Chapter 81: Give Up?
Pain.
Qi Xia clutched his head, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.
Lin Qin stood beside Qi Xia, a troubled expression on her face as she watched him.
Although she had witnessed this scene more than once, Qi Xia's behavior always made people uneasy.
Qi Xia remained kneeling on the ground, howling in agony. The immense pain in his brain had already far exceeded the knife wound on his shoulder.
Seeing this, Jiang Ruoxue tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, "Your team leader looks really strange. Is he always like this?"
"It seems that whenever someone dies, he gets a headache."
"Then why doesn't he get a headache when he kills someone?" Jiang Ruoxue asked.
"Well..."
Lin Qin had no idea what caused Qi Xia's headaches, but based on her memory, he did indeed suffer from them every time someone lost their life.
"He looks like he's been hypnotized," Jiang Ruoxue continued. "Whenever he's about to feel grief, his brain numbs that sensation with pain."
Hearing this, Lin Qin's eyes widened as if struck by a sudden realization.
"Hypnosis?!"
"Oh? Do you know about hypnosis?" Jiang Ruoxue turned to look at Lin Qin.
Lin Qin didn't answer but instead fell into thought: "That makes sense... If it were 'hypnosis,' it could indeed produce this effect... But that would require not only an extremely advanced hypnotic technique but also Qi Xia's complete and willing cooperation... No one in this country should be capable of that..."
After speaking, Lin Qin felt even more confused.
If no one domestically could do it, then hypnotists abroad were even less likely.
Hypnosis is different from other psychological counseling methods. If the language used isn't the speaker's mother tongue, it's very difficult for a person to relax their mental defenses, let alone enter an unconscious state.
"So, you're a psychologist?" Jiang Ruoxue asked.
"I'm a counselor," Lin Qin replied. "Jiang Ruoxue, do you know a lot about hypnosis?"
"Not really," Jiang Ruoxue shook her head. "But I've been hypnotized before. The hypnotist gave me a similar example, saying that under certain specific conditions, humans can 'seal away' their emotions through hypnosis. I think this Qi Xia fits that description perfectly."
"Yes... That technique only exists in theory. It's almost impossible for anyone to actually achieve it in reality..."
Just as the two were talking, heavy footsteps sounded, and the Earth Dog finally made his appearance.
"Oh dear... it's come to this..." He looked at the dead bodies of the bald man, the golden-haired man, and Old Lyu on the ground, his expression somewhat troubled. "You participants really don't know your own strength when you fight..."
As soon as he finished speaking, he walked over to the dying A Mu, raised his right foot, and stomped his head into pulp.
Bright red brains mixed with emerald green hair splattered across the ground like fireworks.
Zhang Chenze and Lin Qin both turned away. Although they had seen death many times, they still couldn't bear to see human lives butchered like livestock.
"It looks like it's time for me to hit the road." Seeing the Earth Dog approaching, Jiang Ruoxue smiled at the two. "If there's nothing else, I'll just hang myself now. Talk to you later."
Seeing how willing she was to die, the Earth Dog seemed to understand something.
He didn't waste any more words and reached out to grab Jiang Ruoxue's neck.
"Hold on..." Qi Xia slowly stood up. His expression showed that the headache had passed.
"What is it?" The Earth Dog turned to look at him.
"We accept this 'traitor,'" Qi Xia said, covering his shoulder. "From now on, she's a member of our team. You can't kill her."
Everyone present was stunned by this, including Jiang Ruoxue herself.
"What are you doing...? I haven't helped you at all from start to finish."
"That doesn't matter. It doesn't violate the rules, does it?" Qi Xia looked at the Earth Dog, his expression serious.
The Earth Dog thought for a moment and said, "That's true. As long as you abandon your team's own 'traitor,' you can accept a new one."
With that, he slowly withdrew his hand and took out a very dirty cloth pouch from his bosom.
"Here are twenty 'Dao,' and all the corpses on the ground are your prizes now." The Earth Dog waved his hand, tossed the 'Dao' on the ground, and turned to leave.
"'Corpses' count as prizes too..." Qi Xia's eyes darkened. "I'm starting to hate this damn place."
"That just shows you don't know a good thing when you see it." Jiang Ruoxue said to Qi Xia. "Corpses are a good thing. Many survivors rely on eating corpses to stay alive."
"Eating corpses...?" Lin Qin was taken aback. "Really or not?"
"What, in this place, can you find anything else to eat besides 'corpses'?"
Before Lin Qin could answer, Lawyer Zhang, standing not far away, suddenly spoke up: "Article 302 of the Criminal Law: Crime of insulting a corpse. Anyone who steals, insults, or intentionally damages a corpse, skeletal remains, or ashes shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance."
"Are you okay?" Jiang Ruoxue looked at Lawyer Zhang in confusion. "Does the law still apply here?"
Lawyer Zhang seemed dazed. She looked down at her hands, covered in blood, and continued, "Article 232 of the Criminal Law: Whoever intentionally kills another shall be sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years..."
Jiang Ruoxue and Lin Qin exchanged glances and shook their heads.
"You acted in self-defense," Qi Xia said. "I saw with my own eyes that man crash into the glass. It has nothing to do with you."
Only then did Zhang Chenze come to her senses. She walked worriedly to Qi Xia's side and looked at his wound.
The wound reminded her of Han Yimo.
Han Yimo died soon after being wounded on his left shoulder. Would the same happen to Qi Xia this time?
"Everyone, take these twenty 'Dao,' and the ones on the bodies..." Qi Xia pushed the cloth pouch forward.
"We take them? What about you?" Lawyer Zhang asked.
"I can't stop the bleeding from my wound," Qi Xia said quietly. "Even if I bandage it, I won't be able to move for the next few days because of the injury. I've lost this game."
"What are you saying...?" Lin Qin suddenly panicked. "If you give up now... what about all the effort we've put in?"
"That's right. It's not time to give up yet... Should we go back and find Dr. Zhao?" Lawyer Zhang added, her voice choked with tears.
"It's useless," Qi Xia shook his head. "Even if Dr. Zhao is willing to help me, he can only bandage the wound at best. He can't make my injury any less severe in the coming days."
Qi Xia gritted his teeth and stood up. He looked at the two women, his expression deeply dejected.
"I didn't want to give up. My wife is waiting for me at home... But I can't do it anymore. The rest is up to you." After a moment's thought, he added, "If you don't want to participate in any more games, I won't have a problem with it. After all, each person's life is their own."
Jiang Ruoxue crossed her arms and said nonchalantly, "Qi Xia, are you putting on an act for me?"