Chapter 148: The Moral Expert
Qi Xia used a scrap piece of wood to make a simple grave marker for Tiantian, carving the three characters "Zhang Lijuan" onto it.
If she had been given a choice, she probably wouldn't have wanted to be called "Tiantian."
"Let's head back."
The three of them walked onto the campus with complicated expressions and found Zhang Shan looking around.
"All done?" Zhang Shan walked over to Qi Xia. "You've got another teammate back. Looks like she went through some torture. Go comfort her."
"Alright." Qi Xia nodded. He was about to leave when he suddenly felt something was off.
Someone else had returned?
Who else was there?
Tiantian, Qiao Jiaying, and himself were together. Lin Qin and Han Yimo had come back earlier.
Officer Li and Lawyer Zhang had stayed at the Dragon zodiac's arena.
Who else?
"No way..." Qi Xia furrowed his brow slightly. "Both of them came back?"
"Yeah. Looks like they suffered a lot, but they managed to bring back the Rabbit mask." Zhang Shan nodded. "At least their suffering wasn't for nothing."
"The hell are you talking about..."
Qi Xia pushed past Zhang Shan and quickly walked into the teaching building, with Qiao Jiaying and Yun Yao following close behind.
The three of them arrived at the classroom where Qi Xia's team was staying.
They saw Doctor Zhao trying to persuade Xiao Ran to take off her soaking wet clothes.
"Brother Qi?" Xiao Ran spotted Qi Xia immediately and quickly stripped off her clothes, leaving only her undergarments. "I'm changing. Why did you come in?"
Qiao Jiaying helplessly turned his head away.
Qi Xia coldly looked at Xiao Ran and Doctor Zhao, a hint of doubt in his mind.
Wasn't this too strange?
Xiao Ran had clearly been tied up in a fish tank. Her clothes were drenched. So why was she unharmed?
These two had actually managed to crack the Rabbit's game and gamble their way to victory...?
Was someone lying?
"You two... are fine?" Qi Xia asked.
"Brother Qi, worried about me?" Xiao Ran walked over to Qi Xia in her undergarments, hooked her arm around his, and rubbed herself against his arm. "How could I be fine? I was scared to death just now."
"Then why aren't you dead?" Qi Xia asked coldly.
"Oh, come on... don't even mention it..." Xiao Ran pouted. "That Doctor Zhao refused to save me the whole time..."
"There was nothing I could do..." Doctor Zhao chuckled dryly. "I was handcuffed. I couldn't move at all."
"Brother Qi, that Rabbit's game was really pathetic." Xiao Ran started playing with her wet hair. "She trapped me in a huge fish tank, but the seal wasn't strong. When the water was about to overflow, one side of the tank couldn't take the pressure and collapsed under the water. So I was saved."
"Yeah..." Doctor Zhao nodded. "Once one side of the tank fell, Xiao Ran could kick the key out with her foot. I undid my handcuffs, and then I could save her."
"Wha—" Qi Xia's eyes widened slowly. Thousands of curses were stuck in his throat, unspoken.
So the key to cracking the Rabbit's game... was "standing by and letting someone die"?
"Damn it..." Qi Xia clenched his teeth and cursed under his breath.
Why?!
What the hell gave it the right?
This game "specifically kills good people"!
Officer Li died precisely because he desperately wanted to save Zhang Chenze.
If he had been a bit more ruthless and waited until the water completely filled the tank, both of them would have been saved.
But who would dare take that gamble?
Even if Qi Xia himself would gamble, Officer Li definitely wouldn't.
From what Qi Xia knew about Officer Li, if someone was in danger right in front of him, he would rush to save them no matter what—through fire or flood.
The Rabbit was, after all, a "person." Her game should have been very simple.
Just like she said herself, it was a very simple escape game—so simple that no escape was needed.
"Truly, the good die young, but the wicked live forever." Qi Xia muttered.
"What?" Xiao Ran thought she had misheard. "What did you say, Brother Qi?"
"Scram."
Qi Xia walked over to the side and slowly sat down, his expression filled with regret.
Yeah. If Officer Li and Tiantian hadn't wanted to save others, they wouldn't have ended up this way.
But was this worldview really correct?
By the final few days... what kind of monsters would be left here?
Were good people supposed to be eliminated in the early stages, leaving only a bunch of scumbags to witness the end?
Xiao Ran was clearly starting to get angry. She walked up to Qi Xia and said, "Brother Qi, that's going a bit far, isn't it? Who are you calling a 'wicked one'?"
Qi Xia furrowed his brow slightly and gave Xiao Ran a cold look. His mood was already terrible. Was this woman really going to pick a fight here?
"Didn't you hear clearly?" Qi Xia said. "Perk up your ears and listen well. I said 'the wicked live forever.'"
"Are you insane?" Xiao Ran let out a mocking laugh and crossed her arms. "I've been nice to you all this time, and you actually think you're something special?"
Qi Xia slowly stood up from the chair, his expression extremely cold.
"Hey, Conman..." Qiao Jiaying felt something was off and quickly walked over, whispering in his ear, "I know she's annoying, but hitting a woman..."
"And you!" Xiao Ran pointed fiercely at Qiao Jiaying. "Strutting around all day with your tattooed arm and those disgusting words on your back. Who do you think you are?"
Qiao Jiaying froze for a moment and slowly turned his head.
He suddenly forgot who had said "don't hit women" in the first place.
Xiao Ran curled her lip slightly. "I heard about it, you know. That whore who sold herself died."
"Whore who sold herself...?"
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiaying instantly clenched their fists.
Xiao Ran sneered. "Calling you 'Brother Qi' was already giving you more face than you deserve. You took so many people out, and not only did you fail to kill any zodiac, but you also got a slut killed. So you're even worse than me. What are you so proud of?"
Doctor Zhao saw the situation and quickly stepped in to mediate. "Oh, Xiao Ran, let it go. Everyone's having a tough time."
"Tough time my ass! What, where's all that swagger you two had before?" Xiao Ran took a step forward, her tone aggressive. "You only know how to bully a weak woman like me, right? Let me guess—when your game got to the critical moment, two men pushed that slut in front to take the bullet, am I right?"
"Xiao Ran, that's enough!" Doctor Zhao clearly sensed something was wrong.
"What's wrong?" Xiao Ran raised her head, eyes wide. "So what are you going to do? Hit a woman? Go ahead! Let everyone here see Qi Xia hitting a woman! Everyone, come take a look!"
Qi Xia was trembling with rage.
He didn't have the same sense of honor as Qiao Jiaying. Right now, he just wanted to shut this woman up for good.
How dare Xiao Ran, a freeloader who did nothing but coast through life, talk about Tiantian like that?
When Xiao Ran saw that Qi Xia wasn't moving, her arrogance grew even more. "No guts yourself, so you take it all out on a woman?"
"You're asking for it!"
Just as Qi Xia was about to lunge forward and rip Xiao Ran's mouth apart, a tall figure suddenly rushed past him.
She grabbed Xiao Ran by the hair and slammed her hard to the ground.
Then she swung her long leg over, straddled Xiao Ran, and pulled her arm back before delivering a fierce slap across her face.
Before Xiao Ran could even figure out what was happening, the woman's palm came down in a flurry, viciously striking her again and again.