Chapter 1090: The Sacrificer
But no matter how Qixia studied it, he couldn't open that crooked "Shi" character, nor could he figure out its internal structure. Perhaps even Tiantian herself knew nothing about it.
With this thought, Qixia stopped wasting time. He put down the "character" and walked straight toward the opponent's "Preparation Zone."
Amidst the astonished gazes of Chutianqiu's teammates, Qixia informed them of the game's outcome.
Wen Qiaoyun seemed to have already anticipated something. She slowly raised her head and looked toward Dilong.
Qixia's lips curled into a smile. This wasn't the end—it was the beginning.
Dilong also slowly stood up at that moment, as if she already knew her fate. She had been waiting for this moment for far too long.
"Qinglong," she said. "Still remember our bet?"
"Hmm?"
"Betting on how I would die," Dilong said with a smile. "If you guess wrong, you have to agree to one request from me."
"Have we come this far, and you're still hung up on that petty bet?"
"You're not thinking of backing out, are you?" Dilong said. "The man who calls himself a 'god'—Qinglong—seems ready to renege quite a bit today."
"Stop messing around," Qinglong replied. "A simple request, how could it possibly overwhelm me?"
"Then it's settled," Dilong answered.
Wen Qiaoyun stared at Dilong for a long time before speaking in a clear voice: "Dilong, I want to bet my life against yours."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it echoed clearly throughout the game field, reaching Dilong's ears high above.
Dilong smiled faintly, leaped down from the spectator stands, and landed in the "Preparation Zone" where Wen Qiaoyun stood.
The next second, a sinister wind stirred wildly across the field, brushing a few strands of hair from Qinglong's forehead.
Before Qinglong could turn around, he found himself surrounded by pitch-black long hair.
Xuanwu had descended. She stood silently behind Qinglong like a statue.
Everyone in the field felt this unusual aura and looked up toward the high stands.
Xuanwu's long hair cascaded down from the spectator seats, making the entire stand resemble a hanging human head.
The pitch-black space grew icy cold. She stood quietly behind Qinglong, who hadn't turned around either, still propping his chin with his hand as he looked down below.
He carefully recalled the bet he had just made with Dilong.
Regarding guessing how Dilong would die, she had given him two options: one being angering him so that he would kill her, the other being losing the game and being killed by Xuanwu.
Qinglong's answer was, "You'll be gambled to death by the participants." In other words, he guessed that Dilong would be killed by Xuanwu. Although he felt nothing unusual would happen, the constant possibility of losing left him feeling restless.
He needed to do something to ensure that Dilong would definitely die at Xuanwu's hands due to losing the bet.
Xuanwu remained motionless, standing there with an icy aura, seemingly waiting for Qinglong's orders.
After a few seconds of silence, Qinglong spoke softly: "After the game starts, find a way to rule Dilong in violation."
"Kill Dilong…?"
Xuanwu shot a glance from amidst her disheveled hair, as if confirming which one below was Dilong. A few seconds later, that little girl covered in scales came into view.
"Alright…" Xuanwu grinned. "Killing Dilong, that's good."
"Of course it's good," Qinglong also laughed. "She's really too stupid. I definitely won't kill her. So her cause of death can only be losing in the game, then dying by your hand."
"Alright…" Xuanwu nodded, staring down at Dilong with a sinister expression. "From now on… even walking will be a 'violation' for her…"
Inside the game field.
Everyone held their breath when they saw Dilong land. They knew that an even more brutal game was about to begin.
Rumor had it that many "Zodiacs" would modify the game rules during "life bets," and now Xuanwu had also appeared. What rules would be used?
Among the crowd, only Qixia maintained a calm expression as he looked at Dilong. Their eyes briefly exchanged a signal, but neither spoke.
Wen Qiaoyun slowly stepped forward. She knew she was the one who had initiated this life bet. According to the principle that the debt has its owner, once a life bet was proposed, only one of her and Dilong would survive.
But if she hadn't proposed the life bet, she, Chutianqiu, and everyone else in the team would have died. This was nothing more than a last-ditch choice.
"I'm ready," Wen Qiaoyun said. "What rules are we using now?"
A few seconds later, Dilong revealed an extremely sweet smile, then said to everyone:
"I concede."
These three short words were spoken with weight, silencing everyone present.
Wen Qiaoyun and Yan Zhichun seemed to have a thousand things to say, but at that moment, they were as shocked as if they had been struck dumb.
The leader of the Earth-level "Zodiacs"… was conceding at this moment?
This "life bet" game hadn't even started yet, and the new rules hadn't been announced… and she had already lost?
Qinglong abruptly stood up from the spectator stand, his expression furious.
"No…" Wen Qiaoyun stammered. "Wait a minute… you said…"
Dilong smiled at everyone again, then turned her head to look at Qixia. "Goodbye."
Qixia's eyes dimmed for a moment, then he nodded. "Goodbye."
The next second, Dilong extended her right hand. Before everyone's bewildered eyes, she swiftly plunged it into her own chest.
Immediately, she coughed up a mouthful of blood and slumped to the ground, sitting limply.
Although Qinglong had already begun to "leap" toward the game field at the first moment, he was still half a second too slow.
By the time Qinglong stood firmly, Dilong only had one last breath left. Yet she still wore a smile, her eyes fixed on Qinglong.
"You lost, Qinglong," Dilong coughed up another mouthful of blood. "I wasn't killed by you nor by Xuanwu in this game. Instead, I committed suicide."
In Qinglong's eyes, Dilong's choice was utterly incomprehensible. In this world, the thing he understood the least was "suicide."
So he remained silent, staring at the blood-coughing Dilong with an extremely peculiar expression.
"What…" Dilong smiled. "Are you going to renege…? Are you not recognizing our bet…?"
Qinglong furrowed his brow and said, "What is your request?"
"I want you to let go of everyone in Chutianqiu's team…" Dilong said. "In this game, I exchange my life for theirs."
Qinglong squinted at the dying Dilong.
Now there was one more thing he couldn't understand. Besides "suicide," there was "suicide for the sake of others."
"Won't you agree…?" Dilong smiled. "So many eyes are watching you here… The man who calls himself a 'god' is actually going to default in public…"
Qinglong glanced around at the people present. Countless eyes were staring at him with confusion, as if waiting for him to give a definite answer.
This feeling made him extremely uncomfortable.
Even if he didn't agree, so what?
Even if he let Dilong slowly die and then killed everyone else here, so what?
But he did have a selfish motive. Dilong's request perfectly solved a problem that had been pressing on Qinglong's heart.
In this game, he also wanted to let go of Chutianqiu, who resembled him more, but he had never had a good excuse. Like this… couldn't everything be resolved smoothly?