a problem, take it out on me..."
"No," Xiao Xiao said. "I need you to understand that these people can be killed freely. You can kill them too."
"Why would I kill them..." Qi Xia's eyes were utterly frigid, his entire demeanor devoid of emotion. "I'm not like you lunatics. Don't lump me in with the likes of you."
"It seems you still don't get it." Xiao Xiao shook her head regretfully, then yanked the nail-studded board out of Qiao Jiajin's head. She flicked the blood off it and said to Qi Xia, "Once I've killed them all, you'll naturally understand."
With that, she walked straight toward Tiantian.
"Lunatic, that's enough..." Qi Xia's lips quivered. "The few of us have barely managed to survive this long. What right do you have to decide our fate..."
"So I said it's meaningless," Xiao Xiao said, raising the board again.
This time, Qi Xia didn't give her the chance. He charged forward, intending to knock the woman over, but under the immense impact, she didn't budge.
Qi Xia had to change tactics on the fly. He wrapped his arms around her waist, thick as a load-bearing wall, and shoved her backward.
Xiao Xiao stepped back two paces, her face turning cold.
"Qi Xia, I'm trying to help you, but you're stubbornly lost. It breaks my heart." Xiao Xiao shook her head, grabbed Qi Xia by the neck, and tossed him aside like a dog.
Qi Xia crashed into the wall and groaned in pain. He could tell that the woman in front of him was exceptionally strong, likely having undergone rigorous training.
"Long live the Extreme Path," Xiao Xiao said with a smile, bringing the board down again, piercing Tiantian's skull.
Tiantian's voice echoed in Qi Xia's mind—*"I came here because there was no place for me anywhere else."*
That same agonizing, tearing pain surged back, and Qi Xia writhed on the ground, clutching his head in misery.
Tiantian was dead too.
Qi Xia felt like his head was splitting open.
His vision went black, his consciousness fading.
Just before he passed out, he heard another great bell tolling in the distance.
...
"Xia, look." Yu Nian'an held up a worn-out shirt, seemingly showing it off to Qi Xia. "Look here."
She pointed a pale finger at the pocket on the shirt's chest, where a cartoon sheep was sewn on.
"I patched up the torn spot! Pretty good work, huh?"
"Not bad at all," Qi Xia said, nodding while wolfing down a bowl of instant noodles. "But why not buy a new one?"
"To save money!" Yu Nian'an smiled. "When we're rich later, you can buy as many as you want. For now, this will do."
Qi Xia paused, set down his noodles, and said, "Xiao'an, we'll have money soon. If that deal of mine goes through, we'll have two million..."
"I believe you." Yu Nian'an nodded with a smile. "Xia, there are many paths in this world, and everyone has their own. I'm sure you'll succeed."
"Mm." Qi Xia nodded, feeling an unusual sense of peace. He wanted to say more to Yu Nian'an, but then he noticed the color of the sky outside the window.
The dark red sky was hung with a muddy yellow sun.
Qi Xia blinked, feeling that something was off.
"What's going on..." He turned back to look at Yu Nian'an, but her face had become Xiao Xiao's.
Xiao Xiao smiled at Qi Xia, her lips moving. "Long live the Extreme Path," she said.
The next second, two figures emerged behind Xiao Xiao—Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian.
Brain matter and blood oozed from their foreheads. They stared at Qi Xia with hideous expressions, their eyes filled with resentment and unwillingness.
"You... you all... I..."
A surge of terror washed over Qi Xia. He scrambled off his chair and ran out the door.
He had to escape this godforsaken place.
This was all a nightmare.
But when he opened the door to his own room, a deeper despair hit him.
Outside was an endless corridor, lined on both sides with thousands of doors. People wearing animal masks were now streaming out of each one.
...
"Qi Xia! Qi Xia!!" A frantic voice pulled him back.
He slowly opened his eyes to see Lin Qin's clean face before him.
"Lin..." Qi Xia furrowed his brow, his head splitting with pain. "What happened?"
Lin Qin's eyes were filled with tears. She choked out, "You scared me to death... I thought you had died like Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian..."
Qi Xia recalled the terrifying experience. He staggered to his feet and looked over at the bodies of Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian, momentarily lost and dazed.
Though this wasn't a dream, it was a reality even more horrifying than one.
"Qi Xia... what on earth happened..." Lin Qin sobbed. "Who killed them?"
Qi Xia didn't answer. Instead, he looked expressionlessly at Lin Qin, a hint of confusion in his voice as he asked, "Why are you still alive?"