Chapter 804: Explosive Power
"Kid!" Brother Wang looked up at Qi Xia at this moment. "You don't know how to deal with that black bead on your head yet, do you? If you just help us draw lots fairly, I'll tell you how to handle that black bead next. Deal?"
"Ha." Qi Xia grinned. "Sounds incredibly tempting."
"You understand what I'm saying, right?" Brother Wang continued. "None of us can touch those two scratched 'Taos'—only you can. So you have to be 'fair.' Only then can I tell you the way to be saved. Got it?"
The man deliberately emphasized the word "fair" and gave Qi Xia a wink.
But Qi Xia looked at him as if watching a clown, eventually shaking his head helplessly and muttering softly, "Maybe the ones who survive will end up worse off than the ones who die."
"That's not your concern. You just need to make sure it's 'fair.'" Brother Wang reached out and squeezed Qi Xia's shoulder, then said, "Be smart, kid. I won't treat you unfairly."
"I'll try to be smart." Qi Xia nodded in agreement.
Seeing that he had convinced Qi Xia, the man nodded with satisfaction and turned around to ask, "Who wants to draw first? Should we rock-paper-scissors?"
The six people ultimately decided to use rock-paper-scissors to determine the order of the draw. Qi Xia also turned his head to look at Di Niu, who stood alone, always expressionless and staring in his direction.
He had once seen Di Niu in the "Black Bear Hunting" game and felt that Di Niu's physical games were relatively simple—even having a powerful brain was useless.
As long as you had strong enough physical strength, you had a high chance of winning this game. For example, if the last two remaining were Qiao Jiajin and Zhang Shan, Di Niu would have a hard time gaining an advantage.
Then Qi Xia scanned the six people standing before him and noticed that only the bespectacled fat man could have a slight advantage in a tug-of-war. The rest didn't have much of an edge.
They finished their rock-paper-scissors and stepped up one by one to draw their fate from Qi Xia's hand. Qi Xia also employed a few tricks—using verbal guidance and eye cues—to ensure that the survivors turned out to be Brother Wang and the fat man.
"Hey! How did this happen?!" Brother Wang feigned confusion with poor acting. "I already had my 'Echo'! And yet I survived?!"
The four who drew death clearly had grim expressions, but since it was decided by a stranger's draw, no one could raise any objections.
At that moment, Brother Wang turned his head and gave Qi Xia an approving look.
"Ha..." Qi Xia slowly stood up, looking at the six men before him as if they were a group of monkeys. "Interesting."
"Have you decided?" Di Niu spoke up at just the right moment. "If you're not ready to accept the second challenge, then I'll have to ask you to leave my game venue now."
Upon hearing Di Niu's reminder, Brother Wang quickly turned around to press the advantage: "Everyone! Since we've already drawn the lots, we have to accept fate this time. You know me—normally, I would never trade my teammates for 'Tao.' But this is different. This is nine hundred and sixty 'Taos'! That's way too many!"
Under the double pressure from Di Niu and Brother Wang, the bespectacled fat man quickly chimed in: "Brother Wang is right. You can figure it out yourselves—how many times would we have to die to earn nine hundred and sixty 'Taos'? Sure, you guys look like you're dying, but in the end, it's just one death! Do the math yourselves! Do you want to keep dying, or die just once?"
"But the two of us don't have our 'Echo'..." A tall, thin man pointed at himself and another middle-aged man. "Brother Wang... could you switch with me...?"
After they talked it over, Qi Xia discovered that among the four about to die, two didn't have their 'Echo.' For them, death meant "farewell."
"Isn't it better to forget?!" The fat man grabbed the tall, thin man and said, "The reason we're all afraid of death is the fear it brings. As long as you forget you ever died, it's as if you never died at all!"
After saying that, he turned and pointed at Brother Wang. "Don't think Brother Wang isn't afraid of death just because he has his 'Echo.' When he resurrects next time, he'll still remember the fear before death and the pain of dying. That's torture for anyone! Facing imminent death, losing your memory is a blessing!"
Two of them felt there was some truth in it, while the other two 'Echoers' didn't take death so seriously. After discussing for a long time, they decided to end their own lives with a knife.
But suicide and being killed were clearly two completely different levels of difficulty. Several of them kept passing the knife to each other, none able to bring themselves to do the deed.
