Two Tigers on One Mountain

"We couldn't even watch…" Taylor said, trembling. "It was brutal. That man pinned the bear with the iron plate, sat on it, and kept smashing its head. The whole floor was covered in blood…" 

"Damn…sounds like a Terminator…" Barrett grimaced. "That big guy's a beast." 

"He seemed to know the bear's weak spots. The game wasn't even over yet, and he'd already mangled its face—broken nose, shattered teeth…" Taylor added. 

Candy chimed in, "But Liam didn't walk away unscathed. The bear fought back, clawing him bloody. Luckily, it collapsed within a minute. Thanks to him, the rest of us survived…" 

Jack Li frowned. No wonder Candy and Taylor doubted his strategy. In their room, no one had used his "Eagle and Chicks" tactic. Instead, Liam had turned the iron plate into a weapon and brawled the bear head-on. 

"Then why'd you take so long to get back?" Barrett asked. "The game ended ages ago. We thought you were dead!" 

"It gets worse…" Taylor lowered her voice. "After killing the bear, Liam said, *'Haven't eaten in days—bear paws are a delicacy.'* He made us hack off its arms with the iron plate…" 

Before Barrett could react, Liam, Four-Eyes, and Lao Lü marched toward them, cloth pouches of Dao jingling at their hips. Liam's cold stare locked onto Jack Li. 

"Oi…" Barrett muttered, recalling Jack Li's deal with Four-Eyes. "Trouble's here,骗子仔. What's the play?" 

"Matthew Effect…" Jack Li murmured. *"To those who have, more will be given. From those who have not, even what they possess will be taken."* 

"The hell's that mean?" 

Jack Li didn't answer. He subtly dragged a chair between himself and the approaching trio, eyeing a nearby chair with a splintered leg—a perfect weapon. The ox-man lingered ten paces away, too far to intervene. 

*He killed a bear…but I'm no bear,* Jack Li thought, cold resolve hardening his gaze. 

"What're you planning…?" Taylor whispered, uneasy. 

Barrett cracked his neck, ready. The air thickened with tension. 

Liam loomed over Jack Li. "Heard you messed with my crew." 

"Correct." Jack Li stood firm. "Your friend bought his life with Dao." 

"The hell you are—the King of Hell?" Liam scoffed, picking his ear. "Selling lives?" 

"I *grant* lives." Jack Li stepped closer to the chair. "Or end them." 

"Talk normal, psycho." 

"That depends if you hand over the Dao." 

"Or what?" Liam leaned in. 

"I'll take it." 

In a flash, Jack Li kicked the chair into Liam's knees. The giant staggered back as Jack Li snatched the splintered leg and swung. 

*Crack!* 

The wood shattered against Liam's block. "You little—" 

Jack Li lunged, raining punches. Liam guarded his face, arms like steel walls. 

"Fight dirty, huh?" Liam growled, catching Jack Li's fist. With a twist, he flung Jack Li aside. "I'll play!" 

--- 

**The Brawl** 

Jack Li scrambled up, breath ragged. His all-out assault had barely fazed the giant. 

Liam charged, swatting chairs aside. Barrett hooked his arm mid-swing. 

"Not him, big guy." 

Liam strained, surprised by Barrett's strength. "Why?" 

"He's my *brain*." Barrett smirked, peeling off his jacket to reveal tattooed muscle. "And I'm his fists." 

Liam grinned. "Let's dance, *fists*." 

A boxing jab flew at Barrett. He ducked, firing an uppercut Liam barely dodged. Recognizing skill, Liam switched tactics—a haymaker. Barrett grabbed his arm, flipped into a flying armbar, and slammed Liam down. 

"Submit!" Barrett wrenched the locked arm. 

"Never!" Liam hissed, fingers interlocked to resist. 

Barrett stomped Liam's free arm, breaking the grip. Liam roared as his elbow hyperextended. Desperate, he hammered Barrett's ribs with his free fist. 

