Card RoomCard Room
Shao Qingge and Ye Qi spent a long time investigating near the oasis. Apart from Cheng Ziyang and Xue Qing, they didn’t know any of the other hunters.
Ye Qi suggested through Heart has a Tacit Exchange of Romantic Feelings, “Why don’t we find Liu Qiao first? If the Liu Qiao in the team is a hunter in disguise, the real Liu Qiao must’ve been controlled by them and has lost consciousness.”
Shao Qingge wondered, “The area of the oasis town is very large. Where do you think Liu Qiao is most likely to be hidden?”
Ye Qi scratched his head and thought about it carefully. Then he suddenly said, “The hospital!”
“The place where you and Professor Xiao were plotted against?”
“Yes, we encountered a strange labyrinth of mirrors in the hospital. Then hands reached out from the mirror next to Liu Qiao and me and pulled us in. Then Liu Qiao reappeared and stabbed Professor Xiao to death and also stabbed me.” Ye Qi seriously recalled the scene at that time and made a guess. “I think it is very likely that Liu Qiao was pulled into the mirror and replaced by someone.”
Shao Qingge also felt this type of speculation was more reasonable. There were two time points when Liu Qiao disappeared from in front of everyone. One was when she was swept away by the sandstorm and the other was when she was pulled into the mirror. She and Old Mo were swept away by the sandstorm into the depths of the desert and the two of them didn’t act abnormally when Brother Jiu found them. Therefore, the biggest possibility was that she was captured and controlled by someone in the mirror labyrinth.
It seemed it was necessary to go to the labyrinth again.
Shao Qingge said, “I still have a copy of the Tao Yuanming card on me. Why don’t you wait for me at the vineyard while I go to the labyrinth to find Liu Qiao. Once I find her, you will immediately open the Peach Blossom Spring and teleport us over.”
Ye Qi currently only had the invisibility cloak. If they went into the labyrinth together and there was trouble, both of them might not be able to go out. It was safest for one person to investigate while the other person was ready to use the teleportation of the Peach Blossom Spring at any time.
Shao Qingge was still in the bug king state and Ye Qi didn’t want to be a burden, so he simply agreed. “Yes, you must be careful when alone. If you encounter trouble, immediately call me using Heart has a Tacit Exchange of Romantic Feelings.”
“Rest assured. There are two hours left for the transformation. Let’s seize this time.”
The two of them separated. Shao Qingge burrowed into the sand and hurried to the hospital that Ye Qi mentioned.
Fortunately, the red cross mark of the hospital was very obvious. Shao Qingge went all the way north according to the positioning of the North Star and soon found the hospital. He crawled through the sand to the back door of the hospital before nimbly climbing in.
The lights in the corridor were dim and there were many doors on both sides of the corridor on the first floor. They were marked with common hospital signs like ‘pharmacy’ and ‘emergency observation room. Strangely, he didn’t see the mirrors that Ye Qi mentioned.
Shao Qingge was wondering about it when there was the very light sound of footsteps. He hurriedly jumped to the ceiling. Sharp nails stretched out and hooked onto the ceiling. Then he hid in the darkness.
The eyesight of the bugs was several times better than that of humans in the darkness. It was a distance of over ten meters but he could clearly see the face of the person who entered the corridor. It was actually Liu Qiao!
Shao Qingge’s heart shook slightly. He immediately held his breath and stared at the other person.
Liu Qiao walked along the corridor into the depths of the hospital. She went around two corners in a row before reaching the end and pushing open a door with the words ‘emergency operating room’ written on it.
Shao Qingge crawled along the ceiling and followed all the way to the door of the operating room. He used his sharp nails to poke a hole above the glass door and looked in.
Then he saw a shocking scene.
He saw a girl lying on the hospital bed in the operating room. The girl’s eyes were closed and her face was pale. She was the real Liu Qiao!
Then Liu Qiao, who walked into the operating room, suddenly changed her appearance.
A high ponytail appeared behind her head and she seemed to grow 10 centimeters taller in an instant. Her facial features were somewhat similar to Liu Qiao but they were much weaker than Liu Qiao’s features. Her fingers moved. It wasn’t known what card she used but Liu Qiao on the hospital bed suddenly opened her eyes.
Liu Qiao was stunned after seeing the person in front of her. “…Sister?”
