Chapter 13: A Sharp Retort Stuck in the Throat

Not far away, the league’s medical robot, having heard the commotion, hurried to the scene.

“What’s going on?” Lin Yu and the others from the resting area followed with puzzled looks.

As soon as they arrived, they saw Qiqi lying on the ground, her expression filled with terror. “What happened?”

Qin Dongzhu wore a troubled face and shook his head helplessly; he couldn’t make sense of it either.

Normally, a team’s substitute should be a member of the squad, but a few days ago, the Spirit Detention Department had claimed to have discovered a powerful deck that could be lent to the team.

He thought, “Is that really possible?”

But later, it was said to be a test deck.

A so-called test deck referred to a deck with a mysterious origin, infected with curses and vengeful spirits.

It required prolonged testing and purification before it could be adapted for use.

Well, it usually didn’t act up, but it just had to break out after the match started—right when the team was at a severe disadvantage and needed it most.

Talk about bad timing!

Qin Dongzhu felt like he was losing his mind.

The medical robot scanned the unconscious Qiqi and, after half a minute, concluded: [Acute myocardial infarction, already in shock].

“Shock?!” The members of the Bian Yuetang team erupted in astonished shouts. “At a time like this?”

“I swear,” Mickey removed Qiqi’s duel disk, putting on an innocent face, “she was fine just moments ago.”

Agent Le Tong from the Spirit Detention Department sighed deeply. “I’ve never had a smooth mission with you.”

“Is that my fault?” Mickey pointed at himself. “You said there was no problem.”

“Stop arguing!” Qin Dongzhu snapped sternly, his breathing growing even more rapid.

The pause was only ten minutes—stay calm, stay calm.

But what exactly should they do? What should they do!

After a while, Qin Dongzhu finally composed himself and turned to Lin Yu. “Go report to the organizers and notify them the substitute is leaving.”

“I... I’ll go find someone.”

According to league rules, substitutes could be anyone other than citizens from other fortresses; wild citizens or numbered citizens were considered unowned and were within the allowed range.

If the substitute couldn’t participate due to force majeure, the team had one chance to temporarily replace the substitute.

“Captain...” Lin Yu seemed to guess Qin Dongzhu’s plan, lowered his head, and sighed helplessly. “Understood.”

Bian Yuetang had not arranged a secondary substitute; Qiqi’s incident was completely unexpected.

At a time like this, who could be found in ten minutes?

Only a scapegoat from the transport vehicle.

Qin Dongzhu dialed a number and got straight to the point. “There’s been an incident in the league. I need a stand-in.”

[Got one. Don’t worry, I have someone.]

“I want a death row inmate.”

[Since they’re all just scapegoats, why not go straight for a numbered citizen? I’ll give you a discount.]

Qin Dongzhu thought for a moment, then muttered, “One hundred fifty thousand.”

---

[Alright! I’ll head over now. Half an hour, still in time.]

“I’m giving you ten minutes!” Qin Dongzhu snapped angrily and hung up.

Mickey watched as Qiqi was carried away and sighed softly. “The mission’s ruined again.”

The Spirit Detention Department’s specially assigned Qiqi couldn’t even handle this deck; now they had to find a scapegoat on the fly—no way.

“Our monthly performance will be below target again,” Le Tong lamented.

Qin Dongzhu glared at the two, fury rising. “You two really surprised me.”

“Sorry,” Le Tong said casually, “but the team falling behind in the league isn’t our fault.”

“We just failed to help and wasted a substitute spot.”

“We haven’t lost any points yet...”

She looked up slightly, glancing somewhere. “Those two girls look pale with fright.”

“Sorry...” Tang Xin bowed her head in apology.

Mu Ningning, feeling ashamed, closed her eyes. “If no one arrives in ten minutes, I’ll step in.”

Silence fell, each person downcast.

Ten kilometers away, the prisoner transport vehicle was speeding along.

Inside, Li Guanqi was panicking, his breath uneven.

“It’s over... it’s over...”

Whenever he remembered what the driver said, doubt crept into his heart.

“To be a scapegoat...”

“What should I do, what should I do...”

He anxiously scanned his surroundings, countless thoughts flashing through his mind, each dismissed one by one.

There was nothing in the cabin—no glimmer of hope.

“Are you a doctor?” the irritable young man Nanyang Ming suddenly asked.

Li Guanqi was stunned, not understanding why he asked, and nodded absentmindedly.

Nanyang Ming exhaled sharply and said gravely, “When we get off, I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“Don’t get your hopes up too high.”

After saying this, he closed his eyes slightly, as if resting.

“This guy’s not bad,” Li Guanqi thought, a faint warmth rising inside him.

Though he didn’t really believe Nanyang Ming’s words would help—all of them were in dire straits.

Minutes later, the transport vehicle braked sharply again.

Li Guanqi’s heart leapt into his throat.

If nothing went wrong, as soon as the door opened, someone would put a hood over his head and take him to some unknown place to be executed in darkness.

With a metal strip stuffed in his mouth, he wouldn’t get a chance to explain.

With a clang, the door opened, and a large robot dragged Li Guanqi out of the van.

---

Bai Zhi hesitated a moment, then also got out, no one stopping him.

After stepping down, Li Guanqi quickly scanned the surroundings. It was past nine at night, the view dim. Ahead was a massive venue, resembling a bird’s nest, brightly lit, with faint cheers from the crowd.

“A sports event?”

“To be hooded and executed in front of all those eyes?”

“Killing with malice?”

He wanted to curse loudly, but only a cute ‘oooh’ came out.

“Here it comes, stop rushing!” The burly driver impatiently ended the call.

He glanced at the robot beside him, nodded slightly, and gave the order, “Escort him inside.”

From inside the vehicle, Nanyang Ming’s voice sounded, “He’s a doctor.”

Hearing this, the driver paused, lost in brief thought.

A moment later, a ruthless gleam flashed in his eyes as he shouted into the cabin, “You’re a prisoner now. Still trying to boss me around?”

“Take off his clothes!”

The driver ordered the robot.

Two tall robots immediately stepped forward, roughly stripping the white coat off Li Guanqi with swift and forceful motions.

“He’s not a doctor anymore,” the burly driver sneered, a tinge of pride in his voice.

Hearing this, Nanyang Ming closed his eyes helplessly and sighed softly, “Sinful.”

Words of persuasion were useless. Despair surged in Li Guanqi’s heart as he looked at the controller in the driver’s hand, his gaze growing resolute.

He had a small knife on him now and was waiting for a desperate chance!

The robots escorted Li Guanqi to the venue’s entrance, where a tall man in a white uniform was approaching.

“Move it!” Qin Dongzhu urged.

The fat-headed driver leisurely said, “One hundred fifty thousand.”

Qin Dongzhu grumbled but transferred the one hundred fifty thousand gold points via his supercomputer ring.

“Generous,” the fat-headed driver tossed the controller aside and turned to leave. “Good luck with the league.”

Watching the entire transaction, Li Guanqi slowly furrowed his brow, then relaxed it, then furrowed again, then relaxed once more.

His first instinct was to complain about his fifteen-thousand price tag.

But then he realized an even greater point of contention.

Countless question marks flashed through his mind.

How was he supposed to make sense of this scene?

The buyer, Qin Dongzhu, was wearing something both familiar and strange—

A duel disk?