Barrett took the hits, knees shielding his torso. Liam bucked, breaking the hold. They rolled apart, then collided again—Barrett leaping onto Liam's back, locking him in a rear naked choke. 

"Yield!" Barrett tightened the hold. 

"Screw…you…" Liam gagged, clawing at the chokehold. 

The ox-man trudged over. "Kill each other outside." 

When they ignored him, he yanked Barrett off like a doll and tossed both men across the room. Chairs exploded. 

"Damn ox…" Barrett groaned, clutching his side. 

Liam writhed, wounds reopening. "I'll skin you someday…" 

As the group rushed to check them, Barrett wheezed: "Still breathing…barely." 

Candy and Taylor helped Barrett to his feet while Xiao Glasses and Lao Lü supported Liam. 

"You good?" Xiao Glasses asked Liam, eyeing his wounds.

"Never better." Liam scratched his blood-crusted chest, then nodded toward Jack Li's group. "Kid wasn't wrong about them."

Xiao Glasses beamed like a praised student. "The tattooed guy's freakishly strong, and that 'Liar Boy' outsmarted a bear! They're perfect!"

Lao Lü scoffed dismissively.

As Liam moved to approach them again, the ox-man's coal-black hand clamped his shoulder. "More trouble?"

"Just talk." Liam shrugged off the grip. Three paces later, he faced Jack Li and Barrett.

"Round two?" Barrett stepped forward protectively.

Liam chuckled, wincing. "Not today. Came to offer you a spot."

Jack Li's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

With a gesture, Xiao Glasses and Lao Lü reluctantly handed over their Dao pouches. Liam tossed both to Jack Li. "Thirty-eight Dao. Payment owed."

Barrett eyed the golden spheres suspiciously. "Why surrender without finishing our fight?"

"Wager's a wager." Liam jerked a thumb at Xiao Glasses. "Plus shrimp here won't shut up about you two."

"Qualify for what?" Jack Li demanded.

"Breaking out." Liam tapped his temple. "Shrimp says you outthought the bear. True?"

Jack Li remained silent.

"Join us." Liam clapped his shoulder. "We're gathering the strong to escape."

"Pass."

"Wait!" Xiao Glasses interjected. "Strength in numbers! With your brains and—"

"One survivor." Jack Li cut him off. "Allies become sacrifices in the end."

Xiao Glasses blinked. "What? Who said that?"

Jack Li froze. The sheep-mask had only mentioned becoming "gods" through victory, never specifying escape limits. Had he misinterpreted "pity those who fail" as exclusivity?

"Why think we can escape together?" Jack Li pivoted.

"Found escapee's journal." Liam revealed. "Join us, I'll show—"

A plump girl interrupted, "Take me instead! I'll do anything!"

Liam appraised her. "Sweetheart, we storm death games. You ready to bleed?"

"I...I can!"

Liam laughed, scribbling a blood-drawn map on scrap paper. "Your call, brainiac." He tossed it to Jack Li before leaving.

"Wait." Jack Li threw back Xiao Glasses' Dao pouch. "Keep it. He's tolerable."

Liam caught it, barking laughter. "Fair play!" He lobbed a severed bear arm at them. "Dinner's on me."

As the ox-man distributed Dao pouches, the plump girl approached Barrett. "Please...my team died...take me in..."

Jack Li strode away without acknowledgment. 

"Sorry, love." Barrett shrugged, following. 

The girl's pleading mask dissolved into venomous glare. 

"Still hunting?" The ox-man rearranged chairs.

"Business thrives." She hissed, grabbing his collar. "You sanctimonious puppets think you're better?"

"We work toward—"

"Compete then." She stormed out. "Liam dies. The liar...I'll handle."

Barrett glanced back. "That girl...?"

"Survived nine deaths alone?" Jack Li counted Dao. "Either genius or parasite."

"Could've been nice!"

"First rule," Jack Li pocketed golden spheres. "Trust no one. Now, your Dao—"