As the Earth Dragon turned around and opened the wooden door, Qi Xia and Chu Tianqiu discovered that it led to a space just as dark as where they stood.
Although both sides of the door were pitch black, it was clearly a gateway to somewhere else.
Murmurs and whispers drifted out from the darkness beyond; it seemed all the previously chosen participants were gathered there, about twelve in total.
The Earth Dragon stepped in first. Qi Xia and Chu Tianqiu didn’t immediately follow. They simply stared at her retreating figure.
“Qi Xia… why did you choose to participate in this game?” Chu Tianqiu asked softly.
“Wasn’t it arranged by the ‘Azure Dragon’?” Qi Xia countered.
“At this point… there’s no need to keep lying to me, right?” Chu Tianqiu said. “Let me guess—your real intention is to find these ‘doors,’ isn’t it?”
“No…” Qi Xia replied. “Although it’s related to the ‘doors,’ my ultimate goal isn’t the ‘doors’ themselves.”
“It seems you’ve known about the strangeness of this place for a long time…” Chu Tianqiu mused.
“Isn’t that thanks to you?” Qi Xia said.
“Me…?”
“Yes.” Qi Xia nodded. “Don’t you remember? The first time I participated in the ‘Human Dragon’ game was your setup. You made us fight amongst ourselves… but I should actually thank you, because from that moment on, I had a bold hypothesis.”
“Haha…” Chu Tianqiu smirked slightly. “So that’s how it is… The ‘answer’ to this world really exists within the game… Could it really be the ‘Dragon’? I should have taken the lead myself and spent more time exploring the game thoroughly.”
“In that game…” Qi Xia continued, “we entered a strange space through different ‘doors.’ More than that… others could also reach the same space through different ‘doors.’ This can only mean that the ‘doors’ aren’t the most important part—it’s the ‘space’ that matters.”
“Then have you figured out the meaning behind these ‘doors’?” Chu Tianqiu asked again.
Qi Xia took a deep breath and said, “Chu Tianqiu… I can only say this: the so-called ‘Train’ is merely something that looks like a train. If you dismantle it, its true form should be countless ‘doors’ that allow you to ‘travel’ through spaces.”
“What…?” Chu Tianqiu was stunned. “Are you saying there is no ‘Train’ at all—only ‘doors’…?”
“Imagine if opening your bedroom door led you to the bathroom, and stepping forward a few paces and opening the bathroom door brought you to the kitchen and living room. Naturally, you’d think the house is rectangular, right?”
Chu Tianqiu frowned after listening: “Isn’t that exactly the case?”
“But what if someone tampered with the ‘doors,’ allowing them to lead to different spaces? That would change your perception. If someone forcibly and unconsciously combines originally unconnected rooms, people walking through would only describe the space based on their own perceptions—calling it a ‘corridor’ or a ‘train.’ But in reality, it’s just countless disconnected spaces pieced together.”
Chu Tianqiu was no ordinary person; with just a few sentences, he gradually understood what Qi Xia was trying to convey.
“But what about the disturbance from that ‘door’ just now…” Chu Tianqiu felt there was still a major question lingering, especially after Qi Xia had written the character “Yu” (余) earlier. “Could it lead to a space beyond reality itself…?”
“No.” Qi Xia denied the idea. “You’re overthinking. It only allows us to reach spaces that actually exist.”
“That door looked like it had gone mad…” Chu Tianqiu’s voice grew softer. “Are you sure what’s on the other side of the door is real?”
“Of course.” Qi Xia nodded, meaningfully adding, “A space you can reach simply by opening a door… how could that not be considered real?”
Chu Tianqiu didn’t respond immediately, his expression growing serious as he continued to ponder.
Judging from the Earth Dragon’s behavior just now… what lay beyond that ‘door’ couldn’t really be considered ‘real.’ The Earth Dragon roamed frequently in this eerie ‘End of the World,’ but was there any place more terrifying than this that could scare her?
“All the ‘doors’ are stable now,” Qi Xia continued. “They’re as steady as a ‘Train,’ with its long corridor and countless fragmented spaces. But think carefully—how could such a massive structure, stretching for miles, possibly fit into this place…?”
“Qi Xia…” Chu Tianqiu lowered his voice and leaned closer. “You seem to know so much… aren’t you afraid the ‘Azure Dragon’ might hear you?”
“Hear…?” Qi Xia shook his head. “From my guess… the ‘Azure Dragon’ can’t hear anything here.”
“What…?”
“If the ‘Azure Dragon’ could really hear us, it wouldn’t have been the Earth Dragon who stopped me when I wrote the character ‘Yu’ just now.” Qi Xia deduced seriously. “Besides, I’ve tested it. The ‘Azure Dragon’ must come in person to watch your and my game, which further proves that unless he’s physically present, he can’t know what’s happening here.”
“So you’re basing this bold guess solely on that—that the ‘Azure Dragon’ can’t hear anything here?”
“But this guess still needs confirmation.” Qi Xia said. “Come on, let’s have a match. Show me your strongest skills.”
The two followed the Earth Dragon through the door and found themselves once again in a vast, pitch-black space.
The first thing that came into view was a large plaza. The ground here wasn’t dark; instead, it was paved with white tiles. In the distance stood several massive white walls, about seven or eight meters high.
The team members summoned by Qi Xia and Chu Tianqiu earlier were standing in small groups. Since Qi Xia and Chu Tianqiu weren’t completely opposing factions, the people they had chosen weren’t necessarily enemies either.
Qiao Jiajin was chatting with Zhang Shan with an arm around his shoulder. Han Yimo and Dr. Zhao were whispering to each other. Chen Junnan was talking nonstop to a clearly unamused Xu Liunian.
Zheng Yingxiong kept covering his nose with his hand, while Tian Tian stood beside him, asking with concern.
If no one had mentioned this was the ‘Earth Dragon Game,’ anyone would have thought it was just a gathering of old friends.
When everyone saw the Earth Dragon and the two walk out, they all fell silent and slowly gathered toward them.
“Two of you…” the Earth Dragon said, “next is the ‘troop inspection.’ If you confirm your teams are ready, I’ll take you to the game arena separately.”
“Separately?” Qi Xia asked. “Isn’t this game something we all participate in together?”
“Yes,” the Earth Dragon nodded. “But the only time you’ll all stand together is now. What follows is ‘team versus team’ combat.”
At this moment, everyone’s expressions varied. Some had joined because they trusted their ‘commander,’ but others had never even considered that their ‘commander’ would choose them.
“That’s fine,” Qi Xia said. “Let them have some time to talk among themselves.”
“Please do,” the Earth Dragon said. “In five minutes, I’ll lead everyone to the arena.”
As soon as the words were spoken, the crowd erupted into chatter.
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