Internet

Barrett handed over his pouch without hesitation, followed by Taylor. Candy hesitated but reluctantly surrendered hers. Jack Li sorted the golden spheres, discarding an empty pouch. 

"We've earned 95 Dao across five shares," he announced. "Adding our leftover one makes 96. Twenty-four each." He redistributed the pouches. "Count them now. No refunds later." 

Candy verified hers immediately. Taylor and Barrett simply reattached theirs. 

"Aren't you checking?" Jack Li raised an eyebrow. "I *am* a liar." 

"If I'm short, I'll take yours," Taylor said flatly. 

Barrett hefted the bear arm. "Where next?" 

"Let's eat," Jack Li replied. 

--- 

The group scavenged derelict buildings for cooking supplies. In a partially intact diner, Barrett dropped the bloody limb with a thud. "Carrying this crap's worse than hunger." 

Candy discovered an aluminum pot under a table. Jack Li gathered broken furniture for firewood. Barrett followed Candy to the kitchen, where they found the plump girl—Xiao Xiao—already waiting. 

"Tracking us?" Jack Li eyed her. 

"I was here first!" Xiao Xiao gestured to water jugs in a cupboard and produced a lighter. "Survivors should help each other!" 

Jack Li remained silent, watching as she "helped" boil the bear meat. He butchered the limb with a rusted cleaver, forbidding Xiao Xiao from touching the food. 

The stew bubbled ominously. 

"Bear meat good?" Taylor asked. 

"Divine," Barrett claimed through a mouthful. "Ate it once in '06." 

Candy froze. "2006? You're… 40?!" 

Barrett snorted. "Born '79, still prime!" 

Taylor paled. "I'm from 2068." 

"2022," Jack Li said calmly. 

Silence hung thick as the stew's gamey stench. 

"Time doesn't matter," Jack Li cut through the tension. "Eat. Survive. Escape." 

--- 

The meat tasted like rancid fat. Jack Li forced down a bite, gagging at the greasy aftertaste. Barrett and Candy devoured theirs stoically. 

"Disgusting," Taylor whispered. 

"Eat," Jack Li ordered. "Next game won't wait." 

Xiao Xiao watched them all, smiling. 

--- 

**Chapter 50: Bitter Feast** 

Jack Li's bowl contained the prized paw—a gelatinous blob oozing yellowish fat. He choked it down, throat burning. 

"Ancestors called this *delicacy*?!" He glared at the bone. 

Barrett belched. "Tastes like victory." 

"Victory?" Taylor pushed her bowl away. "This is despair with cutlery." 

Xiao Xiao giggled. "Need spices next time!" 

Jack Li's eyes narrowed. *There won't be a next time for you.* 

The ox-man's earlier warning echoed: *Liam dies. The liar…I'll handle.* 

He stood abruptly. "Move out. Now." 

"But—" 

"Now." 

As they fled the diner, Xiao Xiao lingered, dipping a finger in the stew. She licked it slowly, grin widening. 

The group ate sparingly, finishing the greasy bear stew. The broth, marginally better than the meat itself, provided fleeting comfort.

"Leave the leftovers," Jack Li said, stretching. "We'll eat tonight…if we survive."

Xiao Xiao reached for another serving. "I'll take more."

"Suit yourself." Jack Li eyed the crimson-tinged afternoon sky. "We need 360 Dao today. Let's move."

As Candy and Taylor gathered supplies, Xiao Xiao remained seated, devouring meat with animalistic focus.

"Aren't you coming?" Candy asked.

Xiao Xiao licked grease from her fingers, silent.

"Leave her," Jack Li said.

A thunderous bell tolled.

DONG——

Jack Li crashed face-first into an invisible wall—or rather, the floor. Disorientation flooded his senses: left became right, standing collapsed to crawling. Barrett, Candy, and Taylor lay motionless nearby.

"Poison?" Jack Li rasped, though Xiao Xiao showed no symptoms.

"The bell means negotiation time." Xiao Xiao rose, wiping hands on her pants. "Stop collecting Dao. Live here peacefully."

"Why the hell would I—?"

Xiao Xiao stripped their Dao pouches, dumping the golden spheres into the fire.

"You lunatic!" Jack Li roared as their hard-won treasures melted.

"You're too capable." Xiao Xiao knelt, her formerly "plump" frame now revealing corded muscle beneath a sports bra. "I can't risk you succeeding."

She shattered a table, retrieving a nail-studded plank.

"Wait—!"

The plank descended.

**CRUNCH.**

Barrett convulsed as rusted nails pierced his skull. Blood pooled.

"Barrett…?" Jack Li whispered. No response. Agony lanced his own head—phantom nails churning his brain.

Xiao Xiao turned to Candy. "See? Expendable."

"STOP!" Jack Li lunged, colliding with her immovable frame. She flung him against a wall like trash.

CRACK.

Candy's skull caved. Jack Li's migraine spiked with her final memory: *"I'm here because the world rejected me."*

Darkness swallowed him as another bell tolled.

Flashback

"Look!" Aurora proudly displayed a patched shirt, its pocket adorned with a stitched lamb. "Fixed it myself!"

"Why not buy new?" Jack Li slurped instant noodles.

"Save money." She smiled. "When you land that 2-million job, we'll splurge."

Outside, a sickly yellow sun hung in a blood-red sky.