Free Web NovelThe fierce wind died down, and the others once again steadied the wheelbarrow and continued forward.
As the wheelbarrow gradually advanced, drawing ever closer to the finish line, {Monetary Affairs} kept turning. Qiao Jiajin shifted his steps continuously, moving his body in sync with {Monetary Affairs}. One man, one box—it felt like facing a real opponent, each trying to find the perfect moment to break the other’s move.
Qiao Jiajin knew that the high-speed iron balls were lethal; if he let his guard down even slightly, the others farther back would inevitably be injured. Though this game appeared to be a {race}, careful thought revealed that survival of the entire team depended on coordination. Once someone began to fall, the team would start to collapse.
“Qiao ge... watch out!” Ning Eighteen called out. “We’re almost there.”
“Got it!” Qiao Jiajin flexed his painfully aching left elbow, feeling as though he had strained a tendon. “Looks like just watching with my eyes isn’t enough.”
This time he refined his stance, continuously probing his hands forward toward the bottom of the opening. No matter which direction the iron ball would fly, the first point of contact would always be his palms.
“My reflexes are faster than my brain...” Qiao Jiajin muttered under his breath. “Rather than thinking about how to respond, I’ll let my body decide everything for me.”
Slowly, he closed his eyes, guiding his fingertips ever closer to {Monetary Affairs}.
‘Everything in this world has its own heartbeat.’ Qiao Jiajin moved his fingertips slightly, pressing them beneath the opening of {Monetary Affairs}. ‘A machete has its heartbeat, an iron rod has its heartbeat, and such a complex wooden mechanism surely has its own heartbeat as well.’
Sure enough, the moment his fingers touched its wooden surface, he clearly sensed a faint internal vibration.
This was a highly intricate mechanism, with precision beyond imagination. With the slight tremor transmitted through his fingertips, the opponent before him seemed almost alive.
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“Your heartbeat has quickened,” Qiao Jiajin said with a smile as he opened his eyes. “{Monetary Affairs}, are you going to strike?”
At that moment, {Monetary Affairs} suddenly launched a black iron ball. The instant it flew out, it made contact with Qiao Jiajin’s palm. He completely abandoned thought, relying solely on instinct to rotate his palm 180 degrees. The force of the iron ball was instantly reduced by more than half, and just as its momentum sharply decreased, Qiao Jiajin thrust his palm downward, slamming the ball almost in place onto the ground.
{Bang}!!
A crisp, resounding crash echoed. The ice cracked under the impact, and even the wooden floor split from the force.
From her high vantage point, Ning Eighteen was repeatedly left agape in shock.
She wasn’t astonished that he could stop the iron ball; she was amazed at how he seemed to be growing at lightning speed. Each time, he drew closer to {Monetary Affairs}, handling the iron ball faster and more decisively than before.
“Monetary Affairs...” Qiao Jiajin exhaled deeply, speaking in a low voice, “It seems I can handle... I can handle your moves.”
The others could only snap back to focus and hurriedly turn the wheelbarrow around. They had no way of knowing how many more times Qiao Jiajin could block, so all they could do was maximize their speed.
Once the wheelbarrow was finally repositioned, Ning Eighteen spoke up, “Qiao ge, we—”
“No need.” Qiao Jiajin interrupted. “Star gal, from now on just sit on the wheelbarrow quietly, don’t say a word. The rest of you just focus on pushing.”
“What...?”
“Didn’t I tell you lads before?” Qiao Jiajin turned back and gave the group a goofy smile. “Just act like {Monetary Affairs} doesn’t exist. I’ll handle all of it myself.”
“Ar–Are you sure?” Ning Eighteen asked, still incredulous. “You’re so close to {Monetary Affairs}; even a brief blink could bring severe consequences.”
“It’ll be fine even if I close my eyes,” Qiao Jiajin replied. “Guan Yi Gor has given me face, his {Monetary Affairs} is just sparring with me; it won’t take my life.”
The group exchanged glances. Though a hundred worries remained in their minds, all they could manage to say was, “Qiao ge, be careful.”
“Got it.”
As the team moved forward, Qiao Jiajin once again placed his fingertips on the wooden mechanism. This time, the heartbeat he felt was even clearer than before.
Within the mechanism, he could sense the grooves, the rolling of the iron balls, and the pull of the springs—all discernible in outline.
“Come on...” Qiao Jiajin said, “Make your move.”
He slowly closed his eyes, placing his right palm facing up beneath the opening.
“Qiao—” Ning Eighteen saw they were almost in range and was about to shout, but Bai Nine restrained her.
“Eighteen, leave it to Qiao ge.”
Ning Eighteen could only give a slight nod, concern flickering across her face.
When the fourth iron ball shot out, its angle was noticeably different from before. Qiao Jiajin immediately shifted his hand sideways by a centimeter, catching it once again. He then repeated his previous maneuver, flipping his palm, but this time the motion was slightly slower, by a fraction of a second. The iron ball’s force wasn’t reduced much and it sped straight toward Qiao Jiajin’s body.
He managed to lift just his left hand and, before the ball reached his chest, guided its trajectory again. Using both hands in coordinated yin-yang motion, he allowed the ball to spin before his chest several times, steadied it, and then let it roll to the ground.
“Thank you for the honor*,” Qiao Jiajin said.
(TLN: 承让 can be translated to ‘you let me win’; a humble saying after winning a match.)
As the dust cleared, Qiao Jiajin extended his hand toward {Monetary Affairs} once more, a gesture that made Terrestrial Horse hesitate.
Should she revise the rules?
For example... no person is permitted to come within one meter of the {Wooden Box}.
But soon she realized how absurd that would be. Was this rule supposed to be made just for the tattooed man in front of her? freēwēbηovel.c૦m
Under normal circumstances, would anyone get that close to these wooden boxes? Since they knew {balls} could emerge from the boxes at any moment, shouldn’t instinct alone make them keep their distance?
‘Ridiculous... utterly ridiculous...’ Terrestrial Horse gritted her teeth, suddenly recalling her own time as a {participant}.
Many, many years ago, there was also another {participant} who resisted the mechanisms with their own body.
At that time, a man had stood in front of the mechanism, assuming a Muay Thai stance.
But at the time, she had been too frightened, her thoughts entirely on fleeing and surviving, leaving no memory of his voice or appearance.
Why is it that {End Point} is always rife with people like this?
The next three iron balls, unsurprisingly, were all blocked by Qiao Jiajin, landing harmlessly at his feet.
What should have been a round with a high chance of death was solved flawlessly by a single person.
Qiao Jiajin lowered his head, counted the five iron balls at his feet, then glanced at the two remaining ones in the distance, realizing the second round had come to an end.
The push-wheelbarrow team also returned Ning Eighteen to the starting point without a single scratch.
Seeing this, Qiao Jiajin turned back toward {Monetary Affairs}, pressed his hands together, and bowed respectfully. “Yi Gor, your virtue knows no bounds.”
At that moment, {Monetary Affairs} seemed to respond, trembling slightly as if acknowledging his words, before retracting and regaining its serene stillness.
