Chapter 445: Pre-Battle Discussion
"Uh... never..." Bai Jiu shook her head. "We usually don't train these things, since we don't need to participate in games."
"That's really troublesome." Qiao Jiajin said. "You guys rarely exercise, so you don't have much coordination or teamwork. If there's really any problem, we'll only find out after the game starts."
Qiao Jiajin thought for a moment, then suddenly had a good idea.
"Hey!" He called out to Earth Horse from a distance. "Can we test the waters first?"
"T-test the waters?" Earth Horse was a bit stunned. "Test what waters?"
"Can we try pushing that Wooden Ox thing first?" Qiao Jiajin said. "We want to see if it's easy to push or not. If it's not, how are we supposed to play?"
"There's no such rule!" Earth Horse said. "I've never let anyone test push my 'Wooden Oxen & Gliding Horses' before. Don't try to take advantage."
At that moment, a tall, stern-faced man beside Qiao Jiajin sneered and spoke up: "Earth Horse, your meticulously crafted 'Wooden Oxen & Gliding Horses'... is its purpose to kill people on the ice?"
Qiao Jiajin looked up at this man. If he remembered correctly, he was "Gale" Qiu Ershi.
"Of course not!" Earth Horse replied with some displeasure. "Haven't I said it many times? This is a lost item I carefully restored!"
Qiao Jiajin nudged Bai Jiu with his elbow: "What's this guy up to? Looks like he's about to get into a fight with Earth Horse."
Bai Jiu smirked and whispered to Qiao Jiajin: "Leave this kind of thing to Ershi. He's really good at it."
"Then why won't you let us push it on flat ground?" Qiu Ershi reached up to adjust the collar of his leather jacket. "Let me guess boldly... Could it be that the reason the bottom of your 'Wooden Oxen & Gliding Horses' uses spheres instead of wheels is because it simply can't be used on flat ground?"
"What?"
"No wonder... no wonder..." Qiu Ershi nodded. "Sorry, we shouldn't have made such a request. Otherwise, for a craftsman family like yours... forget it, it wouldn't look good if word got out. Everyone understands."
Each of those short sentences hit Earth Horse's sore spot, making her momentarily restless: "Are you provoking me?! Even though I know this is your trick, no one can insult a 'craftsman.'"
"So?" Qiu Ershi scratched his ear again. "I provoked you. Are you falling for it?"
"It doesn't matter whether I 'fall for it' or not." Earth Horse said again. "You can try this handcart now, but I'll increase the difficulty later. Deal?"
"How are you going to increase the difficulty?" Qiao Jiajin asked with a frown.
Earth Horse pointed to the wooden boxes on both sides of the track and said to everyone: "Do you see these boxes?"
"How could we not see them?" Qiao Jiajin retorted. "What's weird about these boxes?"
"These boxes will shoot out 'balls' when you make your round trip."
"Balls?" Qiao Jiajin felt the word was interesting. "What kind of 'balls'? Handballs or cricket balls?"
Bai Jiu looked at the wooden boxes after hearing this. Three on the left, four on the right, each with words like 'Tanlang' and 'Pojun' written on them.
"What kind of 'ball' shoots out... depends on your luck." Earth Horse said. "The 'ammunition' in each box is different. There are seven types of materials for the balls that fly toward you."
Although the game hadn't started yet, everyone felt that seven types of materials was definitely a trap.
"What's the point of these balls?" Bai Jiu asked from the side.
"To kill you, of course." Earth Horse said. "Each ball can reach a speed of eighty kilometers per hour. If a person sitting on the Wooden Ox gets hit, they're eliminated directly, but the pusher isn't affected."
Yun Shijiu nodded: "That means the pusher can help the rider 'block the balls.'"
"Not just that." Earth Horse said. "If you're capable enough, you can even make use of these 'balls.' Some 'balls' even have item rewards written on them. These rewards can help you move better on the ice."
Bai Jiu stuck out a finger and kept playing with her ponytail. Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but interrupt: "So, can the 'rider' 'catch the balls,' or can the 'pusher' catch them?"
"Both can." Earth Horse paused and added, "If you're bold enough, anyone can catch them."
"I see." Qiao Jiajin nodded. "But if that's the case, aren't you making it easier for us? A 'ball' at eighty kilometers per hour, at this distance..."
Qiao Jiajin silently moved his neck.
"Maybe I can just barely catch one."
"Better hope so." Earth Horse nodded. "I've heard similar words many times, but I still advise you to dodge as much as possible."
"So how are you going to increase the difficulty for us?" Bai Jiu asked.
"If you choose to push the cart in advance..." Earth Horse silently took two steps forward. "In the final round, I will act as the 'pitcher.'"
"What?" Qiao Jiajin had never directly fought an Earth Grade before, but he did know these people were extraordinary and incredibly strong. "You're going to pitch? Aren't you trying to kill people?"
"Yes, my original purpose was to kill people." Earth Horse said. "This is just a fair trade."
Qiao Jiajin felt this was a dilemma. If they didn't let everyone get a feel for this so-called 'Wooden Oxen & Gliding Horses' now, they might waste a lot of time during the game getting used to this wheel-less handcart.
But if they agreed, this monster might use the balls to kill their teammates.
"So what do we do?" He turned and asked.
"Of course we agree." Bai Jiu said with a smile. "Brother Qiao, let's agree to it."
"I want to agree too." Qiao Jiajin said. "But little girl, didn't you just hear? She's going to pitch..."
"She's going to pitch no matter what."
"Huh?"
Bai Jiu slowly stepped forward. Her petite figure formed a stark contrast with Earth Horse's tall stature.
"Sister... you lied, didn't you?" Bai Jiu smiled.
"Oh?" The corner of Earth Horse's mouth curled up too. "Is that so? Little girl, how did I lie?"
"Even though I haven't participated in a game for a long time..." Bai Jiu showed a sweet smile and fiddled with her hair. "Can you 'Earth Grades' change the game rules depending on each situation?"
"Little girl, you're really smart, aren't you?" Earth Horse said expressionlessly.
"So, whether we push the cart now or not, you were definitely going to act as the 'pitcher' in the final round anyway, right?"
Earth Horse stopped talking after hearing that, just staring intently at the short girl in front of her.
"So this chance to push the cart in advance is a gift you're giving us for free, sister." Bai Jiu smiled and linked arms with Earth Horse. "Why are you so nice, sister?"