“Witness the ‘Land of the End’…”
Zhang Shan let out a bitter chuckle. “Chu Tianqiu, I’ve gone through two cycles with you, and yet I still don’t even know what your ‘Echo’ is. Doesn’t that count as lying?”
“Believe me or not,” Chu Tianqiu replied seriously, “I’ve never lied to anyone, nor have I killed anyone. From the very beginning, I’ve been studying this place. After fully grasping all the information, I decided to liberate it. That has always been my motive—unchanged.”
“And your goal in liberating this place… is to become a ‘God’?” Zhang Shan pressed.
“What else?” Chu Tianqiu answered with a tinge of sorrow. “There’s no way out of here. From the moment we arrived, we were destined to stay forever.”
The expressions of those standing nearby shifted at his words.
This place… has no exit?
“Then what do you mean by ‘liberation’?” Zhang Shan asked.
Chu Tianqiu paused before responding. “Since we’re about to formally collaborate, I suppose you should know.”
He glanced at Han Yimo and Dr. Zhao, then at Old Lü and the bespectacled man behind Zhang Shan.
“After I speak, the four of you can decide whether to stay or leave. I’ve done enough for you—it’s time to stop.”
No one agreed or disagreed, only watching him with varied expressions.
“Once I become the ‘God’ here, the entire ‘Land of the End’ will lose its meaning. None of you will need to be resurrected anymore.” Chu Tianqiu cut straight to the point. “In other words, success comes at the cost of countless lives. All cycles will cease, and this place will become nothing but ruins.”
Everyone’s faces darkened at his words.
The bespectacled man’s gaze turned cold. He adjusted his glasses. “Mr. Chu, forgive me, but you’re saying… we’re supposed to worship you as a ‘God,’ yet the price is our annihilation?”
“Not just annihilation,” Chu Tianqiu corrected. “I’d prefer you to give everything for me—your eyes, your heart, anything you can offer—before dying in battle, leaving behind only shattered corpses to turn to dust.”
Silence fell once more.
“But why?” the bespectacled man pressed. “Why are you so certain we’d help you become a ‘God’ only to die ourselves?”
“Because you have no choice,” Chu Tianqiu raised a finger. “Only by someone becoming a ‘God’ can this place be resolved. Each of you possesses but a single divine power—far from an ‘omnipotent God.'”
“That’s hardly convincing,” the bespectacled man countered. “Even if you explain it, why would we willingly give up? People with terminal illnesses know they’re incurable, yet they don’t abandon treatment immediately. It’s the same logic.”
Chu Tianqiu nodded. “Fair point. Then let me rephrase.”
The crowd waited in silence.
“Every person you see here has wandered this place for seventy years—over 25,000 days, 2,500 cycles. Yet in all that time, not a single soul has escaped. Even the ‘Escapee’s Notebook’ in my possession was a lie. If no one breaks this cycle, we’ll be trapped forever, our memories wiped repeatedly, starting anew in blissful ignorance, day after day, year after year.”
“While what you say isn’t wrong,” the bespectacled man said, “this has been our reality all along. Even your ‘seventy years’ feels like mere days to us. We haven’t suffered your ‘longevity.’ So we still can’t share your resolve.”
“Precisely. That’s the crux of it,” Chu Tianqiu agreed. “It’s the flaw of the ‘Land of the End.’ True unity is impossible because memories aren’t shared. Only a powerful ‘Echo-bearer’ can lead others. Yet the stronger the ‘Echo,’ the more madness takes hold, making leadership impossible—a paradox with no solution.”
“Right,” Zhang Shan chimed in. “Sane people don’t follow lunatics.”
Chu Tianqiu nodded again. “But ask yourselves—even without memories, would you be content to cycle endlessly here? What if it’s not seventy years? What if you’re trapped for centuries, millennia? How long will you stay? Until the outside world crumbles while you remain ‘immortal’?”
Even the sharpest mind among them, the bespectacled man, hesitated.
“And one last thing,” Chu Tianqiu added. “What if I lose my memories too?”
“You…?”
“Two people now stand at the peak of the ‘Land of the End,'” Chu Tianqiu held up two fingers. “Myself and Qi Xia. But I must be honest—both of us are fleeting. Once someone reaches the summit, the higher powers intervene. They’ve done so for decades without fail.”
The bespectacled man swallowed. “What happens when they intervene?”
“A complete reset. No matter how strong the ‘Echo-bearer’ or how fearsome the ‘Zodiac,’ they’ll be reduced to playthings in their hands,” Chu Tianqiu explained. “In short, no matter how high Qi Xia and I climb now, we’re on the brink of falling. If you don’t spread your wings in this gale, the next chance may take decades.”
“After the reset… everyone loses their memories?” Zhang Shan asked.
“Yes. At least 99% will,” Chu Tianqiu confirmed. “But does it matter? Even if only half forget, the information gap fractures trust. Those who remember and those who don’t can’t communicate effectively, making ascent infinitely harder. What seems like a fleeting opportunity to you is the culmination of years of planning for Qi Xia and me.”
“One thing still puzzles me,” Zhang Shan said. “You claim your ‘Echo’ is useless, yet how do you wield others’ abilities?”
Chu Tianqiu smirked. “Perhaps fate’s whim. My ‘Echo’ grants me no power—only the ability to borrow others’. I can’t say if that’s luck or not.”
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