Rabbit Man

After rounding a street corner, the three of them arrived at a dilapidated police station.

A rabbit-headed person was standing at the entrance.

"Here it is!" Old Lu said, "It seems like it's over..."

Qi Xia glanced at the rabbit-headed person, who appeared to be a woman again.

Her mask was worn out, and her suit was covered in dust, clearly indicating she was a "Rabbit Person." This meant that if Officer Li had indeed participated in her game, he was likely not in any mortal danger.

"Would you like to play my game?" the Rabbit Person asked with a smile.

"No..." Qi Xia shook his head, "I'm wondering if the man and woman who played the game before are still here?"

"A man and a woman?" The Rabbit Person placed one hand on her chest and rested her chin on the other hand, looking somewhat coquettish, "Oh... you mean that strapping young man, right?"

"That's correct."

"What a man without any romantic sentiment he was." The Rabbit Person flicked her hand with a twist, "I told him he didn't need to give me the 'Way,' just spend a day with me, but he was like a block of wood..."

Qi Xia sighed impatiently, "Where is he?"

"Young man, you're quite handsome too," the Rabbit Person suddenly reached out and touched Qi Xia's face, which startled him.

"Although you don't seem as robust, if you can accompany me for a day, I'll not only give you the 'Way' but also tell you where that man went. How about it?"

Qi Xia pushed the Rabbit Person's hand away and turned to the other two, "Let's just look around nearby."

Old Lu and Lin were also well aware that they should not get entangled with the 'Zodiac' and followed Qi Xia as he turned to leave.

"If you're going to search for him yourself... you'd better hurry," the Rabbit Person smiled, "That young man is quite injured, and if you're late, it might be too late."

"What?" Qi Xia had just taken three steps when he stopped in his tracks.

"Why is he injured?" Qi Xia asked in confusion, "Is your game that dangerous?"

"Not at all," the Rabbit Person twisted her waist and took a step forward, "My games are all 'escape' games. I've designed very intricate mechanisms, but that young man, relying on his good physique, insisted on using brute force to break through. What could I do?"

After hearing this, Qi Xia didn't say anything more and, with a twist of his head, suddenly noticed a few fresh bloodstains on the ground. His face turned grim, and he said, "Let's go."

The group followed the trail of blood, which suggested that Officer Li's injury should not be too severe, and the Rabbit Person was likely exaggerating.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance of a pharmacy, where the sound of continuous collisions indicated that someone was inside.

"Officer Li?" Qi Xia called out.

The noise inside stopped for a moment, and then Lawyer Zhang came out first.

"Qi Xia?!" She looked a bit different, her usually neat appearance now somewhat disheveled.

She was completely soaked, as if she had just come out of the water.

"What happened?" Qi Xia asked, "Where is Officer Li?"

Lawyer Zhang's eyes suddenly widened, and she grabbed Qi Xia, "You have to help me! Officer Li is in critical condition!"

"What?!"

Qi Xia was puzzled. They had followed the trail of blood, which seemed to be no more than a scratch on the arm, so how could he be in critical condition?

The three of them followed Lawyer Zhang into the room, where a strong smell of rust filled the air.

After a few steps, they saw Officer Li, his body completely red with blood, making it impossible to immediately determine where he was injured.

His lips were pale, his face ashen, and he sat on the ground, weak and lifeless.

"What, what's going on..." Lin trembled as she ran forward, "Officer Li... where are you injured?"

Officer Li turned his head to look at Qi Xia and Lin, a bitter smile on his face. He slowly extended his hand as if he wanted to say something.

Qi Xia looked down and his heart skipped a beat. It wasn't a question of where he was injured—

Officer Li's entire right hand was gone.

There was a very rough break at his wrist, which looked as if it had been torn off rather than cut off.

He seemed to have used a piece of wire to stop the bleeding, which was tightly embedded in his flesh, turning the surrounding tissue purple.

Because of this, only a small amount of blood was flowing from the amputation site.

"Heaven..." Lin wanted to help but found herself unable to do anything, "Lawyer Zhang, what exactly happened?"

"That rabbit's game..." Zhang Chenze bit her lip hard, "That woman is just a psychopath..."

Qi Xia's expression gradually turned cold, and he approached Officer Li, wanting to say something, but every word felt stuck in his throat.

He had imagined many scenarios of meeting his counterpart, but he never expected the situation to be like this.

"Lawyer Zhang, take them out of here," Officer Li suddenly said, "I want to talk to Qi Xia alone."

"Alone?" Everyone was puzzled after hearing this.

After pondering for a moment, Zhang Chenze nodded, leading Lin and Old Lu out of the room.

Once everyone had left, Officer Li forced a smile and said to Qi Xia, "Why the frown? You look like you've been wronged."

"I..." Qi Xia sighed, and could only say, "I will avenge you, that rabbit..."

"No..." Officer Li shook his head, "That woman is crazy. Do not participate in her games."

The words Qi Xia was about to say became stuck in his throat, and he didn't know what to say.

Officer Li gave a weak smile, "Have you found a way to leave here?"

"No..." Qi Xia said dejectedly, "I think I was wrong. I haven't found a way to leave, and I may have even killed Qiao Jia Jin and Tian Tian."

With only Officer Li left, Qi Xia finally revealed the sorrow hidden in his heart: "I made everything too simple..."

Officer Li's pale lips twitched, and he shifted his body to get more comfortable.

"Why is that?" Officer Li asked, "Is there something you can't solve?"

Qi Xia didn't know how to describe the situation with 'Xiaoxiao' and could only shake his head.

Now even his trusted Officer Li was about to die. Qi Xia felt his headache returning.

He shook his head, pretending to be fine, and asked, "Why did you leave me alone?"

"I have some words I want to say to someone before I die."

Officer Li felt in his pocket, pulled out a worn-out cigarette box, and to his surprise, there were two moldy cigarettes inside, likely found in some abandoned building.

He put one cigarette in his mouth and searched his other pockets, then muttered a curse under his breath.

"I forgot I didn't find a lighter. Can't even have a smoke before dying..."