Chapter 1060: Switched
The Earth Dragon raised her head in response, her expression calm as she looked at the Azure Dragon.
She truly didn't seem afraid of death.
"Hit a sore spot... feeling a little hurt?" the Earth Dragon said, her voice forced through her compressed throat. "Isn't this exactly what you've always been doing... poking at everyone's pain... tearing apart everyone's hopes. You're allowed to laugh, but others aren't?"
The Azure Dragon didn't answer. He simply increased the pressure in his hand.
The Earth Dragon slowly furrowed her brow. She could feel that although her body had been strengthened, her neck was about to be snapped.
If it had come to this, then this chaotic, toilsome life of hers should finally end, right?
But she had already waited for over ten seconds. The Azure Dragon hadn't delivered the killing blow, and the movement of his hand had stopped.
The Earth Dragon opened her eyes and stared at the Azure Dragon in confusion. She didn't understand why, after she had already said everything she had to say, he would still have any reason to hold back.
In her line of sight, the Azure Dragon was looking down with a grave expression.
Down on the game field, in the "Red Side's" Preparation Area, Qi Xia had been staring up at him the entire time.
Including this very moment, when he was gripping the Earth Dragon's neck—all of it was captured in those grayish-white goat eyes.
The Azure Dragon hesitated.
What an absurd feeling this was...?
The Azure Dragon knew that the man below was nothing more than a mortal body. A gust of wind casually flicked from his hand could send him flying several meters away. Yet he couldn't see through those eyes.
"I can't understand the thoughts of a 'god'...?"
Only now did the Azure Dragon realize how terrifying those words were. Because from the very beginning, he hadn't understood Qi Xia's actions.
But at the time, he felt like he was watching an ant. It was perfectly reasonable for a human not to understand an ant's actions, wasn't it?
But now, was the Azure Dragon supposed to believe... that the reason he couldn't understand Qi Xia was because Qi Xia was more like a "god"?
"Ridiculous," the Azure Dragon murmured softly. He slowly released his grip on the Earth Dragon's neck.
"Cough..." The Earth Dragon suddenly regained her breath and let out two dry coughs. "How annoying... can't kill me cleanly... and then lets go..."
"You tried to bluff me," the Azure Dragon said. "If a human can't understand an 'ant' or a 'god' at the same time, does that make an 'ant' a 'god'?"
"Whether an 'ant' is a 'god' is something only you know," the Earth Dragon replied, rubbing her neck. "And whether Qi Xia is an 'ant' is something you know even better than I do."
The Azure Dragon's face was heavy as he looked down, only to see Chen Junnan bursting out of a room far away, flinging open his door. A second later, he teleported into the Preparation Area.
"Old Qi!" Chen Junnan said. "Things just got a lot more troublesome. You need to hear me out. There are several things. First— Holy shit!"
Chen Junnan's gaze was instantly drawn to Qiao Jiajin lying on the ground. Everything he was about to say vanished from his mind. He hurried over to check Qiao Jiajin's injuries.
"What the hell is this?!" Chen Junnan crouched down and yelled. "Which son of a bitch did this?!"
Han Yimo was huddled beside Qiao Jiajin, letting Qiao Jiajin's head rest on his lap. He sat like a statue, not daring to speak.
Qi Xia shook his head. "The only one who could do this kind of damage is Zhang Shan."
Chen Junnan paused for a moment. All his pent-up anger had nowhere to go.
Before coming here, he had clearly seen Zhang Shan's corpse lying in the "Riverbed." Now, Qiao Jiajin wasn't dead—just severely injured... that was fair, wasn't it?
But speaking of "fairness," considering who Zhang Shan and Qiao Jiajin were as people... forcing them to fight to the death here... where exactly was the fairness in that?
Chen Junnan stood up, looked up at the Azure Dragon, and pointed viciously at him. He started with the word "I" and formed a verb phrase with his mouth.
He didn't make a sound, only mouthed the words.
No doubt the brilliant Azure Dragon would understand what he was saying.
"Old bastard..." Chen Junnan muttered under his breath. "Your little lord will make you pay dearly one day."
"How did things go earlier?" Qi Xia asked.
"Damn..." Chen Junnan turned back. "Old Qi, when it comes to 'how things went,' it was freaking bizarre..."
"Bizarre how?"
Chen Junnan had only been gone for a few minutes, but it felt like a lot had happened. He had no idea where to start describing his heroic feats.
"Let me start with the result," Chen Junnan said. "Your little lord got his 'package' switched."
"Hmm..." Qi Xia paused, then said, "Next time, it's better if you say you 'lost the word.'"
"You know what I mean! Your little lord got his 'package' switched," Chen Junnan said. "The 'package' I worked so hard to get is gone again. The switch rate is a hundred fucking percent. Good thing we already used it up, so losing it doesn't matter."
"Where did you lose the 'word'?" Qi Xia asked.
"At that weird-ass snake's place—the one who opened the door for us," Chen Junnan said. "That punk bullied me in front of a kid. He blew the whistle unfairly, and he even slapped me twenty times, the bastard."
Qi Xia paused. "Speak properly."
"He wants to see you."
"What did he say?" Qi Xia asked again.
"He didn't give me the specifics," Chen Junnan said. "But with that grim look on his face, he has to find a way to meet you... Do you have a deep connection with him?"
Qi Xia nodded. "Yes."
But a few seconds later, he felt something was off. Even if it were true... that snake clearly didn't have a game. How could he be here?
"Wait..." Qi Xia suddenly frowned and turned to Han Yimo beside him. "When you and Wen Qiaoyun participated in the game, did that 'Zodiac' say anything?"
"Say anything...?" Han Yimo was taken aback. "He did mention something about being an 'assistant' or something like that..."
"I see..." Qi Xia looked up at Chen Junnan. "What questions did he ask you?"
"Uh..." Chen Junnan recalled. "To sum it up: 'survivorship bias,' 'cooperative attack problem,' and 'infinite monkey theorem.'"
"Tell me his location."
Chen Junnan pointed at a spot on the map on the wall. "It's this 'Si' one, on the opposite half."
"I'll go and come back."
"Wait!!" Chen Junnan immediately grabbed Qi Xia. "Old Qi... are you for real?"
"Yes, I need to see him."
"Right now?" Chen Junnan said. "Can't you wait until the game is almost over? Or just go after the game ends..."
"Did he say he was in a hurry?" Qi Xia said. "If we're talking about the same snake, I suspect he won't be around after the game ends."
"How the hell do you know that...?" Chen Junnan said. "But it feels really dangerous now... The people from the other side are all there. What if you get trapped in the game?"
"Zhang Shan is gone now. For ordinary games, I can guarantee a one hundred percent win rate," Qi Xia said. "Even if I run into the other side, it'll be fine."
"Oh... right..." Chen Junnan said. "He also asked me to pass on a message for you..."
"About what?" Qi Xia asked again.
"About the arena we're in now... But..." Chen Junnan looked up at the Azure Dragon on high.
"Alright, I got it," Qi Xia said. "I understand the content."
"Uh..." Chen Junnan was taken aback. "Wait... I haven't said it yet..."
(Readers, tomorrow June 1st at 8 PM, there will be a live book sale for the third volume, "Ten Days to the End: Unceasing." Sales will continue for a while after it's sold out. Feel free to come chat even if you're not buying.)