“I…” Zhang Chenze was startled by Chu Tianqiu’s demeanor, but he maintained his composure and said, “I’ll do my best.”
Chu Tianqiu stepped away from the window, seemingly having let down his guard. He sat back down in front of Zhang Chenze and spoke softly, “Lawyer Zhang, do you know… how we can keep ourselves from going insane while trying to survive here?”
“Going insane…?”
“Yes.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “We keep reviving in this godforsaken place, cycle after cycle—day after day, year after year. How do we stop ourselves from imagining the ‘Seven Black Swords’? How strong must we be to break free from ‘Yu Nian’an’? How do we resist the urge to devour others? And how do we even confirm that we’re still human?”
Zhang Chenze realized that treating this as just another “case” was far too naive.
Chu Tianqiu’s words carried a philosophical weight, but they were also laced with madness. The barrage of questions left Zhang Chenze utterly at a loss for how to respond.
“Then what do you think we should do?” Zhang Chenze shot back.
“The answer is a ‘lock.'” Chu Tianqiu raised a finger and tapped his forehead. “This cursed place shackles everyone with a ‘lock,’ forcing us to forget the most painful memories and encouraging us to start anew.”
“That does seem to be the case,” Zhang Chenze agreed with a nod. “Forgetting the memories of past cycles… I suppose that’s a kind of protective mechanism.”
“‘Protective mechanism’…?” Chu Tianqiu’s lips twisted into an eerie smile. “What a laughable ‘protective mechanism.’ It only shields the weak while driving the strong into madness. Look around—how many of the so-called ‘elites’ in the ‘Land of the End’ are still sane?”
“You make a fair point,” Zhang Chenze conceded. “The more someone can trigger an ‘Echo,’ the longer they retain their memories… and the more agonizing it becomes.”
“That’s why I chose to lock myself.” Chu Tianqiu smirked. “There’s someone in this land whose ‘Echo’ can seal away memories—allowing me to start from zero.”
Zhang Chenze blinked in surprise. “That person… is Qiao Yun?”
“Unfortunately, no.” Chu Tianqiu shook his head. “Qiao Yun isn’t the ‘lock.’ She’s actually the ‘key.'”
“A… key?” Zhang Chenze felt his thoughts lagging behind. Chu Tianqiu wasn’t just brilliant—he was clearly unhinged, making it nearly impossible for a normal person to follow his reasoning.
“I’ve willingly placed countless ‘locks’ in my mind—locks only Qiao Yun can undo. Does that make sense to you?” Chu Tianqiu explained.
Only then did Zhang Chenze begin to grasp his meaning. “Are you saying… Qiao Yun’s ‘Echo’ can restore memories?”
“You could put it that way.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “But her ability has limits. She can’t restore everyone’s memories—only those she’s touched.”
Zhang Chenze frowned, still struggling to fully comprehend Chu Tianqiu’s point.
“I thought Qiao Yun had lost this ability…” A bitter smile crept onto Chu Tianqiu’s face. “But just before I met Qi Xia, I was suddenly hit by an unexpected ‘Echo’ that restored a flood of my memories—and that ‘Echo’ came from Qiao Yun.”
The sheer density of that statement left Zhang Chenze mentally stumbling. His understanding of this place was still far too shallow.
“It was only then that I finally remembered who Qiao Yun was…” Tears welled in Chu Tianqiu’s eyes as he laughed. “Fragments of memories flooded my mind. I immediately wrote them all down on the blackboard… and I remembered that man named Qi Xia.”
Zhang Chenze swallowed hard before cautiously asking, “Isn’t recovering memories… a good thing?”
“A good thing…?” Chu Tianqiu’s smile turned icy as he leaned closer. “If it’s such a ‘good thing,’ why did I choose to ‘lock’ myself in the first place? Do you have any idea how much despair is woven into my memories?”
“I…”
“Every single day…” Chu Tianqiu’s body trembled slightly, as if haunted by something unspeakable. “New memories drift in from all directions. The despair I recall grows heavier with each passing day—and you call that a ‘good thing’? Every time I remember another cycle, I become more certain that ‘we can’t escape.’ Tell me, how is that good?”
“But for people like us… the only weapon we have against them is our ‘memories,'” Zhang Chenze countered, his expression tinged with sorrow. “Only by knowing enough, remembering enough… can we ever hope to escape this hellhole.”
“No.” Chu Tianqiu shook his head. “That’s true ‘for you’—not for me. The more I remember, the more certain I become that we’ll never leave.”
His words plunged Zhang Chenze into silence once more. After a pause, Chu Tianqiu continued calmly:
“I’ve found a better way to escape.”
“What… method do you have?” Zhang Chenze asked.
“I’m going to become a god.” Chu Tianqiu declared. “I’ll become the true ruler of this place, and when that happens, everyone will be set free.”
“Wha—?” Zhang Chenze was taken aback, unsure whether Chu Tianqiu had truly lost his mind or if there was some deeper scheme at play.
An ordinary person… becoming a “god”?
“Why would you even consider that…?” Zhang Chenze asked, baffled. “If you’ve retained so many memories, you could easily become the strongest ‘participant’—”
“Because I’ve retained so many memories that I know that path leads nowhere.” Chu Tianqiu brushed aside the stray strands of hair falling over his forehead, his face etched with weariness. “Every strong person in my memories has failed… Qiao Yun was just one of them.”
“But now we have Qi—”
“Qi Xia has failed too.” Chu Tianqiu stated flatly. “Qi Xia and Qiao Yun are too alike. They walked the exact same path. That’s not a bad thing—consider it them testing the waters for me. But now, I’m forging my own way.”
Zhang Chenze opened his mouth several times but found himself at a loss for words.
He had originally intended to ask Chu Tianqiu about awakening the natives, but now it seemed impossible to broach the subject.
“So… I really want to know…” Zhang Chenze steered the conversation back. “What exactly is your relationship with Qiao Yun? That child she gave birth to—”
“Thirty years ago, Qiao Yun was my lover.” Chu Tianqiu said calmly. “And that child was mine.”
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