Chapter 988: Conservative
"Qi Xia, Yan Zhichun has a deep connection with you, doesn't she?" Chu Tianqiu asked.
Qi Xia shook his head after hearing this. "To be precise, it's not me who has a deep connection with her, but another arrogant fool."
"Regardless of whether that person is you or not, Yan Zhichun is a powerful ally for you," Chu Tianqiu said. "If she joins my side, what countermeasures will you take?"
"That is indeed a bit tricky," Qi Xia said. "My original intention was to have Yan Zhichun join my team and become my true 'teammate,' but right now she doesn't fully trust me. Instead, she trusts another person."
"So your plan failed?" Chu Tianqiu asked.
"No." Qi Xia shook his head. "The moment I learned about the 'summoning' rule, I understood. Time is extremely tight, and there's no way for me to build something as intangible as 'trust' with her in just one morning."
"Oh…?"
"I think 'fear' and 'defeat' will be more direct," Qi Xia said. "So it's not a problem for her to join your team. What I need now is someone I can completely control, not a long-term cooperative partner who trusts me."
"And with that…" Chu Tianqiu said, "Just now you were calling someone else arrogant and conceited. How are you any different from him?"
"Ha…" Qi Xia laughed. "So in your eyes… I'm also that kind of person?"
Chu Tianqiu didn't answer, just shook his head and asked, "Did you know from the start that I would choose Yan Zhichun?"
"Mm." Qi Xia nodded. "Yan Zhichun has been to 'Heaven's Gate,' so you should know her abilities. Considering her relationship with me, I had two plans ready from the beginning. There was a high probability you would choose her."
Chu Tianqiu narrowed his eyes, starting to calculate Qi Xia's next candidate. If he himself had chosen 'Yan Zhichun,' then wouldn't she end up taking 'Wen Qiaoyun'?
Both pieces had now been delivered to each other's hands, yet 'Yan Zhichun' meant something completely different to Qi Xia than 'Wen Qiaoyun' did to him.
At this moment, Dilong turned back and opened the wooden door. Before them stood Yan Zhichun.
After the situation was explained, Yan Zhichun clearly hesitated.
Her purpose in coming here this time was to fight alongside Qi Xia and see his skills for herself. Who would have thought that now she would have to join Chu Tianqiu's team instead?
"You didn't manage to win me over…?" Yan Zhichun murmured to herself. "Once 'Heart-Seizer' joins the opposing side, how will you win?"
Only Dilong's voice could carry outside the door, so naturally, she could give Yan Zhichun no answer.
Yan Zhichun pondered on the spot for a long time before finally choosing to step through the door.
Qi Xia knew that Yan Zhichun would only choose to 'accept' when she didn't fully trust him. After all, from her perspective, she understood that choosing to oppose him would allow her to more intuitively gauge the gap in their strength.
Next, Chu Tianqiu stared intently at Qi Xia's movements. It was now Qi Xia's turn to 'summon,' and that person would most likely be 'Wen Qiaoyun.'
The two sides could almost be considered 'exchanging hostages.' For Qi Xia, 'Wen Qiaoyun' was the optimal choice right now, and Chu Tianqiu could only rush to think of countermeasures.
Qi Xia raised his hand, his finger hovering in the air for a long time without writing a single character.
"By the way…" Qi Xia looked at Dilong and asked softly, "This door can lead to any place at will?"
"Yes," Dilong nodded, replying, "In theory, that's the case."
After hearing this, Qi Xia fell silent for a moment. Then a smile spread across his face, growing increasingly eerie, and his voice began to grow louder gradually.
Although Dilong's game venue seemed spacious in the pitch-black darkness, Qi Xia's laughter actually produced an echo.
This laughter left Dilong and Chu Tianqiu baffled.
"What are you laughing at?" Dilong asked expressionlessly.
"There's an 'echo' here… How interesting…" Qi Xia replied. "I suddenly thought of a new way to play."
"What…?"
Chu Tianqiu frowned and looked at Qi Xia. Although he guessed that Qi Xia was about to write 'Wen Qiaoyun,' he felt that just 'Wen Qiaoyun' alone wouldn't make him this excited.
Qi Xia raised his head to look at Dilong, speaking with an exhilarated expression. "How can I be so conservative…?"
Dilong was startled upon hearing this and quickly stepped forward, demanding coldly, "What are you planning to do?!"
"If I obediently 'summon' here… when will 'Qinglong' arrive?" Qi Xia said. "Isn't there enough fun already?"
A foreboding sense of dread suddenly rose in Dilong's mind, and her back went cold for a split second. Qi Xia's state made her feel extremely dangerous.
"Don't do anything reckless!" Dilong said. "You should know what this game—"
Before she could finish, Qi Xia had already reached out and rapidly wrote a character on the screen—
"余" (Yu)!
As soon as the character appeared, the crack of the wooden door behind Dilong suddenly blazed with a dazzling blood-red light, as if the other side of the door led to the abyss of hell.
Countless wails and screams faintly echoed from the other side of the door, as if a malevolent ghost was about to make its appearance.
"Hahahaha!" Qi Xia laughed loudly. "'Qinglong' wanted to see a show, didn't he?! I've thought of the most amusing show!! A door that can lead to 'any place'! What audacity! To put something like this in front of me… It seems Qinglong really knows nothing… Such a pitiful 'dragon'…"
Even Chu Tianqiu's eyes widened at this moment. He knew he had completely lost the ability to keep up with Qi Xia's train of thought.
Qi Xia was now breaking away from the realm of 'human' and ascending to a higher level.
What was he about to summon?
Without hesitation, Qi Xia reached out again, about to write the character "念" (Nian), when Dilong lunged forward and seized his wrist.
"Stop!" she snapped. "Don't do anything dangerous! Where are you trying to make this door lead?!"
Qi Xia possessed no immortal body, so once Dilong grabbed his wrist, he couldn't move. Yet he still turned his head, staring at Dilong with an utterly manic gaze, and replied word by word:
"To… the 'New World'!"
"New World…? You lunatic…" Dilong said. "Calm down. Don't do anything unnecessary. 'Qinglong' will be here soon!"
"Three seconds enough?" Qi Xia asked.
"What…?"
"Five seconds?" Qi Xia asked again.
"Don't be unreasonable!" Dilong said. "How could 'Qinglong' possibly not show up at all in a game he designed himself?"
Dilong held onto Qi Xia's wrist until the red characters on the electronic screen gradually faded and the blood-red light behind the wooden door vanished completely. Only then did she breathe a slight sigh of relief.
Seeing this, Qi Xia slowly withdrew his manic grin, his face turning cold as he said, "Looks like it's not me who's conservative, but you."
"Both of you… Let me reiterate the rules." Dilong said, still somewhat shaken. "This time, the target of the 'summoning' can only be a 'participant.' If anyone makes a dangerous move again, I will personally impose 'sanctions' on them."