The two of them carried an old aluminum pot, continuously making their way through the city.
Qi Xia had never thought that a city without lights would be even darker than the wilderness.
Just after walking for more than ten minutes, the sky darkened as if ink had been dropped into it.
The cold chirping of insects echoed around them, causing Qi Xia to feel restless.
"Lin Qin, are you still there?" Qi Xia asked.
"I'm still here," Lin responded, "Walk a bit slower, be careful not to fall."
"We can't walk any slower," Qi Xia glanced at the sky, "It's barely possible to see the road right now. We need to get to the convenience store as soon as possible, grab onto my clothes."
Lin Qin nodded, reaching out to hold onto Qi Xia's clothing.
The two of them, relying on their memory, walked for about twenty more minutes before they finally arrived at the square where they had arrived earlier.
Fortunately, the view here was open, and they could generally make out the outline.
Heading east into the square, they saw a store with a flickering light.
That should be the location of the convenience store.
"A fire..." Lin was somewhat puzzled, "How did they find a source of fire?"
She quickly understood, there was a female clerk in the store. When the group met her, she was making a fire to cook, so it was likely that the fire source was borrowed from her.
The two of them advanced towards the light in the midst of the darkness, finally arriving at the entrance of the convenience store.
What was strange to them was that the restaurant opposite the convenience store, which originally had a living person standing in it, had now disappeared.
"Officer Li, Lawyer Zhang, are you there?" Lin Qin tentatively asked, "Xiao Ran, Dr. Zhao?"
There was clearly movement inside the house, but no one answered.
"What's going on?"
Lin Qin was about to go inside to have a look when Qi Xia pulled her back.
"Stay back, I'll go in first," he whispered to Lin.
Accompanying the cold chirping of insects, the two of them entered the store.
But as soon as Qi Xia stepped through the door, a wooden board flew towards his face.
Fortunately, Qi Xia was prepared and quickly dodged backward, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.
"Ah...!" Lin exclaimed in surprise, quickly supporting Qi Xia, "Are you alright?"
They then saw that the person holding the wooden board inside the house was none other than Dr. Zhao, with Xiao Ran following behind him.
Dr. Zhao looked at Qi Xia and then at Lin, finally forcing a smile and saying:
I didn't realize it was you two.
I thought it was someone else...
Qi Xia carefully examined the two of them, his face showing a bit of confusion.
Dr. Zhao was naked except for a white coat, not even wearing shoes, wearing the white coat like a trench coat wrapped around him, his face was very unnatural.
And behind him, Xiao Ran's hair was disheveled, her clothes were disarrayed, and her makeup was smeared.
The two clung tightly together like a beaten couple.
Qi Xia more or less understood the situation in front of him but did not know why this situation had occurred.
"Qi, Qi Xia, don't misunderstand..." Dr. Zhao said with a forced smile, "Xiao Ran said she seemed to be injured, and I was examining her."
"Why are you explaining to him?!" Xiao Ran nudged Dr. Zhao with her elbow, "Hesitating, are you even a man?"
Qi Xia shook his head, "I don't want to meddle in your business, where are Officer Li and Lawyer Zhang?"
"Ah..." Dr. Zhao again showed an embarrassed smile, "The two of them went out during the day to explore the surrounding area and haven't come back yet."
"What?" Qi Xia frowned, "They still haven't come back?"
Now, as the sky has completely darkened, Officer Li said he would investigate the nearby area, so it is unlikely that the two would stay outside overnight.
If they haven't come back yet, are they dead?
Or... are these two lying?
Qi Xia slowly walked into the room, surveying the situation.
Although the ground was still very messy, there were no signs of fresh blood, nor any signs of a struggle.
Inside the room, a faint bonfire was burning, and not far away, Han Yimo's corpse was lying there, making the atmosphere both warm and eerie.
Qi Xia turned his head to look at the two who seemed to be acting like thieves, slowly opening his mouth to ask:
"You two are not a team? It's dark, and they haven't come back, yet you two are not worried and have the leisure to play here?"
"That... there's no point in worrying," Dr. Zhao said, "It's so dark, we can't go out to search, we can only wait until dawn..."
"What's it to you?!" Xiao Ran shouted angrily, "When did it become your turn to worry about the people in our team?"
Qi Xia did not answer, walked to the staff rest room, and gently pushed the door open.
Inside, the female clerk was in the corner, facing the wall, muttering something to herself.
It seems she has been here all along without moving.
Qi Xia closed the door, then looked back at Dr. Zhao, after all, Dr. Zhao was still someone he could communicate with.
"Is the 'Way' still here?" Qi Xia asked.
"This..." Dr. Zhao's face was clearly a bit defensive, "Qi Xia, what exactly have you come for?"
"I've come to borrow the 'Way'," Qi Xia said, "The 'Way' that was placed here during the day, I want to borrow it and will return it doubled."
"Borrow the 'Way'?" Dr. Zhao thought for a moment, then looked at them.
"Where is your 'Way'? What about that thug and prostitute?"
"They have names," Lin suddenly spoke up, "Don't refer to them like that."
"Oh..." Dr. Zhao nodded perfunctorily.
"What kind of pretense is this..." Xiao Ran wrapped her clothes around herself and also came forward, "Aren't they two not participating in the game and then died?"
Qi Xia's face was heavy, and he nodded slightly: "Something like that."
"Ha!" Xiao Ran sneered, her face full of mockery, "Didn't you swear to collect three thousand six hundred 'Ways' to leave here? Now you've killed your teammates and come to borrow our 'Way'?"
After hearing this, Qi Xia raised his eyebrows, looked at the woman, and said faintly: "Although it is true, I advise you to stop."
Dr. Zhao quickly stepped in to mediate: "Forget it, let's talk it out..."
Then he turned his head to look at Qi Xia: "It's not that we don't want to lend it to you, but Officer Li took the 'Way' away..."
"Taken away?" Qi Xia paused.
"That's right." Dr. Zhao pointed to the restaurant across the door and said, "After you left, the two of them went there to participate in the game and seemed to have won. Then they went somewhere else."
Qi Xia followed Dr. Zhao's finger and soon noticed something amiss: "What do you mean by 'seemed' to have won? You're so close, and you don't even know if they won or not?"
"Ah..." Dr. Zhao wrinkled his brow and forced a dry laugh, "Originally, Xiao Ran didn't want to let them take the 'Way' out, but Officer Li insisted on going to see... They had different opinions and had an argument, so we couldn't ask and just let them go. After all, who would want to join them in such a suicidal act..."
"Let them go?"
Qi Xia's eyes widened instantly, and he grabbed Dr. Zhao's collar with great force.
"Ouch?"
Xiao Ran was stunned after seeing this and hurriedly pounced on Qi Xia: "What are you doing?!"
Qi Xia sidestepped, then tripped Xiao Ran with a sweep of his foot, causing her to fall flat on her face in the dirty ground, a true 'face plant'.
Qi Xia took a deep breath and said to Dr. Zhao with a fierce tone: "I've been polite to you for the sake of Officer Li, but you guys have actually gone your separate ways?!"