The current situation was extremely perplexing for Qi Xia. Under normal circumstances, he would never willingly put himself in such a dangerous position, but this time was different.
A strange sensation enveloped him, making it impossible to think clearly.
Could Yu Nian’an truly exist in the “Land of the End,” only having lost her memories?
In this dimly lit alley, not only could he no longer see the black threads of the girl in white, but even his own threads had vanished from sight.
“No matter what, I must resolve this today…” Qi Xia’s eyes grew colder as he plunged back into the darkness.
He deliberately avoided his left side, walking at a steady pace—fast enough to keep up with the black threads behind him, though he had no idea how far they were.
Every step he took brought him closer to death. If this path led to a dead end, there would be no chance of escaping unscathed.
The girl had clearly entered this pitch-black alley, so where was she now?
A thought suddenly struck Qi Xia.
Had she… died?
If she really was Yu Nian’an, it was entirely possible she had done something reckless.
She might have barged into the dead end like a headless fly, only to be cornered by the black threads and die unnoticed in some forgotten corner.
A dreadful thought echoed in Qi Xia’s mind: if she were truly dead, this path would lead to the worst possible outcome. Not only would he never see her face, but he would also be dragged down to die in this place, his fate unknown and unremembered.
Taking a few more steps forward, Qi Xia noticed the darkness ahead growing even thicker. Something felt off—he had been in dim environments for a while now, and his eyes should have adjusted by now. Why was it still so dark?
A suspicion gnawed at him that something was right in front of him. He stopped, cautiously reaching out to feel the space ahead.
The moment his hand lifted, a sharp pain shot through his fingertips. The black threads of the girl in white had somehow appeared before him, slicing into his finger.
Had he not stopped, his neck would have been severed.
After a moment of thought, he reached out again, maneuvering around the threads, only to freeze in shock.
His fingers brushed against a shoulder.
A person stood silently before him, less than half a meter away.
It was as if Qi Xia had been cast into a void of absolute darkness, surrounded on all sides, with a motionless figure standing right in front of him.
The person neither spoke nor moved. Qi Xia’s hand remained on their shoulder, unsure of what to do next.
With deadly black threads to his left and behind, danger loomed from three directions. He was inexplicably trapped.
“Who… are you?” Qi Xia whispered.
No response.
A deep unease settled over him. Never in his life had he felt so conflicted. He could usually discern whether something was a trap, but this time, uncertainty gnawed at him.
Even if this *was* a trap, he had no choice but to walk straight into it.
Otherwise, the pain of his unresolved obsession would never fade, and the branching paths of fate would never lead him to the answers he sought.
“Only the right side is left…”
As Qi Xia stared into the darkness on his right, contemplating his next move, something suddenly reached out and seized his collar.
Before he could react, he was yanked forward.
**THUD!**
A heavy door slammed shut, sending a gust of wind through the air.
As Qi Xia opened his mouth to speak, a faint glow flickered to life—someone had lit a lighter. In the dim light, he realized he had been pulled into a small shop.
Three people stood before him.
His gaze locked onto the girl in white at the center, ignoring the other two.
*Strange…*
*This is too strange.*
She wore the exact same white dress as Yu Nian’an, had the same long hair, the same height and build—yet her face was completely different.
Though pretty, her expression was cold, her brows furrowed with deep intensity.
Her lips were pressed tightly together, and her sharp eyes scrutinized Qi Xia. Her demeanor was nothing like Yu Nian’an’s.
*Who… is she?*
Qi Xia’s mind spun, fragments of memories colliding chaotically, slipping through his grasp like sand.
A girl who looked identical to Yu Nian’an—except for her face.
“What were you thinking?” the girl in white snapped. “Do you not realize how dangerous it is out there? Running into a dead-end alley?”
Her blunt question left Qi Xia speechless.
“I… you…” He took a step closer, studying her under the flickering lighter flame. “Have we met before?”
“Met?” She frowned, then realization dawned. “Wait—were you *following* me here?”
“Yo!” A man beside her with a northeastern accent suddenly exclaimed, staring at Qi Xia. “It’s *you*, kid!”
Qi Xia turned. The girl’s right-hand companion was a lean man who looked vaguely familiar.
“Hey! It’s me!” The man grinned, producing a smooth stone from his palm. “‘Original Object’! Name’s Sun!”
Recognition flashed in Qi Xia’s mind. This was the man who had fought alongside Xiao Xiao and Luo Shiyi against Qiao Jiajin, Zhang Shan, and Li Xiangling in the Earth Tiger’s log bridge game.
“You’re Lao Sun… the one who creates stones,” Qi Xia muttered.
“Damn right!” Lao Sun chuckled. “No wonder someone was dumb enough to charge into a dead end—it’s you!”
Qi Xia’s gaze shifted to the third person—a short, plump man with a kindly face, murmuring something under his breath with his eyes closed. Qi Xia had never seen him before.
Which only made things even stranger. In such a dire situation, why were these three hiding in an airtight room?
“You’re all from the ‘Extremists’?” Qi Xia quickly deduced.
The girl in white froze, then smirked. “Oh? You’re no ordinary ‘Participant.’ You know quite a bit, don’t you?”
Qi Xia felt unsettled—not just by the three “Extremists” before him, but by the fact that since entering this room, the black threads behind him had stopped moving.
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