But as I said, in this massive vortex, I’m just paddling a small oar—my only advantage is having more information than others.
So I chose to conceal it.
“How exactly are you going to answer Qi Xia’s question?”
Chu Tianqiu chuckled and said to me, “That’s easy. Tell him, ‘I never left.'”
The answer was exactly as I had expected. I still had no clue what the two of them were really talking about.
After bidding farewell to Chu Tianqiu, I went up to the rooftop of “Paradise Port” late at night and closed my eyes in the pitch-black darkness.
The situation had grown too precarious—I needed to see Qinglong immediately.
“Qinglong… can you hear me?” I murmured under my breath.
A gust of wind swept through the sky, but no one appeared.
“You bastard… are you really going to abandon me now?” I muttered, my voice hollow. “You can hear every sound in the ‘Land of Finality’… and now you’re pretending to be dead?”
I cursed at the sky under my breath. The moment I blinked, he was standing right in front of me.
Qinglong’s eyes were always ice-cold, sending an uncomfortable chill down my spine just from a single glance.
“The night is already deep,” Qinglong’s androgynous voice echoed in my ears. “Instead of sleeping, you’re here insulting me?”
“Qinglong, cut the talk—first, make me a participant,” I said.
Qinglong nodded. “You already are.”
“Good.” I took a deep breath, the weight on my chest finally lifting. “There are two things I need to ask you.”
“Ask me?”
“One is about Lin Qin, the other about Qi Xia.”
A strange smile flickered across Qinglong’s face—eerily similar to the one Chu Tianqiu often wore.
Then he raised his hand and snapped his fingers lightly.
Even I hadn’t expected that merely mentioning those two names would make Qinglong invoke “Silence.”
Just how deep were the secrets buried within them?
“Xu Liunian,” Qinglong called out. “I feel like I’ve given you enough already… Your plan isn’t even complete, yet you summon me here to ask questions. You should know exactly what kind of person I am.”
Yes, by any measure, Qinglong couldn’t be considered a good person.
He could reshuffle the entire landscape of the “Land of Finality” on a whim. Even if he was slightly more rational than Tianlong, he was still a complete madman.
Even though my identity differed from all the other “participants,” I still didn’t dare provoke him—because he could kill me at any moment, without consequence.
After a moment of thought, I spoke. “Qinglong, I had no choice but to call you here. I haven’t been active in the ‘Land of Finality’ for two years—my understanding of this place is far too shallow now.”
“So the questions you’re most eager to ask are about Lin Qin and Qi Xia?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “With your ‘Spiritual Hearing,’ you must know everything that happens here. If we’re to cooperate, I need sufficient intel—because information is my only bargaining chip now.”
Qinglong stared into my eyes for a few seconds before flashing an inscrutable smile.
“Lin Qin was arranged by me,” he said. “She’s an interesting girl—a cog in the machine.”
“What…?”
I was stunned. I had only gained access to Chu Tianqiu’s room after making a deal with Qinglong, yet Lin Qin was directly placed by him?
“She’s no different from you,” Qinglong continued. “In a way, she’s neither a participant nor a manager.”
My eyes widened in disbelief. “Are you joking?! Lin Qin was also sent from above?! Are you lying to me?”
“Hahahaha!” Qinglong threw his head back and laughed. “Then you’re overthinking it. Lin Qin couldn’t possibly shake your laughably insignificant standing.”
“You—”
Qinglong stepped closer, his presence radiating an icy aura, and spoke clearly: “Lin Qin doesn’t belong to anyone. She’s mine—she only obeys me.”
Even though Qinglong had spelled it out, I still didn’t understand.
“So… she’s a spy you planted beside Qi Xia?”
“Yes, and no.” He nodded, then shook his head. “How should I describe this strange feeling? Even Lin Qin herself doesn’t know she’s a ‘spy.’ She has complete memories and a real life. To her, I’m just a strange ruler here.”
I recalled the time in Qi Xia’s room when I’d noticed a girl who carried no scent at all.
Was that Lin Qin?
A woman in her twenties, seemingly radiant and flawless, yet without a trace of scent—no matter how I thought about it, it was too bizarre.
“And what about Qi Xia…?” I pressed.
“Qi Xia…” Qinglong clasped his hands behind his back, his tone indifferent. “Speaking of Qi Xia… that’s a long story. What exactly do you want to know?”
True, I had many questions—but Qinglong wouldn’t necessarily answer all of them.
To him, I was just a pawn he’d picked up on a whim. If he suddenly decided to discard me, I’d be left with nothing but bones.
To survive here, I had no choice but to play both sides among these monsters—constantly attaching myself to them, letting them wring whatever little value I had left until I was utterly useless, until I was cast aside without a second thought.
“I want to know what Qi Xia’s ‘Echo’ is.”
“Oh…?” Qinglong smiled faintly. “Is this really that important to you?”
“Yes,” I said. “Even if the display gives no hints, you should still be able to hear the name of his ‘Echo,’ right? Who did he inherit it from?”
“This…”
I saw Qinglong’s expression shift for a split second before he forced his usual smile back on.
“Honestly… it’s only the second time I’ve heard this name,” he said with a light chuckle. “I even doubted my own ears… but if those four words are true, then I’ve already found the ultimate answer to the ‘Land of Finality.'”
“The ultimate…?”
“It’s ‘Endless Cycle.'” Qinglong’s smile twisted into a bitter grimace. “Those four words have trapped everyone here.”
“Endless Cycle…?” I’d never heard of such an “Echo.” “D-do you know what this ability does?”
“Yes. I might be the only one in all of ‘Paradise’ who understands the horror of ‘Endless Cycle.'” He let out a hollow laugh. “Seventy years ago, I heard this frequency once… even Tianlong didn’t notice it back then.”
“Seventy years ago…?”
Wasn’t that right when we first arrived here?
“From that day on, all of us have lived and died here, caught in an unending cycle—endless and unbroken.”
“You mean…”
“Yes. He can use ‘belief’ or ‘subconsciousness’ to resurrect someone. In other words… as long as he doesn’t want you to die, you’ll keep living.”
I froze once more.
This was the true meaning of “Endless Cycle.”
What terrifying words!
This wasn’t some divine power—it was an inescapable curse!
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