Chapter 108: Trapped Like a Rat
"I'll be damned..." Qiao Jiajin's mouth fell open as he pointed shakily at where the old man had vanished. "Conman, did you see that? That was the Terminator!!"
"White Tiger..." Qi Xia whispered the name, finding it extremely strange.
This "White Tiger"... could it be *the* White Tiger who held the same status as "Vermilion Bird"?
Judging by how he disappeared in midair, he was clearly no ordinary human—most likely a "Manager" just like Vermilion Bird.
But why did he seem so insane?
Despite being a Manager, it seemed he was helping Qi Xia escape this place.
Just as Qi Xia was pondering this, Qiao Jiajin suddenly slapped him hard on the shoulder. "Conman! You're not scared stiff, are you?"
"Huh?" Qi Xia blinked. "Scared stiff?"
"How come you're not surprised!" Qiao Jiajin looked both terrified and excited. "A real-life Terminator grandpa! Arnold·Oldman·Schwarzenegger!"
He paused, then muttered to himself, "Or maybe we should call him Arnold·Schwarzoldman·egger..."
"Stop." Qi Xia waved his hand. "That's getting more ridiculous by the second. Let's hurry to the 'School.'"
Qiao Jiajin nodded reluctantly, then glanced back at where the old man had disappeared, mumbling, "Could this be a movie shoot?"
The two followed the map Jin Yuanxun had given them and set off toward the school.
Along the way, they saw quite a few "Zodiacs" standing at the entrances of buildings. Though Qi Xia had seen this sight before, it was clearly Qiao Jiajin's first time, leaving him utterly astonished.
Last time, Qi Xia had dragged his injured body and walked for a full four hours to reach the school. Now, they arrived in less than two hours.
Two unfamiliar faces stood at the school gate, warily scanning their surroundings.
Qi Xia walked up slowly.
"Good man?" a middle-aged man asked.
"Yes." Qi Xia nodded. "We're both good men, invited by Tian Chuqiu."
Another young man thought for a moment and asked, "Is one of you named 'Qi Xia'?"
"I am." Qi Xia nodded in response.
Upon hearing this, the young man turned to look at the middle-aged man. The two exchanged a glance.
Qi Xia clearly caught this subtle detail.
"I see. Please follow me, both of you." The young man forced a smile, then turned and beckoned them.
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exchanged a look before following the young man into the campus.
The young man deliberately quickened his pace, maintaining a distance—neither too close nor too far—from Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin.
The middle-aged man, after the three had left, immediately headed off in another direction.
"What kind of fancy school is this?" Qiao Jiajin stepped on the plastic basketball court beneath his feet, looking utterly incredulous. "Damn, is the ground made of rubber? Must cost way more than sand, right?"
Qi Xia looked up at the teaching building. Several windows had figures peering out, but the moment he lifted his head, they all pretended to be busy and quickly moved away.
"Something's off." Qi Xia muttered under his breath. "Qiao Jiajin, be careful."
"Careful?" Qiao Jiajin, who had been slouching a moment ago, suddenly turned serious, his face hardening into the fierce expression of a seasoned enforcer. He asked quietly, "Situation?"
"I don't know, but it's strange." Qi Xia recalled the details from earlier. It felt less like "Heaven's Gate" was welcoming new members and more like they were setting a trap—"catching a turtle in a jar."
They followed the young man into the teaching building. A few people trailed behind them at a distance, neither closing in nor falling too far back, maintaining a safe gap.
Qiao Jiajin keenly noticed this and, without any change in expression, subtly cracked his neck.
"Not bad, Conman. You spotted it early." After loosening his neck, he twisted his wrists. "We're surrounded."
"How many did you see?" Qi Xia asked.
"Nine." Qiao Jiajin replied. "Four behind us, one in front, and two on each side."
Qi Xia's face darkened, and he furrowed his brow deeply.
What was going on?
Was Heaven's Gate's goal to kill them?
But if that was the case, why go through all this trouble to bring them to the school instead of striking the moment they landed?
Then again, Qi Xia reconsidered. Something still felt off.
Where were Officer Li, Han Yimo, Doctor Zhao, and the others?
If they really intended to kill, Officer Li, a police academy graduate, was no pushover.
In this place, perhaps only Zhang Shan and Officer Li could put up a fight. And Qi Xia had met Zhang Shan—he wasn't the type to kill indiscriminately. There was no reason for him to attack them.
So then, what was this strange encirclement all about?
Qi Xia had many questions, but no one to answer them.
"Conman, how good are you at fighting?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"Not great." Qi Xia shook his head. "But I've read the Art of War."
"The Art of War? Then it's a waste of talent to have you deal with just nine people." Qiao Jiajin grinned. "Stay put. I'll show you a thing or two."
With that, Qiao Jiajin gradually picked up his pace and walked right up to the young man in front, throwing an arm around his shoulder.
The young man seemed caught off guard, his expression flickering with confusion.
"Handsome, your place here is pretty big, huh?" Qiao Jiajin chatted cheerfully.
"Is... is it?" The young man forced a smile. "It used to be a school, so of course it's big."
"You know what?" Qiao Jiajin looked at the young man with a serious expression. "If you want to trap someone, it's better to do it in an open space. The terrain here is too complicated—easy for the plan to fail."
"Ah...?" The young man's gaze darted nervously. "What are you talking about? I don't quite understand..."
"Look here..." Qiao Jiajin pointed at the discarded desks and chairs on the ground. "There are obstacles everywhere. Not only can they block your people, but I can also pick them up and use them as weapons. Do you really think nine people can stop me in a place like this?"
The young man realized things were going south and tried to shake off Qiao Jiajin's arm, but Qiao Jiajin's grip was iron—he couldn't budge an inch.
"Handsome, why are you blocking us?" Qiao Jiajin's face gradually turned cold. "Where are our teammates?"
The young man struggled again but was firmly pinned down. In the end, he gave up.
"It seems you really are tough..." The young man forced a bitter smile. "But you miscalculated one thing. It's not nine people surrounding you—it's ten."
The moment he finished speaking, a door beside them exploded outward.
A burly man had smashed through it, charging out like a wild buffalo, slamming straight into Qiao Jiajin.