Chapter 161: The Earth Rooster’s Conflict
“This...” Dr. Zhao slowly backed away at the sight. “Qi Xia, this thing looks way too terrifying. Let’s pick another one...”
“Is that so?” Qi Xia turned to ask. “It’s just a rooster. Among the twelve zodiacs, ‘Rooster’ sounds like a pretty safe animal. What are you afraid of?”
“But... but where in the world is there a rooster this big?” Dr. Zhao shook his head like a rattle-drum. “Anyway, it looks really creepy. Let’s just choose another—”
“I’ve already decided on him,” Qi Xia said. “Dr. Zhao, our goal is to escape from here. Whether it’s collecting three thousand six hundred ‘Tao’ or breaking through every single game, we have to take down the ‘Earth Rooster,’ right?”
“But—but Qi Xia... you...” Dr. Zhao slowly took another step back.
But Qi Xia grabbed him by the arm.
“Dr. Zhao, even if I have to knock you out, I will definitely sign you up for the Earth Rooster’s game. Then you might not even know how you died.”
“You... Qi Xia, have you gone mad?” Dr. Zhao’s eyes turned cold as he shoved Qi Xia away. “What exactly are you after?”
“My goal is to escape from here,” Qi Xia said. “If you can be useful to me, I’ll take you with me.”
Dr. Zhao’s gaze gradually hardened. He looked at Qi Xia, then at the distant Earth Rooster.
“But do you have confidence?” Dr. Zhao asked.
“I can’t say for sure, but I’ll do my best,” Qi Xia replied.
Seeing Qi Xia’s confident expression, Dr. Zhao rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment.
Qi Xia smirked at the gesture.
*As expected, everyone is lying.*
*Dr. Zhao, what is your true face?*
“If you really want to join a ‘Rooster’ game, I suggest finding a mask that looks more worn out.”
“No, it has to be this one,” Qi Xia said. “Dr. Zhao, I’ll give you one more chance to think it over.”
“Damn it...” Dr. Zhao cursed. “Why won’t you listen to reason?! Do you even know what this lifelike ‘Rooster’ represents?!”
“It’s not about listening to reason or not,” Qi Xia said with an eerie expression. “Dr. Zhao, I want to forge a deep friendship with you, so we have to go through life and death together.”
“Deep friendship...?” Dr. Zhao was taken aback. “Are you serious?”
“Sort of,” Qi Xia nodded ambiguously.
Dr. Zhao lowered his head and fell silent for a long time, as if lost in thought.
“Qi Xia, does this game require a lot of participants?”
“It should.”
“Will there be any girls?”
“Girls...”
Qi Xia frowned. The question struck him as odd.
“How should I know?” Qi Xia replied. “That’s not something I can decide.”
After a long pause, Dr. Zhao raised his head and looked into the empty distance, then said, “Alright, let’s give it a try.”
Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. He felt like he and Dr. Zhao weren’t on the same wavelength at all—he couldn’t begin to guess what the other was thinking.
The two slowly approached the Earth Rooster.
“You two! Hurry up and join!!” The Earth Rooster suddenly shouted, startling them both. He sounded like a man, but his voice was very high-pitched. “We’ve been waiting for you two!!!”
“Oh? There are already others?” Qi Xia asked. “How do we join?”
“Five ‘Tao’ each!! If you win, you get fifteen ‘Tao’ each!!” the Earth Rooster yelled. “Two people per group can join!!”
“That’s pretty expensive...” Qi Xia turned slowly to look at Dr. Zhao. “Let’s take a gamble.”
“Whatever you say,” Dr. Zhao said helplessly.
Qi Xia pulled all ten of his ‘Tao’ from his pocket and handed them to the Earth Rooster. Then he turned back and asked, “Dr. Zhao, what type of game is ‘Rooster’?”
“Rooster...” Dr. Zhao hesitated. “How should I know?!”
“I’m a ‘Conflict’ type game!!” the Earth Rooster cut in. “Every time, a small number of players participate and have a wonderful ‘Conflict’!!”
Qi Xia raised an eyebrow. “So this time...”
“Two versus two!!” the Earth Rooster shouted.
He seemed extremely impatient, always giving answers directly.
“Isn’t that perfect?” Qi Xia turned to pat Dr. Zhao on the shoulder. “Let’s see how well you and I can cooperate.”
“Don’t come crying to me when you die.”
“Alright, I’ll take that advice.”
The two followed the Earth Rooster into the room.
It was a converted card room, lavishly decorated. The only thing in the entire venue was an exquisite square table in the center, with a stack of cards on it.
Three of the room’s walls were made of antique white birch planks, but the fourth wall was strange.
To the left of the square table stood a wall built entirely of transparent glass.
It was like a recording studio. Sitting by the square table, one could clearly see what was behind the glass wall.
“Earth Rooster, didn’t you say we were the only ones left? Where are our opponents?” Qi Xia asked.
“The others haven’t arrived yet!!” the Earth Rooster said anxiously. “It’s fine that you’re here! Trick one, get one! We’ll just wait slowly!”
Qi Xia sighed helplessly, thinking that this Earth Rooster really was impatient.
He said “wait slowly,” but he kept pacing back and forth, constantly peeking out the door, hoping to immediately find the next group.
“We’ve already paid the entrance fee. Can you at least tell us the rules first?” Qi Xia asked.
“Too troublesome!!” the Earth Rooster roared. “The rules I set are way too troublesome! So I’ll only say them once! Wait until everyone’s here!”
Qi Xia nodded slightly and looked at the cards on the table.
“You can’t tell us the rules, but can we at least take a look at the props?”
“No! You’re too sneaky!!” the Earth Rooster bellowed. “I’ll kill you!!”
Hearing that, Qi Xia swallowed nervously.
No matter how crazy the other party seemed, he was still a “Ground” level being.
For such an enhanced monster to kill someone, it would only take a flick of a finger.
Since the Earth Rooster wasn’t going to reveal the rules, Qi Xia could only make a rough guess.
There was a deck of cards in the center of the square table. Could it be that four people would sit around and play cards?
But if so... how would “conflict” manifest?
And what was that glass room for?
After racking his brain, Qi Xia simply couldn’t figure out what kind of game this lunatic would design. So he could only shake his head helplessly and close his eyes to rest.
Dr. Zhao, on the other hand, nervously kept scanning the surroundings. His expression was complicated—it seemed to hold both anticipation and fear.
After about half an hour of waiting, the second group of participants finally arrived.
The Earth Rooster, as if injected with stimulant, coaxed and tricked a man and a woman into the room.
The man was tall, probably close to 1.9 meters. The girl looked quiet, with unusually deep eyes.
After entering, they nervously glanced at Qi Xia and Dr. Zhao, then came over and sat down at the table.
“H-Hello,” the man said.
Neither Qi Xia nor Dr. Zhao responded. They only coldly observed the two.
After all, since this was a “conflict” type game, there was no need for pleasantries.