Chapter 1083: A New Order
Qi Xia had originally intended to recall everyone, have them hand over all the "words" on them and wait in the "Preparation Zone," but he found the situation to be somewhat unexpected.
Aside from Chen Junnan, Qiao Jiajin, and Han Yimo, who were already in the "Preparation Zone," the rest had not returned and seemed to be locked inside the game rooms.
There were a total of five paths leading to the "River Channel," and three of them were now locked.
Qi Xia realized this might be some strategy employed by Chu Tianqiu, but most of the opposing team’s members had already returned to the "Preparation Zone" under Chu Tianqiu’s command. Who could possibly be capable of trapping so many people single-handedly?
He quickly guessed that the only person with such courage and skill was likely Kim Won-hoon. The thought made Qi Xia’s heart tighten.
Zheng Yingxiong and Attorney Zhang were not a big concern, but if Kim Won-hoon had trapped Tiantian inside the game venue... the situation would become very troublesome.
Thus, Qi Xia could only wait patiently with those in the "Preparation Zone." They waited for nearly ten minutes before everyone finished their bet-free games. During this time, neither Qi Xia nor Chu Tianqiu made any moves, as if both were planning something.
When Attorney Zhang and Zheng Yingxiong returned, Qi Xia informed everyone that he would take all the chips to settle the final showdown with Chu Tianqiu.
Tiantian finally arrived late, handing over her "Scholar" to Qi Xia as well.
Seeing Tiantian return, Qi Xia’s delight was evident. "You’re back?"
"Mm." Tiantian nodded. "Lucky, I guess."
"So... it’s done?"
"It should... be fine." Tiantian nodded. "But I really can’t be certain... after all, it’s 'modification,' not 'creation,' so I’m still a bit worried."
"Which room?"
"It's 'Mao.'"
"And Kim Won-hoon?" Qi Xia asked again.
Tiantian didn’t speak. She simply stared quietly at Qi Xia, and he caught all the information he needed from that look.
"Then his 'word'..."
"It’s still on him," Tiantian replied.
"Alright, that at least means we’re more than halfway there." Qi Xia said. "Even if it fails, it’s not your fault. It’s just that time was too tight."
Tiantian nodded with a hint of guilt. She knew that in this game, Qi Xia had assigned her only one task. If she hadn’t completed it, she would naturally feel bad about it.
But did such a person really exist in the world?
He wouldn’t blame you for what you did wrong, and even the tasks he gave you only expected you to try your best.
In her limited twenty-one years of life, she had borne the curse of wrongdoing for things she had never done.
Compared to that time... wasn’t the "Land of the End" like heaven?
Qi Xia collected all the "words" and set off for the "River Channel."
At this moment, Qinglong felt the situation was far more interesting than he had imagined. He slowly stood up from the "viewing platform."
"Interesting..." Qinglong turned to Dilong and said, "You know what fascinates me most about 'mortals'?"
"What?" Dilong asked indifferently.
"It’s that I set down all the 'rules,' yet some people just love to operate outside the rules." Qinglong’s expression gradually grew animated. "It’s like I drew a maze for them with mothballs, but a few ants insist on tasting the mothballs... How amusing is that?"
"I see... You wanted them to collect twenty-eight 'words' to win, but neither side abandoned that winning strategy midway through the game." Dilong said. "I have to say, if this game were played by ordinary people, you’d see a steady, methodical match. But Qi Xia and Chu Tianqiu are clearly not that kind of people."
"Yes..." Qinglong smiled. "From the very start of this game, the tactics employed by both sides exceeded my imagination... including the final strategies Qi Xia and Chu Tianqiu have each devised now. Truly brilliant."
"And what do you want to do?" Dilong asked.
"What do I want..." Qinglong turned his head meaningfully to Dilong and said, "Since the game is so exciting, what do you say... if I were to recruit all fourteen of these people as new 'Gods'?"
"What...?" Dilong was taken aback.
"Completely reshuffle the existing 'Peach Blossom Land.'" Qinglong laughed. "Let the ‘Zodiacs’ and ‘Participants’ be damned. I’ll set up a new three-tier ‘Heaven, Earth, and Man’ chess pieces."
Dilong’s eyes began to flicker. "Qinglong, what nonsense are you talking..."
"Does the name ‘Heaven-tier chess piece’ not sound good?" Qinglong’s gaze sparkled as he looked down at the people. "Let ‘Heaven Ox’ and ‘Heaven Rat’ all go die. Only keep ‘Heaven Soldier’ and ‘Heaven General’..."
"Enough..."
"I’ll have Tianlong make some huge hollow wooden chess pieces and put them on everyone’s heads to distinguish their identities..." Qinglong ignored Dilong and continued talking to himself. "Would there be too many people? Maybe let ‘Heaven General’ and ‘Heaven Marshal’ manage them? But then there would be ‘Heaven Horse,’ and that might make me seem unoriginal, wouldn’t it?"
"Stop it..."
"Alternatively, forget about ‘Heaven, Earth, and Man’ and just divide them into ‘Yin and Yang.’" Qinglong nodded, as if no one else was around. "‘Yin Soldier’ and ‘Yin Marshal,’ plus ‘Yang Horse’ and ‘Yang Pawn’... Sounds fresh, doesn’t it?"
He turned his expectant gaze to Dilong, as if waiting for a word of praise.
Dilong’s face darkened. After a long pause, she said, "Qinglong, was it like this... that you and Tianlong selected the current ‘Heaven-level Zodiacs’?"
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"To complete the ‘Zodiacs,’ you randomly picked eleven people from a game you found impressive, granting them titles and power..." Dilong struggled to control her emotions. "So arbitrary and absurd... You elevated these eleven people, who differed so vastly in ability, level, and personality, to be ‘Heaven-level Zodiacs.’ In the end, that plunged this land into chaos."
"No, that’s not right." Qinglong shook his head. "How could it be ‘randomly picking eleven people from a game’? Since I found the game exciting, I naturally took everyone who was in that game. Even if there were old people and children in the game, it didn’t matter."
"You..."
"And the sequence is wrong too." Qinglong said. "How could I have picked eleven people just because I wanted to make them Zodiacs? Dilong, the reason they became ‘Zodiacs’ is simply because there were only eleven people in that game. Adding ‘Tianlong,’ that made twelve. After much thought, only the title of ‘Zodiac’ could continue along with the name ‘Tianlong.’ Doesn’t it feel very fitting?"
Fitting? Dilong only felt a surge of anger, though she couldn’t quite articulate the specific cause of that anger.
Perhaps it was the thought that tens of thousands of people in this place were risking their lives for these laughable and absurd rules, and it made her feel profoundly unworthy on their behalf.
What ‘Heaven, Earth, and Man’? What ‘Zodiacs’? The rules that appeared so strict and imposing were, in truth, utterly ridiculous.
Why did the ‘Heaven-level Zodiacs’ give such a strong sense of fragmentation?
Because they were not ‘Gods’ at all. They were merely eleven ‘participants’ who had managed to amuse Qinglong and Tianlong in some game.