Chapter 1217: Don’t Die

After greeting a few people, Qian Wu and Qiao Jiajin slowly walked away in the opposite direction of the “Extreme Path.”

Chen Junnan always felt that such a farewell was far too hasty, but he wasn’t sure what to say to Qiao Jiajin at this final moment.

“Old Qi…” Chen Junnan called hesitantly, “Is there anything else you need me to do?”

“There’s nothing mandatory,” Qi Xia replied.

“For example, using ‘Scapegoat’ to protect you or something…”

“You don’t need to act as a ‘shield’ anymore,” Qi Xia said. “At first, I gathered you and Fist around me precisely because I wanted you to ensure my survival. But that mindset gradually changed after spending time with you.”

“Isn’t that even more depressing?” Chen Junnan forced a bitter smile. “Once you no longer needed us to take bullets for you, you decided to go die on your own. And now we’ve lost our original purpose.”

“Objectively speaking, that’s correct,” Qi Xia said. “You don’t need to die for me, so you’re no longer useful.”

“Whether it’s you dying alone or us being useless…” Chen Junnan shook his head. “Both of those sound pretty goddamn depressing.”

“Then let me rephrase it,” Qi Xia amended. “You’re no longer useful as ‘shields,’ but now you can act as ‘friends’ and do whatever you want.”

Hearing this, the bitter smile on Chen Junnan’s face faded, gradually replaced by a mischievous grin.

“Old Qi, you finally admit I’m a dashing and brilliant wild card?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Well then, I’m just gonna go wander around,” Chen Junnan said, walking over and slinging an arm over Qi Xia’s shoulder. “You already gave Old Qiao some tactics—can’t you give me something too? Like, maybe a ‘two-word mantra’ or something?”

“Nope.”

“Seriously, you’re so damn cold-blooded,” Chen Junnan complained. “No instructions at all?”

“Don’t die,” Qi Xia said.

“Uh…” Chen Junnan scratched his head. “Old Qi, that’s terrifying. Bros don’t talk like that—want me to teach you how?”

Qi Xia gave him a look of sheer exasperation.

“Come on, repeat after me,” Chen Junnan said, unfazed, enunciating every word. “Who—ever—dies—is—a—dumbass.”

Qi Xia’s expression screamed *I don’t want to deal with you*, but Chen Junnan seemed utterly incapable of picking up on it.

“Say it, Old Qi!” Chen Junnan patted his shoulder. “What if I die? Wouldn’t that make it my dying wish?”

“Die? Did you even listen to what you just said?” Qi Xia retorted. “If you die, what does that make you?”

Chen Junnan suddenly realized he’d dug his own grave—if he died, he’d officially be the dumbass.

“Damn it, I wasn’t asking you to find loopholes in my logic!” Chen Junnan huffed. “Don’t you have anything meaningful to say to me?”

“I do.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t die.”

This time, it was Chen Junnan’s turn to look exasperated.

“Fine… Old Qi, I give up,” he sighed, shaking his head before turning away. “Whatever. If I die, I want all of you to remember how dashing I was. If *you* die, I’m gonna call you a dumbass for the rest of my life. Got it?”

“Deal,” Qi Xia nodded.

As Chen Junnan walked off, Yun Yao, Tian Tian, and Zhang Chenze exchanged uncertain glances, unsure where to go in the midst of such chaos.

This “train” had probably never seen so many people and “Zodiacs” moving through its corridors at once. In the distance, small-scale skirmishes had already broken out—mostly between ordinary “participants” and “Human-level” Zodiacs. Neither side seemed to have awakened their “Echoes,” so it was mostly hand-to-hand combat.

“Earth-level” Zodiacs and “Echo-bearers,” however, seemed to have more to consider, remaining on the sidelines for now.

The central door of the “train” continued to draw in “participants,” who instinctively split into two groups, leaving a clear path in the middle.

Qi Xia turned to Tian Tian. “Tian Tian, I need your help with something.”

“Help… okay,” Tian Tian nodded. “What can I do?”

“Do the same thing you did in ‘Cang Jie’s Game,'” Qi Xia said.

“You mean… replicate a ‘door’?” Tian Tian asked.

“Yes,” Qi Xia confirmed. “Everything that was useful in ‘Cang Jie’s Game’ will be useful here again. First, you all need to awaken your ‘Echoes.’ Second, I need a ‘door.'”

Yun Yao paused at this—she had never taken part in “Cang Jie’s Game.”

“Alright… no problem,” Tian Tian agreed.

She felt she had a decent grasp of these strange “doors,” and replicating one shouldn’t be too difficult.

“Which door do you want me to replicate?”

“The one leading to Tianlong’s room,” Qi Xia answered.

“Huh?”

Zhang Chenze also found the situation concerning. “Where… is that door?”

“At the end of the corridor,” Qi Xia explained. “You’ll see the ‘Celestial-level rooms’ first. Inside one of them is a nearly unopenable ‘door’ that leads to Tianlong. I need you to touch it, observe it, and replicate it.”

“So that door… is right in front of the ‘Celestial-level Zodiacs’…?” Tian Tian asked, incredulous.

Yun Yao frowned at Qi Xia. “Aren’t you just sending Tian Tian to her death…?”

“Not exactly,” Qi Xia said. “I want the three of you to form a team responsible for ensuring the mission’s safety. It won’t take long—soon, the ‘Celestial-level’ rooms will be empty. All the ‘Earth-level’ Zodiacs will do everything they can to lure them out and eliminate them.”

“But no matter how you look at it… this mission is way too…” Yun Yao still thought it was far too dangerous. After all, “Celestial-level Zodiacs” were anything but benevolent.

“It’s not mandatory,” Qi Xia said. “You can refuse if you want. I just want to increase the odds of this plan’s success.”

Zhang Chenze, ever composed, asked, “Do you really think… the three of us can pull this off?”

“Yes,” Qi Xia said. “I believe success only requires three things.”

He looked at Tian Tian.

“Exceptional skill…”

Then at Zhang Chenze.

“A calm mind…”

Finally, at Yun Yao.

“And incredible luck.”

Qi Xia met each of their eyes before adding, “If a task still fails despite these three factors, then it was doomed from the start—not even fate could change it.”