Ten Day Ultimatum

‘Logical relation…’
No matter how one tried to interpret it, this power known as {Reverberation} had already surpassed the bounds of normal comprehension.

In this bizarre realm, not only were there god-like figures, but also countless lunatics lurking around every corner. Participants were being slaughtered without consequence, and now it seemed one could even gain superpowers...
If this weren’t a dream, who could ever believe it?
"Qi Xia…" Zhang Chenze looked at his wounds, concern etched across her face. "You didn’t manage to deceive Jiang Ruoxue. What should we do next?"

"Deceive?" Qi Xia shook his head, pressing a hand against his injury. "I wasn’t lying—I genuinely intend to give up."
"Huh?" The two women were momentarily taken aback. "You’re seriously considering giving up?"
"Yes," Qi Xia replied, his voice calm, his eyes reflecting the depth of a still pond. "Given the severity of this wound, I can’t possibly continue."

Zhang Chenze and Lin Qin exchanged looks, clearly unprepared for Qi Xia's abrupt decision. His words stilled their reactions.
"Don’t be so hasty," Lin Qin urged, trying to keep her tone steady. "I know how to dress a wound. Let’s find a place to stem the bleeding first—there’s still time. You don’t have to give up just yet."
‘Stem the bleeding…’ Qi Xia lifted his gaze to the darkening sky. The day had stretched on endlessly, and now, night had only just begun to fall.

"I agree. Qi Xia…" Zhang Chenze added, "You have a better chance than either of us at gathering all three thousand six hundred {Dào}. If you give up, we won’t know what to do."
…
The three found refuge in a dilapidated massage parlor.

Zhang Chenze reasoned that such a place—with its private rooms and beds—would at least provide Qi Xia a proper place to rest and recover.
Like most buildings in the area, the massage parlor was nearly in ruins, but fortunately, some fabric drapes were still usable.
Lin Qin tore the drapes into thin strips, preparing them to bandage the wound.

Zhang Chenze cleared off a single-seater sofa, and together, they helped Qi Xia sit down, carefully removing his shirt.
The fabric, saturated with blood, felt unnervingly heavy in their hands. Even the slightest twist sent rivulets of crimson dripping to the floor.
In that moment, the severity of Qi Xia’s condition hit them hard—his earlier words weren’t an exaggeration. The injury was far too serious for him to press on. Even staying upright demanded every ounce of his strength.

Lin Qin inspected the wound, but her expression betrayed a distinct lack of confidence.
When the bald hoodlum had plunged the dagger into Qi Xia’s shoulder, he’d twisted the blade, turning what should have been a clean stab into a grotesque blossom of torn flesh. Not only was the skin damaged, but likely the muscle tissue beneath as well.
"We can’t stitch the wound," Lin Qin said. "Just hold on—I’ll bandage it."
"Simply bandaging won’t be enough," Qi Xia replied, pulling out the old metal lighter from his pocket. "Find a dry piece of wood. Ignite it and cauterize the bleeding."

"It—" Lin Qin hesitated, taking the lighter. "It might hurt a lot..."
"It’s fine..." Qi Xia began, but then he suddenly heard faint noises nearby.
The sound resembled something rhythmically thudding against the wall.

"What’s wrong?"
"Shh!" Qi Xia raised a hand, motioning for silence as he strained to listen. "There’s someone in the building."
"What!?" The two quickly hushed their # Nоvеlight # voices and listened intently; sure enough, something was stirring inside.

"Likely an indigenous inhabitant..." Qi Xia murmured, rising slowly despite the pain. "It could be dangerous. We should relocate."
"Stop right there! Your condition won’t allow you to move freely," Zhang Chenze interjected, resolute. "I’ll check it out. We’ve been here long enough—if it were truly dangerous, we’d already be dead."
"No—" Qi Xia reached out to stop her, but Zhang Chenze, ever quick in her resolve, had already slipped out the door. Frustrated, Qi Xia turned to Lin Qin. "Hurry, go after her! There’s no need to take unnecessary risks."

Lin Qin nodded and hurried after her.
The massage parlor was small, with just four rooms lining a narrow, dimly lit hallway. It didn’t take long for Zhang Chenze to pinpoint the source of the noise. She hesitated briefly, then decisively knocked on the door.
"Chenze!" Lin Qin whispered urgently. "Be careful of the {indigenous inhabitants}!"

"The indigenous inhabitants wouldn’t harm us," Zhang Chenze said, pushing the door open despite the lack of response.
As the door creaked open, a wave of putrid stench hit them, causing both women to instinctively step back.
Inside, a gaunt man faced away from the door, diligently massaging the back of a {customer} lying on the bed.

Upon seeing the scene, the two women gasped in horror.
Indeed, the {indigenous inhabitants} might not be violent—but their behavior chilled the blood. The figure sprawled across the bed was clearly a corpse, and the emaciated man continued to press his hands against its lifeless back.
The man appeared to have been at his task for an unnervingly long time. The corpse’s back had collapsed entirely, and a putrid liquid oozed across the bedding.

"Sir... is this amount of pressure alright? ...Sir... is this amount of pressure alright?" The gaunt man’s hollow voice droned on, his hands pressing down with increasing force.
Each push drove his palms through the corpse, colliding with the bed frame beneath, producing a dull thud that echoed through the room.
The two women stood frozen, shock rooting them in place.

Qi Xia approached silently, slipping through the gap between their stiffened forms. He reached out and gently closed the door. "Don’t let it get to you," he said calmly.
Without another glance at the unsettling scene, Qi Xia found a relatively clean cubicle nearby. He sat on the bed and instructed, "Find a piece of dry wood."
Lin Qin snapped back to herself, realizing that stopping Qi Xia’s bleeding took precedence. She turned quickly to search.

Meanwhile, Zhang Chenze stood in place, still processing the earlier scene. After a moment, she asked, "Qi Xia, do you think these people… were once like us?"
Qi Xia didn’t answer directly. Instead, he said, "Lawyer Zhang, you shouldn’t act so impulsively anymore. What if the room hadn’t held an indigenous inhabitant, but a group of desperate criminals like that bald hoodlum? What then?"
Zhang Chenze slowly lowered her head and admitted, "I let my {anxiety undermine my composure}. If we can’t find a place to rest, your injuries will only worsen."

"Anxiety undermined your composure?" Qi Xia felt a trace of discomfort at her words. After a moment’s thought, he replied, "Lawyer Zhang, I saved you from that microwave because it was the only way to secure victory in the game. It doesn’t mean I have any special concern for you."
"I understand..." Zhang Chenze nodded. "Maybe I’m still preoccupied with what happened to Officer Li… seeing such an upstanding person perish right before my eyes. I’m afraid the same thing might happen to you."
"An upstanding person…?" Qi Xia paused, his thoughts growing heavier.

The memory of Officer Li’s final words returned to him.
Could Officer Li truly be called an {upstanding person}?