“In that case, won’t our hands be stained with blood…?” Dr. Zhao frowned and asked, “Once we start killing, what good will it do even if we escape?”
“Oh?” Chu Tianqiu cast a desolate glance at the two of them. “You’ve both killed before… Why the hypocrisy now?”
“But…!” Dr. Zhao’s brow furrowed tightly, and after a long pause, he finally spoke. “But we only indirectly caused their deaths… To put it bluntly, we didn’t actively kill anyone… The nature of it is different…”
“If you insist on splitting hairs, you don’t need to ‘actively’ kill anyone now either.” Chu Tianqiu sighed. “Those people won’t die by your hands—they’ll die by the ‘Echo.’ So it’s not you who kills them, but the ‘Echo.’ And besides, these powers were bestowed upon you by the ‘Land of Finality.’ To put it plainly, they die by the rules of this place. No matter how gruesome their deaths, they’ll just revive next time. So you don’t need to feel any psychological burden.”
The two stood frozen in place, realizing that Chu Tianqiu’s words made some twisted sense.
“Just treat this place like a game,” Chu Tianqiu said. “The ones who die this round will return intact in the next. You’re not killing anyone—you’re just eliminating them for this round. That’s all.”
Dr. Zhao still felt uneasy, but when he turned to look at Han Yimo, he saw a glint of resolve in his eyes.
He had accepted this bizarre game.
“This is a common trope in novels… If the ‘Savior’ stops helping the protagonist, there’s a high chance the protagonist will turn dark…” Han Yimo forced a smile and muttered to himself. “I’ve read this kind of plot before—it could really happen. So let’s go all out, Dr. Zhao…”
“Go all out… That’s absurd…!”
Dr. Zhao’s eyes widened. If a sane person faced one madman, they might still resist. But facing two madmen at once made him seem like the abnormal one.
“Then let me ask one last question…” Dr. Zhao swallowed hard and looked at Chu Tianqiu. “You want us to kill for you—so what will you be doing?”
“Me…?” Chu Tianqiu pondered for a moment before shaking his head. “My hands have never been stained with blood… Not in the past, and not in the future.”
“You won’t even pretend for us…”
Dr. Zhao hesitated. If Chu Tianqiu had given him even the flimsiest excuse, he might have agreed. But from start to finish, Chu Tianqiu had been using him and Han Yimo as weapons—openly and unapologetically.
“I don’t need to pretend,” Chu Tianqiu said. “When a lion teams up with a rabbit, it doesn’t hide its fangs to feign harmlessness. That’s pointless.”
Dr. Zhao fell silent, but Han Yimo suddenly asked, “Where should we start killing…? Who do we target first?”
Chu Tianqiu didn’t answer. Instead, he chuckled lightly. “I have something to take care of. Do as you please.”
He pushed past the two and strode out of the classroom. Under their watchful eyes, he crossed the playground and exited “Paradise’s Gate.”
“What does he even mean?” Han Yimo turned to Dr. Zhao in confusion. “We ask who to kill, and he just walks away?”
“It’s obvious…” Dr. Zhao lowered his head. “The ‘Pegasus Hour’ is over. Nearby ‘Participants’ will gradually return to ‘Paradise’s Gate.’ He wants us to act here.”
“Kill people inside ‘Paradise’s Gate’…?”
“What a brilliant strategy…” Dr. Zhao muttered. “Whether we succeed or fail, as the leader, Chu Tianqiu isn’t even here. He can feign ignorance or claim we betrayed him… Because we’re Qi Xia’s people, no matter what we do, Chu Tianqiu always has an escape route.”
“You’re saying he planned this from the start?” Han Yimo asked.
“Yes. He’s been using us the whole time,” Dr. Zhao sighed. “He targeted the destructive potential of our ‘Echoes.’ Mine is precise and covert, while yours is indiscriminate and devastating. That’s why he recruited us.”
“Isn’t that a good thing…?”
“What?”
“Being used… doesn’t that mean we still have value?” Han Yimo turned to Dr. Zhao with slightly vacant eyes. “In the real world, no one ever exploited my abilities. Isn’t this a good thing?”
Dr. Zhao often felt trapped in the logic of madmen—first Chu Tianqiu, now Han Yimo.
Perhaps one day, he too would descend into their kind of madness.
And then… maybe he could finally “dissect” humanity?
“So you’re really going to do it?” Dr. Zhao said sorrowfully. “Even knowing Chu Tianqiu is using you as a weapon, you’ll still unleash your power to kill others?”
“Using me as a weapon…” Han Yimo murmured, then slowly grinned. “You’re too naive, Dr. Zhao.”
“What…?”
“In all the books, what kind of fate awaits those who treat the ‘protagonist’ as a tool…?” Han Yimo’s smile grew unnerving. “He’s just a ‘Destroyer.’ He thinks he’s manipulating the ‘protagonist,’ but one day, the ‘protagonist’ will grow strong enough to make him regret it.”
Dr. Zhao felt like he was arguing with someone utterly beyond reason. Han Yimo had repeatedly shown signs of madness in front of him.
“Dr. Zhao, don’t you want to train yourself?” Han Yimo gazed at the sky with a faint smile. “This is the perfect path to level up! We can master our ‘Echoes’ through countless battles. And if we stumble upon some serendipity, our power will soar. Then we can kill Chu Tianqiu and take control ourselves!”
“My god…” Dr. Zhao slumped into a chair and covered his eyes. His situation was dire.
Han Yimo had long gone mad—he could effortlessly summon a nonexistent “sword” to kill. But Dr. Zhao still clung to a shred of sanity.
And that shred tormented him.
He knew Qi Xia and Chu Tianqiu were both lunatics. Following either would lead to no good end.
But apart from them… who else held the hope of escaping this place?
“We’re the perfect team…” Han Yimo added. “With you here, my ‘Seven Black Swords’ can kill anyone—absolutely safely.”
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