Chapter 979: The Predictor
Qi Xia stared quietly out the window into the pitch-black night.
He looked up at the sky from time to time, then down at the ground. His fingers tapped lightly against the window frame as his mind churned at full speed.
It was a long, silent night—the kind he hadn't seen in decades.
The "Zodiac" were quiet. The "Ants" were quiet. The "Participants" were quiet.
Now, all the sounds of the entire "End of the Land" combined were not as loud as the chaos in Qi Xia's mind.
Countless thoughts spiraled in his head as he ran through simulations of what was happening—or what was about to happen—over and over again in his mind.
Fortunately, the dream battle with "Dragon" had allowed him to recover a few more memories. But many of those regained memories were of walking through a void, like a corrupted computer program.
" 'Cat' should be finalizing their strategy tonight," Qi Xia thought to himself.
"It's just a pity you don't have many options left... No matter how you weigh it, there's only one way out. After all, there are plenty of smart people in 'Cat.' The thinking of those strategists will point all outcomes toward the same answer. That's the path I've set for you—let everything take its natural course."
"If everything goes as planned, the 'Zodiac' will descend into chaos tonight, breeding mistrust. After all, the 'Zodiac' I trust most have begun to move, disrupting the balance established by the many rebellious 'Zodiac' before. Now, everyone is out for themselves, scrambling to survive."
He stood up, staring out the window, and thought again: "Only when people feel besieged by internal and external troubles can their potential be pushed to its maximum. At that moment, if just one 'Zodiac' makes a move... everyone will fall into chaos. The 'Trains' will be reorganized, and the 'Heavenly Level'..."
Qi Xia turned to look at the corpse that had been lying on the floor in the center of the classroom all along.
"'Heavenly Level' members are already starting to die." Qi Xia quickly simulated the next scenario. "At this point, how could 'Dragon' not want to see me...? And how could 'Heavenly Pig,' who has been sleeping all this time, not receive the order to activate the 'Puppets'...? If the puppets are activated right in front of 'Azure Dragon'... how will you survive? And when these 'Earthly Level' members, riddled with internal and external crises, see that 'Heavenly Level' truly can be killed, the great gears will begin to turn with brutal force."
All the preliminary work had been set up for "Dragon." Let alone a self-proclaimed "god" like "Dragon"—even a real god couldn't have foreseen someone spending such a long time planning a simple murder.
"As for 'Extreme Path'..." Qi Xia rubbed his chin. "'Extreme Path' is also advancing along all the predetermined tracks, and moving more steadily than any other team... After all, this needle was forged by my own hands from the very beginning of the 'Blacksmith' game, and I shaped it into what it is now."
"All the 'needles' are like a 'train' racing down the tracks—turbulent, but advancing steadily. In the end, they will crash into the real 'train' of the 'End of the Land'..." Qi Xia paused his thoughts for a few seconds. "But there's still one fastest car missing..."
Qi Xia turned his head to look outside the door, muttering in his mind: "Chu Tianqiu..."
"Don't let me down. Wen Qiaoyun's resurrection didn't drive you even more insane—instead, it restored a sliver of reason... Why are you still so naive? Do I need to tear her apart right in front of you?"
A few seconds later, Qi Xia shook his head. "No, that won't work. If I tear Wen Qiaoyun apart... you'll only hate me. If 'Dragon' tears her apart, you'll only hate 'Dragon.' That won't be enough."
"You need to hate yourself. You need to hate the world. You need to hate everyone... What you need is to be 'powerless against everything.' What you have to bear is 'everything sinking into despair.' What your eyes will hold is an endless sea of Wen Qiaoyun's corpse... That is our only path."
In this bizarre place, killing people is to save them, and saving people is to harm them.
Qi Xia knew well that this team didn't need someone overly kind-hearted. And Chu Tianqiu was the best candidate for this plan besides himself.
Both of them would kill countless people and stop at nothing to do "good deeds"—a rare phenomenon you wouldn't find anywhere else.
"Countless 'evil deeds' achieve 'good karma.' Thus, the act is neither good nor evil; the karmic debt neither increases nor decreases." Qi Xia thought again. "I don't need a 'good result,' nor do I need an 'evil result.' I only need one predetermined 'result'—one that has been long in the making."
After another few seconds of silence, Qi Xia nodded. "That's right... Chu Tianqiu... I shouldn't underestimate you... Maybe you've already thought of it?"
It was deathly quiet outside the door, as if the entire "Heaven's Gate" had fallen silent.
"I'll give you one last chance... If Wen Qiaoyun proposes a life-or-death gamble with 'Earth Dragon' tomorrow, then I'll give you a hand. But if you're determined to protect her... then your car will have to stop right here."
Qiao Jiajin had been watching Qi Xia for a long time from the side. Only when Qi Xia's brow finally relaxed did he ask softly, "Conman... what side hustle have you picked up now?"
"I..." Qi Xia was startled. "Nothing. I was just thinking."
"Oh..." Qiao Jiajin nodded, still staring at Qi Xia with curious eyes.
As the two sat in silence, footsteps sounded from outside the door. A travel-worn Chen Junnan returned.
"Huh...?" Qiao Jiajin was curious to see Chen Junnan back. "Junnan-boy... why'd you sneak back in the dark? Isn't it dangerous?"
"Pfft..." Chen Junnan shook his head. "That's a long story. It looks like they sprayed some kind of insecticide on the streets today. I didn't see a single 'Ant.'"
"In-in-insecticide?" Qiao Jiajin was stunned.
"Anyway, I've completed my glorious mission." Chen Junnan found a chair and sat down. "Both the surface-level mission and the ones old Qi didn't mention should be done. If you've got time, little lord here can tell you about my heroic feats just now."
Qi Xia rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a few seconds. "After you left, did 'Cat' start their meeting?"
"Uh... Damn, how do you know that again?" Chen Junnan cursed. "How could they not have a meeting? Now that your best chess piece has shown up, they've got to follow my lead, right?"
"Alright... It's about time." Qi Xia said.
"About time...?" Chen Junnan asked in confusion. "Time for what?"
Qi Xia didn't answer. Sure enough, a few seconds later, a voice sounded in his ear.
"Tsk... Big Brain."
"Mm." Qi Xia responded softly. "I'm here. Go ahead."
Seeing this, Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan naturally knew what was happening. They both fell silent and waited quietly.
Saturday cleared his throat again and said, "Tsk, I'm under 'Silence,' so I'll talk and you listen."
"Alright." Qi Xia said.