Benefits and Harm

"Cough... cough..." Qiao Jia Jing lay on the ground, coughing continuously, feeling as if his internal organs had been shattered.

Xiao Yanjing (Little Glasses) reacted quickly, immediately getting up and starting to put the iron plate back in place.

"Come and help!" He shouted to the several women behind him, "If these two fall, we're all done for!

Although frightened, the girls knew the urgency of the situation and bent down, gritting their teeth to move the iron plate.

Qi Xia lay on the ground, feeling dizzy.

The bear's attack seemed to have knocked his soul out of him, and it was unknown how Qiao Jia Jing managed to withstand two attacks alone.

"I want that fat guy who ran away to die a miserable death..." Qiao Jia Jing cursed through gritted teeth.

"Seeking benefit and avoiding harm... human nature..." Qi Xia lay on the ground, muttering to himself, "The 'Memorial to General Liang Shang' says, 'As for seeking benefit and avoiding harm, fearing death and enjoying life, it is also the same for everyone.'"

"Are you hit in the head?" Qiao Jia Jing opened his eyes with difficulty and looked at Qi Xia, "What does it have to do with that general? If that traitor hadn't abandoned us suddenly, this iron plate wouldn't have fallen like this..."

At this moment, the iron plate had been lifted up by several girls, and Xiao Yanjing bent down to pull up Qi Xia and Qiao Jia Jing:

"Guys, are you alright?"

The two stood up, weakly propping up the iron plate.

"It's not 'alright,' it's more like 'not dead,'" Qiao Jia Jing replied, glancing at the bear.

After the impact, the beast wasn't in much better shape either; its huge body looked disoriented, constantly shaking its head to stay awake.

"Let me do it this time!" Xiao Yanjing said, "You two go to the back of the team and rest for a while."

With that, he imitated Qiao Jia Jing's posture, crouching down and using his shoulder to hold against the iron plate.

But Xiao Yanjing looked too thin, and just holding the iron plate seemed very strenuous; his legs kept trembling, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

"Damn... Is this iron plate so heavy..." He seemed to feel that his posture was wrong and slightly adjusted the angle of his legs, but the iron plate did not become lighter.

"Brother, I don't mean to doubt you," Qiao Jia Jing said helplessly, shaking his head, "If we rely on you to hold up the iron plate, then standing behind won't make any difference; we're dead either way."

"W-well, then maybe you should do it..." Xiao Yanjing said awkwardly, stepping aside.

At this point, the team had basically adjusted their defensive formation, and Qiao Jia Jing was back against the iron plate.

The bear had also more or less regained its senses and wanted to attack the iron plate again but saw the lone middle-aged man.

"Damn it! Old Lu!" Xiao Yanjing suddenly panicked, "You come over here quickly!"

"Hmph," Qiao Jia Jing snorted coldly, "If that fat guy wants to go out and seek death, let him be."

"No..." Xiao Yanjing's expression turned grim, "Old Lu saved my life before; I can't just ignore him!"

"You're quite naive," Qiao Jia Jing said.

But before Xiao Yanjing could think of a way to save Old Lu, the bear had already positioned itself between the crowd and Old Lu.

It seemed to understand that once Old Lu hid behind the iron plate, it would no longer have a chance to kill him.

At this moment, Xiao Yanjing looked very anxious. He hesitated for a long time before turning to Qi Xia and saying, "Can you help save Old Lu?!"

Qi Xia's eyes turned cold, and he said, "I can, go save him, I won't stop you."

"I... I can't... so I want to ask you..." Xiao Yanjing said tremulously, "You seem to be a very capable person, could you please help me..."

"No," Qi Xia said without hesitation, "If you want to go, then go yourself."

After hearing this, Xiao Yanjing wanted to say something more, but after thinking about it, he realized he indeed had no proper reason to ask a stranger to risk their life.

After pondering for a long time, he could only bite his teeth and say, "Then... then alright... I'll go save him...

Immediately after, Xiao Yanjing made a very comical deep breath three times, and then shouted..."

With a shout to bolster his courage, he stamped his right foot on the ground and was about to charge at the bear. At the critical moment, Qi Xia reached out and stopped him.

"Ah, what the...?" Xiao Yanjing was startled and almost twisted his waist from the sudden stop, "What are you doing?!"

"You're going to die. Aren't you afraid?" Qi Xia asked slowly.

"How can I not be afraid?!" Xiao Yanjing was almost in tears, "But I can't just stand here and watch Old Lu die!"

"In that case, let's make a deal," Qi Xia said, glancing at the bear not far away, "If I can ensure your survival in this game, both of your 'Dao' will be mine."

"Ah?" Xiao Yanjing was taken aback by Qi Xia's sudden request and didn't know how to respond.

"Of course, if you're not willing, you can go save him yourself," Qi Xia's tone was unyielding, putting Xiao Yanjing in a difficult position.

He and Old Lu had risked their lives to participate in this game, and now it seemed they wouldn't even obtain a single 'Dao'. What was the point of it all?

"I can only promise to give you my own 'Dao', but as for Old Lu's..." Xiao Yanjing said with difficulty, "I don't know if he ok with it."