Chapter 53: New Goal
Lin Qin was obviously stunned after hearing this.
"What do you mean by 'why are you still alive'?" She gradually took a step back, feeling that the Qi Xia in front of her was somewhat dangerous. "You... what are you going to do?"
Qi Xia seemed to understand something after seeing Lin Qin's reaction, so he slowly walked over to Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian's side.
"Qi Xia... do you know something?" Lin Qin asked with a trembling voice. "What exactly happened?"
Qi Xia crouched down, staring at these two 'comrades' he had only known for two days, his heart filled with mixed feelings.
Although his mood was low, every time he thought about the moments spent with the two of them, it felt like an insect in his mind wanted to break out of his body, giving him a splitting headache.
Lin Qin looked at Qi Xia with some fear. "Say something... you..."
"That woman named Xiaoxiao killed them," Qi Xia said in a low voice. "I'm going to make her pay with blood."
"Xiaoxiao...?" Lin Qin blinked in disbelief. "The girl we met before...?"
Qi Xia gently stroked Tiantian's forehead, where there was a small hole.
This was the mark left after being pierced by a nail.
Tiantian had once said she could die here.
But now, she didn't even know why she died.
"But I don't understand why," Lin Qin said. "Why did she kill Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian?"
Qi Xia paused slightly and said, "I also want to know why she did that. I want to know even more... why didn't she kill you?"
"No wonder you asked me that," Lin Qin seemed to understand Qi Xia's meaning. "But I don't know why I survived either. Even if you suspect me, I have no way to prove my innocence."
"I did suspect you when I first woke up, but I have no doubts now. After all, you just seemed afraid that I would kill you. That's not the expression a co-conspirator would show." Qi Xia took one last reluctant look at Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian, then slowly stood up. "You thought I was the one who killed them, right?"
"I..." Lin Qin lowered her head in remorse. "Indeed, after all, only the two of us survived, so the murderer could only be..."
Qi Xia didn't mind and continued, "Xiaoxiao told me to give up searching for the 'Dao', but I don't plan to listen to her."
Lin Qin frowned and carefully understood the meaning of these words, then couldn't help but ask, "She told you to give up searching for the 'Dao'? Why?"
"I don't know," Qi Xia shook his head. "They seem to be an organization. If I'm not mistaken, they are preventing others from collecting the 'Dao'."
"That's very strange..." Lin Qin said as she reached for her waist. "Ah! Where is my 'Dao'?"
After saying this, she looked at Qi Xia's waist, then looked down at Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian's waists.
Everyone's 'Dao' was gone.
"That's exactly what I wanted to tell you," Qi Xia muttered. "That woman isn't collecting the 'Dao', she's destroying it."
As he spoke, Qi Xia pointed to the extinguished fire stove not far away and said to Lin Qin, "I saw with my own eyes that she burned our 'Dao'."
"But that's not right..." Lin Qin seemed puzzled. "Didn't you say that the 'Referee' wouldn't allow something like 'killing to seize the Dao' to happen?"
Qi Xia lowered his head and thought for a moment, then replied, "That woman named Xiaoxiao is very clever... or rather, she is well-versed in the 'rules' here. First, as I said, she didn't 'seize the Dao', she just destroyed it. Second, when she removed or destroyed the 'Dao', Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian were still alive. No matter how you look at it, she didn't violate the 'rules'."
"In other words, 'killing' is allowed, but 'seizing the Dao' is not..." Lin Qin crouched down, her expression extremely sad. She sat down on the ground and asked Qi Xia, "Now that we don't have a single 'Dao' left... we can't even participate in the games anymore, right?"
Qi Xia looked at Lin Qin and said flatly, "Do you care so much about participating in the game? I didn't get the feeling before that you wanted to leave here."
Lin Qin nodded. "Yes, originally I had no interest in this place at all, but now... there's something I have to go back and confirm."
"Go back and confirm?"
"That's right." Lin Qin looked at Qi Xia seriously. "I want to return to the real world to confirm something."
Qi Xia stared into Lin Qin's eyes for three seconds, as if judging whether she was lying.
After a while, he slowly stood up and said, "Lin Qin, regardless, let's separate."
"Separate?"
"Yes, separate." Qi Xia nodded. "That woman came for me. If you keep following me, you will be in great danger."
Lin Qin also stood up and replied, "I can't leave. I have to act with you, otherwise I won't be able to confirm that thing even when I return to reality."
Qi Xia paused after hearing this and asked, "What you call 'that thing'... is it related to me?"
"Yes."
"Is your interest in me also because of 'that thing'?" Qi Xia asked.
"Yes."
"What exactly is it?" Qi Xia rarely encountered a situation he couldn't figure out at all. The girl named Lin Qin in front of him made him extremely curious.
"Sorry, I really can't say," Lin Qin shook her head. "You just need to remember that we are not enemies."
Qi Xia was silent for a moment, then said earnestly, "If you stay with me, you might die."
"Mm..." Lin Qin seemed hesitant, but still replied, "I'm ready to take a gamble. Maybe I won't die, and I'll get out of here."
Seeing Lin Qin so persistent, Qi Xia stopped persuading. He slowly walked to the door and looked at the darkening sky.
"In that case, let's take a gamble together," Qi Xia said. "We're not completely out of 'Dao'. There's still one stored with an acquaintance."
"You mean..." Lin Qin also thought of something. "Will Officer Li give you the 'Dao'?"
"He will," Qi Xia paused and added, "But his three teammates won't."
"Then what can we do?"
Qi Xia shifted his gaze, looked at Qiao Jiajin on the ground, and said through gritted teeth, "I'll beg them. I'm determined to get that 'Dao'. As long as I keep playing games, that woman named Xiaoxiao will definitely show up again. I can't let Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian die without knowing why."
After saying this, he picked up the remaining bear meat along with the pot, then pushed open the door and walked out. Lin Qin followed closely behind.
The sky was already somewhat dim, and there seemed to be quite a few insect chirps in the city. Crickets were rustling everywhere.
"We need to hurry," Qi Xia said. "I hope they'll appreciate this bear meat."
Lin Qin looked up at Qi Xia again, feeling empty inside.
The man in front of her seemed to have no emotions. He was indifferent to the deaths of everyone.