Chapter 188: The Cheater

“But if in the end only one person can leave, how can I be sure you won’t eliminate me?” Qi Xia asked again.

“That’s a good question, and I have to be upfront with you.” Chu Tianqiu’s smile faded as his expression turned serious. “If that day ever comes, I’ll do everything in my power to eliminate you. Likewise, you can eliminate me too.”

Qi Xia nodded.

Chu Tianqiu’s words finally gave Qi Xia a sense of “sincerity for sincerity.”

“In that case, it’s settled.” Qi Xia extended his hand slightly. “You ‘ascend to godhood,’ I ‘gather the path’—we cooperate.”

Chu Tianqiu also reached out and shook Qi Xia’s hand.

“Deal.”

Both of them looked at each other with complex expressions, and the atmosphere grew quiet.

Neither could be entirely sure how much truth lay in the other’s words, making their handshake feel somewhat hollow.

Within seconds, hurried footsteps echoed outside the door. They turned to look.

It was Chu Tianqiu—again.

“Whew… you really scared me. I knew you’d be here,” the Chu Tianqiu outside the door said.

“Don’t worry, I know my limits.”

“Hurry up and leave… there are a lot of ‘Extremists’ here. You’re in danger.”

“Got it.” The Chu Tianqiu inside nodded and turned to leave.

Meanwhile, the Chu Tianqiu outside the door transformed into Xu Liunian, nervously glancing around.

After taking a few steps, Chu Tianqiu paused and turned back to Qi Xia. “Qi Xia, it should be ‘grief.'”

“What?”

“The trigger for your ‘Echo’ is extreme ‘grief,'” Chu Tianqiu explained. “That’s the answer I found, but I couldn’t figure out the solution.”

Qi Xia hesitated before asking, “You mean… you couldn’t find a way to make me feel ‘grief’?”

“Exactly.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “So I’m giving you this answer. It’s up to you to solve it.”

Qi Xia said nothing, only nodding silently in response.

Chu Tianqiu sighed, then turned to Xiao Nian. “Zhang Shan is upstairs, right?”

“Yes, I arranged for him to come.”

Chu Tianqiu gave a slight nod and said to Qi Xia, “Don’t worry. If Zhang Shan is up there, it’s hard to lose this game.”

“Hard to lose?” Qi Xia looked up. “Why?”

“Because he’s about to ‘Echo.'”

Qi Xia fell silent for a moment before asking, “What’s the trigger for Zhang Shan’s ‘Echo’?”

“It’s ‘wanting to win.'”

Chu Tianqiu laughed loudly, then waved his hand and left with Xu Liunian.

Qi Xia stared at the ground, lost in thought.

“Wanting to win…”

With a trigger like that, why worry about not ‘Echoing’?

But what about himself?

“Grief…” He glanced expressionlessly at the dark red sky outside. “My grief…”

Before he could think further, a faint rustling sound came from inside the room.

Qi Xia froze, then slowly stood up.

The sound was close—almost as if it was coming from the elevator.

He walked to the elevator and pressed the up button.

The doors opened, revealing nothing inside.

Yet the rustling continued.

He turned his attention to the wooden door beside the elevator—the sound seemed to be coming from there.

“Someone…?”

He reached for the doorknob, but the door suddenly swung open on its own.

Xiao Xiao stood inside.

She looked terrible, covered in injuries.

“Qi Xia…?” She seemed just as confused, as if unsure where she was.

“You…” Qi Xia frowned, studying her for a long moment. How had Xiao Xiao, who had been on the rooftop, emerged from this door?

Snapping out of her daze, Xiao Xiao ignored Qi Xia and stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for the sixth floor without a word.

Only then did Qi Xia realize: “So this is the hidden rule of the game…”

As he watched Xiao Xiao enter the elevator, he turned back to investigate the wooden door—but it had already closed on its own.

…

Qiao Jiajin stood motionless on the bridge, bleeding from multiple wounds.

Whatever Old Sun had done, Qiao Jiajin’s limbs were now embedded in four separate boulders.

He struggled to move but couldn’t take a single step.

Behind him, Li Xiangling and Zhang Shan were in even worse shape.

Zhang Shan lay unconscious beneath a massive boulder, his condition unknown.

Li Xiangling, covered in blood, was desperately trying to move the rock.

“Old Sun… I never expected this…” Luo Shiyi patted Old Sun’s shoulder in admiration. “Your ‘Echo’ must be one of the strongest in the ‘Land of Finality,’ right?”

Old Sun’s gaze was vacant as he nodded numbly.

To unleash such a powerful ‘Echo,’ he had nearly driven himself to madness.

Only someone truly unhinged could imagine human bodies sprouting boulders.

Gritting his teeth, Old Sun fought to stay lucid: “Hey, tattooed guy, I’m not bullying you—just jump off yourself.”

“Not a chance.” Qiao Jiajin lowered his head, panting heavily. “‘Brains’ have their mission, and ‘fists’ have their duty. That liar has helped me countless times—this time, I won’t back down a single step.”

With great effort, he lifted his rock-encased arm and smirked. “So what if it’s a pair of stone gloves? Just boosts my attack power…”

Old Sun shook his head. “Gloves…?”

His thoughts were sluggish. After a few seconds, he muttered, “No… these aren’t gloves. They’re boulders.”

Suddenly, the stone around Qiao Jiajin’s arm expanded.

His raised arm dropped back down, crashing to the ground and forcing him into a crouch.

“Damn… this is tough…” Qiao Jiajin glanced at Li Xiangling, who was still struggling to free Zhang Shan.

“Brother Qiao…” Li Xiangling looked frantic. “What do we do…?”

She was the only one left unbound.

Though skilled in martial arts, attacking recklessly wouldn’t guarantee victory against these two ‘Echoes.’

One could ignore pain and strike lethally. The other could conjure boulders from thin air—one misstep, and you’d be crushed.

A three-on-three fight, yet these two had been cheating all along.

“Liar… if it were you… what would you do?” Qiao Jiajin scanned the area, his expression grim.

Before he could strategize, uneven footsteps approached.

“Tsk… you’re doing quite well for yourselves.” Xiao Xiao limped forward, stepping back onto the log bridge. “Killing them now should be a piece of cake… right?”