Chapter 447: Broken Army
Qiao Jiajin carefully weighed the pros and cons of this matter in his mind.
Should he take the risk and catch those "balls," or avoid them as much as possible?
Could the content of the rewards truly help them get through the game more smoothly?
"Alright, I understand." Qiao Jiajin nodded. "Let's start quickly."
"Good." Dima shot a glance at everyone. "Since there are many of you, could you please push the 'Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse' over?"
Hearing this, everyone lifted the handcart and slowly pushed it to the starting point of the track.
Dima then pulled a flare gun from his bosom and said to the group, "The countdown begins after the gunshot. You must make continuous trips back and forth. If the 'passenger' is eliminated during transport, you must return to the starting point and replace them with another 'passenger.'"
"Understood."
"Now, please have the first person board." Dima added.
Everyone exchanged glances. Qiao Jiajin was the first to speak: "Xixi Girl, you go first."
"Me?" Bai Jiu was slightly taken aback.
"How many pounds are you?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"Pounds? I'm not very good with pounds, but I weigh eighty-six jin," Bai Jiu replied.
"Jin? I'm not great with jin either, but let's go with you," Qiao Jiajin said. "The first round is for testing. Since you're so light, we can control the cart better, and with your slim build, it'll be harder for the flying 'balls' to hit you."
"Brother Qiao... I can accept you calling me light..." Bai Jiu gave a wry smile. "But those flying 'balls'—none of us know where they'll..."
"I'll protect you," Qiao Jiajin said. "I don't have many strengths, but every word I say, I follow through."
"P-protect me?"
"Yes." Qiao Jiajin looked at Bai Jiu with unusually serious eyes. "No matter where the 'balls' come from, I'll block the ones you can't dodge."
Although Qiao Jiajin was saying something Bai Jiu thought was impossible, for some reason, she felt a strong sense of security.
"Then... you need to be careful too, Brother Qiao," Bai Jiu stammered.
"I know. Get on the cart."
Yun Shijiu and Qiu Ershi reached out to help her up, allowing her to stand on the Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse.
Weighing just over eighty jin was far too light; the stable handcart didn't even wobble.
Once Bai Jiu was seated, everyone spread out on both sides of the cart and reached out to hold it.
Although they had practiced earlier, faced with the thick layer of ice ahead, everyone still felt a bit nervous.
"Everyone, remember one thing," Qiao Jiajin reminded softly.
"What is it?"
"There are sharp pieces of glass on both sides of the track," Qiao Jiajin said. "Getting injured in a place like this is basically a death sentence. So if you feel like you're about to fall, try to curl up and use your legs to push off, leaping forward in a forward roll."
Hearing this, everyone looked at the straight track. The protruding glass on both sides was very sharp, but fortunately, there weren't many—just two rows.
"Would a forward roll be a bit difficult...?" Qiu Ershi said awkwardly. "With that kind of skill... you'd probably be on par with those combat group members."
"I don't expect you to achieve it perfectly," Qiao Jiajin replied. "But if you remember what I said in a life-or-death moment, it might just save your life."
Everyone nodded silently.
"The game is about to begin." Dima pulled out a stopwatch and slowly raised the flare gun in his hand. At the same time, an electronic clock lit up on the wall beside the basketball court, with the countdown set at fifteen minutes.
Qiao Jiajin slowly crouched, grabbing hold of the cart. Fortunately, the cart was well-built, with a crossbar on each side to grip.
Among the group, the most nervous was Bai Jiu, sitting high above. Although everyone had surrounded her in the center, the fact remained that in extreme danger, anyone could abandon the cart and run—except Bai Jiu.
She felt like a live target, sitting at the highest point waiting for an attack.
"Ready..." Dima muttered softly, then pulled the trigger.
With a puff of smoke, the flare gun's bang echoed through the basketball court, and everyone took a step forward simultaneously.
The next second, a wooden box farthest from them slowly rose. The words "Broken Army" were written on it, and from inside came the rumble of mechanical movement.
"Be careful..." Qiao Jiajin said in a low voice. "Survival first."
"Got it!"
Several people held the handcart as they cautiously stepped onto the ice. After a few seconds, everyone felt something was off.
The wooden balls at the bottom of the "Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse" were far too smooth. The moment they touched the ice, the entire handcart seemed to lose all weight.
Everyone felt a sudden lack of resistance in their hands, forcing them to grip the crossbar even more carefully. They found it hard to move—it seemed the cart would speed forward with just the slightest push.
"We have enough time," Qiao Jiajin said. "Fifteen minutes for seven round trips. One round trip is about fifty yards... Two minutes per round trip. Time is fine. Take it slow."
Just as everyone began to relax, they heard the mechanical noise from the distance stop. The next second, with a loud "boom," a white sphere shot out from the opening of the wooden box, flying at incredible speed toward Bai Jiu on the "Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse."
In the moment everyone froze, Qiao Jiajin pushed off with his legs and launched himself into the air. After pinpointing the landing spot of the white sphere, he swung his leg, driving from thigh to shin, and kicked it mid-air.
*Bang!*
A crisp sound, and the white sphere shattered into countless fragments. Everyone felt a chill all over.
Qiao Jiajin flipped mid-air before landing, but he forgot that the ground was all ice. The moment his heel touched down, he slipped, losing control and falling backward.
"Damn it!"
Qiao Jiajin twisted his waist instantly to turn around, then stretched out his hands to brace firmly against the ground.
"That was close..." He frowned, shuffling his feet to stand up.
Though he felt he had only moved slightly, the entire sequence left everyone gaping.
"Brother... Brother Qiao, you just now..." Bai Jiu, sitting on the "Wooden Ox and Flowing Horse," had clearly witnessed the whole process and felt that Qiao Jiajin was unnaturally agile.
Qiao Jiajin didn't mind. He just reached up and touched his hair, finding it a bit strange.
"Seems like it was an ice ball."
"Ice ball?" Hearing this, everyone suddenly realized. The moment the sphere shattered, they all felt a chill, meaning fragments of the ice ball must have fallen on them.
At that moment, a girl who had never spoken before slowly raised her hand from behind Qiao Jiajin, pinching her middle and ring fingers with her thumb, as if calculating something.
"Broken Army... ice ball?"