Ultimate Path

Xiao Xiao casually smashed a table and picked up a board with a nail from the ground. She slowly walked over to Qiao Jia Jin.

"Hey!" Qi Xia felt something was wrong, "What are you doing?! Wait a minute—"

"These people, if they die" Xiao Xiao said, "Their death is insignificant, I will prove it to you."

"Don't!" Qi Xia shouted anxiously, "I understand! I'll do whatever you say, just put that down!"

Xiao Xiao, as if she hadn't heard anything, slowly raised the board in her hand.

"Hey! I agree to your terms! You don't need to prove anything to me!!"

Seeing Xiao Xiao acting as if she had gone mad, Qi Xia hurriedly called out to Qiao Jia Jin:

"Hey! Qiao Jia Jin! Don't play dead! Get up!!"

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Xiao's board fell, the side with the nail directly penetrated Qiao Jia Jin's skull.

"Long live the ultimate path," she said with a smile.

Qiao Jia Jin's body twitched, his limbs convulsed violently a few times, and then he fell silent.

Qi Jia Jin...

Qi Xia's eyes widened, and his lips moved slightly.

"Speak, Qiao Jia Jin... What are you pretending... Even a bear couldn't kill you... How could a nail...??"

Qi Xia didn't get an answer from Qiao Jia Jin; instead, he saw the spreading bloodstain.

He knew that anyone with a nail driven into their brain wouldn't survive.

Qiao Jia Jin was dead.

"Qiao..." Qi Xia looked at the scene in disbelief, a sentence echoing in his mind...

"You have the brains, I have the brawn, let's work together."

"Qi Xia, look," Xiao Xiao said with a smile, "Their death is insignificant."

Suddenly, Qi Xia let out a scream, and a sharp pain came from the depths of his mind. His hands and feet instantly regained sensation, but at that moment, he could only hold his head and roll around in pain.

Seeing Qi Xia suddenly able to move freely, Xiao Xiao was visibly taken aback.

This time, the headache lasted a very long time. Qi Xia felt as if the nail hadn't been driven into Qiao Jia Jin but into his own brain, stirring his brain matter and making him wish for death.

Two minutes later, Qi Xia's headache suddenly disappeared, and he stood up expressionless.

"Qi Xia, can you ignore my 'Echo'?" Xiao Xiao asked.

"I advise you to stop while you can..." Qi Xia said coldly, "If you have any issues, take them up with me..."

"No," Xiao Xiao said, "I need you to understand that these people can be killed at will, and you can kill them too."

"Why would I want to kill them...?" Qi Xia's eyes were extremely cold, and he seemed devoid of any emotion, "I am not like you lunatics, do not equate me with you."

"It seems you still don't understand," Xiao Xiao shook her head helplessly, then with a flick of her hand, she pulled the nail-studded board out of Qiao Jia Jin's head. She shook off the blood and said to Qi Xia, "Once I've killed them all, you will understand."

After that, she walked straight towards Tian Tian.

"Enough, you lunatic..." Qi Xia's lips moved slightly, "We've barely survived to this point, who gave you the right to decide our life and death..."

"That's why I said it's meaningless," Xiao Xiao raised the board again.

This time, Qi Xia didn't give her a chance and immediately charged forward. He intended to knock the woman down directly, but under the immense impact, the woman didn't budge.

Qi Xia could only change his strategy on the fly, hugging the woman's waist, which was as solid as a load-bearing wall, and pushed her backward.

Xiao Xiao took two steps back, her face turning stern.

"Qi Xia, I'm clearly helping you, yet you refuse to see the truth. I'm very sad about that."

Then, as if throwing a dog, she casually threw him out.

Qi Xia hit the wall, let out a painful cry, feeling the woman's strength was unusually strong, indicating she must have undergone very rigorous training.

"Long live the ultimate path," Xiao Xiao smiled, and the board in her hand fell again, piercing through Tian Tian's skull.

Qi Xia's mind echoed with Tian Tian's voice—

"I came here because there was no place for me there."

The tearing pain swept over Qi Xia again as he held his head and wailed in agony on the ground.

Tian Tian was also dead.

Qi Xia felt as if his head was about to split open.

His vision turned black, and his consciousness gradually blurred.

Before he fainted, he heard a loud bell ringing in the distance.

"Xia, look," Yu Nian An held up a worn-out shirt, seemingly showing off to Qi Xia, "Look here."

She extended her fair fingers to point at the pocket on the chest of the shirt, where a cartoon lamb was sewn.

"I've mended the place where it was torn! Isn't my sewing skill good?"

"It's really good," Qi Xia nodded while eating instant noodles, "But why not just buy a new one?"

"To save money!" Yu Nian An smiled, "Once we have money, you can buy as many as you want. For now, let's make do."

Qi Xia paused for a moment after hearing this, put down the instant noodles, and said, "Xiao An, we'll have money soon. If that deal goes through, we'll have two million..."

"I believe it," Yu Nian An nodded with a smile, "Xia, there are many paths in this world, and everyone has their own. I believe you will succeed."

"I believe it too," Qi Xia nodded, feeling particularly reassured. He wanted to say something more to Yu Nian An but suddenly noticed the color of the sky outside the window.

The dark red sky had a pale yellow sun hanging in it.

Qi Xia widened his eyes, feeling something was strange.

"What's going on..." He turned his head to look at Yu Nian An, only to find her face had turned into Xiao Xiao's.

Xiao Xiao smiled at Qi Xia, moved her lips, and said, "Long live the ultimate path."

The next second, two figures appeared behind Xiao Xiao, none other than Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian.

Their foreheads were streaming with brain matter and blood, staring at Qi Xia with a look of resentment and unwillingness.

"You, you... I..."

Qi Xia suddenly felt a wave of fear and immediately flipped off the chair, running out the door.

He had to escape from this haunted place.

All of this was a dream.

When he opened the door to his room, he felt an even deeper sense of despair.

Outside the door was an endless corridor with thousands of doors on both sides, and people wearing animal masks were continuously emerging.

"Qi Xia! Qi Xia!!" An anxious voice called out, pulling Qi Xia back.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw Lin's clean face in front of him.

"Lin..." Qi Xia frowned, feeling a splitting headache, "What's going on?"

Lin's eyes were filled with tears, and he sobbed, "You really scared me to death... I thought you had died like Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian..."

Qi Xia then recalled the terrifying experience, stood up in a daze, and looked at the bodies of Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian not far away, losing his senses for a moment.

Although this place was not a dream, it was a reality more terrifying than a dream.

"Qi Xia... What exactly is going on..." Lin sobbed, "Who killed them?"

Qi Xia didn't answer but looked at Lin expressionlessly, with a hint of confusion, and asked, "Why are you still alive?"