“Knowing too much might make you wish you were dead,” Yu Nian’an said. “Ask what you should, and don’t ask what you shouldn’t.”
“O… okay…”
Xiao Cheng nodded nervously. Though Yu Nian’an hadn’t given a direct answer, it was as good as confirmation.
But what the hell was going on?
So many people in the “Land of the End” could “enter dreams”?
Was “Echo” not unique after all?
“You said he just waved his hand and turned an entire city to rubble…?”
Xiao Cheng turned his head in disbelief, glancing at Qi Xia, who was devouring his meal in the living room.
“So Qi-ge’s mental state isn’t just cracked… it’s completely collapsed…”
“No, the problem still lies in that crack,” Yu Nian’an said. “If it were just the city turning to nothingness, Qi Xia might still be somewhat lucid. That crack is the main reason he’s lost in chaos. After all, this house is the last line of defense he built for himself.”
“Then why didn’t you let me—” Xiao Cheng paused, rephrasing his words. “Why didn’t you fix it yourself? You can create objects here with a mere thought. Mending that crack would be effortless for you!”
Knowing he had no hope of survival left, Xiao Cheng shifted his focus to Qi Xia.
This man was incredibly powerful. If he could regain his clarity, he could lead everyone through every obstacle. Since death was inevitable, why not do one last good deed before the end?
But the situation still felt strange. One of Qi Xia’s inner “guardians” refused to fix the crack, allowing him to spiral into madness.
What exactly was she guarding?
“Xiao Cheng, I told you, everything is under Qi Xia’s control. Don’t worry,” Yu Nian’an said with a smile. “You probably don’t understand the nature of this final battle, so everything before you seems incomprehensible. You’re like a three-year-old stumbling onto a modern battlefield riddled with stray bullets. It’s really not easy to explain from scratch.”
Xiao Cheng slowly lowered his head. He knew Yu Nian’an was right. If Qi Xia was someone capable of facing off against the “Dragon,” then barging into his mental world was practically suicidal.
“I’ve been struggling just to survive, fighting for every chance to gain an ‘Echo’… and yet, someone on this land is already battling the ‘Dragon’…?”
“Don’t lose heart,” Yu Nian’an comforted him. “There are many paths in this world, and everyone has their own. You’ve simply chosen different roads—it doesn’t mean you won’t reach the end.”
Xiao Cheng seemed to take some solace from her words, nodding slightly.
“If possible, I’d like you to make it out alive too. But is that realistic?”
Yu Nian’an wiped her hands clean before opening a kitchen drawer and pulling out a small mirror. She handed it gently to Xiao Cheng.
Confused, he took it, then flipped it over—and froze in place.
The reflection showed no face.
Trembling, he raised a hand to touch his own smooth, featureless skin. He could see, hear, and speak, yet his fingers found no trace of eyes, nose, or mouth.
When had this happened?
Was it because he’d lingered too long in this dream, or was this what happened to anyone who entered this space?
After a long moment of thought, Xiao Cheng finally let out a defeated sigh and looked up. “Sister Yu, if Qi-ge wins this ‘final battle,’ we’ll all be saved, right?”
“‘We’?” Yu Nian’an raised an eyebrow, as if she didn’t understand.
“I mean… all the ‘participants.’ If the ‘Dragon’ is defeated, won’t all of us trapped in this cycle of rebirth finally be freed?”
Silence filled the room—a strange, heavy silence.
Xiao Cheng had imagined countless possible responses. He’d thought Yu Nian’an might agree, deny it, or outright declare that Qi Xia could never defeat the “Dragon.” But none of those expected answers came.
Out of all the possibilities he’d considered, he never anticipated this eerie reaction.
Yu Nian’an lifted a slender, pale finger to her lips, then let out a soft, amused laugh.
The sound was like she’d just heard the joke of the century. Her eyes crinkled with mirth, and her laughter grew uncontrollable, filling the room with an unsettling joy.
And under that laughter, Xiao Cheng felt his blood run cold.
“Sister Yu…”
Watching her delicate smile, Xiao Cheng’s pupils flickered. Though she hadn’t said a word, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d stumbled into some unseen conspiracy. “Why are you laughing…?”
“Oh, my…”
After nearly a dozen seconds, Yu Nian’an shook her head, still smiling. “Xiao Cheng, Xiao Cheng… you really are an interesting person…”
“Interesting…?” A chill crept over his scalp. Something was unfolding far beyond his understanding. “Sister Yu, what do you mean? Isn’t Qi-ge fighting the ‘Dragon’ on behalf of all the ‘participants’? If he wins—”
Yu Nian’an didn’t answer. Instead, she pointed toward the window.
“Xiao Cheng, look.”
Slowly, he turned his head, his gaze passing through the kitchen doorway to the living room window.
Outside stretched endless walls of dark red flesh, pulsing with visible veins.
And high above, embedded in the meaty sky, a massive pupil roamed restlessly.
Yu Nian’an stepped forward, her fingers curling around the rope. “Xiao Cheng, once, you shattered someone’s mind just by destroying a blade of grass. But now, Qi Xia’s entire inner city has been obliterated. Do you know what that means?”
Xiao Cheng said nothing, staring blankly at the city of flesh.
Yu Nian’an gently draped the noose around his neck, adjusting it for comfort.
“And yet, following Qi Xia’s instructions, I built a blood-soaked city in his mind—one where every building is reconstructed from my own bones and blood.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “You’re the one who ‘entered the dream.’ Can you foresee what happens next?”
“I…”
Xiao Cheng couldn’t imagine. What happened when a person’s inner world was utterly destroyed, then remade from flesh and blood?
Could he ever accept this grotesque city within himself?
Wait—that wasn’t the right question. Qi Xia already seemed to have accepted it.
To him, this city was no different from the real world.
“Xiao Cheng, do you really think someone like him would collapse over a single crack?”
“Sister Yu… what exactly are you two planning…?”
“Let me ask you this—do you truly believe someone so ruthless would fight the ‘Dragon’ for the sake of all the ‘participants’?”
*Knock, knock, knock.*
A sudden rapping at the door made both of them pause.
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