Ten Day Ultimatum

As the onlookers watched in mounting anxiety, Terrestrial Ox approached with an unhurried demeanor.
“Cease your actions,” he said calmly. “I don’t care if you kill each other, but at least leave this room before doing so.”

The two combatants, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) however, remained fixated on their struggle—teeth clenched, muscles straining—ignoring Terrestrial Ox entirely.
Terrestrial Ox observed the wrestling match for a moment, then gave up on persuasion. With a swift motion, he bent down and effortlessly removed Qiao Jiajin’s arm from Zhang Shan’s neck. Grasping Zhang Shan by the collar with one hand and Qiao Jiajin’s arm with the other, he flung them both aside. The two men flew through the air like pebbles, crashing into and toppling the surrounding chairs.
“Damn it…” Qiao Jiajin groaned, feeling as though his bones were about to shatter.

Zhang Shan fared no better. He writhed on the ground, wincing as his numerous wounds began to bleed anew.
“Fuck… you damned Ole Ox, I’ll skin you alive one day…”
Spectators hurried over to assess the situation.

“Hey, Qiao Jiajin, are you still alive?”
Qiao Jiajin managed a bitter smile. “What do you think?…”
Tian Tian and Lin Qin joined them, helping Qiao Jiajin to his feet.

On the other side, Specs and Ole Lu assisted Zhang Shan.
“Are you okay, Zhang Shan?” Specs asked with concern.
“Lǎozi’s fine,” Zhang Shan replied, scratching his head awkwardly due to his wounds. Then added, “Seems you were right—those two really are interesting.”

“Right?” Specs laughed happily, as if he’d been complimented. “The guy with tattoos has strength, and the one called {Swindler Lad} is smart. Both of them are definitely qualified.”
Ole Lu stood to the side, lips curled in apparent disagreement with Specs’s assessment.
“Let’s have another chat with them,” Zhang Shan said with a hearty smile, leading his friends forward.

But before they took more than a few steps, Terrestrial Ox extended his pitch-black hand and pressed it firmly onto Zhang Shan’s shoulder.
“Are you still planning to cause trouble?”
Zhang Shan glanced at him and replied, “Don’t worry, just a simple conversation.”

Terrestrial Ox considered for a moment, then withdrew his hand. “Be careful. I’m watching you.”
With that, Zhang Shan, Qi Xia, and Qiao Jiajin stood face to face once more.
Qiao Jiajin stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Qi Xia. “Buff lou, you ready to continue and settle this outside?”
“Nah,” Zhang Shan scratched at the severe wound on his chest. “I’ve got no strength left today. I’ll take a rain check.”

“Ha.” Qiao Jiajin chuckled. “Since you’re not here to fight, why stand in front of us now?”
“It’s ridiculous, really.” Zhang Shan shook his head helplessly. “I didn’t come here to fight. Your buddy threw the first punch.”
Qiao Jiajin thought for a moment and realized Zhang Shan was right.

“You didn’t come to fight?” Qi Xia eyed the towering man with suspicion. “Then why approach us?”
Zhang Shan turned around and signaled to Specs and Ole Lu, who removed the cloth bags from their waists and handed them over. Despite Ole Lu’s reluctance, he seemed to suppress his fear of Zhang Shan and complied.
Zhang Shan weighed the two bags in his hand, then tossed them to Qi Xia.

“A total of thirty-eight {Dào}. It’s all yours.”
Qi Xia caught the bags, disbelieving, opened them, and confirmed they were filled with golden, dazzling orbs.
“What’s this supposed to mean?” Qiao Jiajin asked warily. “We haven’t settled the winner yet. Why give us these {Dào}?”

“Because that was the game’s agreement. In any gamble, there must be a loser.” Zhang Shan glanced at Specs. “Besides, Specs spoke highly of you two, said you’re impressive.”
“Impressive?” Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exchanged puzzled glances, uncertain of Zhang Shan’s intentions.
“I didn’t come looking for trouble.” Zhang Shan raised a finger, tapped his temple, and looked at Qi Xia. “Specs said you beat the black bear with this. That true?”

Qi Xia, still wary, remained silent.
“Don’t overthink it,” Zhang Shan continued. “We’re gathering capable people to escape this place together. Interested in joining us?”
“No,” Qi Xia replied bluntly.

“Don’t refuse so quickly…” Zhang Shan smiled warmly, patting Qi Xia’s shoulder. “Take some time to consider it.”
“Yeah!” Specs chimed in. “Mr. Qiao, Mr. Swin, both of you are outstanding, and we’re eager to escape from here.”
“Mr. Swin?” Qi Xia asked, puzzled. “You talking about me?”

“Yeah…” Specs, realizing the awkwardness, quickly tried to explain. “Didn’t Mr. Qiao keep calling you {Swindler Lad}?”
Qi Xia shook his head in resignation. “Forget it, names are just labels. Call me whatever, but I’m not joining you.”
“Why so stubborn?” Specs asked, baffled. “There’s strength in numbers. We played a game together, I know you’re reliable. If we team up—”

“But I don’t trust any of you,” Qi Xia interrupted. “And only one person can escape this place. What’s the point in gathering more people? Won’t the rest just be cannon fodder at the end?”
“Only one person can make it out?” Specs was stunned. “What nonsense is that? Why only one?”
“Isn’t that the rule?” Qi Xia countered. “Those masked figures said—”

Qi Xia froze mid-sentence.
Wait a second.
Why did he believe only one person could escape?

Had anyone actually said that?
No… no one had.
Mortal Goat once told Qi Xia that if they won the game, one of them would become {God}.

At the time, Qiao Jiajin clearly asked Mortal Goat, what if we don’t win?
Mortal Goat’s response was: It would be regrettable if you can’t win.
He never mentioned anything about escaping.

‘Did I misunderstand?…’
The term regrettable was vague.
Who was Mortal Goat feeling regret for?

For himself… or for them?
Qi Xia blinked, a realization dawning.
In this cursed place, aside from {becoming God} or {annihilation}, was {escape} truly an option?...

“Why… do you all think more than one person can escape here?” Qi Xia asked quietly.
“Because we’ve seen others do it,” Zhang Shan answered.