Chapter 105: Heaven's Gate
The boy's accent and grammar were very strange, leaving everyone somewhat puzzled.
Qi Xia carefully considered the situation. This boy was clearly from "Heaven's Gate," so why was he here?
"Who are you...?" Officer Li asked.
"Brother, my name is Jin Yuanxun." The boy's handsome face broke into a smile as he bowed to Officer Li again, then raised his head and asked, "Which brother here is called Qi Xia?"
Everyone turned to look in Qi Xia's direction.
Qi Xia had no choice but to step forward and said, "I am."
"Great, brother. I've been waiting for you here for a long time."
"Waiting for me?"
"Yes." Jin Yuanxun nodded. "I want to ask you a question."
None of those present except Qi Xia had ever seen Jin Yuanxun before, and they couldn't help but look confused.
At this point, Xiao Ran slowly took a step back and asked cautiously, "Brother Qi, why do you have an acquaintance here?"
Qi Xia ignored Xiao Ran and instead considered Jin Yuanxun's motives.
"You've been waiting here all this time just to ask me a question?"
He seemed to already know what the question would be.
"That's right." Jin Yuanxun nodded. "Brother, can we talk in private?"
Qi Xia nodded and followed Jin Yuanxun a few steps away.
"Brother, someone told me to ask you: 'Which day did you arrive here?'"
Hearing this question, Qi Xia thought for a moment, as if calculating something.
Could he trust "Heaven's Gate"?
If they were still like last time, scrambling around Zhongyan Land like headless flies, the outcome probably wouldn't be good. In that case, it was better to trust Chu Tianqiu once.
Qi Xia answered in a low voice, "My physical body has been here for eleven days, but my mind only four."
"Yasiba..." Jin Yuanxun cursed under his breath. "Brother Chu is really a man like a god..."
"What did you say?" Qi Xia was taken aback and looked at the boy.
"Brother, to be honest, we all just arrived here on the first day. But today, following Brother Chu's instructions, I asked several people this question, and not a single one answered 'first day'... Do you think Brother Chu knows something?"
Of course, Chu Tianqiu knew something.
If the guess was correct, he also retained memories from the previous time.
But there was another thing that bothered Qi Xia: why had Chu Tianqiu asked this question last time? Had he already retained his memories back then?
Could it be...
That they had arrived here earlier than him?
Qi Xia had experienced two cycles, but Chu Tianqiu had experienced more?
He could retain his memories every time, so he selected teammates based on his memories?
If that were the case, the strength of "Heaven's Gate" should be far beyond Qi Xia's imagination.
Seeing the two whispering, Xiao Ran walked over very inappropriately, pretending to be casual as she asked, "What are you talking about?"
Jin Yuanxun smiled slightly and said, "Brother, let's go back. The next part needs to be told to all of you."
...
Jin Yuanxun came back in front of everyone and began, "Everyone, we are currently assembling a group of capable people to form an organization to conquer the games together. Brother Qi Xia has already passed the leader's question and is allowed to join. Do you have any interest?"
"This organization you mentioned... what does it do?" Officer Li asked cautiously.
"Ah, it's like a strategy team for the games, brother," Jin Yuanxun said. "The games are divided into many types. We can let certain people target certain games."
Officer Li stared at Jin Yuanxun for a long time, then asked, "Are you from the Korean ethnic group?"
"Yes, brother." Jin Yuanxun nodded. "In the area where I lived in Yanbian, people rarely speak Han language like that, so I'm not very good at it. Please forgive me if I'm not clear."
Officer Li nodded. There were many Mongol ethnic groups in the city where he lived.
"Who sent you to find us?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"It's a brother I walked out of the room with, named Chu Tianqiu." Jin Yuanxun answered seriously. "He's a very smart person. I'm carrying out one of his orders like that."
Qi Xia touched his chin and thought carefully about the matter.
To be honest, he didn't really know Chu Tianqiu.
His entire knowledge of this man was limited to "he has a notebook that can help escape this place."
"Jin Yuanxun, did Chu Tianqiu only invite me alone?" Qi Xia asked.
"Yes, but not entirely." Jin Yuanxun explained patiently. "Brother Chu invited you like this, but you can bring your people freely. A big brother named Zhang Shan just came earlier, and he also brought his own people."
"Zhang Shan..." Hearing this name, Qi Xia suddenly recalled the faces of Old Lyu and Little Glasses.
He now somewhat understood why Zhang Shan had brought these two along. They were indeed worthy of being teammates.
Qi Xia looked back at the eight people beside him and suddenly had an idea.
Taking these eight people to participate in a game rashly would have many variables. Since the group was already so large, he might as well bring everyone to join "Heaven's Gate."
This way, he could both shake off dead weight and find a way to obtain the notebook.
If you want to make a drop of ink disappear, the best way is to throw it into the sea.
"So can all nine of us join together?" Qi Xia asked again.
"Yes. Brother Chu said that as long as you agree to join, we will try our best to fulfill any request you make."
Now everyone began to hesitate.
They were willing to join Qi Xia's team because they had witnessed his methods firsthand.
But could they trust this "Chu Tianqiu," who had never shown himself?
"Everyone, I am going to join Chu Tianqiu's organization." Qi Xia didn't wait for everyone to think it through before speaking. "If you agree, you can follow. If not, you can act on your own."
Everyone showed hesitant expressions after hearing this.
"Oh, by the way." Jin Yuanxun added, "According to Brother Chu, you will have difficulty getting food and water in the coming days, but our organization will try to ensure everyone gets their share of food."
"That good?" Qiao Jiajin was still suspicious. "You let us eat and drink for free. What's the goal?"
Jin Yuanxun looked around at everyone and said, "Our goal is to conquer all the games like that. The organization doesn't support idlers, so all members must follow Brother Chu's command. He will lead us out."
"All the games..." Everyone was stunned. Wasn't the goal to collect three thousand six hundred "Taos" to get out?
Why conquer all the games?
"How are the 'Taos' distributed?" Xiao Ran asked.
"More work, more reward." Jin Yuanxun replied. "Brother Chu doesn't care much about 'Taos' like that, so you don't need to worry."
Qi Xia realized that Chu Tianqiu seemed to be walking a very strange path.
This probably had everything to do with that "notebook" in his possession.
Did the notebook record that the way to leave here wasn't to collect "Taos," but to conquer all the games?
"Brother Qi Xia, what do you say?" Jin Yuanxun confirmed Qi Xia's intention one last time.
"No need to say more. I'm in," Qi Xia said.