Chapter 186: The Long-Sought Person

Qi Xia sat in the lobby on the first floor, feeling somewhat helpless.

Although he had devised strategies for the three of them to seize the early advantage, the situation was ever-changing. He had no idea what the lunatics on the other side might do, nor did he understand how their “Echoes” would shape the course of the game.

Just as Qi Xia closed his eyes, he heard faint, shuffling footsteps outside the door.

He turned his head and saw Chu Tianqiu standing at the entrance, smiling at him.

Though puzzled, Qi Xia remained silent and shut his eyes again.

Chu Tianqiu stepped inside, dragged over a broken wooden crate, and sat down opposite Qi Xia.

Without opening his eyes, Qi Xia furrowed his brow—he didn’t like people suddenly getting this close.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Qi Xia, what do ‘teammates’ mean to you?” Chu Tianqiu inquired.

Hearing this, Qi Xia slowly opened his eyes.

“Teammates…?” He pondered for a moment. “They’re companions who share life and death with me.”

“Is that so?” Chu Tianqiu said with a smile. “Yun Yao mentioned you get headaches every time you lose a teammate. So, is it ‘heartache’?”

“What exactly are you trying to say?” Qi Xia asked.

“I suspect we’re the same kind of people,” Chu Tianqiu replied, lightly brushing dust off his sleeve. “When we lack a clear goal, our teammates are everything to us. But once we have a definitive objective, they become mere pawns.”

At these words, Qi Xia slowly cracked a smile.

“Chu Tianqiu… I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Haha!” Chu Tianqiu chuckled. “Did I cause you trouble? My apologies.”

Qi Xia raised a finger and pointed toward the ceiling. “There are three ‘Extremists’ up there. Care to guess if they’d like your head?”

“Don’t be like that,” Chu Tianqiu waved a hand as if joking with a friend. “I really shouldn’t have shown up, but I just had to see you. We finally have a chance to talk—you wouldn’t invite interruptions, would you?”

“Then speak. I’m listening,” Qi Xia replied.

“You and I are both cold-blooded creatures without emotions. In the Land of the End, everyone else is expendable to us, isn’t that right?” Chu Tianqiu asked.

Qi Xia didn’t answer, merely propping his chin on his hand.

“You knew ‘Human Dragon’s’ game was my trap, yet you still participated. To escape, you even sacrificed a teammate,” Chu Tianqiu nodded approvingly. “What a worthy opponent.”

“Flattery,” Qi Xia said.

“You’ve lied countless times just to survive here,” Chu Tianqiu continued. “You even teamed up with that lunatic Lin Qin—you wanted to kill her. Your ruthlessness far surpasses mine.”

“So?” Qi Xia asked expressionlessly.

“So… I want to play with fire and collaborate with you,” Chu Tianqiu replied. “In this entire Land of the End, the only way out is if the two of us join forces. You should know—I’m even crazier than Lin Qin.”

Qi Xia was well aware of just how insane Chu Tianqiu was.

To him, human lives were truly just pawns—disposable at any moment.

“I want to see that notebook,” Qi Xia said.

Chu Tianqiu smiled faintly, reached into his pocket, and casually tossed an old notebook to Qi Xia.

“Be careful with it, Qi Xia. This is the core secret of ‘Paradise’s Gate.’ Only a select few members have seen it. Try not to damage it.”

Qi Xia silently took the notebook and flipped through it.

It was a diary written in the first person.

The opening entry stated that the author had discovered items in the Land of the End never reset. Thus, by writing notes and placing them along a path they would inevitably pass, the author would never lose their memories.

Further in, the entries detailed the author’s psychological journey of gambling with “Zodiacs” for their lives. Though the specific games weren’t described, each day recorded another “Zodiac” being gambled to death.

At the end of the diary, the author had gambled away every “Zodiac” in the Land of the End. A resplendent goddess descended from the heavens, declaring the author the strongest being in the Land of the End, now free to come and go as they pleased.

And so, the author left.

Qi Xia finished reading with a heavy expression, feeling as though he’d been duped.

“Chu Tianqiu, you wrote this yourself, didn’t you?” he asked.

“Of course,” Chu Tianqiu nodded earnestly. “Qi Xia, you didn’t actually believe there was some legendary predecessor who single-handedly gambled all the ‘Zodiacs’ to death over time, did you? This was just a little scheme to make the members of ‘Paradise’s Gate’ willingly march to their deaths. Hahahaha!”

Qi Xia sighed deeply. He had suspected the notebook might be fake, but he hadn’t expected it to be so blatantly fabricated.

Chu Tianqiu retrieved the notebook and carefully tucked it back into his pocket, as if afraid it might tear. “Now that I’ve shared ‘Paradise’s Gate’s’ core secret with you, don’t you trust me?”

“How amusing—you offer me a ‘lie’ in exchange for sincerity,” Qi Xia chuckled. “Are you looking to trade for another ‘lie’?”

“Oh? Is that not allowed?” Chu Tianqiu feigned disappointment. “Even if it’s a ‘lie,’ it’s still my secret.”

“If gambling all the ‘Zodiacs’ to death isn’t feasible, and yet you keep sending ‘Paradise’s Gate’ members to their doom, what’s your goal?” Qi Xia asked.

“I need corpses,” Chu Tianqiu answered without hesitation.

The response caught Qi Xia off guard once again.

“You… you’re creating ‘corpses’?”

“How should I put this… Qi Xia,” Chu Tianqiu mused, stroking his chin. “If I tell you this, I’ll have no secrets left.”

“Do you want to tell me?” Qi Xia asked.

“Hehe…” A hint of madness flickered in Chu Tianqiu’s smile. “Of course. Why else would I risk my life coming here?”

“Then speak. I’m listening,” Qi Xia nodded.

“Qi Xia…” Chu Tianqiu murmured. “When the ‘Day of Termination’ arrives, all living people will turn into crimson dust, scattering with the wind.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Qi Xia raised a brow, seemingly unfazed.

“The blue sky above is filled with those who survived till the tenth day. Now, even the sky is stained a dark red by their remains,” Chu Tianqiu gazed at the sky outside as if admiring a beautiful sight. “Though I don’t know where my previous corpse drifted, it’s rotting somewhere, reeking of decay.”

“How pitiable,” Qi Xia replied dryly.

“But you know what?” Chu Tianqiu turned back to him. “Only the living turn to dust. Those who die before the tenth day rot in the open air.”

Qi Xia frowned, finding the statement unsettling.

“So… the living are annihilated?” he asked.

“Not ‘the living,'” Chu Tianqiu shook his head. “The ‘participants’ are annihilated.”