Don't provoke mentally ill people in the infinite flow genre!

Qin Shaoyu's plan was actually very simple: have Du Songzi push him out to block Ling Ye's knife in order to buy time, and then hand the cane to Yi Zanglan to help her gain a chance to fight back.

He was well aware of how powerful Ling Ye's horizontal sword was, so when he made this decision, he was also prepared to bear the worst consequences.

Of course, it's better to stay alive than to die, so he gestured to Du Songzi that he hoped she could use the Thirteen Ghost Needles on him if possible.

He wouldn't have even had a chance to wait for Du Songzi to use her skill. Ling Ye's knife was aimed straight at his heart, enough to pierce him through. Anyone would have died on the spot.

It was Yi Zanglan who grabbed the blade at the crucial moment, slowing down the opponent's attack. In addition, he had previously stolen Ling Ye's S+ damage reduction ability, which barely left him with a chance to survive.

"Captain, I'm about to administer acupuncture." Du Songzi whispered a reminder, "Try to protect Brother Caishen and don't let him struggle too much. The process will be very painful. Say some things he likes to hear, otherwise... I'm afraid he won't be able to make it."

The Thirteen Ghost Needles technique can heal fatal wounds in a short time and is an extremely effective auxiliary skill, but the side effects are also very strong, and the injured person will experience pain that is ten or even dozens of times greater.

He once tried to heal a player in the game, but the player couldn't withstand the excruciating pain and eventually died from the agony.

Back in the bonus match, even a tough guy like Guan Canghai was in excruciating pain and nearly collapsed. It's hard to imagine whether Qin Shaoyu could withstand it.

Yi Zanglan sighed, sat down on the ground, let Qin Shaoyu rest his head on her lap for the time being, wrapped her arms around his upper body, and tightly grasped his hand.

She nodded to Juniper, indicating that they could begin.

Du Songzi held her breath and focused intently, her hands moving swiftly and accurately inserting nine silver needles into Qin Shaoyu's acupoints simultaneously.

...The pain was comparable to being ripped out of one's heart and bones, sweeping over the entire body in an instant, as if the blood were flowing backward, and a heavy hammer was repeatedly crushing the internal organs, tearing every inch of the bones into pieces.

"Well!"

A short, painful groan escaped Qin Shaoyu's throat. Cold sweat poured down his forehead. He trembled and struggled wildly until he could barely make a sound, leaving only weak, hoarse breaths from coughing up blood.

His once smiling eyes were now wide open and vacant, as if searching for someone in a daze, but all he could see was endless darkness.

"It hurts...it hurts so much, Captain..." His whole body tensed, like a bow that might snap at any moment. His voice trembled with sobs as he pleaded, "Just let me die...I'd rather...die..."

Blood seeped out in large quantities from Yi Zanglan's injured palm, quickly soaking Qin Shaoyu's sleeve. She frowned slightly, but still pressed him down firmly, not allowing him to break free.

"They can't die. Not a single one of Black Wind Stronghold members can die." She lowered her eyes and spoke softly, her tone as calm and gentle as ever. "You're very capable, lucky and courageous. You're a key member of the team—the team competition is about to begin, and we only have thirteen people to begin with. I still need your help."

Qin Shaoyu's consciousness was hazy, yet he miraculously heard this sentence, and he was suddenly stunned.

"I'm still... a key member... do you... need me?"

"Yeah, if I didn't need you, why did I agree to let you join the team in the first place?"

"That...that's wonderful..."

He held back for a long time, but finally choked up and shed tears. Although his whole body was still in unbearable pain, he gritted his teeth and persevered, and did not say any more negative or discouraging words.

He let out a long breath, his body went completely limp, and he fell backward, quietly passing out.

Yi Zanglan placed her hand on his neck to confirm that his pulse was normal, then lifted his clothes and found that the wound was indeed almost healed, which put her at ease.

As if remembering something, she tapped Qin Shaoyu's watch with her finger, bringing up the system interface.

...Sure enough, with her mental strength down to D-, she guessed that this skill would come at a price, and that the kid must have deliberately kept it from her.

Although it might not have an impact in this round, she should at least have a general idea of ​​everyone's skill level.

She had just helped Qin Shaoyu lie down when she turned her head and saw Du Songzi kneeling behind her, her face covered in tears. It seemed she had been crying silently for a while as well.

"...They're not dead, so what are they all crying about?"

Yi Zanglan sighed helplessly, realizing that even if he tried to comfort him now, he wouldn't hear him, and he really wasn't in the mood to comfort him, so he simply stopped talking and patted him on the shoulder.

As soon as she stood up, she looked up and saw Yan Zhao running towards her in the moonlight.

Yan Zhao's shadow stretched long in the night. Before she could retract the pair of bone claws behind her, she ran up to Yi Zanglan and slammed on the brakes. The bone claws almost stabbed Yi Zanglan in the face. She quickly withdrew her weapon and then belatedly looked around.

"...Damn." She looked shocked, but quickly realized, "Avoiding the evil spirits is useless, isn't it? They can still track our location."

"Hmm." Yi Zanglan nodded, then asked, "Did you get things sorted out on your end? What about Lao Shen?"

"It's done. It took me a lot of effort to get him to move," Yan Zhao sighed wearily. "I couldn't drag him anymore, so I covered him with my coat and laid him down in the grass. He should be safe for now."

Although the Claw of Wrath could fight the possessed Shen Yubai to a standstill, its excessive ferocity caused it to repeatedly attempt to strike Shen Yubai's vital points.

Therefore, in order to turn those raging claws into fists to stun Shen Yubai instead of directly ripping out his heart, she expended a great deal of mental energy to control them, and after running all the way here, she was also somewhat exhausted.

"You've worked hard," Yi Zanglan replied softly, carefully checking her over. "Are you injured?"

Yan Zhao's breathing gradually calmed down. She remained silent for a moment, then turned her gaze from Ling Ye and Qin Shaoyu, who were lying not far away, and finally landed on Yi Zanglan's face.

"No." Realizing something, her expression changed abruptly, and she hurriedly reached for Yi Zanglan's hand. "...But you're injured? Is it serious? Let me see!"

She immediately touched her hand and saw that the muscles and fascia of Yi Zanglan's right hand had been almost completely severed by Ling Ye's knife, with the bones exposed, and the nerves were probably also severely damaged.

Not only that, Yi Zanglan's shoulder was also pierced, which shows just how fierce the battle must have been.

Yan Zhao felt her heart pounding wildly. Before she could say anything, her eyes were already red and about to burst into tears.

"What should we do..." She carefully covered Yi Canglan's coat, her voice trembling, "Does it hurt? I brought some medicated bandages to stop the bleeding first."

At this moment, Du Songzi leaned closer and whispered to Yi Zanglan, "Captain, I have one more skill to use. I'll give it to you now..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yi Zanglan decisively raised his hand to stop him.

"no."