Chapter 765: A Normal Dog
"You're going to trade Old Qi for fruit and little cakes...?" Chen Junnan blinked. "What kind of equivalent exchange is that...?"
Qiao Jiajin stared blankly at Qi Xia after hearing this. "Scammer... you've got that kind of function? Can you trade me for beer?"
"Trade me away?" Qi Xia said. "With who?"
Zhang Chenze sighed after hearing this, a look of sadness on her face. "The irony is... I'm the only one who remembers this. The rest are all..."
She seemed to think of something as she spoke, then shook her head and continued, "Sorry, that was a bit one-sided. Now that Qin Dingdong is back, only she and I remember this. Everyone else is dead."
"Never mind about them dying for now," Qi Xia said. "Tell me who that 'Zodiac' was."
Zhang Chenze nodded, then took out a piece of paper and handed it to Qi Xia.
"This is a rough map I drew just now," she said with a wry smile to Qi Xia. "I'm not really interested in little cakes or fruit, but we did make a promise to that 'Zodiac,' and it wouldn't be fair to him to unilaterally break it."
Qi Xia took the paper and nodded slightly.
"But just sending you to him without any consideration isn't fair to you either, since I'm not sure what kind of danger you'll face." Zhang Chenze continued. "So I'm just passing along the message. Whether you go or not is up to you."
"Good." Qi Xia acknowledged, then turned to ask, "Lawyer Zhang, what 'Zodiac' is he?"
"He's a 'Dog.'" Zhang Chenze replied.
"Dog..." Qi Xia pondered for a moment, then asked, "And under what circumstances did he ask to see me?"
Zhang Chenze thought carefully. "Around the third day, the four of us had just finished that 'Earth Dog' game. We realized it was getting late, and we were all a bit injured, so we rested at his venue for the night. When he came to work the next morning, he stopped us as we were about to leave and, out of nowhere, suddenly said he wanted to see you."
"Just like that...?" Qi Xia frowned. "He mentioned me first?"
"Yes." Zhang Chenze nodded. "None of us had mentioned your name before that."
Qi Xia looked at the map Zhang Chenze had given him and noticed that the location she'd drawn was exactly the 'Xu Dog' that 'Azure Dragon' had marked.
"Another identity confirmed," Qi Xia said.
"What...?" Zhang Chenze paused.
Qi Xia didn't answer, but Chen Junnan stepped forward. "Big lawyer, what's that 'Dog' like?"
"By 'what's he like' you mean...?" Zhang Chenze asked.
"I mean his character," Chen Junnan said. "Is he a really disgusting guy? A lowlife or not?"
"Well..." Zhang Chenze was amused by Chen Junnan's question. "He is our 'enemy,' after all... It's hard for me to have any positive feelings toward him. But objectively speaking, aside from wanting to kill us, he didn't do anything too outrageous. Overall, he's a pretty normal person."
"Ah, shit..." Qiao Jiajin shook his head beside her. "Sister Lawyer, I feel like calling someone 'normal' in this place is already a very high compliment."
"Mm... that's true." Zhang Chenze nodded.
"A normal 'Dog'..." Qi Xia repeated the phrase.
This lackluster 'Dog' was also mentioned by 'Earth Tiger'.
"See!" Chen Junnan turned to Qi Xia. "Old Qi, your guess is definitely right. These people definitely..."
"I know." Qi Xia cut him off. "Don't say it. I'm going."
"You're going to see that Dog first?" Chen Junnan said. "You sure you don't want us to come with you...?"
"Positive." Qi Xia nodded, then put the note Lawyer Zhang had given him into his pocket and turned to her. "Don't worry. If he gives me the little cakes and fruit, I'll bring them back for you."
Lawyer Zhang smiled and shook her head. "You know that's not what I meant."
"I know." Qi Xia said expressionlessly. "But those things are useless to the three of us anyway."
"Alright." Zhang Chenze nodded. "I've passed along the message. I won't disturb you any further."
Seeing the meticulous Zhang Chenze give them all a very polite nod and then turn to leave with grace, the group didn't know how to respond.
Qi Xia composed himself and said, "Well, I'll be off. See you tonight."
Qiao Jiajin wanted to say something, but Chen Junnan subtly held him back.
"Alright, Old Qi, you go on ahead. The two of us will sweep the floor and cook, waiting for you to come back."
Qi Xia nodded, pushed open the door, and walked out.
Once Qi Xia was far away, Qiao Jiajin looked at Chen Junnan in confusion. "Jun Nan... what do you mean? Are we really not going to follow Scammer?"
"Old Qi is working toward his own goals. We've got places to go too." Chen Junnan said. "Remember that big rat from before?"
"Ah!" Qiao Jiajin nodded after hearing that. "You mean that rat who talks in a weird, sarcastic tone!"
"We got the news about the big fat monkey from him. Now let's go ask him if he knows anyone else..." Chen Junnan's expression gradually turned serious. "I don't know exactly what that big rat knows... but I feel like the 'eight people' he mentioned are somehow related to the 'eight people' on Old Qi's map."
"But who is that rat, anyway...?" Qiao Jiajin was confused. "He's not even on Scammer's map..."
"Then it depends on whether he'll tell us the truth." Chen Junnan said. "We get along with him, so it's the perfect chance to pry for some information. Maybe it'll help Old Qi on the side."
Qiao Jiajin nodded after hearing that. "Makes sense. Let's hurry then."
"Yeah, let's go before it gets light!" Chen Junnan said. "If we don't leave soon, it'll be troublesome..."
Just as the two were about to head out, they saw a figure blocking the doorway.
The moment Chen Junnan saw that figure, his expression turned uncomfortable, as if he'd encountered a ferocious beast.
"Don... Dong Jie?" (Big sister Dong?)
Qin Dingdong ignored him, looking at Qiao Jiajin instead, a smile on her face. "Yo, A-Jin, your muscles are still so solid. It's great to see you so full of energy."
"Ah...?" Qiao Jiajin was momentarily speechless. "So you are..."
"Fucking bastard..." Qin Dingdong's expression suddenly shifted, and she shouted in displeasure, "Chen Junnan! Where the hell are you running off to this time?! Am I some kind of demon or something?!"
"This... this..." Chen Junnan swallowed his saliva. "Dong Jie, I wasn't trying to run. We were just about to go get you..."
"You'd better be!" Qin Dingdong yelled. "Fuck it, no matter where you two go, I'm sticking with you. You deal with it!"
(Happy New Year to everyone! Thank you for all the companionship over the past year. Thank you to every single person who reads this!)