Chapter 441: Ah-Jin's Big Adventure
The chimes gradually faded, and the few people standing outside the house were all rendered speechless.
Luo Shiyi, Saturday, Qiu Shiliu, and Wang Ba had gone from being noisy and arguing before entering the game to now standing in complete silence.
After a long time, Luo Shiyi finally spoke. "This... was all part of your plan?"
"No," Qi Xia said coldly. "I thought of it on the spot."
But this time, not a single one of the four believed Qi Xia anymore.
During the game, Qi Xia had stated four goals, and now it seemed every single one had been achieved. Not only had they won the game, obtained fruit, achieved full "Echo," and learned of Qi Xia's capabilities, but even the Groundhog had been intimidated by him.
"You... who exactly are you?" Wang Ba asked with a hint of reverence. "Were you a 'Cat' before?"
"I don't know," Qi Xia replied. "If I remember correctly, I was never a 'Cat.'"
"Tsk!" Saturday suddenly interjected. "Then why does Fifth Brother trust you so much? It seems like he knew you had skills long ago..."
"Perhaps everyone in this world hopes to find someone to lean on," Qi Xia answered. "The person you all lean on is Qian Wu, and the person Qian Wu leans on in his heart is me."
If not for this experience, these people would definitely have thought the man in front of them was bluffing. But now, none of them dared to contradict him.
The same thought unconsciously arose in each of their minds—
Following this person, might they really be able to destroy this place?
Or... could they really escape?
Qi Xia ignored them and continued walking forward.
"Tsk, where are we going now?" Saturday called out from the side.
"I need to know the locations of Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan," Qi Xia said. "I need their whereabouts. I'm not sure if they can handle things, so I need to take a look."
Qiu Shiliu frowned and asked, "Don't we need to participate in more games?"
"No need," Qi Xia said. "We didn't come out to earn 'Dao.' All our goals have been achieved now. Let's head back."
---
Qiao Jiajin walked down the road with six people, constantly scratching his head.
Team leader?
Was he kidding?
If he actually had the ability to lead a team, why would he cooperate with Qi Xia?
"But that's just how big shots are..." Qiao Jiajin shook his head helplessly. "Even when they think they're not up to the task, there's still a bunch of younger brothers following them..."
"Brother Qiao, what did you say?" Nineteen, who had used "Silence" earlier, asked softly from the side.
"Ah, nothing..." Qiao Jiajin waved his hand and looked back at his team.
Three men and three women, every single one of them skin and bones.
But that wasn't the most fatal thing. The most fatal thing was that Qian Wu had said he wanted to take this team to participate in games involving physical strength, combat, and killing.
Was he seriously not joking?
"Ah... hey..." Qiao Jiajin turned around wanting to say something, and the young people in front of him immediately stood at attention respectfully.
Seeing their expressions, Qiao Jiajin got nervous again.
"Hey... don't be so serious, everyone. We're all friends." He gave a bitter smile and said, "I just wanted to ask you all... Is there any game around here?"
A girl with twin tails slowly raised her hand after hearing this. "Brother, there's a 'Rabbit' nearby. Want to go check it out?"
"Rabbit?" Qiao Jiajin blinked. "What does Rabbit do?"
"Escape," a boy answered.
"Escape?" Qiao Jiajin frowned and scratched his head. If it was supposed to be a physical strength, combat, and killing type game, did "escape" count?
"Should we go over there, Brother Qiao?" someone asked.
"Let's... let's go?" Qiao Jiajin said with a bitter smile. "By the way, 'Escape'—is it about who runs the fastest?"
"I guess you could put it that way..."
"Then it shouldn't be a problem, right? Do you all usually exercise?"
"Well..." The three men and three women looked at each other. A tall girl finally smiled and said, "Brother Qiao, although we do exercise regularly, our roles have always been as the strategists and supporters of the 'Cat' team. So we rarely take on combat and physical strength tasks..."
"Then... that's still okay, right?" Qiao Jiajin seemed to be trying to cheer everyone up, but they could all tell he wasn't confident. "Let's go check out that 'Rabbit' first. If it doesn't work, we'll switch."
The seven people confirmed their direction and started walking toward the "Rabbit" venue.
Halfway there, Qiao Jiajin suddenly remembered that he didn't know anything about the people in his team. He could only pull out the list Qian Wu had given him in advance from his pocket and take a look. And just that one look made him feel like things were troublesome.
He had heard that the higher the ranking in the "Cat" team, the stronger the person. But these six people in front of him—let alone the top ten, even the top fifteen was a stretch.
"Transform guy... how did you think so highly of me?"
Luo Shiwu, male, "Energy Storage," stores food in his body for a long time, "Echo Trigger" is "Hunger."
Feng Shiqi, female, "Flash Burst," causes her entire body to instantly emit a blinding light, "Echo Trigger" is "Fear of Darkness."
Ning Shiba, female, "Rapid Growth," causes plants she touches to grow faster, "Echo Trigger" is "Extreme Pain."
Yun Shijiu, male, "Silence," isolates sound in a space for a certain period, already Echoed.
Qiu Ershi, male, "Gust," summons strong winds within a certain range, already Echoed.
The name that caught Qiao Jiajin's attention the most was the last one, Bai Jiu.
Bai Jiu, female, "Liquefaction," causes objects to liquefy, "Echo Trigger" is "Physical and Mental Exhaustion."
Qiao Jiajin held the piece of paper in his hand, turned around, and raised his hand very politely. "Um... excuse me."
"Ah, yes!"
The few people stood respectfully in place, all waiting for Qiao Jiajin to speak.
"Don't be so polite, everyone... I want to ask, who is Bai Jiu?"
The girl with twin tails blinked upon hearing this, then also raised her hand. "I'm Bai Jiu!"
"Oh?" Qiao Jiajin nodded with interest. "You're ranked ninth?"
"Ah... hehe." Bai Jiu scratched her head. "Maybe I came early? Fifth Brother thinks highly of me and gave me ninth place."
"So is 'Liquefaction' very powerful?" Qiao Jiajin asked. "What kind of effect can it achieve?"
"Actually, I don't really know if this ability counts as powerful..." Bai Jiu shook her head. "I can melt objects I touch."
"Oh?" Qiao Jiajin thought for a moment, feeling he had no idea where this ability could be used, but he still nodded somewhat perfunctorily. "That's awesome..."
A quick glance at the abilities of the remaining people gave him a rough idea, so Qiao Jiajin didn't ask any more questions. After confirming everyone's names, he continued walking forward.
Not long after, the group saw the "Rabbit" at the end of the road.
It wasn't quite what Qiao Jiajin had imagined. This Rabbit was actually an exceptionally tall man with a gray rabbit face.
"Oh...?" The Ground Rabbit nodded slightly when he saw them. "Here to play the Ground Rabbit game?"
Qiao Jiajin slowly took a breath, then reached up and scratched his head. "I... I'm not sure. How about you explain the rules first?"