A Yao was the first to step forward, but Chen Xiao tugged her close before she could speak. He tapped the tip of her nose. "You're different. You have to transfer to the Jiangbei Military Region for me."
A Yao's face flushed. "Why?! Do you know what rank I'll get when we get out of here?"
Chen Xiao shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Nowhere's better than Jiangbei." He added quickly, "I'll talk to Old Pei. Pack as soon as you leave the game."
A Yao puffed her cheeks, tugged his sleeve, and protested half-playfully. Chen Xiao laughed. "Relax—you'll have better hot pot and all the meats you like in Jiangbei than in the capital."
Only then did A Yao relent.
Jiang Ling spoke next, tighter-lipped. "Chen Xiao, I choose the second option. I'll transfer to Jiangbei — but don't move all of us at once." She forced the words out. Chen Xiao waved a hand.
"I know your concern. I won't make things hard. The timing is up to you. And—these two haven't clearly decided yet?" He glanced at the others.
Zhang Longqi stepped forward and bowed. "Boss Mad Ghost, from now on I follow your orders." The informal tone — "Boss Mad Ghost" — showed how much his allegiance had shifted.
Zhao Yuanhang followed suit with a bow. "I… me too."
Chen Xiao smiled and told them to stand. "You three can sort the details after the game. I expect to see all of you in Jiangbei within a month. If Pei Tianyuan objects, tell him to come see me."
He knew Old Pei would object; four second-form awakeners were a heavy asset for any capital region. Still, he wasn't asking them to quit the military, only to transfer regions — not impossible in a world where lives were lost every day.
The three nodded.
By now every surviving Huaxia contestant had sworn allegiance to Chen Xiao except Cao Linxuan. Jiangbei would soon gain four more second-form awakener fighters — plus the Mad Ghost Butcher himself. That was a terrifying concentration of power.
Chen Xiao casually tossed out nine fire seeds — three each for Zhang Longqi, Zhao Yuanhang, and Jiang Ling — then pressed five into A Yao's hands. She giggled with delight.
He wasn't being stingy. More seeds wouldn't significantly improve their second-form choices. He needed the best options for himself; once his second form awakened he would be a shield for Jiangbei and all Huaxia.
"See you outside the game, Boss Mad Ghost!" "Farewell!" "We'll be waiting for you!"
With a rustle of breaking seeds, the others ended the game and vanished. Chen Xiao was left alone.
He didn't rush to crush his own seed. He looked at the T-Rex beside him. "I've wanted to test this. If the T-Rex is gone from this world, will the Spirit Realm Gate still open?"
He'd wanted to try sealing living creatures into the map for a long time. Holding the Mountain and River Map, he flicked it toward the T-Rex. The scroll unfurled like a split sky; a searing white light struck the colossus, and in an instant the prehistoric beast vanished. In the map's corner, atop a painted mountain peak, a lifelike ink-wash T-Rex now stood, frozen in that inner landscape.
It worked. Previously his attempts to seal living beings had failed; now it succeeded—likely because the T-Rex's will aligned with his own.
"Ku cha cha—" The emerald Void Gate at the cave mouth stirred. Ivory tusks emerged: the mammoth. Its massive steps shook the earth. Chen Xiao sealed it into the map as well.
The bronze gate pulsed again. Light flashed and something new burst forth: a pterosaur, gargantuan and fierce, blotting the sky with wingbeats that whipped gale-force winds. Its knife-like beak gleamed; it would make an excellent mount—far faster than the T-Rex or the mammoth.
No fourth creature followed; the Spirit Realm Gate seemed to stop there.
Chen Xiao waved his hand and the T-Rex and mammoth reappeared above the Underground Furnace, the giant bird circling overhead. The scene was surreal even for the apocalypse. Satisfied, he re-rolled the map and pulled the living creatures back inside.
It was time to leave.
A fire seed appeared in his palm. He crushed it. Heat flooded him; the familiar hum returned to his chest.
[Creature ID: 230001][Stage 3][Underground Furnace: Cleared][Please wait for all participants to complete the stage]