TDU Chapter 464
Chapter 464 Life of Absurdity
“Oh…?” Qi Xia’s expression turned cold. “So it can be done this way?”
Terrestrial Horse nodded. “My game, my rules. Anything I have not expressly said is {permitted} can be {forbidden}.”
Qi Xia stared into Terrestrial Horse’s eyes, trying to probe the motives deep within her.
“Terrestrial Horse…” Qi Xia called out. “You claimed we are the people you dreaded confronting… have you encountered us previously?”
Seeing her expression shift slightly, Qi Xia probed further. “Where…?”
He watched her closely and noticed that these words didn’t faze her, so he rephrased, “How long ago…?”
Terrestrial Horse furrowed her brows, sensing that even without saying anything, this man was close to seeing through her.
“Ten years… more than ten years…?” Qi Xia kept pressing, using short phrases to provoke her. “Twenty years? Or even longer?”
“You…” Terrestrial Horse ultimately refused to meet his gaze, turning her head aside. “Do not press further. Our paths have diverged; why would I share my knowledge with you?”
“Indeed…” Qi Xia narrowed his eyes and stepped forward, speaking quietly. “After more than twenty years of futile effort to escape…was the horrid metamorphosis worth it?”
His words clearly struck Terrestrial Horse. As a woman, who would willingly replace her face with such a monstrous appearance? Who would choose to endure a body covered in short, foul-smelling fur?
Qi Xia stared at the strange, painted lips of Terrestrial Horse and smiled. “Even white horses have black lips… poor thing. How much lipstick will it take to bring back the red?”
Terrestrial Horse’s eyes were filled with profound sadness. She had once found this lipstick on a deceased participant and instantly treated it as a treasure.
She had thought that applying it to her lips could help reclaim the little humanity she had left.
But the black lips of a horse refused to show any trace, no matter how much she applied, forcing her to smear wider, staining the surrounding white fur red as well.
Indeed…only when the lips themselves could show red did it feel like her complexion was somewhat improved.
But did it make her more human?
No, it only made her feel even more like a monster, her lips a vivid crimson… reminiscent of a white horse‑headed creature fresh from feeding on human flesh.
Seeing the clear dimming in Terrestrial Horse’s gaze, Qi Xia tempered his tone. “Come with us… and bring this place to ruin.”
“To ruin…?” Terrestrial Horse flinched, all traces of sadness replaced by alarm. “What nonsense are you saying?! You’re nothing more than a {participant}!”
Noting Terrestrial Horse’s reaction, Qi Xia reckoned that the {Earthly Branches} would all approach this affair alike.
“This is only a proposal… you’re free to disregard it,” Qi Xia remarked. “Yet I wonder, under what circumstances would you even consider the feasibility of this?”
“You!” Terrestrial Horse exhaled a puff of hot air through her dark nostrils. “I… will never consider it…”
“That is indeed for the best,” Qi Xia said.
Their exchange concluded almost acrimoniously, and Qi Xia’s face showed scarcely less displeasure than Terrestrial Horse’s.
What exactly had she meant by those words just now?
Over twenty years…?
He was only twenty-six in this life, yet the time he had spent in {End Point} already exceeded twenty years?
What a preposterous and laughable existence.
Had he truly spent more time here than in the real world? Or were all the memories of his life merely false?
None among them had the luxury to dwell on the two’s thoughts; a far graver matter lay before them: Terrestrial Horse had now explicitly prohibited two people from riding together…meaning she herself would inevitably throw the ball in the seventh round.
“Swindler lad…” Qiao Jiajin turned to Qi Xia, concern etched on his face. “Do you got a countermeasure?”
Qi Xia came back to himself, stroking his chin. “None occurs to me for the moment.”
Qiao Jiajin slowly grinned. “I got a plan.”
“You do…?” Qi Xia felt a rising unease. “And what is it?”
Qiao Jiajin stepped aside, picked up the metal bat, and lifted it with a grin toward Qi Xia. “Swindler lad, this is my plan.”
Qi Xia knit his brows, suddenly struck by a realization. “Your method seems rather—”
“Even if that Big ol’ Horse throws the balls herself, I’ll block every last one with this bat.”
That single sentence made the faces around them tighten with worry.
Wielding a mere metal bat to deflect the {balls} cast by a Terrestrial-grade Earthly Branch… how was this any different from an ordinary participant attempting to duel an {Earthly Branch} one-on-one?
“Are you certain…?” Qi Xia felt apprehensive. “We have no notion of what the {Terrestrial-grade}’s upper limits are. Can you withstand the {balls} she throws?”
“It’s precisely because we don’t know their limits that we must put them to the test. Once we’ve attempted it once, all that comes after will be far easier.” Qiao Jiajin twirled the iron bat casually in his hand. “We’ll follow the usual steps for this round… next round, you all hold your positions at the starting point. I’ll risk this life of mine and knock every one of those {balls} aside.”
Qi Xia realised that in a game devoid of strategic depth, his own influence was limited. What mattered most was the physical prowess of the team’s strongest participant.
Yet even if that Terrestrial Horse had never trained in combat or throwing, the force behind her pitch would certainly not be ordinary. Just how confident was Qiao Jiajin that he could take it head-on?
After promptly finalizing their strategy, they repositioned the wheelbarrow and let the more lightly built Yun Nineteen take the seat first.
“Are you ready?” Qiao Jiajin asked.
“Ready!” Yun Nineteen replied.
The others fell into step with Qiao Jiajin, drawing a deep breath before shoving the wheelbarrow forward with all their strength. The wheelbarrow wobbled under the uneven force, spinning as it hurtled ahead.
This time, the {Towering Gates} star’s attribute remained {Earth}, yet it was utterly different from the previous round.
From the mechanism flew one wet clay ball after another, emitting strange, thick smoke as they ricocheted through the air.
Yun Nineteen prided himself on his mental fortitude, yet sitting atop a wheelbarrow with no protection, sliding at high speed over the ice while countless mud balls whizzed past him, made his heart skip several beats.
He had ridden rollercoasters before, but how many had experienced one without safety restraints, combined with flying projectiles capable of taking their life at any moment?
Fortunately, Qi Xia’s strategy remained flawless. The mechanisms needed time to fire, and the projectiles took time to travel. The wheelbarrow, moving swiftly, could escape the origin point in an instant, making it exceedingly difficult for the contraptions to lock on.
As the wheelbarrow came to a stable stop at the finish, the group moved quickly to its side to turn it around—but then noticed that the mud balls scattered across the ground began to emit rolling, thick smoke, instantly enveloping the entire track.
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
