Free Web NovelJust as everyone wavered in uncertainty, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the basketball court entrance; it seemed a number of people were heading their way.
They turned their heads and saw Zhou Six, accompanied by Wang Eight, Luo Eleven, and Qiu Sixteen, already at the doorway. Beside them stood an expressionless man. It was none other than Qi Xia, the one Qian Five held in high regard.
“Tsk. And here I thought something serious was going on...” Zhou Six eyed the {Cats} members collapsed on the floor, then lifted a brow. “Isn’t this just playing ball?”
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“Playing ball...?” Bai Nine let out a bitter laugh. “Six jie, a ball moving at eighty kilometers per hour—have you ever tried hitting that?”
“Tsk, who are you kidding?” Zhou Six sneered. “Baseballs can reach speeds of 120 kilometers per hour. If there are injuries, there can only be one reason.”
Qiao Jiajin looked at them. “What reason?”
Zhou Six suddenly swung her arm, tossing her metal baseball bat high toward Qiao Jiajin. “You don’t have a {bat}.”
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Qiao Jiajin reached out and caught the bat, then glanced at Qi Xia. freёwebnovel.com
Qi Xia seemed to have little to say; after a slight nod he turned and quickly surveyed the implements scattered about the room.
The icy field was covered with iron balls, stone balls, and innumerable flecks of black and white wreckage.
“I understand now...” Qi Xia touched his chin, reconstructing what had unfolded. Though no one had explained the rules to him, he could hazard a nearly certain guess.
Qiao Jiajin, seeing Qi Xia’s posture, also rubbed his chin.
Chins were indeed mysterious things; Qiao Jiajin resolved to touch his less often in the future.
Terrestrial Horse, seated at the start, bristled when so many strode into her arena. A flash of anger crossed her face. “Who gave you permission to come in?”
“Tsk. What?” Zhou Six replied without backing down. “You opened your doors, and yet no one’s allowed inside?”
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“You!” Terrestrial Horse sensed hostile intent and grew angrier. “Who are you to interfere with the progress of my game?”
Zhou Six became even more incensed than Terrestrial Horse. “Tsk, what’s that supposed to mean? Are we interfering? Did your {rules} ever explicitly forbid anyone from supplying a {bat}?”
Terrestrial Horse felt the newcomers were making unreasonable trouble, but she could not deny she had never defined that restriction. Gritting her teeth, she threatened in a low voice, “I’ll overlook the {bat}... however, if you dare step into the game perimeter, I will show no mercy. I trust Vermilion Bird will understand...”
Qiao Jiajin swung the baseball bat in his hand, feeling how perfectly it fit, then nodded and said, “Alright, you all don’t need to act.”
Ning Eighteen and the others slowly looked at Qiao Jiajin. “Qiao ge... can this really work?”
“I’m surer of myself than before,” Qiao Jiajin remarked, turning the metal bat slightly in his hand. “Before, I had to figure out a counter for every single ball, it was really troublesome. But now, I just need to hit them with a bat directly. Simple as that.”
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With measured steps, Qi Xia shifted aside, scrutinizing the {contraptions} as he slowly worked out their workings.
The wooden mechanisms could actually keep aiming at the wheelbarrow in the center?
It seemed highly improbable that they possessed infrared tracking... then what was the principle behind their detection?
Qi Xia quickly clarified his thoughts and identified what seemed to be a faint {path to survival}—but to verify it, they would have to endure one more onslaught of attack.
Once Qiao Jiajin had familiarized himself with the bat’s reach range, he looked up at the others and said, “Young ones, hold on a little longer. Our teammates are watching our performance. Losing now would be humiliating.”
Ning Eighteen tried to struggle up from the ground, but the sharp pain in her ribs made it impossible.
“Star gal, don’t push yourself,” Qiao Jiajin said. “Step back and rest for now, so you don’t get hit by any more incoming balls. The rest of you, come with me.”
“Alright... Qiao ge... I’ll—”
“No need,” Qi Xia said. “The injured stay where you are and don’t move. Fists, have the able-bodied continue pushing the wheelbarrow.”
“Hmm?” Qiao Jiajin smiled faintly. “Swindler lad, this familiar feeling is back. It’s much more reassuring with you around.”
Qiao Jiajin unconditionally trusted Qi Xia’s decisions. He signaled the others with a look, and they laboriously moved the cart forward a few paces.
Qi Xia took the opportunity to observe the inscriptions on the wooden mechanisms.
Three on the left and four on the right, together with the inscriptions, formed the {Big Dipper}, though the Earthly Branch might be using deception to hide their true intentions.
As the wheelbarrow moved steadily forward, all the contraptions appeared to react and adjusted their angles, emitting faint sounds as if ready to strike.
“Oh...?” Qi Xia furrowed his brow, eyes on the wheelbarrow in the center of the field, feeling fairly confident that the path to survival he identified was correct.
A few steps later, all the mechanisms fired stone balls again.
But unlike Qi Xia had imagined, these stone balls didn’t attack simultaneously; there was a clear sequence.
Qiao Jiajin swung the baseball bat and ran forward, weaving through the chaotic barrage of stone balls.
With the metal bat, he could handle the stone balls much better. It seemed he executed some martial arts maneuvers, and in just a few flashes of movement, he smashed three stone balls to the ground.
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The others also began gaining some experience. Imitating Qiao Jiajin, they intercepted stone balls from the side. After hearing from Zhou Six that a baseball can reach speeds of 120 kilometers per hour, everyone realized these stone balls weren’t nearly as terrifying.
But how many ordinary people would dare to catch a flying baseball barehanded?
“Everyone, do your best to catch the balls!!” Ning Eighteen shouted from the ground. “There are rewards on these balls!!”
“Rewards...?” Qi Xia paused slightly and turned to ask Ning Eighteen, “What rewards?”
Ning Eighteen struggled to turn and look at Qi Xia. “Supposedly, they’ll help us move more easily on the ice... as long as we catch those {balls}—”
“There’s no need.” Qi Xia said.
“Huh?” Bai Nine and Ning Eighteen voiced their confusion simultaneously.
“Just focus on pushing the wheelbarrow,” Qi Xia remarked. “The reward for {catching the balls} is just misdirection. Your true condition for victory is surely something else, no?”
Ning Eighteen pondered for a moment, then nodded with effort. “Our win condition is for {all members to complete a full lap on the wheelbarrow}.”
“Then spare yourself any needless action,” Qi Xia remarked. “If the road to victory is evident, never take the opportunistic route.”
“So that’s how it is...?” From afar Qiao Jiajin heard Qi Xia’s words and felt them ring with undeniable sense. freёwebnovel.com
If everyone merely devoted themselves to catching the balls this round, the losses would be grievous; how, then, were they to endure the rounds that followed?
“To think I’d been reserving my strength...” Qiao Jiajin muttered, brows knit. “Alright, let’s do it Swindler lad’s way: smash every one of those things!”
“No need to strike the balls any further.” Qi Xia spoke once more. “From here on out, follow my command.”
