Chapter 311: A Meeting Gift
This was not the time for questions, yet Xu Qian still received a call from Chen Junnan.
"Sister Qian!" Chen Junnan called out warmly. "So? Did you hear that?"
Xu Qian's voice slowly grew low. "You... can really control the timing of a kill?"
"Pretty much," Chen Junnan nodded. "I said I'd have a dead body for you within three rounds. This is Round Two."
Xu Qian could sense that the man on the other end of the phone wasn't as carefree as he seemed on the surface. He seemed a little dangerous.
"You just kill someone so casually... aren't you afraid someone will come to kill you later..."
"No, Sister Qian, why are you making threats here?" Chen Junnan asked, sounding confused. "Whether someone wants to kill me later or not, what's that got to do with you... Little Master here just wants you to help call the Earth Snake. Why is that so hard?"
It was only then that Xu Qian realized Chen Junnan's goal from the very beginning had been to summon the Earth Snake. It was only because she refused to cooperate that it had gradually turned into a threat.
"It's my fault..." Xu Qian said. "I... I'll call the Earth Snake over now."
"Got it." Chen Junnan nodded. "I'm counting on you, Sister Qian."
Just as Xu Qian was about to hang up, Chen Junnan stopped her.
"Don't hang up."
"Huh?"
"Keep the phone up. That's the only way I can keep you safe."
"This..."
Xu Qian slowly stood up, phone in hand, and walked to her room's door. She reached out and knocked.
"Referee! Earth Snake!" she called out. "Come here! I need to talk to you!"
The Earth Snake was slightly startled and looked toward Xu Qian's door.
"Come here quickly!" Xu Qian shouted again.
"Oh...?" The Earth Snake sneered, then shuffled his hunched body toward the door. "This girl's calling for help pretty early this time."
A few steps later, he stood before the door and spoke through it. "What's wrong, little girl? Scared?"
Even with just a door between them, Xu Qian could already smell the foul odor emanating from the Earth Snake.
She turned her head and whispered into the phone, "Hey! That old bastard is right outside my door. What am I supposed to say?"
"Tell him to open the door," Chen Junnan said.
"O-open the door?" Xu Qian swallowed hard. "Are you sure he won't just kill me the second it opens?"
"He won't," Chen Junnan shook his head. "That would break the rules. After all, he's not allowed to slaughter participants freely in this game."
"O-okay... I'll try." Xu Qian slowly lifted her head and said, "Earth Snake, can you open the door?"
"Oh...?" The Earth Snake pressed his face against the door, letting his sleazy voice seep through. "Little girl, can't wait any longer?"
Those few words sent goosebumps all over Xu Qian's body. The greasy tone made her feel utterly nauseous.
Can't wait?
She wished the Earth Snake were dead.
"J-just open the door," Xu Qian said, gathering her courage. "I have something to tell you."
Hearing this, the Earth Snake pressed his wrinkled old face even closer to the door panel and spoke in a strange voice. "Little girl, if you try anything funny, even if I don't kill you... I'll make sure you don't have a good time, understand?"
"I-I know..." Xu Qian agreed, then immediately lowered her head and whispered into the phone, "Hey, I feel like I'm asking for death here... Can you really pull this off?"
"Of course," Chen Junnan laughed. "Little Master would never bully a girl. Just tell him to open the door."
Xu Qian knew she was already between a rock and a hard place. The Earth Snake before her was dangerous, but wasn't Chen Junnan just as dangerous?
He had found the game's pattern, could see through the timing of kills. Whether she cooperated or not, she was already caught in the crisis.
If she had to choose between siding with the Earth Snake or Chen Junnan, she preferred Chen Junnan. While normally "Referees" were more rule-abiding than "Participants," the Earth Snake was the exception. He was just too disgusting.
He was like those self-proclaimed virtuous old men in the workplace, staring with lecherous eyes, saying what they thought were considerate words, using their positions of power to satisfy their selfish desires.
"Earth Snake... open the door first," Xu Qian said with a bitter smile. "You're an 'Earth-level.' I don't have the guts to try anything..."
"Hehe... good, as long as you know..." The Earth Snake turned the doorknob from outside, unlocked it, and pulled the door open.
The scene inside the door was a bit puzzling.
The woman still had the phone in her hand.
"You..." The Earth Snake froze, slowly furrowing his brow. "What are you doing?"
"Oh my god..." Xu Qian was so close to the Earth Snake that every hair on her body stood on end. She could only hold up the phone stupidly and ask, "What's your plan exactly..."
"Let him hear the call," Chen Junnan said.
"Huh?" Xu Qian's eyes went wide.
"Let him hear it."
Hearing this, Xu Qian could only silently extend the phone and say quietly, "Your phone..."
The Earth Snake looked at the phone in her hand and grew cautious.
"Who's on the other end?" he asked.
"You..." Xu Qian shook her head helplessly. "I can only receive calls from my higher-up."
"Higher-up...?" He turned to look at the door to Xu Qian's right. If he remembered correctly, that was the "troublemaker's" room.
The Earth Snake swiveled his pale yellow eyes to look at Xu Qian and asked suspiciously, "If he has something to say to me... why did you have me open the door?"
"I don't know either," Xu Qian answered honestly. "I was threatened with my life, so I had no choice but to call you over."
"Shit...!" The Earth Snake's eyes flew wide open. He reached out to close the door, but then heard two words from the phone's earpiece.
"Life gamble!"
The Earth Snake's hand froze mid-motion, his entire body locked in place, unable to move.
Chen Junnan's lips curled slightly as he added, "...I mean, you and me."
Hearing this cleverly twisted sentence structure, the Earth Snake's entire body began to tremble slowly.
What kind of life gamble was this?
He had someone else hand the declaring phone call right up to his face! There was no way to even shut him up!
What now?
Die...?
"AAAAAAHHHH!" The Earth Snake suddenly clutched his head and wailed. "So terrifying... so terrifying!"
Why would someone actually want to gamble their life with him?!
He could have lived like a king here!
What right did this bastard have to disrupt him?!
"AAAAAAHHHH!" The Earth Snake screamed like he'd seen a ghost, constantly pulling at his own face.
"Damn..." Chen Junnan asked through the phone, "What's that old geezer doing? You better be my witness—I didn't touch him. Don't let him try to frame me."
Although Xu Qian was somewhat shocked by the Earth Snake's reaction, she was even more stunned by Chen Junnan's move.
"You said you could keep me safe... this is your plan?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Are you going to die here?"
"Die?" Chen Junnan shook his head. "No, no. I might not die here. In fact, I might just take down an Earth-level here and give Old Qi a belated seven-year reunion gift."