“After all, ‘Tannang’ is just ‘Tannang.’ No matter how strong Officer Li’s convictions are, he could never become the Creator.”
Qi Xia picked up a few “Dao” from the ground, but the next moment, the pain was indescribable, and the “Dao” rolled away from his grasp.
“Liar, you…” Qiao Jiajin stepped forward to support Qi Xia, his face full of confusion.
He had no idea what was wrong with Qi Xia, only seeing him curled up and trembling uncontrollably.
Yun Yao didn’t pay attention to Qi Xia. Instead, she stared blankly at the two corpses beside Officer Li.
Though their faces were unrecognizable, their hair and clothes burned away, their builds were unmistakable.
One appeared to be a young boy, while the other was lean and wiry.
“No way…?” Yun Yao’s lips trembled slightly. “Were we… just fighting and killing our own people…?”
“Idol, stop talking…” Qiao Jiajin whispered.
“So Tian Tian drained her own blood… just to kill our own teammates…” Yun Yao’s eyes widened, her heart racing like a stampede of horses.
“Stop it…” Qiao Jiajin glanced at the nearly out-of-control Qi Xia and Yun Yao, at a loss for what to do. “Both of you, calm down…”
“If ‘Dragon’ is this kind of game… how can we lead everyone out?” Yun Yao’s gaze darkened. “Chu Tianqiu never told me…”
Qi Xia finally snapped out of it, slowly standing up, all expression wiped from his face.
“Liar… you…” Qiao Jiajin studied Qi Xia, feeling an insurmountable distance between them, as if they weren’t from the same world.
“Qiao Jiajin, do you see now?” Qi Xia said. “Even if we don’t kill, we’ll be killed sooner or later.”
Qiao Jiajin’s eyes turned cold as well. “Liar, I don’t understand all these grand principles. I just know you didn’t do anything wrong, and that’s enough.”
“You think I didn’t do anything wrong…?” Qi Xia slowly picked up the scattered “Dao” one by one. “One day, you’ll regret this, Qiao Jiajin. You’ll regret standing on the same side as me.”
“No, I won’t…” Qiao Jiajin said. “Liar, stay calm. This place is starting to affect you.”
Qi Xia didn’t respond. He coldly pushed past the two Dragonmen and left the room.
Qiao Jiajin had no choice but to follow.
After a long moment of contemplation, Yun Yao trailed after them.
“Hey, you haven’t taken your reward yet,” the Dragonman chuckled, tossing over a cloth bag. “Thirty ‘Dao’—still a profit for you.”
Qi Xia caught the bag, the irony cutting deep.
A profit?
Were five lives worth less than thirty “Dao”?
Then what was the value of three thousand six hundred “Dao”?
Qi Xia had no mind to continue the game. He had already learned the nature of “Dragon” at the cost of five lives.
But if he searched his heart—did he feel *sad*?
No. He only felt empty, but not sorrowful.
The three of them carried Tian Tian’s body back to “Paradise Port.”
Chu Tianqiu stood in front of the school building, his face paling as he spotted the trio approaching from afar. He immediately rushed forward.
“What happened?” He frowned. “How did someone die on the first day?”
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exchanged a glance. Qiao Jiajin nodded and handed Tian Tian’s body to Qi Xia.
Her body was unnaturally light, cold to the touch.
“Bastard, come out.” Qiao Jiajin waved at Chu Tianqiu and rolled up his sleeves.
“What…?” Chu Tianqiu took a step back.
“I have questions for you. Come out.”
When Chu Tianqiu remained frozen, Qiao Jiajin strode forward himself.
“What exactly do you want?” Chu Tianqiu tensed, eyeing Qiao Jiajin. “Are you planning to attack me here?”
“Why did the map you gave us lead to ‘Dragon’?” Qiao Jiajin cut straight to the point. “What’s your game?”
“What?” Chu Tianqiu’s eyes widened. “Dragon…?”
Qi Xia stared coldly into Chu Tianqiu’s eyes. This man had too many unanswered questions.
“The map I gave you was for ‘Tiger’! How could it be ‘Dragon’?”
His expression seemed genuinely clueless.
At that moment, Qi Xia turned and saw four more people approaching—Lin Qin, Han Yimo, Old Lü, and Zhang Shan.
They must have been part of the same team.
That meant the dead beside Officer Li was Lawyer Zhang.
The four of them also seemed to have participated in a game, returning with a cloth bag.
“Lin Qin, perfect timing.” Qi Xia said. “Help me test a lie.”
“Test a lie…?”
Before Lin Qin could process it, she spotted Tian Tian in Qi Xia’s arms.
Her face paled as she hurried over to check Tian Tian’s condition.
But Tian Tian’s skin had turned an unnatural shade of pale purple, unmistakably lifeless.
“What happened?”
“That scumbag Chu Tianqiu pulled another trick.” Qi Xia muttered. “I suspect he planned this. Help me judge whether he’s lying.”
“Alright.” Lin Qin nodded, standing up to join Qiao Jiajin in confronting Chu Tianqiu.
Zhang Shan, sensing the tension, stepped forward to stand beside Chu Tianqiu.
“Damn… tensions are high. What’s going on?”
“Big guy, I don’t have time for games.” Qiao Jiajin said. “Your boss got people killed. I want an explanation.”
“Explanation?” Zhang Shan frowned, then snorted. “The rule in ‘Paradise Port’ is to follow Chu Tianqiu’s orders. Besides, people die in games all the time. What explanation do you need?”
Qi Xia sighed. “Everyone’s game assignments came from Chu Tianqiu. In this arrangement, he got Little Glasses and Kim Won-soon killed too—on the very first day. Don’t any of you have questions?”
“Wha—” Chu Tianqiu visibly stiffened. “Little Glasses and Kim Won-soon are dead?”
Zhang Shan also looked at Chu Tianqiu with suspicion. After all, Little Glasses had come from the same interview room as him—a righteous man, humble and courteous to everyone. How could someone like that die so easily?
Old Lü’s jaw dropped. “The hell?! Who the hell killed Little Glasses?!”
Yet Chu Tianqiu still wore an expression of genuine bewilderment.
“What are you pretending for?” Qi Xia’s voice was icy. “Didn’t I warn you to drop your schemes?”
“There must be some misunderstanding!” Chu Tianqiu waved his hands. “The maps I gave you were all for ‘Tiger’—they couldn’t have been ‘Dragon’! Think about it—why would I have any reason to kill Kim Won-soon and Little Glasses?”
Lin Qin studied Chu Tianqiu’s expression closely, her own filled with doubt.
He didn’t seem to be lying.
That left two possibilities: either he genuinely had no idea, or he had trained in masking his microexpressions.
His eyes, lips, nostrils, even the positioning of his hands and feet—none of it matched a liar’s tells.
“Qi Xia, it’s strange.” Lin Qin said. “The odds are higher that he’s telling the truth.”
“Really?” Qi Xia nodded slightly. Chu Tianqiu was indeed no ordinary man.
Could it be that Chu Tianqiu had indeed given them “Tiger” maps, but “Dragon” had forcibly taken over the “Tiger” game area?
But if that were the case…
Why had Officer Li and Kim Won-soon’s team ended up fighting against them?
After a long moment of thought, Qi Xia suddenly wore a knowing expression.
*Chu Tianqiu… are you the same as me?*
*Are you a liar too?*
“I know you’ve always doubted me,” Chu Tianqiu said to Qi Xia. “But I truly have no ill intentions. Our goal is to escape this place—the more survivors, the better. Kim Won-soon and Little Glasses were both promising ‘Echoers.’ Think about it—before they could ‘Echo,’ why would I ever want them dead?”
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