“Old Qi… is it not time yet?” Chen Junnan stared at the dimming sky and glanced at Qi Xia.
Qi Xia was currently sitting on an old chair, eyes slightly closed, one hand gently propping up his chin.
“No, we still need to wait,” Qi Xia replied.
“Aren’t we supposed to ‘board the train’…?” Chen Junnan said, somewhat puzzled. “I remember this is the time when the ‘Zodiacs’ get off work.”
Qi Xia slowly opened his eyes and asked, “Do you know what we’ll face once we enter the ‘train’?”
“What? Isn’t it just the ‘Zodiacs’?”
“The scary part isn’t just the ‘Zodiacs,’ but also the ‘corridor,'” Qi Xia explained. “Countless rectangular ‘spaces’ form the segments of the train cars, so no matter which angle you look from, the ‘train’ is just one long corridor.”
“I see…” Chen Junnan nodded. “Those who board first will encounter the ‘Zodiacs’ immediately… Since the corridor connects front and back, they’d theoretically see all the off-duty ‘Zodiacs’ the moment they step on.”
“This is a large-scale ‘prisoner’s dilemma,'” Qi Xia said. “If all of us cooperated perfectly and boarded last, we could avoid all the off-duty ‘Zodiacs’ and have an empty corridor to ourselves. Even if there are a few wandering ‘Zodiacs,’ we could quickly eliminate them without causing chaos.”
Lawyer Zhang listened intently to Qi Xia’s analysis, then nodded repeatedly. “That’s the ideal scenario, but in reality, rational people are in the minority.”
“True. After all, we’re caught between a rock and a hard place,” Qi Xia said. “Outside, Vermilion Bird and a group of ‘participants’ are hunting us. Every extra second we stay out here increases the risk of danger.”
“That sounds way too demanding…” Zhang Chenze adjusted his glasses, thinking carefully. “If even one person panics and boards the train first, they’ll alert the nearby ‘Zodiacs,’ prolonging the time they stay in the corridor. That’d be bad for those who come later. No wonder you called this a large-scale ‘prisoner’s dilemma.'”
Chen Junnan barely followed their conversation, pondered for a few seconds, then asked, “So, Old Qi… do you already have a plan?”
“Me?” Qi Xia looked at Chen Junnan. “What do you mean?”
“You’re sitting here so casually, not even a bit worried,” Chen Junnan said. “Do you think this ‘prisoner’s dilemma’ will definitely be resolved?”
“I have no guarantees,” Qi Xia replied. “If it were just one opponent, I could probably guess their thoughts. But this time, there are too many variables—’Extremists,’ ‘Cats,’ ‘participants,’ even human-level and earth-level ‘Zodiacs.’ Each has their own mind, and after brief interactions, new ideas emerge. One, two, or three people together make different decisions, and when groups meet other groups, more new thoughts arise. With so many variables, not even a god could predict their final choices.”
Chen Junnan sighed and glanced at Qiao Jiajin, who, lost in thought, suddenly stepped forward and patted Qi Xia’s shoulder.
“Liar, don’t sell yourself short! You’ve already figured out so much.”
Qi Xia paused. “You… are you comforting me?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“No need,” Qi Xia said. “The only thing I can guarantee is that the overall mission direction remains unchanged, so I won’t interfere with what happens along the way. For me, boarding early means definitely falling into the ‘prisoner’s dilemma,’ while boarding late only risks it. So we can only wait.”
Hearing this, Qiao Jiajin dragged a chair over and sat beside Qi Xia. “So… liar, what do we do once we’re there? Once we board the ‘train’… can we still stick together?”
Qi Xia silently looked at Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan before speaking. “To be honest… this plan didn’t originally include either of you.”
“What…?”
Qi Xia shook his head. “In my original plan, after I started regaining my memories, we’d part ways. So I never left room for you two.”
He then turned to Zhang Chenze, Tian Tian, and Yun Yao. “The same goes for all of you.”
Everyone fell silent, unsure how to respond.
“But I’ve always believed everything has its destined path,” Qi Xia said, looking at Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin. “Like I’ve always told you—do what you want. Those strange forces called ‘karma,’ ‘fate,’ ‘luck,’ ‘destiny,’ and ‘divine will’ will subtly guide the outcome toward its end.”
“Do what you want…” Chen Junnan nodded. “Old Qi, I’ve noticed you’ve been the same from start to finish—never worried I’d mess things up.”
He then glanced at Qiao Jiajin. “Old Qiao, what about you? Where are you sitting once we board?”
“I…” Qiao Jiajin looked down at his bloodied fists. “Wherever there’s a fight, that’s where I’ll be.”
“The train is always full of fights,” Qi Xia replied.
“Then I’ll go kill Azure Dragon,” Qiao Jiajin declared. “The toughest fight is where I’ll fight.”
“Azure Dragon…” Qi Xia paused. “Maybe this was also destined?”
“What?”
“Fists,” Qi Xia shook his head. “About ‘killing Azure Dragon’… I can give you some advice. It might slightly improve your odds.”
Chen Junnan froze. “No way, Old Qi… Old Qiao’s crazy, but you’re joining him? If he fights Azure Dragon, can ‘advice’ really affect his ‘odds’?”
“Better than nothing.”
“Oh?” Qiao Jiajin perked up. “Do I need to find the owners of those ‘eyes’ and break their abilities?”
“That’s unrealistic,” Qi Xia said. “Azure Dragon himself doesn’t even remember whose eyes those are, and Celestial Serpent remembers even less.”
“Then how do I fight?”
Qi Xia thought carefully. “The most important thing is to shatter his ‘belief’—make Azure Dragon doubt himself to an extreme degree.”
Chen Junnan nodded, then frowned. “That theory makes sense, but for a madman like Azure Dragon… how much doubt would it take?”
“Doubt the entire ‘Land of the End,’ doubt his own life, doubt the memories in his mind,” Qi Xia said. “If you can collapse his belief on that scale, killing him becomes certain.”
“That intense?” Qiao Jiajin furrowed his brows.
“Fists, my advice is just two words. If you’re in a tough fight, try them…” He leaned in and whispered the words into Qiao Jiajin’s ear.
“Ah…?” Qiao Jiajin’s expression twisted in confusion.
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