Zhang Chenze slowly furrowed his brows after hearing this. Chu Tianqiu’s answer was not far from Yun Yao’s earlier speculation, but she simply couldn’t determine its authenticity.
“It’s hard for me to believe…” Zhang Chenze sighed. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to say this, but judging by your behavior… it’s hard for me to trust your words.”
“Yes.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “Even I can’t believe it myself.”
His face gradually lost all expression, making everything even more inscrutable.
“Even I can’t believe that after regaining so many memories, I would go mad in such a short time.” Chu Tianqiu extended a pale finger and pointed outside. “The meaning of ‘Paradise Port’ was to give these ‘Echoers’ a place to call home, yet I started treating their lives like worthless weeds overnight… To me now, none of them deserve to live.”
Zhang Chenze tried to see things from Chu Tianqiu’s perspective and found it somewhat understandable.
“Then… what about Xu Liunian?” Zhang Chenze asked again. “I heard this girl once became a ‘Native’… but then turned back into a ‘Participant.’ Do you have any idea how that happened?”
At the mention of “Xu Liunian,” Chu Tianqiu slowly lifted his gaze, giving Zhang Chenze a cold, piercing look before revealing a slightly deranged smile.
“Xu Liunian’s case is far too complicated…” Chu Tianqiu chuckled. “I can reveal everything about myself, but if I were to expose Xu Liunian’s identity… I’d be erased from this world.”
“Oh…?” Zhang Chenze felt she had caught something crucial in his words. “So you’re saying… Xu Liunian’s identity is so special that even you dare not judge her?”
“Exactly.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “What I can tell you is very limited. All I can say is… Xu Liunian and I are in a partnership.”
“Partnership…?”
“Indeed. Xu Liunian’s identity makes her unique… She is neither one of the ‘Participants’ here nor one of the ‘Administrators’… She is a ‘Third Party.’”
Zhang Chenze felt increasingly lost by Chu Tianqiu’s words. She could only shake her head and ask a question she could actually comprehend.
“Then how did she turn back into a ‘Participant’?”
“Well…” Chu Tianqiu said, “To be precise, Xu Liunian didn’t ‘turn back’ into a ‘Participant.’ She is now a complete ‘Free Agent.’ But you should also know… in all of the ‘Land of the End,’ perhaps only Xu Liunian could attain such an honor. No one else can.”
“Because she’s a ‘Third Party’…?”
“Yes.”
Zhang Chenze’s eyes slowly widened. “So… does that mean no one else can turn from a ‘Native’ back into a ‘Participant’?”
“Correct.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “I can think of no way to reclaim these people’s sanity from Zhuque… and Zhuque would never agree to such an absurd request.”
“So… that’s how it is?”
“Let me tell you one more thing.” Chu Tianqiu continued, “Xu Liunian becoming a ‘Native’ was also part of the strategy we devised.”
The light in Zhang Chenze’s dimmed eyes suddenly flared back to life. “What…?”
“I only recently remembered the full story.” Chu Tianqiu said. “Because every possible ‘path’ had been tried before, except for the path of the ‘Natives’… After much deliberation, only Xu Liunian was suited for this task.”
“Huh…?”
“Back then, during the Di Ma racing game, I deliberately gave the wrong answer, causing Xu Liunian to die horribly in that car. From then on, she lived in the ‘Land of the End’ as a Native, waiting for the day we would reunite.”
“That’s insane…” Zhang Chenze said. “You didn’t even know if the two of you would ever meet again…”
“No, it’s not insane.” Chu Tianqiu shook his head. “Everyone overlooks one thing… Escaping from here isn’t something that can be achieved within ten days. We need to think long-term—three years, five years, ten years. And I knew for certain that one day, Xu Liunian and I would meet again. Then, she could tell me everything about her experience as a ‘Native.’”
Zhang Chenze fell completely silent. She knew full well that compared to people like Qi Xia and Chu Tianqiu, she was still far behind.
“If even becoming ‘Heaven’ can’t get us out… then becoming a ‘Native’… must bring us closer to the will of the End, right?” Chu Tianqiu’s words grew increasingly frenzied, his expression twisting. “Everything is just as I thought! It’s so despairing! Xu Liunian believed that after two years as a ‘Native,’ she had returned to normal life… Everything she saw was normal in her eyes!”
Hearing this, Zhang Chenze slowly stood up. The man before her now seemed dangerous.
“How utterly hopeless!” Before Zhang Chenze could step back, Chu Tianqiu lunged forward and seized her arm. “We return to the ‘real world’ every ten days… but how do we know that’s really the real world?!”
“Y-you need to calm down…” Zhang Chenze tried to pull free but found his grip far stronger. “I understand what you mean, but don’t get too worked up.”
“What kind of ‘real world’ stays frozen on the same day, waiting for us to return?! What if we’ve never left at all?!” Chu Tianqiu continued shouting. “What if it’s all a lie?! What if, the moment we all turn into mindless Natives on the tenth day—the moment we all go mad—we just *think* we’ve escaped?!”
“Chu… Chu Tianqiu, you…”
“How despairing!” Chu Tianqiu’s hands trembled violently as he clutched her, his face twisted in utter hopelessness. “How absurd!!”
“Don’t lose yourself…” Zhang Chenze spoke softly. “Don’t you still have your own path to walk?”
Chu Tianqiu paused, then suddenly released her. He staggered back a few steps, his expression fading into blankness.
Zhang Chenze, now free, slumped against the wall behind her.
With a hollow, despairing laugh, Chu Tianqiu muttered, “Just leave me alone… Let me walk my own path. I won’t hinder any of you.”
Zhang Chenze rubbed her wrist and swallowed hard. “But your current state is unstable…”
“I must erase the memories of everyone in ‘Paradise Port.’” Chu Tianqiu murmured. “This place shouldn’t exist anymore. They don’t need to cling to hope. If everyone knew the truth of this place… they’d all go mad, all become ‘Natives.’ If they must hate someone… then let them hate me alone.”
Zhang Chenze could feel the overwhelming sorrow radiating from Chu Tianqiu, yet she had no idea how to console him. Their pursuits were worlds apart.
“Yun Yao is gone too… I have nothing left to hold onto.” Chu Tianqiu walked past her and pulled open the door. “Just take care of Qiao Yun for me.”
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