Chapter 913: A Wretched Existence

“Oh?”

I knew I had once again piqued Qinglong’s interest.

Why wasn’t Baiyang erased despite saying so many rebellious words? As Qinglong had said… he liked clever ants.

As long as I kept Qinglong interested enough in me, I might just survive.

If Qinglong truly had some kind of collaboration with Baiyang, then it meant that the “backer” mentioned by the Shar-Pei and the sheep when Baiyang first appeared was Qinglong.

He had always valued intelligence.

“Qinglong, I’m stronger than most ‘participants’ here,” I said. “Killing me might not be a loss for you, but keeping me alive would be beneficial. I’m smarter than you think.”

“Truly interesting…” Qinglong took a step forward. “What gives you the confidence to say such things?”

“I…” I paused, then continued, “I’ve been self-loathing my whole life. It’s time to be confident for once.”

“Yan Zhichun,” Qinglong called out again. “How pitiful? A life toyed with, yet you treat it as a treasure. Self-loathing is justified—you should carry it with you for the rest of your days.”

“What…?”

Qinglong slowly raised his hand, palm open, and held it just above my forehead.

I felt a strange force probing my mind.

“What a chaotic life,” Qinglong said expressionlessly. “False memories, disordered thoughts, even your intelligence isn’t your own. Your brain has employed a powerful self-repair mechanism, weaving those chaotic memories into what you believe is a complete life, but it has deceived even you.”

“I…”

“You must have noticed something off about your life, haven’t you? ‘Seeing is believing’ is useless here,” Qinglong continued. “Before today, not a single memory of yours can be trusted.”

“I… I don’t understand,” I said. “I know the life I’m living and how I got here. Baiyang is my benefactor. Even if he’s done questionable things, I could never betray him.”

“But he’s been toying with you all along,” Qinglong said. “He’s toyed with many here. The reason I’ve been ‘eavesdropping’ is to observe Baiyang’s every move. He will plunge this place into chaos, and no one will be spared… Didn’t you feel it during ‘Silence’?”

“So what?”

“You’ve caught my interest,” Qinglong said. “What’s the point of serving Baiyang? Work for me instead. I can offer you a better deal.”

“It sounds tempting, but no,” I replied. “You and Baiyang gave me completely different first impressions. I can’t serve you.”

“What’s the difference?” Qinglong asked. “Both are powerful figures offering you a partnership. How did I lose to Baiyang?”

“Well… on the surface, there isn’t much difference,” I answered with a bitter smile. “But Baiyang treated me as a human from the start—it was me who thought of myself as a dog. You, however, see me as a dog from the outset. If I work with you, I’d have to exhaust every means just to prove I’m human.”

“Hahahaha!” Qinglong burst into laughter. “Too bad you’re not even a ‘dog’—just an ant!”

“It’s precisely this attitude of yours…” I said, “…that makes no one want to serve you.”

“Is that necessary…?” Qinglong retorted. “Yan Zhichun, do you realize how dangerous your situation is right now?”

My expression darkened. Then, I pulled a map from my pocket and said, “Qinglong, I won’t serve you, but I’ll trade this for my ‘sanity.’ If you still want to kill me after seeing it, I’ll accept my fate.”

I knew if Qinglong found this map on my corpse, its last shred of value would be gone.

Right now, I could still use it as a bargaining chip—my final chance.

Qinglong hesitated for a moment, then flicked his wrist. The map floated from my hand, unfolding itself before him.

“A map…?” he murmured. “Baiyang gave this to you?”

His eyes quickly scanned the eight marked locations before a pensive look crossed his face.

“You like smart people, don’t you?” I asked. “Take the map and solve the puzzle Baiyang left behind. What do you say?”

“Interesting…” Qinglong slowly smiled. “He summoned ‘Silence,’ then gave you this map… Was the rest of your conversation about this?!”

“Yes,” I replied calmly, though my heart was pounding.

*Brother Sheep, this is all I can do.*

“Ox, Rabbit, Dragon…” Qinglong suddenly frowned. “Dragon…?!”

I watched him cautiously, unsure why he reacted so strongly to “Dragon.”

“Good… very good, Earth Dragon…” Qinglong turned to me abruptly. “Little ant… you’ve been a great help…”

“Really…?” I replied ambiguously.

“This is too amusing. Handing over such crucial intel—I’d love to see how you explain this to Baiyang.” Qinglong’s grin turned manic. “Fascinating… watching insects tear each other apart—who wouldn’t enjoy that?”

I knew he might be right. The one secret only I knew, the most important and safest mission, had fallen apart mere minutes after I left Baiyang’s game.

The problem was, I couldn’t fight Qinglong. Even my “Echo” had no effect on him—his own “Soul Snatcher” was far stronger than mine.

In this situation, survival was my only option.

Qinglong pocketed the map, gave me a meaningful look, and vanished before my eyes.

Before disappearing, he muttered, “Dragon…”

I recalled Baiyang saying that among those eight, some were allies. Now that Qinglong had the map, they’d likely be wiped out.

*I need to act fast…*

With that thought, I sprinted back to Baiyang’s game and burst into the office.

Baiyang sat motionless at his desk, eyes closed, deep in thought.

“Brother Sheep… something terrible happened…” My voice trembled.

Baiyang slowly opened his eyes and looked at me. “Speak. What is it?”

“That map… Qinglong has it now!” I said. “It’s all my fault… but I couldn’t resist. I only had two choices—lose the map or lose my sanity *and* the map… I… I had no choice…”

“What…?” Baiyang frowned slightly. “Qinglong took the map?”

“Yes… I’m sorry.”

“You couldn’t even handle this one task?” Baiyang’s voice turned stern. “After all the trust I placed in you… I’m deeply disappointed.”