Chapter 769: Idol
Following the directions from both maps, Qi Xia arrived at this dark, narrow alley.
He found it hard to imagine that a "Zodiac" would set up their game venue in such a hidden corner.
At this moment, in the gloomy corner, a very lazy-looking "Earth Dog" was sitting against the wall, seemingly dozing off.
He was wearing a suit with his bare chest exposed, showing off his clear muscle lines.
Qi Xia slowly walked up, blocking the only beam of light, and stood in front of the Earth Dog.
The Earth Dog also lazily lifted his head, glanced faintly at Qi Xia, then lowered his head as if he hadn't seen him at all.
The other party's behavior instantly piqued Qi Xia's curiosity.
Regardless of whether this person was a former teammate or someone from "Heavenly Dragon" or "Azure Dragon," he shouldn't have shown such an expression.
This expression looked as if he had never known Qi Xia at all.
"Hey," Qi Xia called out. "Look up at me."
Upon hearing this, the Earth Dog slowly furrowed his brow. The hound-like face lifted reluctantly.
"You're pretty arrogant," the Earth Dog replied. "Do you talk to other 'Zodiacs' like that too?"
"Interesting," Qi Xia said softly. "You don't recognize me?"
"Do I have any reason to recognize you?" the Earth Dog asked again. "Were you one of my victims in the past?"
His answer was as if he truly had never seen Qi Xia before—a situation Qi Xia had not anticipated.
This Earth Dog appeared on "Azure Dragon's" map, was in the "Rebellion" room, and even sent someone to deliver a message to Qi Xia. How could such a person not recognize him at all?
"Buddy," the Earth Dog continued, raising those sleepy eyes again, "you wouldn't happen to be a veteran, would you?"
"Huh?"
"If you're a veteran, then don't waste my time slacking off," the Earth Dog waved his hand. "You know, I'm a 'Dog.' A 'Dog's' game can't be played alone. Go find some other 'Zodiac' to mess with, not me."
"So, I can leave?" Qi Xia asked again.
"If you're not leaving, do you plan to stay here and chat with me?" the Earth Dog said.
"Yes, I'd really like to chat with you." Qi Xia walked over to the Earth Dog and sat down beside him.
The Earth Dog seemed increasingly puzzled by this man's actions. He could only fish a coin out of his pocket and said, "How about we flip a coin? If you win, I'll give you a 'Dao,' but you have to leave. Deal?"
Qi Xia found the Earth Dog in front of him quite interesting, so he nodded and said, "Fine."
Upon hearing this, the Earth Dog clamped the coin between his thumb and index finger, flicked it into the air, then caught it on the back of his hand, covered it with his palm, and slowly moved it in front of Qi Xia.
"I can't lose this game," Qi Xia said. "The coin was heads before it flipped, spun sixteen and a half times in the air, and you caught it."
"So?"
"So you're going to lose."
"I don't want to win anyway," the Earth Dog replied. "I hope you take the 'Dao' and leave quickly."
"So, do you understand what I mean by 'lose'?" Qi Xia said. "I guess heads."
Hearing this, the Earth Dog slowly lifted his palm. The coin was tails.
"Didn't you say you saw...?" the Earth Dog asked.
"Maybe I guessed wrong?" Qi Xia shrugged.
"I'll give you another chance."
Saying that, the Earth Dog once again clamped the coin between his fingers, flicked it into the air, and caught it.
"Flipped heads, spun nineteen times," Qi Xia said. "I guess tails."
The Earth Dog felt that there was something off about this man's reasoning and the final answer, but he could only frown and lift his hand.
The coin was heads.
"Oh, I was wrong again," Qi Xia said.
"You're doing it on purpose..." The Earth Dog finally understood where the inconsistency lay. "You can clearly see the coin's trajectory, but you keep choosing the wrong answer?"
"Yes. So I don't want the 'Dao,'" Qi Xia smiled. "I just want to chat with you. You can flip coins with me for days and nights without spending a single 'Dao.'"
"This is the first time I've seen such an interesting situation." The Earth Dog put the coin back in his pocket and asked, "So, who are you?"
"I'm Qi Xia, a life worth a few small cakes and a few fruits."
"Huh...?" The Earth Dog gave Qi Xia a meaningful look, then slowly widened his eyes.
Only then did Qi Xia confirm that the Earth Dog's earlier indifference wasn't an act—he truly had never seen Qi Xia before.
This meant all prior assumptions needed to be reconsidered.
The "Dog" before him wasn't one of his former teammates... but what about the others?
"Your expression is interesting," Qi Xia said. "Have we never met before?"
"No, I haven't seen you."
Upon hearing this, Qi Xia squinted.
After saying that, the Earth Dog felt his statement was inaccurate and corrected himself: "But you're my idol!"
"Id...ol?" Qi Xia frowned at the Earth Dog. "Since when?"
"Of course, since you became the White..." The Earth Dog felt something was off, so he directly grabbed Qi Xia's arm. "Come with me!"
Qi Xia followed the Earth Dog into his game venue. The Earth Dog turned around and locked the door.
Only then did Qi Xia notice that the game venue was a glass shop, filled with all kinds of glass, all of which had been cleaned spotlessly.
The Earth Dog led Qi Xia to the center of the venue, where there were five huge glass houses: one in each of the four cardinal directions and one in the center.
The two entered the central glass house. The Earth Dog closed the glass door, and Qi Xia noticed that all the glass house doors had soundproof strips. Once closed, the inside was almost completely isolated from the outside.
After confirming the door was locked, the Earth Dog called out, "Brother White Sheep?"
"Wait a moment." Qi Xia raised his hand to interrupt him. "You've really never seen me before?"
"Indeed, I rarely lie," the Earth Dog said. "If I were so good at lying, I would have become a 'Sheep' back then. But it's hard to deceive people, and being a 'Sheep' is tough."
"Then who... were you in the same room with before?" Qi Xia asked again.
The Earth Dog thought for a moment, then slowly spoke, "I can tell you, but that would be somewhat dangerous for me, so I want to verify your identity here."
"Oh?" Qi Xia expressed doubt. "How do you verify it?"
"If you really are Brother White Sheep, you should be able to crack my game at a glance," the Earth Dog said. "I'll tell you the rules of my game now, and you tell me the solution."
Qi Xia nodded. "I'm all ears."
The Earth Dog took out a few sticks and began explaining the rules of his "Disaster Year" game in detail. Before he had even finished, Qi Xia raised his hand to stop him.
"I know the solution," Qi Xia said. "The four rooms represent the 'Four Seasons,' and the 'Four Seasons' need coordination. This game only requires one smart person."
(Feeling a bit feverish. I might need to take a leave in the near future—just giving you a heads-up… I’ll update if I can.)