Chapter 144: Quickly Lightening

Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin slowly turned their heads and saw Tiantian holding a knife, trembling and unsteady.

Her eyes were streaming with tears, and her expression was incredibly complex.

She seemed like she didn't want to die, but she also didn't want to live.

“I, I…” Tiantian said with trembling lips, “I have a way…”

“Hey…” Qiao Jiajin reached out his hand and slowly stood up, “I know you have a way, but put the knife down first.”

Qi Xia also stood up and slowly approached Tiantian: “Your way won't work… Just listen to me first…”

“Don't come closer…” Tiantian stepped back, “I'm sorry, I have no other choice…”

“No!” Qiao Jiajin interrupted, “I just checked the size of that hole. Even if you cut off your hand, it won't fit through! We'd still need time to chop it up, but we don't have any time left!”

Qi Xia swallowed hard and said to Tiantian, “Qiao Jiajin's right. This won't help.”

“But you can't even cut through the iron mesh!” Tiantian cried out desperately, “I have a better way!”

“There's no better way!” Qi Xia shouted back, “Cutting the iron mesh is the only option!”

“No…!” Tiantian knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, “You must have thought of it already… Qi Xia… This is the only real way…”

“That method won't work!!” Qi Xia stepped forward again, “Let's try something else!”

“Qi Xia… I don't want to end up as a pile of charred remains. I've lived a filthy life; at least I want to die looking clean.”

“Qiao Jiajin! Quickly grab the knife from her!!” Qi Xia shouted in panic, “Hurry!”

Before Qiao Jiajin could take a step, Tiantian suddenly raised the knife and slashed it fiercely across the artery on the left side of her neck.

She didn't hesitate at all.

A sound like a bursting pipe erupted suddenly.

Blood sprayed more than a meter high, instantly creating a misty haze like a summer fog, hot and staining everyone's faces red.

The knife clattered to the ground, and Tiantian collapsed.

Blood gushed uncontrollably from her body, raining red onto the floor.

“Tiantian!!”

Qiao Jiajin and Yunyao rushed over at the same time, pressing down on the wound on her neck.

But the blood slipped cunningly through their fingers, impossible to stop.

Yunyao was so anxious that large tears rolled down her cheeks.

She had witnessed countless teammates die in games before, but this was the first time she felt like crying.

Was there really such a foolish girl in this world?

Even knowing she might come back to life, who would willingly choose death?

“I'll throw it!” Qiao Jiajin kept pressing on Tiantian's neck with both hands, but he saw her face turning visibly pale, “Girl… What on earth are you doing…”

Qi Xia slowly covered his forehead.

That familiar pain was coming again.

“Urgh…!”

Qi Xia knelt on the ground, clutching his forehead in agony.

“You liar!”

“Qi Xia!”

Yunyao hurried over to check on him and saw him shaking all over in pain.

“What's going on?” Yunyao asked, “Does Qi Xia have some kind of illness?”

“I don't know…” Qiao Jiajin said, “Liar, where does it hurt?”

Qi Xia didn't answer; he just curled up on the ground, waiting for the intense pain to pass.

The balance of weight was broken once more, and the room began to rise.

Qi Xia knew the key to breaking this level was “bleeding.”

An adult's body could hold up to 5,000 milliliters of blood, roughly equivalent to ten jin in weight.

This was far more than cutting off two hands could achieve.

The weight difference between the two rooms was already small, so if one side could quickly “lose” several jin, victory was certain.

To release a large amount of blood in a short time, slashing an artery was the only method.

After a full half-minute, Qi Xia stood up with a blank expression.

“You…” Yunyao sensed something was off about Qi Xia's expression, “Are you okay?”

“Do I look like I'm not okay?” Qi Xia retorted, then continued expressionlessly, “Just watch. We're going to win.”

Qiao Jiajin and Yunyao exchanged confused glances.

The Qi Xia who had been in so much pain just moments ago now seemed like a different person.

He showed no sadness or panic; he was like a stagnant pool, indifferent to anyone's death.

Qi Xia walked to the wall and looked at the opponents still struggling on the brink of death, then threw the knife out.

Just as Qi Xia said, they were going to win.

As Tiantian's blood flowed out in large quantities, their room began to rise slowly, pulling away from the flames below.

The opponents seemed to try something, but it failed.

The distant room plunged like a moth into the flame, without hesitation.

Screams echoed again.

The flames completely engulfed the room.

Qi Xia turned his head casually and noticed the countdown on the wall had ended.

The moment the countdown finished, their room shook violently, as if flying rapidly.

The three of them steadied themselves against the walls, and after a long while, the room stopped shaking.

“What's happening?” Qiao Jiajin asked.

Qi Xia looked down at the floor; the iron mesh below had turned into wooden flooring, and it seemed they had arrived in a new, unfamiliar place.

Click!

Creak!

A faint sound came from behind, and they saw the wall had turned into a door, now open.

Beyond the door was a corridor.

Directly opposite was another iron door.

Qi Xia led the way out of the room, then turned back to look; behind him was indeed an elevator.

But where had this elevator just taken them?

Was the iron door across from them another elevator?

“Congratulations.” Ren Long stood nearby and spoke, “You've won the game.”

Qi Xia turned to look at him and saw him in the middle of the corridor, with a cabinet on each side containing some clothes.

“My game is all about service,” Ren Long said with a laugh, “I've collected everything you threw out and put it here. Go ahead and get dressed so you don't catch a cold.”

Everyone felt a bit uneasy, but they quietly went over, picked up the clothes, and put them on.

Yunyao's bag and shoes were completely ruined, but she found her makeup items.

“Ren Long… You'll regret toying with me like this.” Qi Xia said after getting dressed.

“Toying with you?” Ren Long's eyes blinked behind the mask, “When did I toy with you?”

With that, he walked to the other iron door and knocked, “Is anyone else coming out?”

The iron door was steaming, but there was no response.

“How strange… I invited you to play on a seesaw, and somehow it ended in deaths.” Ren Long said meaningfully, looking at Qi Xia, “Why do you think that is?”

“What?”

Qi Xia furrowed his brow, staring intently at Ren Long.

Ren Long replied with a smile, “The game rules are simple: just don't move, and when the countdown ends, you can leave.”