Chapter 192: Not Over Yet
Countless stones flew in all directions.
Xiao Xiao shot straight out like a bullet. Since everyone was currently standing on the rooftop with no buildings blocking the surroundings, Xiao Xiao flew across a dozen low-rise buildings before crashing heavily onto a distant street.
With such a devastating blow, no one could possibly survive.
"Truly formidable..." Qiao Jiajin nodded.
He thought Zhang Shan would continue to kill Old Sun, but instead, the big man slowly began breathing heavily.
"Hey, big guy... you okay?"
Zhang Shan's chest heaved continuously. Before long, a bell rang again from afar.
The "Echo" had disappeared.
"I'm fine... just a bit tired..." he said with a wry smile. "Looks like I overdid it."
"No problem. Leave the rest to me."
Now, only Old Sun remained as an enemy on the bridge.
"You, all of you..." Old Sun knew he was no match for the two men before him. With his "Echo" rendered useless now, what chance did he have left?
"Stone man, why didn't you give the big girl a stone just now?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"What?" Old Sun was stunned.
"Just now, both the big guy and I couldn't move... that big girl had a chance to kill us," Qiao Jiajin said with a smile. "But in the end, you didn't give her the stone."
"Xiao Xiao asked me for a stone, and I didn't give it to her?" Old Sun frowned. "How did that happen... no, that can't be..."
"You're not a bad person. I don't intend to kill you." Qiao Jiajin rolled his neck and asked, "Your boss is dead. Don't you want to change your port?"
"Change... my port?" Old Sun frowned. "Buddy... do you even know what you're saying?"
"Maybe I said too much." Qiao Jiajin nodded. "You seem quite capable, and your mind seems normal. But you chose to follow a bunch of lunatics..."
Old Sun listened and slowly lowered his head. "Our ultimate goals conflict. Even if I joined 'Heaven's Mouth,' I wouldn't be able to work for you."
"I'm not saying join 'Heaven's Mouth,'" Qiao Jiajin shook his head. "I'm saying join me."
"Join... you?"
Zhang Shan was also slightly stunned upon hearing this.
"Stone man, I'm not joking with you," Qiao Jiajin said to Old Sun. "I can't succeed with just me alone to trick him. He needs people."
"This..."
Old Sun listened, lowered his head silently, and pondered. He neither agreed nor refused.
"No rush, take your time to consider," Qiao Jiajin said. "Go now. The game is over. No need to throw your life away."
After hearing this, Old Sun looked at Qiao Jiajin, then at Zhang Shan, and finally nodded. He turned and walked off the bridge.
Seeing Old Sun leave, Zhang Shan asked from the side, "Qiao Jiajin... what do you mean?"
"What do you mean, 'what do I mean'?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"Since he joined us, doesn't that mean he joined 'Heaven's Mouth'?" Zhang Shan looked puzzled. "Are you and Qi Xia planning to leave the organization?"
"I don't know," Qiao Jiajin said. "I never said I was joining 'Heaven's Mouth.' I only said I would cooperate with the trickster. If he stays, I stay. If he leaves, I leave."
Zhang Shan's expression gradually turned serious.
He knew Qiao Jiajin and Qi Xia were rare talents—more suited to staying in "Heaven's Mouth" than anyone else.
Now that Qiao Jiajin had obtained such a powerful "Echo"... could they afford to let him go?
"Big guy, let's go touch the flag," Qiao Jiajin said. "This game is about to end."
Zhang Shan pulled himself together and nodded. According to the rules, the game would only end when all surviving members of one side had crossed the single-plank bridge and simultaneously touched the opposing team's flag.
"Let's go."
Zhang Shan followed Qiao Jiajin to the other side of the bridge.
Old Sun had already entered the elevator and left. No one could stop them now.
But when both of them grabbed the flag simultaneously, Di Hu in the distance showed no reaction.
"Hey!" Zhang Shan waited a while and shouted loudly, "This should be enough, right?"
Di Hu coldly looked at the two of them but still said nothing.
"What's going on...?" Qiao Jiajin was also stunned. "Does this count as winning?"
"No..." Zhang Shan frowned. "If everything was done according to the rules but the game hasn't ended... it can only mean one of our teammates is still alive!"
"Kung Fu Girl?!"
Qiao Jiajin suddenly realized something. If Xiao Xiao falling into the hole and returning to the bridge wasn't due to an "Echo," it could only mean that falling into the hole in this game wasn't fatal.
Xiao Xiao had climbed back up using her own skill.
The many ropes below could slow down the fall, allowing people to survive the landing.
Both of them thought of this at the same time and looked at each other.
"Damn..." Qiao Jiajin thought briefly. Li Xiangling had fallen into the hole with that man named Luo Shiyi.
And Luo Shiyi was probably the most ruthless of the three.
"Big guy, wait here." Qiao Jiajin went back to the bridge.
"What are you going to do?" Zhang Shan asked.
"I have to go down and check!" Qiao Jiajin said. "If we don't intervene, Kung Fu Girl might get beaten to death by that cheating scumbag."
"But how will you get down...?"
"I'll jump," Qiao Jiajin said.
"Jump..." Zhang Shan was taken aback. "What if you fall to your death?!"
"That big girl climbed up with one lame leg. How could I possibly die from the fall?"
Zhang Shan wanted to say more, but realized there was no other option now.
To win the game at this point, there were only two ways—
One: Li Xiangling crosses the bridge. Two: Li Xiangling dies.
If one had to choose at a time like this, which would most people pick?
Qiao Jiajin's actions had already made it clear.
"Then... take care of yourself," Zhang Shan said.
Qiao Jiajin nodded and looked down at the hole below.
The stone that had been pressing on Zhang Shan earlier had fallen down, breaking many ropes. Jumping now would be very dangerous.
But he couldn't let his teammate be beaten to death by the enemy.
"I don't want to lose any more teammates in the game." The image of Tiantian slitting her own throat flashed through Qiao Jiajin's mind. "That feeling is too painful for me."
With that thought, he took a deep breath and leaped without hesitation into the deep pit.
Zhang Shan nervously came to the edge of the pit and looked down, only to find that Qiao Jiajin moved like a monkey.
Instead of falling straight down, he grabbed onto a rope and hung there.
After determining his descent route, he swung his body and flew toward another rope.
And so, his figure moved from one rope to another, descending meter by meter.
Only when Qiao Jiajin's figure completely disappeared did Zhang Shan slowly exhale.
"What an impetuous young man..." He shook his head helplessly.