Chapter 802: One for One
Qi Xia walked on the road for a long time, then looked up at the bead above his head.
If he didn't find the Earth Ox soon, the bead would likely disappear before long, after all, the so-called "Heavenly Serpent Hour" could only last for at most two hours.
He had no watch or clock now, and no way to know the time, but Qi Xia felt that the Si hour was about to pass.
He shook his head and absorbed the memories coming from his brain.
"Though it's risky... it also confirms that this method works," Qi Xia said, looking at the bead above his head again. "Using 'Endless Life' to 'rewind time'—Qinglong, did you see that? 'Time' does not exist. We can only see the traces of 'time' on each person. As long as we can rewind a 'person,' in theory, we've rewound 'time.'"
He looked down at his own hands again, his belief in the underlying logic of the entire "Land of Endings" growing even stronger.
This was a bizarre place operating on the overwhelming power of "Endless Life." People kept rewinding in place, yet time surged forward across this land. A strange paradox had been born many years ago.
Was it the people who were stuck in place, or was it the world?
Qi Xia walked for about another ten minutes following the map in his hand and finally saw the game venue of that "Zodiac."
The venue was much larger than Qi Xia had imagined—it appeared to be an abandoned outdoor football field.
The only thing that puzzled Qi Xia was how dilapidated the football field was. If the map hadn't clearly marked its location, even Qi Xia wouldn't have dared to confirm this was the Earth Ox's game venue.
He had visited many "Zodiacs" before, and the football field before him was clearly the shabbiest—so shabby it seemed abnormal.
Was it because it was outdoors? Or did the "Zodiac" working here never bother to maintain their own venue?
Qi Xia arrived at the front of the venue. There was no "Zodiac" in sight, but he could faintly hear several distant shouts coming from inside the field. So he put away his map and walked straight through the main entrance into the outdoor football field.
With the wide-open view, the first thing Qi Xia saw was the pitch, which had completely turned into yellow earth, barren of any grass. Then his eyes landed on the group of people in the center of the field.
A remarkably thin Earth Ox was pulling a pitch-black rope, and at the other end of the rope was a cluster of six participants.
This seemed to be a tug-of-war match that looked fair on the surface but was actually unreasonable upon closer inspection.
The six men gripped the rope with bulging veins on their hands and arms, their bodies leaning backward. Each one gritted their teeth, putting in enough force to kill someone. They seemed to have a clear division of labor—some were in charge of shouting commands, while others tied the rope around their waists.
But the thin Earth Ox stood straight, holding the rope steadily with both hands. The pitch-black rope was taut in midair, yet it never budged an inch.
Qi Xia stood in the distance, quietly watching this match with no suspense. Soon, a question arose in his mind.
The Earth Ox still seemed to have plenty of strength left. It could have ended the game instantly, yet it never let the "participants" lose. It just kept pulling the rope without exerting full force, as if it were toying with them.
What did this mean?
On the other side, the six participants' expressions gradually turned pained. Their hands holding the rope turned red. Only when they were all trembling did the Earth Ox stomp its foot on the ground and suddenly exert force. The rope tightened instantly, sending all the "participants" sprawling to the ground.
Seeing this, Qi Xia frowned slightly. This game seemed far too strange.
Although each Earth-level game had a different format, they all shared a core: "killing."
No matter how he thought about it, this tug-of-war game couldn't possibly lead to the "participants'" deaths. So what was the point of the Earth Ox's game?
Qi Xia recalled how the Earth Ox had just kept pulling the rope, draining all the "participants'" stamina, and suddenly understood something. "No... the game isn't over."
Sure enough, just as all the participants lay sprawled on the ground panting heavily, the Earth Ox walked forward slowly and spoke to them. "First round over. Now you can choose whether to proceed with the second round."
Only when this person spoke did Qi Xia realize that the thin Earth Ox was a woman.
"Second... round?" A burly man lying on the ground looked up at the Earth Ox. "What second round?"
The Earth Ox reached into the pocket on its chest, pulled out a dagger, and threw it.
The dagger left her hand, spun in the air, and stuck into the ground.
"One human life for one of my limbs," the Earth Ox said. "You can choose which teammate to sacrifice. For each one sacrificed, I'll use one less limb. Up to four people. If you can win the tug-of-war with fewer people, the reward doubles for each person lost. Or you can choose to leave now. That's up to you."
"What does 'use one less limb' mean?" a tall, thin man asked.
"Isn't it easy to understand?" The Earth Ox put one hand behind its back and said to the group, "I can pull the rope with just one hand, or use no hands at all and tie the rope around my waist. I can even stand on one foot. In short, you get to choose which limb I don't use. Is that clear enough?"
At this point, Qi Xia curled the corner of his mouth slightly. The situation was about what he had expected. The only thing he hadn't anticipated was "the reward doubles for each person lost." The participants now faced a difficult trade-off.
Would they give up all their "tickets" and leave, or would they invest a greater cost for an exorbitant return?
Perhaps in any other place, people could rationally judge that trading a life for anything was a loss. But in the "Land of Endings," that simply wasn't the case.
"I suggest we sacrifice Brother Wang," one man said. "Brother Wang has 'Resonated.' After we earn the 'Tao,' we can share it with him next time. Otherwise, it'd be too much of a loss to leave now."
"What...?" A man's eyes went wide—he was presumably the "Brother Wang" in question. "What the hell kind of talk is that? What if I die and we still can't win? I'll have died for nothing!"
"I have a suggestion...!" a fat man wearing glasses said.
"What suggestion? Spit it out!" Brother Wang, looking as if he'd found a lifeline, asked anxiously.
The fat man pushed up his glasses and said seriously, "People only have four limbs. That 'Zodiac' said one life for one limb! If we sacrifice four lives, it's a guaranteed win."