"Hmm?"
Qi Xia was taken aback; he didn't expect Lin's concern to be about this.
"Are you overthinking it?" Qi Xia shook his head and said, "Every day, I hold Xiao An until she falls asleep, and then I sit by the desk myself."
"Oh..." Lin nodded as if she had suddenly let go of a concern, "Isn't that tiring for you?"
"I don't have much to say about it," Qi Xia said, "In my line of work, if I let my guard down for a moment, what awaits me could very well be an abyss."
"Is that so?" Lin responded with a vague understanding, then murmured to herself, "Actually, I'm really curious about you. You seem to be a very intelligent person, but you end up making a living by deceiving others..."
Hearing this, Qi Xia silently lowered his head.
"I don't want to either," he said, "But it's the only thing I can do."
The long night of the second day was even longer than the first.
The dark night hung in the sky, like a friend who hadn't seen each other in a long time, reluctant to leave.
Although both Qi Xia and Lin Qin managed to get some sleep, they still felt sore and unbearable at dawn.
Dr. Zhao and Xiao Ran seemed to have not slept at all night. They were constantly watching the door and Qi Xia, and both of their faces were somewhat haggard, with dark circles under their eyes.
They were not only afraid that the "bugs" outside the door would rush in, but also afraid that Qi Xia would raise a black giant sword and murder them at dawn.
Fortunately, neither of these things happened until dawn.
"Let's go," Qi Xia stretched and said to Lin, "It's time to start today's journey."
One day had passed, and Qi Xia's earnings were zero.
The original quota of collecting three hundred and sixty "Dao" per day had also become four hundred per day.
To quickly achieve the goal, they would have to engage in several extremely dangerous games today.
The two of them did not say goodbye to Xiao Ran and Dr. Zhao. They stood up, picked up the aluminum pot, and went out the door.
There was no sign of the "bugs" outside the door. Where did those astonishingly numerous monsters hide during the day?
Could they all be in the nearby buildings?
The air was still murky, but Qi Xia was gradually getting used to the smell of decay and foul odor.
After taking Lin Qin out, he passed by the restaurant across the street and then walked towards the road on the right.
There were shops on both sides.
The two of them walked to the end of the street but found no signs of human activity.
Now standing at the T-junction, Qi Xia looked to the left and right.
If they had come here, did they go to the left or the right?
Qi Xia asked himself that he didn't really understand Lawyer Zhang and Officer Li, and he couldn't infer their decisions.
At this moment, Lin noticed something near the corner on the right side.
"Qi Xia, look," she pointed to a corner by the wall, where there were some whitish marks.
After hearing this, Qi Xia bent down and found two crooked symbols there, which looked like the numbers "5" and "2", and also like the letters "S" and "Z".
"Could this be left by them?" Lin Qin looked at the two symbols and asked with some doubt.
"Eighty percent likely," Qi Xia nodded, "The 'Z' might represent Lawyer Zhang."
"And 'S'?" Lin asked again, "If it's for Officer Li, shouldn't it be 'L'?"
"I can't understand that either..." After saying this, he paused and asked, "Lin Qin, do you remember Officer Li's real name?"
"Real name...?" Lin Qin pondered for a moment with her head down, then suddenly thought of something, "Ah, he said during the first game that his name is 'Li Shangwu'!"
That symbol that looks like both an 'S' and a '5'.
"Could this really be left by them?" Lin said, "But how did they know we were coming?"
Qi Xia was also puzzled. If they really wanted to leave a message for them, the content should be clearer. Now, the only possibility is that they seemed to be afraid of getting lost, so they left this symbol that only they could understand.
"Anyway, there must be someone in this direction. Let's go and have a look first."
The two of them determined the direction and set off again.
Walking along the dilapidated street, sure enough, in less than twenty minutes, Qi Xia heard a noisy commotion in a building.
"Come on, if you have the ability!"
The voice had just fallen when he was pushed out of the door by a great force and fell heavily to the ground.
"Ouch... My mother..." The man rubbed his butt and grumbled, "You wait for me..."
Qi Xia took a look at him, and his face became solemn.
The one who was pushed out of the door was none other than the short, fat middle-aged man they had seen before, Old Lu.
The city where Qi Xia was located did not seem small, and it was quite a coincidence to run into the same person for two consecutive days.
Old Lu also noticed Qi Xia: "Hey? You小子 (a colloquial term for 'young man' or 'guy', which can be translated as 'boy' or 'youngster' depending on the context)...?"
After speaking, he seemed to remember something, so he shook his head, stood up, and was about to leave with an annoyed face.
"Wait a moment..." Qi Xia called out to him, "Have you seen anyone else here?"
After hearing this, Old Lu turned his head, looked at Qi Xia with contempt, and said: "Oh? Isn't this the Lord of Hell? I haven't used up the life you sold me yet, and you've come to collect money again?"
Qi Xia shook his head helplessly and said: "I don't want to argue with you about the past. I'm looking for my companions now, and if you can help, I will find a way to repay you."
"Repayment?" Old Lu's eyes turned, and then he walked over with a fake smile, "Alright, since you say so, then help me with something. As long as you satisfy me, I will immediately tell you where those two people I saw just now are."
"Two people?" Qi Xia asked coldly, "What do you want me to help you with?"
He pointed to the room in front of him, which was a Go club.
"Help me go in there and gamble and win against that pig." Old Lu said with a smile, "I want him to lose everything he has."
"Pig?" Qi Xia turned his head and saw a dirty pig-headed man sitting inside the Go club.
In front of him were black and white pieces, and there were two empty bowls beside him.
Qi Xia touched his nose, then turned around and asked Old Lu, "Old Lu, I have no problem helping you, but you must answer me first, did you really see other people just now?"
Old Lu paused and said, "I have seen them."
Qi Xia took another step forward, got close to the fat man, and asked again, "I'm asking you once more, have you seen other people?"
Old Lu was a bit scared, and he kept looking into Qi Xia's eyes: "I really have seen them..."
"Two people?"
"Yes..."
"One man, one woman?"
"Yes, that's right..."
"What characteristics?"
"Ah?" Old Lu hurriedly recalled, "The man was very serious, and the woman didn't talk much..."
Old Lu kept backing up, seemingly intimidated by Qi Xia.
He knew that this man had once beaten Zhang Shan to the ground and was not someone to be messed with.
And Qi Xia, through several consecutive questions, found that the other party did not seem to be lying, so he said, "Alright, I agree."
Lin's mouth slightly raised, and she whispered, "Qi Xia, you also understand psychology?"