Chapter 145: Unachievable Dream

"You fucking bastard, are you messing with us?!" Qiao Jia Jin grabbed Ren Long's collar with tremendous strength.

"How could that be?" Ren Long shook his head. "I already told you this game is 'Seesaw'—why are you turning on each other? Ha ha ha ha!"

In an instant, Qiao Jia Jin tackled him to the ground and landed a heavy punch on his face.

"You're spouting bullshit!" Qiao Jia Jin gritted his teeth and said, "If it's 'Seesaw', how can we stay balanced the whole time? Even if one person moves a step, everything falls apart! This is a game where someone's bound to die! You killed someone, and now you're just making snide remarks?"

Ren Long, having taken the punch, laughed even louder.

"Well, he killed them with his own hands!" Ren Long laughed wildly. "The killer isn't me—it's him!!"

As he laughed maniacally, Ren Long pointed at Qi Xia. "He's a big liar! He deceived all of you!! Who was the first to suggest 'getting lighter'?! Ha ha ha ha ha!!"

"You're still trying to sow discord..." Qiao Jia Jin viciously moved his hand and slowly gripped Ren Long's neck. "Are you really forcing me to kill someone...?"

Ren Long struggled like an ordinary person, but when he couldn't break free, he smiled again and shouted with difficulty, "Ha ha... Kill the referee... Kill the referee..."

Yun Yao quickly stepped forward and pulled him away. "Qiao Jia Jin... Stop! You'll bring down the higher-ups!"

Qiao Jia Jin paused slightly. "The higher-ups?"

"That's right." Qi Xia nodded expressionlessly. "Qiao Jia Jin, let go."

"You little trickster..." Qiao Jia Jin stared at Qi Xia in confusion, unsure of his intentions.

"What's the matter... Not going to kill me?" Ren Long lay on the ground, laughing. "Put a bit more force into it... I'll be dead soon..."

Qi Xia glanced at Ren Long calmly, then turned back and said indifferently, "Let's go..."

"You little trickster... What are you up to?" Qiao Jia Jin asked.

"It's nothing. The game is over; it's time to leave."

Qiao Jia Jin looked devastated. He gritted his teeth and walked back into the room, picking up Tian Tian's body from the floor. Her face was deathly pale, and her body had become eerily light.

"Don't be afraid, beauty—I'll take you away."

The three of them ignored Ren Long, who was lying on the ground, and were about to leave the corridor when they suddenly heard a faint coughing sound from another iron door.

"Someone's still alive?" Yun Yao was startled and looked toward the iron door.

Qi Xia thought for a moment. The other room had fallen into the fire for twenty or thirty seconds, so survival was possible, but what should they do now...?

"I'll check." Yun Yao stepped forward decisively. "We were the ones who got them into this mess. If we leave them here, they'll definitely die."

She knocked on the door. "Is anyone there?"

The iron door was scorching hot, and there was no response from inside.

At that moment, crisp footsteps echoed from the other end of the corridor. Everyone turned and jumped in fright.

It was another "Ren Long."

She walked with graceful, swaying steps, clearly a woman.

The woman approached the man lying on the ground, helped him up, and then turned to the group. "Do you want to open the door? I can help you."

Qi Xia and Qiao Jia Jin stared at her without saying a word.

This was the first time two "Zodiac" figures had appeared together, and both were "Dragon"—it felt ominous.

"Open the door," Yun Yao said, snapping back to her senses. "I want to bring them out."

"Heh..." The woman smiled faintly. "As you wish."

With a gentle wave of her hand, the other iron door swung open.

A wave of scorching heat burst out, followed by the pungent smell of charred flesh.

"Cough... cough..."

The coughing continued from inside, making Qi Xia's heart skip a beat.

He felt like he'd heard that voice somewhere before.

"No... it can't be..." Qi Xia's eyes widened as he stumbled toward the room's entrance.

Yun Yao and Qiao Jia Jin sensed something was wrong and quickly approached the room.

Inside, half of Li Jing Guan's body was horribly burned beyond recognition. His left hand had been severed, and he was now fumbling with his right hand in his pocket for something.

No wonder their room had started rising slowly after the first fall into the flames.

Li Jing Guan had cut off his own hand, and he was bleeding.

But his bleeding was much slower than Tian Tian's.

"Why...?"

Qi Xia's pupils trembled. Next to Li Jing Guan lay three already charred corpses.

Their clothes had burned away and fused with their skin, speeding up their deaths.

Li Jing Guan had likely survived this long because he had removed his own shirt.

Qi Xia had calculated everything, but he never anticipated Li Jing Guan being on the other side.

"Qi... Xia...?" Li Jing Guan's voice was completely hoarse. "Thank god... you're here... Come quickly..."

A massive bell tolled at that moment, as if on cue.

Qi Xia slowly walked over to Li Jing Guan and knelt down beside him.

His mind throbbed with pain because he saw three "Dao" lying next to Li Jing Guan.

Li Jing Guan continued fumbling in his pocket.

Why was it Li Jing Guan on the other side?

Who was on his team?

Were Lin Geng, Zhang Lü Shi, and Han Yi Mo here too?

"Three 'Dao'... Look... I've got three 'Dao' out..." Li Jing Guan forced a smile and said, "There's hope... Just wait a bit longer..."

"I'm not in a hurry... Li Jing Guan... I'm not in a hurry..." Qi Xia bit his lip, staring at the three "Dao" on the ground with a look of utter despair.

Li Jing Guan already had three "Dao."

In other words, he hadn't "produced" a single one.

"Qi Xia... I'll get everyone out... No one has to die..." He kept searching his pocket, but tears streamed down his face.

The pocket was empty, and he knew it better than anyone.

Why was the pocket empty?

"I believe in you, Li Jing Guan." Qi Xia said softly, "Don't feel burdened..."

Li Jing Guan fumbled for a long time and cried for just as long.

"I..." Blood began to seep from Li Jing Guan's eyes, mixing with his tears—he must have burned his eyes.

After a while, the tall man finally choked out, "Qi Xia, I'm sorry... I can't do it..."

Li Jing Guan was fading.

His eyes lost their focus as he reached into his pocket one last time.

Qi Xia clutched his forehead, unsure how to handle what came next.

He could see others die without warning, but he didn't want to witness a good person in despair.

Li Jing Guan groped around frantically, then suddenly looked shocked.

He squeezed out a smile and tremblingly pulled his hand out, opening it for Qi Xia to see. Sure enough, there was a "Dao" in his palm.

"Look... Qi Xia... Look..." he rasped, "It's possible... I can do it... This method works... No one has to die..."

Before Qi Xia could take the "Dao," Li Jing Guan suddenly vomited a torrent of blood, convulsed violently, and his hand dropped to the floor.

The bell tolled again—he was gone.

Qi Xia's expression was incredibly complex.

He stared at the extra "Dao" for a long time, unable to calm down.

Could Li Jing Guan really conjure a "Dao" out of nowhere?

Instinctively, Qi Xia checked his own pocket and smiled despairingly.

The "Dao" that Li Jing Guan had given him earlier was no longer there.