Chirping of Insects

Lin Qin was startled by Qi Xia's actions and hurriedly came forward to hold him back:

"Qi Xia... Calm down..."

She didn't quite understand why Qi Xia, who was usually composed, had suddenly become irritable.

Qi Xia still hadn't let go, tightly gripping Dr. Zhao's collar and gritting his teeth, he said: "How do you expect me to calm down? Do you know how many people I've seen die in front of me today?!"

After hearing this, Lin Qin silently lowered her head.

Yes, from the very beginning with the 'Rat', to the end with Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian, they had experienced too many moments of imminent death.

"No wonder..." Qi Xia continued, "No wonder your first reaction upon hearing someone entering the door was to hit them with a wooden board... You knew that Officer Li and Lawyer Zhang would never come back, right?"

Dr. Zhao's face showed a hint of panic: "No... Qi Xia, listen to me, I had no choice, they really wanted to go and get themselves killed..."

"Get themselves killed?" Qi Xia sneered, "You've never stepped out of this room, so you know nothing about this place. Officer Li must have talked with the living head across the street and realized that the games here don't result in death. Instead, it's possible to obtain the 'Way', which is why he left with Lawyer Zhang."

"Ah?" Dr. Zhao showed a puzzled expression, looking like he was genuinely hearing this news for the first time, "No death? How, how could that be?"

At this moment, Xiao Ran got up from the ground, wiped the mud from her face, and turned around with an angry expression: "Zhao Haibo! What are you still doing there?! They're bullying us!"

"But, but I..." Dr. Zhao's face was clearly not looking good.

"Useless!" Xiao Ran shouted anxiously, "How can you be so useless?!"

Qi Xia looked at Xiao Ran and then at Dr. Zhao, suddenly feeling disheartened.

Where did he still have time to tangle with these two?

Thinking of this, he silently let go of his grip.

Qi Xia was now completely at a loss for direction.

Where would Officer Li and Lawyer Zhang have gone?

Have they seen the 'Earthly Branch' starting with the 'Zodiac'?

Have they participated in the life-threatening game?

Are they still alive?

The chirping of insects outside grew louder, as if a cricket was perched right outside the door, making it impossible to calm down and think.

"Qi Xia, what should we do?" Lin Qin asked with a sad face.

Qi Xia raised his head and asked Dr. Zhao, "Did the two of them say where they were going?"

He held onto a glimmer of hope in his heart.

Officer Li, being cautious, would surely leave a clue if he were to go far away.

"No..." Dr. Zhao shook his head, "But I saw them go right after participating in the Ox Head game across the street..."

"Right?" Qi Xia looked at the dark sky outside and began to silently ponder.

Officer Li probably wouldn't have gone too far, just wanting to distance himself from these two people.

After all, he had told himself that he hoped to meet again one day to exchange information.

In that case, he should still be active in this area, except for the street opposite.

Having determined the general direction, Qi Xia felt more grounded.

Although it was dark outside, he really didn't want to stay in the same place as these two people.

He then picked up a stick from inside the room, slowly walked over to Han Yimo's body, and whispered, "Brother, even in death, you're not at peace. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"What are you going to do now?" Xiao Ran asked with an unpleasant tone.

Qi Xia didn't answer but tore off a piece of cloth from Han Yimo's body, wrapped it around the top of the stick, and then smeared some dry dirt on the ground with the stick.

After completing this, he went to the fire inside the room, ignited the side with the cloth piece, and a simple torch was made.

"Lin, I'm going out to look for them," Qi Xia said, "I don't know if there will be any danger outside, but I don't want to stay here. Do you want to wait here until dawn? No matter if I find them or not, I will come back for you at dawn."

After hearing this, Lin Qin turned her head to look at Xiao Ran and the others, shook her head, and said, "No, I'll go with you."

With that, she picked up the pot containing the bear meat and stood beside Qi Xia.

"What's this..." Dr. Zhao finally noticed the old aluminum pot, his eyes shining.

"It's..." Lin paused and then shook her head, "It's nothing."

"Is it food?!" Dr. Zhao immediately took a step forward, "Have you found something to eat?"

Xiao Ran's face also changed slightly: "There's something to eat?"

Their eyes turned from human to those of extremely hungry wild animals.

Qi Xia pulled Lin behind him, creating a barrier between them, and said slowly:

"I'm sorry, but this food is not for you to eat."

"Qi, Qi Xia..." Dr. Zhao said tremulously, "No, Xia Ge... We were a bit overboard just now, please don't take it to heart."

"Yes, that's right..." Xiao Ran also tried to force a smile, "There's no one in the world who doesn't argue. Besides, as a big man, do you really want to be angry with me, a woman? We were just joking with you just now..."

"That's right, that's right..." Dr. Zhao and Xiao Ran sang the same tune, "You have a lot in that pot, we'll just have a little bit, we won't eat it all..."

Qi Xia's face darkened again as he said, "The food in this pot was earned by Qiao Jia Jin risking his life. You can ask him, and if he agrees, I have no objection."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran's expression changed, and after a moment's pause, she lunged directly at the pot.

Qi Xia had anticipated this move and could only sigh helplessly, reaching out to stop her.

"So, no more 'tricking', now it's 'stealing'?" Qi Xia said with a hint of sarcasm, "There is no place in this world that is 'lawless'. I advise you to think clearly, your team 'originally' had a police officer."

"You..." Qi Xia snorted coldly, pushed Xiao Ran away, and walked out the door with the torch, followed closely by Lin Qin.

Xiao Ran and Dr. Zhao now understood what it meant for a 'cooked duck to fly away'.

The pot with a faint aroma was right in front of them, yet they couldn't even touch it.

"Don't go!" Xiao Ran shouted and followed Qi Xia outside.

The world outside the door was pitch black, except for the dim light of the torch and the chirping of insects.

But what Xiao Ran didn't expect was that Qi Xia and Lin Qin were standing quietly three steps away from the door with their backs to her, not moving.

"Hmm?"

In a few seconds, she saw Qi Xia and Lin Qin slowly take another step back.

"Hey, what's wrong with you guys?" Xiao Ran asked.

Lin turned her head back like a robot, her eyes filled with fear. She put a finger to her lips, signaling for silence.

"Is there something wrong with you?" Xiao Ran said irritably, "You can go if you want! Just leave the pot behind!"

After saying this, Xiao Ran felt something was off.

The torch in Qi Xia's hand illuminated a small area, and under the dim light, it seemed as if something was moving.

The next second, Xiao Ran saw clearly what was under the light, her eyes widened instantly, and her face filled with an expression of extreme fear.

Right in front of Qi Xia, there was an emaciated, pale, and naked man.

He was crawling on all fours, with his legs stretched behind him, moving on the ground in a highly unnatural posture.

On his gaunt face, two hollowed-out eye sockets were visible, and his mouth was open, continuously making a sound:

"Cold, cold, chirp chirp—

"Cold, cold, chirp chirp—