Chapter 1089: Traces of Divine Existence
"I thought it was 'God'..." Chu Tianqiu interjected. "I spent nearly ten years trying to prove that a 'God' more powerful than the Celestial Dragon existed in this place. I took countless notes, but in the end, I discovered there was no such thing."
"Ten years," Qi Xia said. "I didn't realize it had been that long."
"At first, I did want to give up," Chu Tianqiu continued. "But 'End Land' happened to have someone like Aunt Tong, who firmly believed in a great 'Mother Goddess' here. I wasn't sure if that was a misdirection or a revelation, so I spent even more time searching for the 'Mother Goddess.' Later, I even recruited Aunt Tong into 'Heaven's Gate,' thinking it would bring me closer to her. But instead..."
"But instead, the true answer wasn't the 'Mother Goddess'...?" Qi Xia asked tentatively.
"Yes," Chu Tianqiu said. "I tried every method Aunt Tong mentioned, but I found no evidence of the 'Mother Goddess's' existence. I believe our endless rebirth here comes from a powerful 'Echo'..."
"But the 'Mother Goddess' does exist," Qi Xia said.
"What...?" Chu Tianqiu was stunned, as if he had just heard the most unbelievable statement of his life.
"I've seen traces of her. She truly exists," Qi Xia said.
"Are you joking..." Chu Tianqiu frowned. "Qi Xia, you've gone completely mad. I've traveled to almost every corner of 'End Land,' and there's not a single trace of the so-called 'Mother Goddess.' Yet you claim she truly exists... It's not even the final stage yet, and you've already lost your mind?"
"I'm not mad," Qi Xia said. "I saw her face once."
"You..."
"I even thought you might have seen her too." Qi Xia pointed to Chu Tianqiu's coat. "Remember your notes? You wrote that someone gambled all the 'Zodiac' to death, and a magnificent goddess descended from the sky to take him away."
"But I made that up..." Chu Tianqiu said flatly.
"We're off topic." Qi Xia said. "Right now, I don't want to discuss the 'Mother Goddess' with you. I just want you to know that everything you've done has been under my watch. I've been observing you all along. You're the first person in this entire land to investigate everything so thoroughly. You boldly guessed that a stronger 'Echo' existed here, though you didn't know its name—'Endless Cycle of Life.' But you realized that this 'Echo' might come from me."
Chu Tianqiu frowned in silence. In an instant, he was flooded with information far beyond his comprehension. Scattered fragments of memory began to assault him from all directions.
He stood there, dazed, processing the relentless surge of knowledge within his mind.
For some reason, in this space, his memories seemed to return faster than in 'End Land.'
"Chu Tianqiu, believe it or not, I've always needed someone who firmly believed they could become a 'God' to board the 'Train' with me," Qi Xia continued. "Remember why Dilong made a deal with you?"
Chu Tianqiu froze, recalling how Dilong had taken the initiative to appear and propose a deal when he first joined the precursor to 'Heaven's Gate.'
After some deliberation, he had agreed, thinking trading his eyes for food with Dilong wasn't such a bad thing.
Why had Dilong appeared then? And why had he sought him out?
'Heaven's Gate,' with its steady supply of food, had quickly become the most powerful organization at the time.
Dilong's initial reason had simply been 'I think you're suitable.' But back then, Chu Tianqiu had just joined the early 'Heaven's Gate'—the name didn't even exist yet. How could Dilong have known he was suitable?
"So it wasn't Dilong who thought I was suitable, but you?" Chu Tianqiu asked.
"Exactly. So you don't need to be so modest." Qi Xia said. "You've always been the strong one I acknowledge, the most suitable candidate for this path. After all, you've always felt out of place with those around you. You may not look down on 'mortals' as much as Tianlong or Qinglong do... but in essence, it's the same. In my view, that's the first trait of someone who can become a 'God.'"
"But Qi Xia..." Chu Tianqiu said. "Now I've 'routed' in the game. I can't survive. How am I supposed to go with you to the 'Locomotive'?"
"Not necessarily," Qi Xia said. "I reviewed the 'rules.' No one ever said 'routing' means death. That was just our speculation."
"Even if that's true... our team has lost its 'commander.' If we lose the game, the entire team will die."
Qi Xia paused after hearing this, then replied: "If not a single member of your team dies, will you agree to my request?"
Chu Tianqiu let out a light laugh. "Qi Xia, are you going to use 'Endless Cycle of Life' to revive all my teammates...? Do you think such a simple trick will make me willingly risk my life for you?"
"No, of course not." Qi Xia said. "Chu Tianqiu, I'll make another bet with you. I bet that Qinglong will willingly let your entire team go free."
"What...?" Chu Tianqiu asked incredulously. "'Willingly'...?"
"What I want to show you isn't the power of 'Endless Cycle of Life,' but the power of 'Strategy.' Even someone like Qinglong can be defeated by 'Strategy,'" Qi Xia said. "You can wait outside the door. The result will come soon."
Chu Tianqiu looked at Qi Xia, utterly baffled, unable to guess what would happen next.
Meanwhile, Qinglong on the viewing platform was clearly growing restless.
He could only see half of Qi Xia's body disappear through the door before everything went still. A few seconds later, he turned to Dilong. "Isn't this a foul?"
"It's technically not a foul," Dilong said. "Chu Tianqiu is considered 'routed,' and Qi Xia only stuck his head out to check the situation. His body is still inside the door. Maybe he's just saying goodbye to Chu Tianqiu?"
"This goodbye is taking far too long," Qinglong said. "How much time is left in the game?"
"Just one or two minutes," Dilong said. "Now that Chu Tianqiu's side has lost its 'commander,' barring any surprises, Qi Xia has won."
As they spoke, Qi Xia withdrew his upper body, slipped his hand into his pocket, and gently closed the 'door.'
With everything settled, he no longer bothered to examine all the 'characters' on the ground. Instead, he walked straight to the door. Just as he was about to open it and leave, he heard another crisp sound—*crash*.
This time, the sound was exceptionally clear, nothing like an auditory hallucination.
Qi Xia crouched down and carefully looked at the pile of 'characters' he had just discarded.
He hadn't misheard. The pile of 'characters' had moved.
But what could cause 'characters' to move...?
He reached out and rummaged through the pile, but they lay quietly now, showing no further reaction.
Hearing the sound once could be a coincidence—perhaps the pile was unstable—but hearing it twice meant it was no longer coincidental.
Qi Xia's gaze fell on two 'Scholar' tiles leaning peacefully against each other.
If there was anything strange among these 'characters,' it had to be the 'Scholars.'
Qi Xia picked up the crooked 'Scholar' that Tiantian had crafted and examined it closely for several seconds. Then he shook it. A peculiar idea began to germinate in his mind—
Could it be that the 'Scholar' Tiantian made wasn't hollow, but contained some kind of mechanism inside?