Ten Day Ultimatum

Qi Xia swiftly retrieved a lighter from his pocket — the one he had borrowed from Xiao Xiao.

He flicked it to life and held the flame out toward Officer Li.
Momentarily startled, Officer Li shielded the flame with his bloodied left hand, then leaned in to light the cigarette dangling from his lips.
After a pause, he patted Qi Xia’s hand in appreciation.

“Huu—” A plume of dense smoke billowed out as Officer Li exhaled, his entire demeanor softening as he savored the moment.
“How relieving,” Officer Li said with a faint smile. “At least now, death doesn’t seem so frightening.”
“What are you trying to say?” Qi Xia asked, taking a seat across from him with a solemn expression.

Instead of answering directly, Officer Li posed his own question: “Qi Xia, how did Tian Tian and Qiao Jiaqing die?”
“They were murdered,” Qi Xia replied without hesitation. “Yesterday afternoon — by the owner of this lighter.”
He extended the lighter toward Officer Li, placing it gently in his hand.

Officer Li’s eyes fell upon the green plastic lighter, a deep melancholy reflected in his gaze.
“Is that so…” he muttered, lifting his eyes to meet Qi Xia’s. “When that person killed Qiao Jiaqing and Tian Tian… did anything unusual happen?”
“Unusual?” Qi Xia stroked his chin, his brow furrowing as he sifted through his recollections. There had been so many oddities. He gathered his thoughts and recounted the events of the previous afternoon to Officer Li, including the woman’s strange physique and the perplexing poisoning.

He concluded, “I also heard the bell toll twice — once before, once after the murder.”
Officer Li took another trembling drag of his cigarette, allowing smoke to drift out as he continued. “When the bell rang, I happened to be standing in front of that enormous display screen.”
“What?”

“When the toll of the bell echoed in my ears, it felt like the entire world was collapsing,” Officer Li remarked. “Do you know what was written on the screen?”
Qi Xia recalled how the screen would display random text without explanation and asked, “What did it say?”
‘I hear the reverberation of {Adversity Shift (嫁祸)},’” Officer Li recited slowly, enunciating each word.

“Adversity Shift…” Qi Xia murmured, his mind racing. “Previously it was {Beckoned Calamity}, and now it’s {Adversity Shift}…”
Officer Li pulled the last cigarette from his pack and offered it to Qi Xia. “Want one?”
Qi Xia nodded, accepting the cigarette. Officer Li lit it for him with his left hand.
“I figured you smoked,” Officer Li remarked, holding the cigarette between his lips as he tossed the lighter back to Qi Xia. “Perfect for when you need to think, don’t you agree?”

Qi Xia didn’t reply right away. He took the lighter, inhaling from the slightly moldy cigarette.
The flavor, dormant for so long, was harsh and biting.
“I quit a long time ago,” Qi Xia remarked.

“Quitting’s good,” Officer Li nodded. “It’s certainly healthier…”
A contemplative silence settled between them as they exhaled smoke, like students sneaking a cigarette in the school restroom.
“What about the second toll?” Qi Xia asked, breaking the quiet. “Did the screen display anything then?”

“No,” Officer Li shook his head, the cigarette dangling from his lips. “The moment the second toll sounded, the text vanished.”
Qi Xia contemplated the cigarette in his hand, feeling that the situation remained cloaked in mystery.
“What does it all mean?” Qi Xia asked. “The bell doesn’t seem like just a {death knell}, but rather some kind of warning.”

“That’s your puzzle to solve,” Officer Li replied, reclining against the wall and taking a deep drag of his last cigarette. “I’m just sharing what I’ve seen. You’ve got a better shot at surviving here than I do.”
“Why?” Qi Xia’s voice tightened. “Why can’t you survive?”
“Because I’m a police officer,” Officer Li replied, offering a bitter smile as he lifted his injured right arm. “I sacrificed this hand to save Lawyer Zhang. I could’ve turned a blind eye, but my conscience wouldn’t allow it. You, though… Qi Xia, you’re not bound by that.”

Qi Xia seemed to grasp the weight of his words.
This man had been driven by a steadfast resolve to save others from the very beginning. His unwavering principles had remained intact — even as they pulled him toward his own demise.
With a solemn nod, Qi Xia asked, “You didn’t bring me here just to share observations, did you?”

“Correct…” Officer Li’s complexion grew even paler. “Qi Xia, there’s a secret I’ve carried alone. I can’t leave this world with it buried inside me. I need to speak before it’s too late.”
“Why me?” Qi Xia asked, confused. “Why not confide in Lawyer Zhang?”
“Because, like {him}, you’re a swindler too…” Officer Li replied with a wry smile, shaking his head. “You may be different in every other way, but fate seems to have arranged this meeting.”

Hearing this, Qi Xia took a slow drag of the cigarette, smoke curling around him.
“Go on. I’m listening,” he said.
Officer Li’s eyes glazed over as he began recounting his {true} story.

For ten straight minutes, Qi Xia listened in silence, absorbing every detail.
His eyes flickered with disbelief, reflecting the gravity — and impossibility — of what he was hearing.
“Officer Li… So you fabricated that colossal lie during the first game?” Qi Xia asked, his voice trembling slightly.

The story had struck him as odd, but he hadn’t imagined it was all built on such deception.
“Yes…” The rims of Officer Li’s eyes reddened. “It’s the greatest mistake of my life…”
“Just a {mistake}?!” Qi Xia’s expression darkened as he stood, the respect he once held now shattered. “You conspired with that swindler, helped him escape, misled everyone by pretending to be on a stakeout. I’m no saint myself — but nothing enrages me more than corrupt officials posing as righteous.”

Officer Li tilted his head back, tears spilling down his face.
“Yes, a corrupt officer…” he whispered with a bitter smile. “When I first arrived here, I wasn’t surprised. It felt like my {arraignment}…”
“What…” Qi Xia’s brow furrowed, his gaze turning cold.

“Maybe dying here is my punishment…”
As Officer Li’s words faded, a thunderous bell rang in the distance.
{DONG!!}

Qi Xia turned toward the window, his face etched with shock.
The bell… again? What message appeared on the ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) screen this time?
Officer Li, seemingly indifferent to the sound, reached for the empty cigarette pack on the floor. He retrieved a fresh cigarette and pulled a metal lighter from his pocket.

To Qi Xia’s disbelief, Officer Li lit the cigarette, an expression of relief spreading across his face.
Lowering his head, he murmured softly, “Qi Xia, my death… is my atonement…”
Qi Xia stared in stunned bewilderment at the fresh cigarette in Officer Li’s mouth. A deep, uncanny feeling settled over him.

“Hey, Li Shangwu… don’t die just yet…” Qi Xia implored, rushing to his side and kneeling beside him. But it was too late — he was already gone.
The cigarette remained clenched in his lips, and the old Zippo lighter was locked in his lifeless grip.