Liu Ying smiled. “It’s me.”
Liu Qiao sat up abruptly and watched her warily. “What is the gift I received for my fifth birthday?”
“It was a robot I secretly bought with my pocket money when I was 6 years old.” She reached out her hand and gently held Liu Qiao’s hand. “I am real. You don’t need to confirm it repeatedly.”
Liu Qiao looked at her suspiciously. “However, I have never been able to find your whereabouts in the main city and there is no information about you on the network of Mr Tang’s Intelligence Bureau. What is going on?”
Liu Ying softly explained, “I was attacked by hunters after I entered the main city. Brother Xu, the president of the Eternal Kingdom Guild, rescued me and hid me in order to protect me. He made me anonymous. During this time, I have been looking for…”
Liu Qiao stared into her eyes and interrupted her in a low voice. “You are lying.”
Liu Ying bit her lip and looked at her sister innocently and sadly.
Liu Qiao said, “You don’t dare look at me every time you lie to me. Not to mention, if you were really rescued by someone from the Eternal Kingdom Guild, why would you suddenly appear here? This is the two jokers secret room. You aren’t bound to our contract book and the two jokers secret room didn’t say there are other challenger teams. The only explanation for your presence here is…”
Liu Qiao paused, her expression ugly. “Sister, have you joined the hunter’s camp?”
Liu Ying’s eyes turned red and she choked up. “I don’t want to do this either! I have always wanted to find you but there were no signs of you after coming out of 2 of Clubs. I temporarily formed a team with a girl but as a result, we were shot and killed by the escaped prisoners in 3 of Spades Financial Crisis…”
The girl’s body trembled as she thought of that bad experience. “I was eliminated, entered the Nightmare Room and became seriously ill due to drinking unclean water. I had a high fever and begged everywhere, but no one gave me any food. I lasted for five days and thought I was going to die when someone appeared in front of me and gave me a multiple choice question.”
The man with the silver mask had a gentle gaze.
He looked at the dying Liu Ying and whispered in her ear, “I will give you one last chance to choose. Option A, fail to pass the Nightmare Room and be obliterated. You will be completely relieved and no longer have to suffer.”
“Option B, obey my orders and become a hunter. You just need to kill other people and you can get time to continue to survive. Isn’t it fair to trade a life for time?”
Liu Qiao’s voice trembled slightly when she heard this. “You chose the hunters?”
Liu Ying nodded slightly. “If it was just me, I would naturally choose A and won’t have to suffer anything if I die. However, you were in a car accident with me. I was afraid you were in this world as well and wanted to find you. I can do anything as long as I can survive!”
Liu Qiao clenched her fists hard. “Then you went and killed people?!”
Liu Ying immediately shook her head. “No, you know that my courage isn’t great and I don’t even dare to kill a fish. After I entered the main city, the Eternal Kingdom sent someone over to contact me and said they could help me. They took me to see the president, Brother Xu, and he gave me a few Survival Time cards. He said I could wait at ease and he would help me inquire about your news.”
The Eternal Kingdom—Liu Qiao was very familiar with this guild.
It was one of the largest guilds in the Card World. It was said that the people in this guild wanted to continue to survive in the Card World. Their goal was clearly the World Weekly every week. Most of them had bought real estate in the main cities of the Card World. Some got married and had children with the natives.
Now it seemed this strange guild might be the stronghold of the hunters!
Liu Qiao asked with a solemn expression, “Are you stupid enough to believe him? He isn’t related to you. Why should he give you the time cards and help you find me?”
Liu Ying defended him in a low voice. “He is also a graduate of Jiangzhou University and my senior. He said it isn’t easy for everyone to live in the Card World. If we can help each other then he is naturally willing to help me…”
Liu Qiao’s eyes were as sharp as a sword. “Do you believe him?”
Perhaps she also felt that this reason didn’t make sense. Liu Ying didn’t explain it any longer and lowered her head. “It doesn’t matter if I don’t believe it. I didn’t have any money on my body and I would have to kill people if I wanted a Survival Time card. I could only rely on him and stay by his side. Fortunately, he is very good to me. He has been sending people to inquire about you…”
Liu Qiao sensed that something was wrong and hurriedly asked, “And then? He inquired about me and asked you to come to the two jokers secret room to save me?”
