Chapter 425: Identity Swap

After about ten minutes, several people kept moving along the road.

It was unclear whether the *Ren Ji Shengxiao* here had heard of the *Mao* or if these individuals were simply too intimidating, but after passing countless game venues, no one approached to solicit this "business."

Another ten minutes passed before the group spotted the *Shu*. He was busy fixing his hair in the mirror.

More precisely, the few sparse strands of hair on his rat head.

It had to be said that the *Shu* looked truly unsettling.

His head was topped with a massive rodent skull, and his enormous front teeth protruded from his mouth, making anyone who saw him feel uncomfortable all over.

He turned his face and caught sight of this strange group, but quickly straightened up and acted as if he hadn't seen anything.

"Tsk!" Zhou Liu called out impatiently, "Hey, hey! Pretending not to see us?"

"Ah..." The *Di Shu* shook his head helplessly, "What brings you leaders here?"

"Tsk, we're here to play games," Zhou Liu said, "Let's just get started."

"What...?" The *Di Shu* seemed confused, "You leaders aren't *Mao*, are you? I'm a *Shu*, but we've kept to our own sides all these years... What's the meaning of this today?"

"Kept to our own sides..." Luo Shiyi sneered after hearing that, "But if the 'river' is in trouble, the water in your 'well' won't be safe either."

Upon hearing this, the *Di Shu* slowly put away his mirror and furrowed his brow. "As I said, leaders... Each to their own path. Even if the *Mao* disbands, it's none of my business. If you come to play my game and end up dying here, won't your leader Qian Wu come for revenge in the next cycle?"

"No," Qi Xia interjected, "You can treat us as ordinary participants."

The *Di Shu* sized up Qi Xia. "This leader, I don't think I've seen you before. Are you *Mao* too?"

"I'm neither a leader nor *Mao*," Qi Xia said, "I'm just an ordinary participant who wants to try your game."

"The world has really changed..." The *Di Shu* reached up to adjust his sideburns, "Have you all followed the wrong leader? Even *Mao* are joining games now...? A group of cats... coming after me, this *Shu*."

"Tsk, what's it got to do with you?" Zhou Liu said, "If Qian Wu wanted to kill you, *Xuanwu* wouldn't stand by. What are you even afraid of?"

"Better safe than sorry—being careful never hurts, right?" the *Di Shu* retorted, "Among you participants, the ones you can't mess with can be counted on one hand, and Qian Wu is one of them."

"That's why I'm telling you not to worry," Qi Xia said, "This time, I'm the team leader, so any issues will be on me."

After hearing that, the *Di Shu* looked Qi Xia over again.

"You're the team leader...?" He showed a hint of disbelief, "You're leading these four people?"

"What's wrong with that?" Qi Xia asked.

"Ha..." The *Di Shu* struggled to hold back a smile, "New in the role, I fear you might not handle the responsibility."

"Doesn't matter," Qi Xia shook his head, "You can set it to *Di Yu Nan Du* for us. I have no objections."

"This leader, what an rude request," the *Di Shu* laughed, "Once our games are set, they can't be changed. I have my own superiors to answer to..."

"Oh...? So *Shengxiao* can't adjust their game difficulty midway?" Qi Xia asked.

"Pfft..." The *Di Shu* looked at Qi Xia like a novice, then turned to the people behind him and said, "Are you all okay with this? Picking some inexperienced fool as your 'team leader'—is that your idea of workplace experience?"

Qi Xia had expected the people behind him to pile on, but to his surprise, Zhou Liu was the first to object.

"Tsk, whether our 'team leader' is green or not is our business. Who the hell are you to say?"

Luo Shiyi added coldly, "Hey, rat-head, even if he's a crap 'team leader,' that's for us to criticize. What gives you the right?"

The seemingly unreliable Wang Ba and the furious Qiu Shiliu chimed in agreement.

"Yeah, since when does a *Mao* team leader get criticized by you?"

Qi Xia never imagined the situation would turn out this way, and strangely, it made him feel more at ease.

No matter how unreliable these people seemed, the *Mao* were still the *Mao*. For them to have survived this long, their members must be top-tier experts.

"All right, all right..." The *Di Shu* waved his hand helplessly, "You were just saying to treat you as ordinary participants, and now you're giving off full *Mao* vibes."

He then looked back at Qi Xia. "Hey!"

"What?"

"Even if I don't change the difficulty, can you guarantee you'll survive my game one hundred percent?" the *Di Shu* laughed, "Just a heads-up—this game, I'll be participating in it myself."

Qi Xia frowned slightly at that.

In a *Di Ji You Xi*, it was rare for a *Shengxiao* to join personally.

For one to participate alongside the players, it either meant they were completely insane or they had absolute confidence in winning.

So, which was this *Di Shu*?

"In other words... this game won't be too easy."

A slight smile crept onto Qi Xia's lips. The harder, the better.

This time, the game needed to be challenging.

"What's your game about?" Qi Xia asked.

"It's practically tailor-made for you all," the *Di Shu* said with a mysterious smile, "An intense and thrilling *Mao Shu You Xi*."

"*Mao Shu You Xi*...?" Qi Xia raised an eyebrow, "We're the *Mao*, and you're the *Shu*?"

"Of course not..." The *Di Shu* grinned, baring his two large front teeth, "Roles reversed—you *Mao* will play the *Shu*, and I'll be the 'cat' as the *Di Shu*."

Qi Xia nodded slightly. "So, it's a 'chase' type game?"

"How crude..." The *Di Shu* chuckled, then reached up to smooth the hair on his head, "If it were just a simple chase, how would that set me apart from those brute *Niu* and *Ma*?"

"Oh...?" Qi Xia furrowed his brow at him, "If it's not a 'chase,' then what's the point of *Mao Shu*?"

"Cats and rats aren't stupid animals..." The *Di Shu* pointed to his forehead, "In many places, a rat starves if it doesn't steal food, and a cat is useless if it can't catch rats. Only by racking your brains can you win in this life-or-death struggle that plays out in the real world every day."

"Racking your brains?" Qi Xia nodded, "That suits me just fine."