Seeing the group growing chaotic, Di Niu stepped forward slowly and said softly, "I have a suggestion."
Everyone turned to look at her.
"Since you've already decided which teammates will die, and everyone volunteered to draw lots, why don't I help you do it?" After speaking, Di Niu looked up at the sky. "If we delay any longer, I'll start to feel anxious. Do you agree?"
The group exchanged glances and felt it was the best option under the circumstances. At least Di Niu would be professional, and their suffering would be brief.
Hearing their agreement, Di Niu darted forward, snatched the dagger from one man's hand, and in just a few seconds, made clean cuts across each person's neck. They hadn't even had time to fall or for fear to register in their eyes before the wounds burst open.
Four rivers of blood gushed from their necks, and they slowly knelt to the ground amid the sound of "rain," clutching their throats.
Brother Wang and the fat man beside him swallowed hard. Even though this had all been prearranged, watching a ground-level "Zodiac" kill people sent chills down their spines. They seemed to treat human lives like ants—no hesitation before killing, no hesitation after.
Di Niu then walked over to the four fallen bodies, grabbed two by the ankles with each hand, and, turning herself into a slingshot, suddenly exploded with power from her core, lifting the two like small pebbles over her head and hurling them far away. This time, she clearly exerted force throughout her body, leaving shallow footprints in the ground beneath her feet.
(This paragraph is to apologize to everyone, and also to say some things from the heart. If you don't want to read it, fellow readers, you don't have to scroll down—just go straight to the next chapter. Thank you. Lately, I've been feeling groggy after catching the flu. I had been writing for over 120 consecutive days before taking my first break this month. In between, I've been doing signings for the physical books and participating in various author events, handwriting 10,000 words daily plus typing 4,000. I didn't want to stop updating, but the flu caught up with me again, making me too fatigued. I've been writing in a daze a lot, which caused a poor reading experience for everyone. I sincerely apologize and will try to be more careful with the text from now on. I've thought about pausing to maintain quality, but too many readers look forward to the story every day, so I'll do my best to overcome all difficulties and keep updating. If you spot typos or logic issues, feel free to tag me or contact me through any platform, and I'll fix them promptly. That's the first thing.)
(Second, some people have mentioned that I revised earlier paragraphs, suspecting that I changed things because I wrote myself into a corner. Some have used this to stir up trouble. Actually, those who know me or have read the book twice should know that I've revised far more than just one part. If anyone has screenshots of the entire story, they'd probably find at least a hundred places different from the original. But the overall direction of the story has never changed, because every revision is a fine-tuning, not a major rewrite. So it won't cause a jarring disconnect for readers who have already read it. Regarding this, I'll openly admit it to anyone who asks, because I firmly believe that good works are polished, not dashed out on a whim. After finishing my previous book, I also spent about two months going back to the beginning and fine-tuning the entire book. The fine-tuning included: typos, phrasing techniques, emotional expression, subtle logic, side character relationships, better ways that readers suggested, making foreshadowing smoother, and many other complicated aspects. This book will be the same. I'll not only fine-tune while writing, but I'll also fine-tune from the beginning after the story is complete. After all, readers who understand this work should know that this book's style might not be suitable for serialization, because I basically don't use "linear narrative." It's closer to a "circular narrative" where the end connects to the beginning. From the moment I put pen to paper, I had already conceived the prequel, the start, the development, and the ending. To make it look more like a highly cohesive work with a strong sense of beginning and end, I spend not only half my time writing every day but also a long time reading my own book and making many fine adjustments. This might sound easy to say, but it actually takes me about ten hours a day. If someone thinks this is an unacceptable, absurd mistake, I accept all criticism and understand everyone's thoughts. But I probably won't change. I will continue to go back and revise, fine-tune my work, because I want to take responsibility for it. Compared to everyone else, I hope for this book's success more than anyone. Thank you to everyone who understands—your understanding is making 'The End of Ten Days' better and better. And thank you to those who don't understand me—your doubts are also lighthouses in the growth of 'The End of Ten Days.' Thank you to everyone who has left their thoughts. That's about it. I've said what I wanted to say. I'll stop taking up your reading time now! Let's go!)
(Oh, right, since I've said so much, I'll add one more thing. There's no way I would meet a reader on a train and then discuss future plotlines and outlines with them. Those who know me should know I'm not that extroverted. Please be careful.)