Liu Ying nodded. “Yes, we can both get the immortality card as long as I complete the task.”
Liu Qiao’s face turned blue ad white. Their parents were busy with work so the two sisters had taken care of each other since they were young. Their feelings were very good and Liu Qiao understood her sister. Her sister was very weak and had a mild ‘Virgin Mary’ disease. As a child, she never dared take revenge when she was bullied. Every time, Liu Qiao had to roll up her sleeves to help her fight.
It was such an obvious trap but Liu Ying naively thought her ‘companion’ would help her!
How could the so-called seniors or companions be idle enough to help someone for nothing in the sinister Card World? If they didn’t stab you in the back, you had to thank them for not killing you. This Brother Xu was obviously using Liu Ying!
Liu Qiao recalled the shock when she saw her sister for the first time in the labyrinth and the brief period of unconsciousness that followed. A bad feeling flashed in her heart. She quickly rolled over and got out of bed. She was about to rush out when the glass door of the operating room was kicked over and a black shadow crawled along the ceiling.
The man’s eyes were red. Before Liu Ying could react, the other person reached out and grabbed Liu Qiao’s arm. Liu Qiao found it was Chief Shao and didn’t resist. The next moment, the scene in front of her changed and the familiar Peach Blossom Spring appeared in her vision.
Ye Qi was hiding under the tree in his invisible state. Shao Qingge let go of Liu Qiao and told her in a low voice, “Liu Qiao, your sister has really hurt us!”
Liu Qiao hurriedly asked, “What happened?”
Shao Qingge explained in a calm manner, “She pretended to be you and killed Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang.”
Liu Qiao, “……”
The girl’s face became completely bloodless. She wanted to speak but Long Sen’s voice interrupted from the side. “Chief Shao, I have something to tell you. Mr Gui is an undercover agent planted beside us by the hunters!”
Shao Qingge was shocked. “What?”
Ye Qi was horrified but Chief Shao told his teammates that he was dead in order to protect him. He had to forcibly control his emotions. He covered his mouth and didn’t dare to make a sound.
Long Sen’s eyes were bloodshot. He clenched his fists tightly and explained in a low voice, “After you left, Liu Ying used a teleportation skill to pull a group of hunters over to besiege us. Wanyue was killed by the man holding the crystal ball. Then Old Gui suddenly betrayed us and killed three people in a row, Brother Jiu, Mr Tang and Old Mo! Wanyue buried me in the sand in the distance using the Chameleon card so I was lucky enough to survive.”
Shao Qingge’s expression changed when he heard Long Sen’s words and the blue veins on the back of his hand bulged.
Ye Qi hid under the peach blossom trees and his entire body was cold.
How could this be?
Senior Gui? The oldest person in the team? Professor Xiao said he was a master of traditional Chinese studies. He wrote calligraphy well and his Chinese paintings were well received. Everyone had always respected him and called him ‘Senior.’ How could it be him?”
Shao Qingge gritted his teeth. “No wonder why we have always been tracked by hunters. It turns out that the traitor was him!”
Liu Qiao’s voice trembled. “The first time I saw Old Gui, I felt that the way he looked at me was a bit strange. It turns out that he is a hunter! So after he saw me, he informed Brother Xu of the Eternal Kingdom and asked him to tell my sister about my whereabouts. Then they formulated this sophisticated plan to use my sister and kill all of us in the final secret room?”
The always calm girl was finally on the verge of collapse. She held her head, squatted on the ground and choked up. “I’m sorry. It is my fault… I should’ve realized that something was wrong when I saw my sister in the labyrinth. I wasn’t cautious enough and it affected Professor Xiao…”
Shao Qingge asked, “Is it useful for you to say these things now?”
Liu Qiao was stunned. Then she suddenly seemed to think of something and looked up at Shao Qingge. “By the way, Professor Xiao and Group Leader Yu aren’t here. Chief Shao, you are the new captain. You can activate the SS team-limited card, Time Reversal. I remember this card can reverse time by five hours. Five hours ago, everyone was still alive!”
Shao Qingge’s eyes narrowed slightly when he heard this. He was just about to speak when a calm voice was heard. “Don’t use the time reversal now. It isn’t the best time.”
Everyone looked back in unison and saw Tang Ci standing under the peach blossom trees. His clothes were burned but his body was unharmed.
Not proofread