Chapter 913: Surviving
"Oh?"
I knew I had piqued Qinglong's interest again.
Why had Baiyang been able to say so many treasonous words without being erased? As Qinglong had said... he liked clever ants.
As long as I could make Qinglong interested enough in me, I might just survive.
If Qinglong truly had some kind of cooperation with Baiyang, that meant the "backer" that Shapi Gou and Mianyang had mentioned when Baiyang first appeared was Qinglong.
He had always valued clever people.
"Qinglong, I'm stronger than most of the 'participants' here," I said. "Killing me gives you nothing, but keeping me alive benefits you. I'm smarter than you think."
"Interesting indeed..." Qinglong took a step forward. "What makes you so confident in saying that?"
"I..." I paused, then continued. "I've been insecure my whole life. It's time I was confident for once."
"Yan Zhichun." Qinglong called my name again. "How tragic? A manipulated life, yet you treasure it. Your insecurity is justified. You should remain insecure for the rest of your days."
"What...?"
Qinglong slowly raised his hand, opening it into a palm, suspending it before my forehead.
I felt a strange force probing my brain.
"What a chaotic life?" Qinglong said expressionlessly. "Memories are wrong, thoughts are disordered, even the intelligence isn't your own. Your brain has activated a powerful self-repair mechanism, fabricating those chaotic memories into a complete life story for you—but this has deceived even yourself."
"I..."
"You should have noticed something off about your life, shouldn't you? 'Seeing is believing' is useless here." Qinglong continued. "None of the memories you have before today can be trusted."
"I-I don't understand." I said. "I know what kind of life I'm living. I know how I got to where I am today. Baiyang is my benefactor. Even if he's done something inappropriate, I would never betray him."
"But he's been manipulating you all along," Qinglong said. "He's manipulated many people here. The reason I've been 'listening in' all this time is precisely to understand every move Baiyang makes. Baiyang will throw this place into chaos, and no one will escape unscathed... You must have felt it during that 'Silence' too, didn't you?"
"So what?"
"You've piqued my interest," Qinglong said. "What's the point of working for Baiyang? Why not work for me instead? I can offer a much higher price."
"It sounds really tempting, but no," I said. "My first impression of you and Baiyang is completely different. I can't work for you."
"What's the difference?" Qinglong said. "In both cases, someone you see as incredibly powerful comes before you seeking cooperation. And yet I lose to Baiyang?"
"Yes... on the surface, there's no difference." I gave a bitter smile and replied. "But Baiyang saw me as a person from the very beginning. It was I who saw myself as a dog. You, on the other hand, wanted to make me a dog from the start. If I cooperated with you, I'd have to exhaust every means just to prove I'm a person."
"Ha ha ha ha!" Qinglong laughed loudly. "Pity you're not even a 'dog'—you're just an ant!"
"It's precisely this attitude of yours..." I said, "that makes no one want to work for you."
"Is that necessary...?" Qinglong said. "Yan Zhichun, do you have any idea how much danger you're in right now?"
My face darkened. Then I pulled out a map from my pocket and said, "Qinglong, although I won't work for you, I'll use this to buy back my 'sanity.' If you decide to kill me after seeing it, I'll have nothing to say."
I knew that if Qinglong found this map on my corpse, it would lose its last shred of value.
Now I could still use it as a bargaining chip. This was my last chance.
Qinglong paused slightly, then lightly waved his arm. The map in my hand floated up, unfolding itself before him.
"A map...?" he murmured. "The map Baiyang gave you?"
His eyes quickly swept across the eight locations marked on the map, then took on a contemplative expression.
"Don't you like clever people?" I asked. "Here's the map for you. You can solve the puzzle Baiyang left behind. How about that?"
"Interesting..." Qinglong slowly revealed a smile. "He summoned 'Silence,' then gave you a map... And the conversation that follows is all about this map too?!"
"Yes." I nodded calmly, but my heart was racing.
Brother Yang, this is all I can do.
"Chou Niu," "Mao Tu," "Chen Long..." Qinglong's brow suddenly furrowed. "'Chen Long'...?!"
I stared at Qinglong warily, wondering why he had such a strong reaction to "Chen Long."
"Well, well... Dilong, you sly one..." Qinglong suddenly turned to look at me. "Little ant... you've been a great help..."
"Is that so...?" I said ambiguously.
"How interesting. Handing over such important information just like that. I'd love to see how you explain this to Baiyang." Qinglong revealed another manic grin. "Interesting... insects tearing each other apart—who wouldn't enjoy watching that all day?"
I knew Qinglong was probably right. This news, known only to me in the entire world—this most important and safest mission—had been ruined just minutes after I left Baiyang's game arena.
But the problem was that I simply had no way to resist Qinglong... Even my "Echo" couldn't affect him, since he himself possessed "Soul Stealer," and was far more powerful than me.
Under these circumstances, the only thing I could do was survive.
Qinglong folded the map, gave me a meaningful look, and then vanished right before my eyes.
Just before disappearing, he was still muttering "Chen Long" under his breath.
I remembered Baiyang saying that among those eight people, there was one on our side... Now that Qinglong had the map, they would probably all be caught in one net.
I had to find a way, and fast...
Thinking this, I rushed back to Baiyang's game arena, pushed open the door, and entered the office.
Baiyang sat expressionlessly in his seat, his eyes slightly closed, as if deep in thought.
"Brother Yang... something's wrong..." I said, my voice trembling.
Baiyang slowly opened his eyes and looked at me. "Slow down. What happened?"
"That map... Qinglong took it!" I said. "It's all my fault... but I had no way to resist. I only had two choices: either 'lose the map' or 'lose my mind and lose the map anyway'... I... I really had no choice..."
"What...?" Baiyang furrowed his brow slightly. "Qinglong took the map?"
"Yes... I'm sorry."
"You couldn't even handle such a small thing?" Baiyang said to me in a stern voice. "And I trusted you so much... You've disappointed me terribly."