Chapter 1012: A Swarm Arrives
"That's a novel way to put it," Qinglong said. "So you were a group of people who originally wanted to escape, but then you gave up on your own?"
"That's exactly it," Dilong said. "I've spent more time in the 'Land of the End' than I have in the real world... You know, besides the nightmare of you killing me, my other nightmare is actually returning to reality."
"For you, does 'returning to reality' count as a nightmare?"
"Of course it does." Dilong lowered his head to look at his own scale-covered hand. "If I were to go back to the real world now and find a job, tapping on a keyboard every day to earn some money... it sounds really tempting. But I've even forgotten the layout of the keyboard. I've forgotten how to unlock a phone, forgotten what my relatives look like and their phone numbers... I'm not even sure whether it's the red light or the yellow light that allows you to cross the street. How are we supposed to go back to the 'real world' and live...?"
"Put that way..." Qinglong nodded. "'Mortals' really are more troublesome."
"In my era, someone who spent three years in prison would be severely disconnected from society upon release, since new things appear before your eyes every single day." Dilong continued with a smile. "Trends, internet memes, blockbuster scandals, AI development... Some things, you don't even need three years without exposure—just three weeks offline and you'll fall behind. But I've been here for decades. What do you think is the point of us going back?"
"So you're comparing this place... to a prison?"
"It's similar, but not entirely the same," Dilong said. "Even prisoners in jail can read newspapers and books, periodically learn about what's happening 'outside.' But we never can. Every day, I think about which building might have scrap wood for a fire, where I might find some leftover cans, what specific effects someone's 'Echo' has, which game can earn me a few more 'Tao.' I even think about what kind of injury I need to sustain so I can kill myself immediately."
After saying this, Dilong looked down at his own suit again. "The current way of life is completely different from before. Before, if my clothes got dirty, I wouldn't wash them right away. I'd calculate how many days were left until 'Annihilation,' and then my clothes would refresh. Now, every day I return to my room, food and clean clothes come down from the sky. My job is to 'manage the zodiacs,' and the 'zodiacs' job is to kill people. None of this is anything a normal life would ever involve... Qinglong, tell me, how am I supposed to go back?"
"Then I'm even more curious." Qinglong rested his chin on his hand and asked, "If every one of you feels this way, then 'Peach Blossom Spring' should suit you better. After all, you'll be ageless and deathless here, you're more familiar with this life, so why do you all help Qixia keep carrying out his 'plan'?"
"Maybe it's because we saw the 'divinity' in him," Dilong said. "That might be the only reason."
"'Divinity'...?" Qinglong had never heard the term before and frowned slightly.
"In my memory, Qixia never did anything for his own sake." Dilong shook his head with a smile. "He's like what people in our era called a 'saint' that everyone cursed on the internet. But he actually achieved it... To break the 'Peach Blossom Spring' you created, to let everyone return to the real world, step by step he forced himself into the person he is now. Now that he's about to reach the 'endpoint,' we might have some emotions, we might complain because of the length of time, but none of us would ever betray him. That's our bottom line."
"Even if it means dying?" Qinglong asked again. "You're about to reach the 'endpoint,' are you willing to die before it?"
"You forgot?" Dilong laughed. "We've already died of old age long ago! We're nothing but a bunch of lingering patients now. It doesn't matter who dies before the 'endpoint.' It's like knowing that many years from now, humanity will engage in interstellar travel, reaching countless new worlds, but my lifespan won't allow me to see that day, so I won't feel regret."
Only now did Qinglong finally understand why Qixia's teammates were willing to become 'zodiacs' and had consistently maintained his ethereal, absurd 'plan' for so many years.
Because these people couldn't leave.
Their lives were composed of two parts: a small part came from the real world, and a large part came from 'Peach Blossom Spring.'
If they were made to leave 'Peach Blossom Spring' and return to the real world now... they would be more miserable than they were now.
So at an age where they could almost die of old age, they voluntarily 'ended' their own lives and threw themselves into Qixia's 'divinity.'
They shed their names, appearances, and all other information about being 'human' to become 'zodiacs,' no different from being dead.
"It's almost like the 'herd effect'..." Qinglong said. "Just because Qixia carries 'divinity,' you all follow him to uphold that 'divinity'..."
"Decades of time are enough for us to understand a person," Dilong said. "We understand Qixia, and we also understand you and Tianlong. If everyone in the entire 'Land of the End' were to choose, Qixia would definitely get the most votes. If he can become a 'god,' then we will all be ruled by him. If he becomes a 'demon,' then we are willing to be ghosts under his command. So it doesn't matter what's on the other side of the red door... If he's willing to take us there, it means that after his consideration, that hellish place is more suitable for survival than this one."
Qinglong fell silent again after hearing this, then asked softly, "Is this what you 'mortals' call 'brainwashing'? Qixia used his silver tongue to recruit a group of utterly devoted underlings."
"Wrong," Dilong said. "First of all, we are not 'underlings.' Secondly, Qixia has never demanded anything from us. Even on the path of the 'zodiacs,' he gave us countless opportunities to betray him. All of us chose this path voluntarily, with no one forcing or threatening us during the entire process. That's the biggest difference between him and you."
"Interesting." Qinglong said in a low voice. "I never thought that the most moving words I'd hear in my life would come from a 'zodiac' beside me."
"Thank you." Dilong smiled. "If you like a butterfly, you'll try to catch it and hold it in your hand until it can't move. But Qixia also likes butterflies. He chooses to lower his head and plant flowers, until they bloom and blossom, and butterflies swarm in from all directions."
Qinglong lowered his head once more, gazing at the crowds beginning to shift below. He said softly, "Dilong, let you and me make a bet."
"A bet?"
"Who do you think will be the ultimate winner of this game?" Qinglong asked.
"I think..." Dilong also looked down below. She glanced at Chu Tianqiu first, then at Qixia, and smiled. "I think the ultimate winner will be all the 'participants.'"