Chapter 229: Comparison

“What is this…?”

Qixia was stunned into silence.

“Hey! Come help!” Qiao Jiajin shouted as he moved his own body. “Don’t just stand there!”

Officer Li, Han Yimo, and Dr. Zhao snapped out of their daze and stepped forward to assist.

Yu Nian’an, unnerved by the sea of corpses, turned to Qixia and asked, “Xia… are we really staying here?”

“This…”

The overwhelming stench of the piled-up bodies left even Qixia momentarily disoriented.

The last time they were at “Paradise,” there had only been thirty people. Yet now, the corpses of Qiao Jiajin and Li Xiangling alone numbered thirty.

This was truly a “field littered with corpses.”

Lawyer Zhang kept backing away, sensing something deeply wrong with this place.

And the people around her weren’t acting normal either.

Couldn’t they see the problem?

People had died here!

Why were they so casually moving the bodies?!

Why weren’t they terrified?!

The corpses on the ground… had the same faces as the two people standing right there!

“No… I… I can’t take this,” Lawyer Zhang shook her head violently. “I—I can’t stay here.”

Just as she turned to leave, Lin Qin grabbed her arm.

“Lawyer Zhang, if you wander off alone, you’ll starve in a few days,” Lin Qin said with a frown. “We may seem insane now, but you’ll understand soon.”

Meanwhile, Tiantian stood trembling behind the group, silent the whole time.

Were these people really good?

She hugged herself, shivering from the cold—whether it was the chilling sight before her or her lack of clothing, she couldn’t tell.

Just then, a coat was gently draped over her shoulders.

Startled, she turned and saw a stunningly beautiful girl smiling at her.

“Hello, sweetie,” the girl said cheerfully. “Aren’t you cold dressed like that?”

Tiantian swallowed hard and quickly tried to remove the coat. “N-no, don’t… I’m filthy! I’ll ruin your clothes—”

“No, you’re not.” The girl shook her head and wrapped the coat more firmly around her. “I’m Yun Yao. What’s your name?”

“I’m… I’m Tiantian,” she mumbled, lowering her head. The girl before her was radiant, making her feel even more inferior.

“Tiantian…” Yun Yao smiled. “That’s a lovely name.”

Tiantian’s expression darkened. “No… it’s not. Actually, this name… I got it when I—”

“Before I came here, I was unemployed!” Yun Yao cut in, wrapping an arm around Tiantian’s shoulder to warm her. “What about you? Unemployed too?”

“Me? Oh… y-yes. Unemployed.” She nodded carefully, afraid that saying the wrong thing would make her seem worthless.

“Then we should help each other out,” Yun Yao said warmly. “I’ll take care of you from now on.”

Tiantian didn’t understand. Who treated strangers this kindly?

Was she a scammer?

But could a scammer really be this beautiful?

“Y-Yun Yao… you don’t have to do this for me,” Tiantian forced a smile. “I’m not worth it.”

“Shut up,” Yun Yao said firmly. “Don’t call yourself worthless, and don’t call me ‘Yun Yao’—just ‘Xiao Yao.’”

“Xiao Yao…?” Tiantian was still confused. What was this girl’s deal?

“Come on, let’s get you something to eat.” Yun Yao took her hand and led her past the others.

She glanced at Qixia. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Though her tone was dismissive, Qixia noticed something different in Yun Yao’s eyes—the usual sparkle now mixed with uncertainty.

With a sigh, Qixia let it go. He owed Tiantian, and if Yun Yao wanted to protect her, so be it.

Soon, everyone except Lawyer Zhang was helping Qiao Jiajin and Li Xiangling move the bodies.

“What the hell is going on?” Qixia asked Chu Tianqiu as he dragged another version of Qiao Jiajin. “Why are there so many identical corpses?”

Wiping sweat from his brow, Chu Tianqiu grinned. “Qixia, this is your masterpiece.”

“What…?” Qixia froze. “My masterpiece?”

“Qixia, I knew I made the right call,” Chu Tianqiu said, his smile eerie. “‘I must make sure Qixia awakens his Echo’—that decision was absolutely correct. With you here, we can do anything.”

Qixia dropped the body and frowned. “What exactly is my Echo?”

“Qixia…” Chu Tianqiu grabbed his hands excitedly. “It’s ‘Endless Rebirth’! It’s incredible! With you, what can’t we accomplish?! I want to be your friend forever!”

The man beaming before him had indirectly caused Qixia’s death last time.

Though he didn’t know what Chu Tianqiu and Xu Liunian had planned, he was undeniably involved.

The irony was bitter—in this deadly “Land of the End,” Qixia had died twice, not from the games, but from people.

The people here were far more dangerous than the Zodiacs.

Everyone had their own agenda. Even the most harmless-seeming person could be hiding a knife.

“Endless Rebirth…” Qixia muttered, finally understanding.

The reason the ground was littered with Qiao Jiajin and Li Xiangling’s corpses was his Echo.

Even after his death, his power had carried over into the real world.

His subconscious had willed them to survive—so they did.

But the result was horrifying.

No matter how many times the attackers killed them, they would reappear, unharmed, until the last enemy was dead.

So… was Yu Nian’an also a product of this?

Qixia glanced at her in the distance.

But something still didn’t add up…

He shook his head, stopping himself before his thoughts spiraled again.

Chu Tianqiu spoke up again. “Qixia, I swear I’ll never harm you again. You’re my greatest ally on the path to godhood.”

“Oh?” Qixia raised an eyebrow. “How can I help?”

“If I fail to ascend… you can just reset me!” Chu Tianqiu grinned. “No matter how many times I die, as long as you’re here—”

“But would the ‘me’ you create really be you?” Qixia interrupted.

“Of course!” Chu Tianqiu nodded eagerly. “As long as it has my mind, it’s the real me!”