Ten people slowly landed on the ground.
Just as the Human Snake was about to speak, Qi Xia pulled Yu Nian’an along and pushed open the wooden door to step outside.
“Huh?” The Human Snake froze. “Qi Xia, I haven’t even said goodbye to you yet.”
Without turning back, Qi Xia strode forward. The long corridor stretched before him, just like in his dream.
The others followed suit, stepping out one after another.
“Hey, Liar, what’s the rush?” Qiao Jiajin called out from behind.
But Qi Xia ignored everyone, silently leading Yu Nian’an forward.
When they reached the Human Dragon, the latter opened his mouth to speak, but Qi Xia cut him off.
“No need for explanations,” Qi Xia said. “Give the ‘Tao’ to the people behind me.”
He pushed past the Human Dragon and stepped outside. Thankfully, someone was already waiting there.
A man with Chu Tianqiu’s face stood before them.
Jin Yuanxun, whom they hadn’t seen in a long time, stood beside him, warily scanning their surroundings.
Seeing Qi Xia and an unfamiliar woman descend from the sky, Chu Tianqiu froze for a split second before quickly composing himself and stepping forward with a warm smile.
“Qi Xia.”
“Long time no see,” Qi Xia replied coldly, wrapping an arm around Yu Nian’an. “Which Chu Tianqiu are you? What’s the story this time?”
“I’m me,” Chu Tianqiu said, pausing briefly. “I came here specifically to congratulate you.”
“Congratulate me?” Qi Xia said, his tone indifferent. “For what?”
“You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met,” Chu Tianqiu said. “A few days ago, the entire ‘Land of the End’ trembled for you.”
“Is that so?” Qi Xia smirked faintly. “So you orchestrated a massacre all by yourself.”
“Exactly!” Chu Tianqiu laughed cheerfully. “Qi Xia, you know as well as I do that in this godforsaken place, even though we’ve cooperated, we can kill each other at any moment for any reason. It doesn’t change a thing.”
“You’re right,” Qi Xia nodded. “Thanks to you, I’ve also found something extraordinary.”
“Oh?” Chu Tianqiu glanced at Yu Nian’an. “Aunt Tong told me about you… so…”
Just as he was about to speak, Chu Tianqiu suddenly felt his thoughts stutter.
This woman was Qi Xia’s “missing wife”?
Had he really found his wife…?
Or… was this a product of “Endless Life”?
But this time, Qi Xia didn’t have an “Echo.” How did this woman appear?
He took a deep breath and looked back at Qi Xia, noticing that his gaze seemed somewhat vacant.
He didn’t seem interested in thinking about it.
“So you’re almost losing it, huh?” Chu Tianqiu chuckled bitterly. “Lucky I found the answer before you went completely mad.”
“Now that the congratulations are over… what’s next?” Qi Xia asked. “Are you inviting us to ‘Paradise’?”
“Of course!” Chu Tianqiu smiled, stepping forward to shake Qi Xia’s hand. “You’re my best partner in the ‘Land of the End’!”
The rest of Qi Xia’s teammates slowly descended from the void. Officer Li held four “Tao” in his hand, and the group immediately spotted Chu Tianqiu.
“Oh, everyone’s here?” Chu Tianqiu grinned, but his eyes quickly counted nine people.
He scanned the group—most of them were familiar faces, except for one pale-faced young man who was a stranger.
“Oh?” Chu Tianqiu quickly understood the reason and nodded. “You actually managed to escape. Impressive.”
The pale-faced man’s smile faded as he looked at Chu Tianqiu, his eyes filled with disdain.
“Eh? If it isn’t the heartless Tianqiu?” Qiao Jiajin said with a mocking grin. “Here to recruit more pawns?”
“Now, now, no need for such praise.” Chu Tianqiu’s eyes curved into crescents. “By the way, I should thank you and Li Xiangling. I never expected you two to actually hold ‘Paradise’ down. Quite the surprise…”
The words stung Qiao Jiajin.
After Qi Xia’s death, he and Li Xiangling had indeed defended “Paradise,” but the situation had been so bizarre that Qiao Jiajin had briefly questioned his own sanity.
“So, is your ‘Paradise’ cleaned up yet?” Qiao Jiajin asked.
“Still working on it!” Chu Tianqiu replied cheerfully. “If you don’t mind, why not join us? I’ll give you some food, and you can help me clean up.”
His condescending tone made everyone uncomfortable.
Qiao Jiajin didn’t respond, instead glancing at Qi Xia.
After a moment of thought, Qi Xia smiled. “Sure, I’ll join.”
The two shook hands once more.
Lin Qin and Qiao Jiajin didn’t understand Qi Xia’s decision.
Chu Tianqiu was clearly no saint—he was dangerously unhinged. What was the point of joining forces with him now?
…
The group followed Chu Tianqiu and Jin Yuanxun toward “Paradise.” Along the way, they filled Lawyer Zhang and Sweetie in on the situation.
The two still looked skeptical.
Lin Qin then asked the “Tenth Man” for his name. He seemed capable of communicating with anyone without issue.
The young man gazed at the dark red sky of the “Land of the End,” his smile fading as if he were processing some unbearable truth.
“My name is Chen Junnan,” he said.
“Chen Junnan?” Lin Qin paused. “Have you met me before?”
“Yes, this is the third time,” the young man replied with a smile.
“Only three times?”
“Yep. Just three.”
Seeing that she wouldn’t get much more out of him, Lin Qin let it go. The odds of this man being an “Extremist” were slim if he kept dying in the interview room.
Qi Xia turned to Qiao Jiajin with a question weighing on his mind.
“Fists, you two really held ‘Paradise’?”
“Yeah,” Qiao Jiajin nodded.
That didn’t make sense.
Even if Qiao Jiajin and Li Xiangling were skilled fighters, how could they possibly defeat a group of fully armed “Echo” users?
“Did you ‘Echo’ at the time?” Qi Xia asked.
“No,” Qiao Jiajin shook his head. “Liar, you’ll understand soon. If I’m not crazy… then the situation is just too damn weird.”
As they spoke, the group arrived at the school gates.
The moment they approached, a fresh, pungent stench of decay assaulted their noses.
The smell of recently rotting corpses was overpowering—a stench that would linger for weeks.
Inside the schoolyard, Li Xiangling was moving bodies when she spotted the approaching group.
“Big Bro Qiao!!” She waved enthusiastically, nearly dropping the corpse in her arms.
“Kung Fu Girl!” Qiao Jiajin greeted her back. “Hold on, I’ll help!”
Qi Xia’s gaze fell on the body Li Xiangling was carrying—it looked familiar.
The next second, his eyes widened in shock.
Everyone behind him froze in place.
Li Xiangling was currently dragging a corpse—Qiao Jiajin’s corpse—slowly across the ground. And scattered across the schoolyard were seven or eight more of Qiao Jiajin’s bodies, neatly lined up.
Some were blown apart, some slashed, others impaled by wooden spikes—each met a different gruesome end.
Turning his head, Qi Xia saw another pile—dozens of Li Xiangling’s corpses, stacked into a small mountain of death.
“Whew… Big Bro Qiao, I just finished moving all my own bodies… I’m exhausted…”
“No worries, I’ll move mine,” Qiao Jiajin chuckled.
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