Chapter 450: Star
"It's me." Saturday's voice came slowly from the earpiece. "Our game is over. The team leader named Qi Xia said he wants to go help you all. Have you started your game yet?"
"Oh, yes," Bai Jiu replied. "We're already in the game. You guys finished that quickly?"
"Mm," Saturday answered. "Give us your location. We'll come assist you."
"Assist us?" Bai Jiu felt something was off. "Sixth Sister, didn't Fifth Brother give us a whole day? Did you all complete all the tasks? Has everyone achieved 'Resonance'?"
"Uh..." Saturday found it difficult to answer. "It is... it is a bit hard to imagine, but this man really completed all the tasks within a single game..."
"Ah?!" Bai Jiu knew she wasn't stupid, but even if she had made the plan herself, she wouldn't be confident about making Saturday, Wang Ba, Luo Shiyi, and Qiu Shiliu all achieve "Resonance" in one game.
Why was that man named Qi Xia so strong?
Could it be that all three team leaders this time had such ability?
Bai Jiu lowered her head to look at Qiao Jiajin and felt that maybe she was overthinking things.
Qiao Jiajin was still seriously maintaining a fighting stance from some movie, facing off against a wooden crate.
"Uh..." Bai Jiu didn't know how to put it, let alone what would happen next. She could only tell Saturday her general location.
If Qi Xia really was that capable, having him come to help would be excellent.
No sooner had she finished communicating with Saturday than another ice sphere came flying over.
Since they were now far from "Pojun," Qiao Jiajin, knowing exactly where the sphere would land, accurately smashed it with his fist.
This freezing-cold projectile gave Qiao Jiajin a headache. If the opponent were a person, they'd have gotten tired after so many attacks.
But how could a mechanism ever stop?
"That's the sixth one..." Qiao Jiajin shook his right hand. "Does every round have six attacks?"
Just as he said, in the following moments, everyone simply pushed the cart forward slowly. "Pojun" made no further moves.
Ning Shiba, moving slowly on the right side of the cart, felt something was off. As Qiao Jiajin had said, these were all lifeless wooden mechanisms... How could they track the group so accurately and launch attacks?
"Six attacks...?" Ning Shiba counted on her fingers again. The frequency of the previous attacks seemed to correspond to something. "Interesting... It's still the 'Big Dipper'..."
She closed her eyes briefly, calculated the distance traveled and the number of attacks received, then looked up at Qiao Jiajin and Qiu Ershi, who had relaxed a little. "Brother Qiao, Ershi, there should be one more attack."
"Huh?" Qiao Jiajin looked at Ning Shiba with surprise. "You even know that?"
"Yes," Ning Shiba nodded. "On the way there, about one sphere every eight meters, three total. On the way back, about one every six meters, four total. If each sphere is compared to a 'star,' then it's exactly the 'Big Dipper.'"
"Didn't quite get it..." Qiao Jiajin said, "but you gave me some really useful info."
Di Ma, standing not far away, looked at Ning Shiba with a cold expression.
What terrible luck.
Participants came to his game venue every day, but he had never seen anyone proficient in astrology.
"Be careful, Brother Qiao," Ning Shiba warned. "If I'm not mistaken, the last one should be launched just as we're about to return to the starting point."
"Got it," Qiao Jiajin nodded, taking the chance to stretch his muscles. His whole body had been tense and now felt a bit tired. "Astrology girl, if it really goes as you predicted, you've been a huge help."
"As... Astrology girl?"
The frequency of the sphere attacks matched Ning Shiba's guess exactly. Just as the front of the "Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse" crossed the line, the distant "Pojun" started moving again.
If Ning Shiba hadn't warned them in advance, Qiao Jiajin felt this attack would definitely have affected everyone.
Since the starting point was farthest from "Pojun," this launch was almost silent. Moreover, everyone's guard was at its lowest just as they were about to finish the first round. It was hard to imagine what would have happened if they hadn't been prepared.
Seeing that the ice sphere was aimed at Bai Jiu on the "Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse," Qiao Jiajin leaped up. But this time, instead of reaching out, he thrust his chest forward to meet the sphere.
The moment the ice sphere hit his chest, Qiao Jiajin used its momentum to do a backflip in the air, trapping it securely against his chest.
But when he landed, he couldn't control his balance and fell hard on the ground. Luckily, he was far from the glass and wasn't hurt.
At that same moment, everyone pushed the "Wooden Ox and Gliding Horse" back to the starting point.
Bai Jiu had passed.
"Brother Qiao!" Bai Jiu immediately got off the cart and looked at Qiao Jiajin still lying on the ground. He didn't seem injured, but he was hugging his chest and frowning, as if in great discomfort.
The others also dropped the cart and ran over to check on Qiao Jiajin.
"Brother, are you okay?"
Qiao Jiajin squinted and twisted his face for a long time before slowly uttering two words: "So cold..."
"Huh?"
He moved his hands to reveal the ice sphere pressed against his chest.
"Ah! It really is so cold!" Qiao Jiajin, having made sure the sphere didn't break, threw it on the ground. "Is this what it feels like to have a cold heart? So this is the feeling?"
The people standing nearby felt a bit speechless, but quickly snapped back to focus and looked at the ice sphere on the ground.
They had to admit that Di Ma's craftsmanship was truly extraordinary.
Up close, this ice sphere had no impurities at all, like a crystal ball. Only absolutely pure water could freeze into such transparent ice.
But for a prop meant to attack "participants," did it really need to be so detailed?
Bai Jiu bent down, picked up the sphere, and examined it closely. She found that it wasn't just "pure" — the entire sphere had been polished perfectly smooth and even engraved with thin textures, as if simulating a real "star."
Unfortunately, there were no words on it.
"What's wrong?" Qiao Jiajin noticed Bai Jiu's unnatural expression and stood up to ask.
"Brother Qiao... do we really need to catch these spheres?" Bai Jiu said with some doubt.
"Why not?" Qiao Jiajin countered. "Maybe there really is a reward... And didn't that big horse lady say? She doesn't lie."