Many “participants” had hoped to rely on numerical superiority to overwhelm and kill the few in front of them who were proficient in “echoes” or skilled in combat.
But in the blink of an eye, they found themselves surrounded.
And what surrounded them was utterly bizarre—not other “participants,” but an endless sea of “natives.”
These natives, scattered across every corner of the city, devoid of consciousness or intelligence, had now formed a tightly organized encirclement around the small battlefield.
“Dang it!” Zhang Shan scratched his head. “I must be out of my mind… What the hell is happening?”
“It really does seem like ‘natives’…” muttered Little Glasses, clutching his arm in thought. “Whose side are the ‘natives’ on…?”
A sly-looking old man set down the handbell in his grasp and stepped forward slowly, surveying the scene.
The “participants” vaguely sensed that this old man might be here to help, so they parted to let him face Chu Tianqiu directly.
“Tsk…” He smiled faintly. “If I hadn’t shown up… what would you youngsters have done?”
“You…” Chu Tianqiu frowned, studying the man before him. Even after recognizing him, he remained baffled. “Wei Yang…?”
“Long time no see,” Wei Yang replied with a grin.
Qin Dingdong also emerged from the crowd of “natives,” cursing as she strode forward. “Rot in Hell! When I found you, you were just calmly admiring the scenery outside the window. Now you’re acting all human-like… I wondered where Wei Yang had gone—turns out he was just putting on airs.”
“Tsk! Who’s putting on airs?” Wei Yang seemed utterly helpless in the face of his disciple.
“You…” Chu Tianqiu was utterly confused, unable to discern Wei Yang and Qin Dingdong’s stance. “Just whose side are you—”
“What should we call this situation…” Qin Dingdong mused for a few seconds. “You’re the ‘King of the Righteous,’ and this old bastard Wei Yang is probably the real ‘King of the Madmen.'”
“Don’t add ‘probably’ after ‘King,'” Wei Yang retorted.
Chu Tianqiu couldn’t help but see a bit of Chen Junnan in Qin Dingdong—both gave off the same untimely sense of ease.
“How could anyone actually become the ‘King of the Madmen’…?” Chu Tianqiu furrowed his brows. “Those people can barely communicate. It makes no sense.”
Wei Yang sneered. “Some reckless kid once told me, ‘Old Wei, you can read minds, so you’re the only one who can understand what the natives are thinking. If you can fulfill their desires, they might obey you.'”
“What…?” Chu Tianqiu stiffened, seemingly realizing who had said those words.
“He said it had to stay a secret.” Wei Yang shrugged. “But I didn’t expect him to keep it even from himself.”
“So all these years, you’ve been kidnapping ‘natives’ to torture and experiment on them… just to hear their inner voices…?”
“Exactly,” Wei Yang said. “That kid told me I could train ‘natives’ like animals, so I moved my experiments to a farm. He also taught me the ‘Pavlov’s dog’ trick—using simple commands to control them. Surprisingly effective.”
Chu Tianqiu let out a bitter laugh. “Hah… terrifying. Not long ago, I actually deluded myself into thinking I could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him, reaching the peak of this place together.”
“Who? Him?” Wei Yang waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t kid yourself. He doesn’t even respect the person he was yesterday—what makes you think he’d respect you?”
With that, Wei Yang turned his gaze to Dizhu.
Dizhu immediately averted his eyes, bowing slightly in deference.
“Fake-ass rat,” Wei Yang muttered. “Why lower your head? Look at me.”
“Boss, you flatter me. I wouldn’t dare look at you,” Dizhu replied, still keeping his head down, his tone unreadable. “I told you long ago I’m a turncoat. When the time came to betray you, I wouldn’t hesitate. That was our deal—you can’t blame me for it now.”
“So I should thank you?” Wei Yang scoffed. “You kissed up the most, and you were the first to kick me when I was down.”
“Too kind, too kind,” Dizhu said. “If my sweet talk fooled you, maybe you’re just getting old and bad at judging people. Honestly, I’m surprised to see you alive—must mean I went easy on you back then. If I’d known you’d bounce back, I’d have hit harder.”
“Piss off,” Wei Yang snapped. “If I hadn’t lost my ‘Brute Force,’ you’d be the first one I’d beat senseless.”
“Boss, why so angry?” Dizhu took a step forward, grinning. “The biggest reason you got kicked out of ‘Celestial’ wasn’t because of the ‘Liar’ incident I ratted you out for—it was because of your ‘Mind Reading.’ They’d never keep someone around who knows their real thoughts, right?”
Wei Yang didn’t respond, merely toying with the bell in his hand.
“Everyone’s heart is filthy when you dig deep enough,” Dizhu continued. “Mine, yours, even those who call themselves ‘gods’—right?”
“You’re still alive because you’ve got a silver tongue,” Wei Yang said. “But if you ever die, it’ll be because of that same tongue.”
“Too kind, too kind,” Dizhu nodded again, still refusing to meet Wei Yang’s eyes.
“Wait…” Chu Tianqiu seized on a key detail in their exchange. “You were once a ‘Celestial’…?”
“What difference does it make?” Wei Yang said. “‘Celestial,’ ‘human’—it’s all the same. Everyone here lives like ghosts. Only the ‘natives’ don’t suffer.”
Qin Dingdong picked up the bell and asked Chu Tianqiu, “So what’s the plan now? What are you gonna do?”
Snapping back to reality, Chu Tianqiu quickly summarized the recent events. Qin Dingdong nodded in understanding.
“In that case… I’m gonna haggle,” she declared.
Dizhu frowned at that. “Boss, what’s there to haggle over? We’re not making a deal.”
“Consider it paying back what you owe Wei Yang,” Qin Dingdong said. “If Chu Tianqiu survives, add one more to the boarding list—I’m coming too. Agreed?”
Dizhu thought for a moment, then glanced at the thousands of “natives” behind them and sighed. “Do I have a choice?”
After nodding, Qin Dingdong seemed to remember something and turned to Wei Yang. “What about you? Coming back?”
“I’d rather die,” Wei Yang said flatly.
“Fine.” She nodded. “Then don’t worry, Chu Tianqiu. Leave the rest to the ‘King of the Madmen.'”
“Don’t add ‘probably’ after ‘King,'” Wei Yang grumbled.
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