Chapter 193: Fairness
It took Qiao Jiajin nearly three minutes to slowly approach the bottom.
The light here was dim, and his eyes couldn't adapt for a moment. After staring for a long time, he finally spotted the large stone that had fallen earlier. He vaulted over, letting go of the rope, and landed on the boulder.
“Strange…” He lowered his stance and scanned the surroundings. There wasn’t a single person in sight. At this moment, only a faint beam of light fell directly onto the boulder from above. Beyond this small patch, everything around seemed submerged in pitch-black darkness like the ocean floor.
“Hey, Kung Fu Girl!” Qiao Jiajin yelled. “You here?”
After his shout, echoes reverberated, and from two directions came the rustling sound of footsteps shuffling.
“I see…” Qiao Jiajin jumped off the boulder and plunged into the darkness. “Since it’s so dark here, neither of you dared to make a move, right?”
No one answered from around him. Qiao Jiajin felt an ominous premonition. He knew Li Xiangling must be badly injured; otherwise, she wouldn’t have stayed silent when a teammate arrived. Now, he needed to ensure her safety as much as possible.
“Leather Jacket Guy, can you hear me?” Qiao Jiajin shouted again. “I’m in the light, you’re in the dark. What are you afraid of? Come on, hit me.”
A faint sound of footsteps came again, and Qiao Jiajin caught it keenly. He stopped talking and instead moved quietly, heading toward the sound.
“Hey! If you’re not gonna hit me, I’ll come find you.”
Slowly, Qiao Jiajin felt he was now inches away from that person. But he wasn’t sure if the person in the darkness was Li Xiangling or Luo Shiyi. So he slowly raised both hands, so that no matter who it was, he could restrain them immediately.
In the darkness, Qiao Jiajin felt his right hand brush against something. His expression turned cold, and he grabbed at the person directly, only to catch a slender arm.
“Ah!”
A woman’s voice let out a low cry. Qiao Jiajin quickly steadied her and moved close.
“Kung Fu Girl?” Qiao Jiajin called softly. “Don’t be scared.”
“Brother Qiao…” Li Xiangling breathed a sigh of relief, still shaken, and replied in a low voice, “You scared me to death…”
“Are you okay? Are you injured?”
“I have a few wounds bleeding. I’m out of strength now…” Li Xiangling said. “That man is too vicious…”
“Leave it to me. Treat your wounds first,” Qiao Jiajin said.
He reached out and patted Li Xiangling’s shoulder, but something felt odd. She seemed taller. Feeling more carefully, he found his hand was covered in blood after patting her shoulder.
“You…” Qiao Jiajin’s expression darkened. “How badly are you hurt?”
“Just superficial wounds…” Li Xiangling said weakly. “Don’t worry about me… You need to be careful of that man…”
“Alright…” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “What happened just now?”
Li Xiangling took a deep breath and said, “Originally, there was a table in the center… with a candle and a key on it. We fought over the key and started brawling… But then a stone fell from above. Not only did it crush the key and the candle, but it also made this place pitch black…”
Qiao Jiajin felt that Li Xiangling was growing weaker.
“Don’t talk anymore…” Qiao Jiajin said. “I know the situation. Leave the rest to me. We’ll talk when we get back.”
His face turned ice-cold as he turned around. He no longer concealed his footsteps, instead walking straight toward the other side. That was where faint footsteps had come from earlier; now he figured it must be where that bastard was hiding.
“Hey,” Qiao Jiajin called out. “Aren’t you supposed to be all high and mighty? Beating up a girl and then hiding?”
From a dark corner not far away, a low voice replied, “Ruffian, I admit defeat. I won’t fight you.”
“No way,” Qiao Jiajin shook his head. “If you had injured me, I could accept your surrender. But you injured my teammate. Now I’m here for ‘revenge.’ Revenge doesn’t accept surrender.”
“Don’t push me…!!” Luo Shiyi hid in the corner, his voice trembling. “If you push me, I’ll hunt the two of you down again and again…”
“Why would I push you?” Qiao Jiajin took a step forward. “I know you’re hurt. So I’ll go easy on you. I’ll give you both legs.”
Luo Shiyi was stunned. “What did you say?”
Qiao Jiajin replied, “Did I not make myself clear? I won’t use my legs. From now on, I’ll stand here and won’t use any kicks.”
“Are you looking down on me…?” Luo Shiyi asked.
“Yeah, I kinda look down on you,” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “I don’t really like bullies who pick on the weak.”
“You’ll regret this…”
Although Luo Shiyi blustered, he still didn’t show himself from the shadows.
“I’ll give you my right hand too.” Qiao Jiajin put his right hand behind his back. “I won’t use my right hand either. Is that enough? Can you come out and fight now?”
“You…”
Luo Shiyi pondered in the darkness for a long time, as if thinking something over.
“I won’t use either of my fucking hands!” Qiao Jiajin shouted coldly, putting both hands behind his back. “You son of a bitch! I’m giving you all four limbs. Now do you fucking dare to come out and fight?!”
“Are you fucking insulting me?!”
Luo Shiyi finally emerged.
When he got closer, Qiao Jiajin, using the faint light from above, saw how horrifying his injuries were. Li Xiangling had indeed fought a brutal battle with him. His forehead was still showing bare white bone, his face was covered in blood, and both hands seemed injured too, trembling nonstop. He limped forward, holding a stone he’d picked up from the ground.
“Don’t think you can beat me just because I’m hurt…” Luo Shiyi showed a grim smile. “If I really go all out, even if you’re a ‘Resonator,’ you won’t get the upper hand.”
“I’m absolutely not underestimating you,” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “Besides, I keep my word. I absolutely won’t use my limbs. If my hands or feet move even once, you win.”
“You said it!” Luo Shiyi rushed forward with the stone in hand.
But Qiao Jiajin spoke coldly again, “But to be fair, you can’t cheat either.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, a faint glow suddenly flickered on Luo Shiyi’s body. The glow scattered like dandelion seeds, illuminating the entire cave.
“Aaaaaaah!!!!!!”
Luo Shiyi suddenly let out a heart-wrenching scream, and within moments, his voice turned hoarse. He fell to his knees in agony, clutching his forehead, then his hands, then his abdomen. All the pain he had suffered from the start of the game erupted simultaneously. The internal injuries Li Xiangling had inflicted earlier also took effect. After a few coughs, Luo Shiyi spat out a mouthful of blood, then slowly collapsed to the ground.
“Fuck… you…” Luo Shiyi lifted his head and glared at Qiao Jiajin. “What kind of ability is that… What the hell were you thinking?”
“I don’t know what kind of ability it is either,” Qiao Jiajin shook his head. “I wasn’t thinking anything. I just wanted a fair one-on-one fight.”
“You’re too terrifying… You…” Luo Shiyi coughed up blood, and then gradually went still.
The man had died from the pain itself.
“Piece of shit…” Qiao Jiajin said. “Next time we meet, try to kill me. I’ll be waiting.”