New Teammates

If the roles were reversed, Zhang Chenze knew she would never break her own hand for someone else's life.

But Officer Li did it.

His initial thought was very simple; as long as he could break his hand out of the handcuffs, it would be easy to escape.

But he made a mistake.

Qi Xia remembered when Officer Li saved Han Yimo from the "harpoon," the situation was also very urgent, yet he did not make a mistake.

Perhaps this time he was truly panicked.

When he struck his hand with the wooden stick, he accidentally hit the handcuffs.

The principle of the handcuffs is such that if force is applied from the outside, they only tighten.

He knew that even if he broke all the bones in his hand, he would not be able to pull it out.

Seeing the water in the fish tank had already covered Lawyer Zhang's neck, Officer Li made a quick decision. He abandoned the plan to break his hand and instead turned to his forearm.

This time, he used even more force, so much so that he almost passed out several times.

Lawyer Zhang could only tilt her head back, constantly searching for air above the water.

Just as her consciousness was about to blur, the man arrived.

He immediately turned off the water valve and used the wooden stick to shatter the fish tank.

Then, he used his remaining left hand to untie the wire binding Lawyer Zhang.

In just a short one or two minutes, Officer Li's right hand had already been bleeding profusely.

Zhang Chenze quickly broke off a piece of wire and tightly bound it around his arm.

In this way, the two of them finally escaped from that hellish place.

Lawyer Zhang looked at Officer Li's body with sadness and said:

"Just as he said... he was a policeman, so he couldn't stand by and watch someone die."

"No..." Qi Xia slowly shook his head, "Perhaps he was just trying to make up for a mistake he had made in the past."

"A mistake?" Everyone looked at Qi Xia in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Qi Xia wanted to say something but swallowed his words back. The story Officer Li had just told should not be known by too many people. Since he was already dead, it was better to let this secret be buried with him.

Lin Qin took off her coat and draped it over Lawyer Zhang.

"Lawyer Zhang, you're all wet. Be careful not to catch a cold."

Old Lu, feeling a bit redundant, fidgeted for a while before bringing over the aluminum pot and said to Lawyer Zhang, "Hey, miss, I'm sorry for your loss. Would you like something to eat?"

"Me? I'm Lu... you can just call me Old Lu." Old Lu smiled foolishly, "Man is iron, food is steel. A meal not eaten makes one hungry."

"He's someone we met while participating in the game," Lin Qin explained, "Lawyer Zhang, you must be hungry, right? Qi Xia brought this pot of meat especially to find you."

"Meat..."

Lawyer Zhang was indeed hungry.

Since arriving here, she hadn't eaten anything for two whole days.

She quickly took the pot and grabbed the cold, gamey meat inside, eating it in large mouthfuls.

Seeing her drenched, disheveled, and ravenous appearance, no one would have guessed she was once an arrogant lawyer.

After eating a few pieces of meat, Lawyer Zhang spoke with a muffled mouth, "Qi Xia, thank you..."

Qi Xia didn't speak.

After all, the pot of meat was meant for Officer Li. Now that Officer Li was dead, giving it to Lawyer Zhang was also appropriate.

At least she seemed more reliable than Xiao Ran and Dr. Zhao.

"Qi Xia, I originally had some reservations about you," Lawyer Zhang continued, "But not only did you bring us food, but you also brought cigarettes for Officer Li. You are really thoughtful."

She pointed to the cigarette in Officer Li's mouth and said, "He spent a long time finding two moldy cigarettes."

Qi Xia thought for a moment, then walked forward and took the cigarette from Officer Li's mouth.

He had never seen this brand of cigarettes before. The filter was inscribed with four characters, 'Dong Chong Xia Cao' (Cordyceps Sinensis). Upon smelling it, there was a rich milky and herbal fragrance.

"Yes, this is the cigarette I brought," Qi Xia said with a complicated expression, "It's a pity that Officer Li didn't get to smoke it before he died."

Lin felt puzzled. He had been almost inseparable from Qi Xia and had never seen him find the cigarettes.

Qi Xia picked up the metal lighter from Officer Li's hand as well, "This lighter was also something I wanted to give to Officer Li, but now it seems I'll have to use it myself."

No one opposed, but Lin Qin was a bit confused.

Qi Xia walked to the side, examining the lighter and cigarette repeatedly.

He always felt that there was something unspeakably eerie about this situation. Could it all be related to that bell sound?

Thinking of this, he picked up the old cigarette box from the ground and examined it carefully, but found no hidden mechanisms.

"What's wrong?" Lin Qin asked softly, walking over, "Is there something off?"

Qi Xia frowned, unable to answer.

How could he tell Lin Qin?

Officer Li pulled out a cigarette from a cigarette box?

Or should he say that Officer Li took out a lighter from his own pocket?

These mundane events would not seem strange at all, yet they perplexed Qi Xia.

"Maybe I just saw it wrong," Qi Xia put the cigarette and lighter into the cigarette box, turned around, and said, "How is Lawyer Zhang doing?"

"Her emotions have stabilized. What should we do now?"

Qi Xia nodded and said, "Our goal has always been the same, hasn't it?"

After speaking, he slowly approached Lawyer Zhang and said, "Lawyer Zhang, I'll get straight to the point... Can I borrow a 'Way' from you?"

"Borrow... a 'Way'?" Lawyer Zhang raised her eyebrows, looking puzzled.

"That's right," Qi Xia nodded, "To be honest, our 'Way' has been burned, and we don't have any left."

After hearing this, Lawyer Zhang slowly lowered her head, seemingly pondering something.

"Qi Xia... I can give you all the 'Way,'" Lawyer Zhang lifted her head and said earnestly, "Let's form a team."

Qi Xia pursed his lips and said, "It's not that I don't want to team up with you... It's just that being by my side seems to be dangerous..."

He briefly told Zhang Chenze about the fate of Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian, then said, "I'm being targeted now. They will kill the people around me to stop me."

"Were you affected by the deaths of Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian?" Lawyer Zhang asked.

"I wasn't affected."

"You won't be affected at all," Lawyer Zhang said, "Which means that threatening you by killing the people around you won't work."

"In theory, that's correct."

"Then I'm safe," Lawyer Zhang slowly stood up, "Let's make a deal. I'll give you all my 'Way,' and I will help you in the future, but in exchange, you must help me escape."