Chapter 115: The Madman
But every choice Di Ma made seemed to be a decision reached after careful deliberation.
He hadn’t left Xu Liunian a "car door." So while the two cars were grinding in place, Di Ma directly shattered his own window and reached out to grab Xu Liunian.
Seeing the situation was bad, Xu Liunian quickly sidestepped to dodge. She knew the other party had gone mad—he was going to kill her here.
Seeing he couldn’t grab Xu Liunian, Di Ma changed his tactic. Instead of trying to catch her, he grabbed the door frame of her car.
At that moment, Di Ma abandoned driving his own car, climbed into the passenger seat, and tightly gripped Xu Liunian’s car. His powerful physical body erupted with infinite strength, and he actually "hooked" his own car onto hers.
When she turned, he turned; when she accelerated, he accelerated. This was what it meant to bet your life against an Earth-level. Not only did they need extraordinary intelligence, but they also had to face the incredibly formidable strength and the mad thoughts of the "Zodiac."
After all, Xu Liunian was an ordinary person. She thought of many ways, but simply couldn’t get Di Ma’s hand off the car. All she could do was continue speeding forward with a look of terror.
At this point, Xu Liunian knew she absolutely could not brake. If the car stopped, Di Ma would directly pounce onto her car and cut her into pieces. The "rules" didn’t mention anything about "killing" at all.
Thinking of this, she could only continue accelerating. Since she couldn’t overpower him head-on, she had to rely on "speed" to win according to the original rules.
Fortunately, Xu Liunian was a good driver. While speeding ahead, she continuously rammed her car into his. Since Di Ma’s arm was between the cars, it was soon crushed until it was a bloody mess.
She thought this would force him to let go, but she underestimated Di Ma’s determination. Di Ma had never intended to keep that hand from the start.
That arm was smashed to pieces, revealing yellow-white bone, yet a sinister smile appeared on Di Ma’s face. He held onto Xu Liunian’s car tightly, leaning his entire body out of his own car.
Xu Liunian was terrified and trembling at the monster before her, but she had no way to deal with him.
"You actually dared to try and bet your life with us? Do you know how much we want to survive here?" These were the last words Xiao Nian heard.
On the speeding car, Di Ma killed Xu Liunian. This absurd race ended less than thirty seconds after it began. They hadn’t even passed the first curve before one driver was dead, and the race was forced to end.
Hearing Chu Tianqiu tell this story, Yun Yao showed a sad expression. She slowly stood up, looked out the window, and said, "Qi Xia, do you know what our first reaction was when we saw Xiao Nian die?"
"What was it?" Qi Xia asked.
"It was 'Next time we need to change our tactics.'" Yun Yao gave a bitter smile. "This place is truly terrifying. In cycle after cycle, we’ve completely lost our reverence for 'death.'"
Chu Tianqiu also spoke at this moment: "And our teammate Xiao Nian... from that day on, she never appeared again."
After hearing this story, Qi Xia’s mind was somewhat confused.
"So this is what you meant by 'for now, don’t bet your life against Earth-level.'" Qi Xia said. "You haven’t even killed a single Earth-level so far?"
"Yes," the two nodded.
"Then what about Heaven-level?" Qi Xia asked. "Your tactics sound very incomplete. Above Earth-level there is Heaven-level. If you can’t even kill an Earth-level, why did you set this plan?"
"Well..." Chu Tianqiu thought for a moment and said, "Qi Xia, we’ve been in the Land of Endings for over two years now, counting fully. In these two years, we’ve basically toured every corner of the city, but we’ve never seen a Heaven-level Zodiac."
Qi Xia frowned slightly and said, "You mean... there is no Heaven-level here?"
"I can’t be sure," Chu Tianqiu said. "That’s the current known information."
Qi Xia nodded silently. He more or less understood now.
No wonder when he saw Zhang Shan in the Earth Ox game last time, he didn’t choose to bet his life with the opponent. The "Heaven’s Gate" organization was currently timid, only choosing to fight Human-level Zodiacs. They believed that if they failed in a life bet against an Earth-level Zodiac, they would disappear completely from the Land of Endings. But Qi Xia knew the actual situation was not like that.
"Since you two are willing to tell me this 'confidential information,' let me share a piece of news with you too." Qi Xia’s expression gradually turned serious. "This news might overturn your entire plan."
"What?" The two looked at Qi Xia in confusion.
"I’ve seen Xu Liunian," Qi Xia said. "Xu Liunian was never 'eliminated.' She’s about to become an 'original inhabitant.'"
Chu Tianqiu was completely taken aback by this situation, momentarily stunned.
"Become an 'original inhabitant'?" Chu Tianqiu was stunned. "You mean... become a 'madman'?"
"Oh? Is that what you call them here... 'normal people' and 'madmen'?" Qi Xia nodded. "According to what you said, indeed a 'madman.' But she’s hovering between 'normal' and 'mad,' and it seems she can still be saved."
Yun Yao stepped forward urgently and asked, "Where is Xiao Nian?! I want to find her!"
Chu Tianqiu also nodded and said, "Qi Xia, Yun Yao and Xiao Nian are very close. If Xiao Nian really is still in the Land of Endings... please tell her. Heaven’s Gate will repay you."
After hearing this, Qi Xia nodded and asked, "Do you have paper and pen? I’ll draw it for you."
Upon hearing this, Yun Yao took out a small notebook that emitted a fragrance from her bag.
"That place is very far from here." Qi Xia roughly sketched on the notebook. "From here, there’s a main road that almost runs through the entire city. Follow this main road north for about twenty-five to thirty kilometers. Next to a dilapidated black building, there’s an old taxi. Xu Liunian is there. But that was from the last cycle, so I’m not sure if she’s still there now."
The two took the map Qi Xia drew in disbelief, their expressions shifting. Because this place was very far from here, hard for a normal person to reach.
"Tianqiu, what do you say?" Yun Yao asked.
"Whether she’s there or not, even if there’s just a glimmer of hope, we must send someone to find her," Chu Tianqiu said seriously. "Yun Yao, the car in the backyard is almost fixed. Take Little Glasses and Jin Yuanxun with you. Even if Xiao Nian is a 'madman,' find a way to bring her back."
"Okay!" Yun Yao changed her usual demeanor, grabbed her bag, and hurried out the door.