Chapter 158: Veteran
After listening in silence for a long time, Qi Xia spoke. "Let me summarize what you mean. You're saying that all the 'Extreme Path Cultivators' want to protect this place, but you don't."
"Yes."
"You're going to take a completely different path from them and destroy this place."
"Yes."
"In that case... why do you still call yourself an 'Extreme Path Cultivator'?" Qi Xia cast a suspicious glance at Lin Qin. "Your current goal is the same as 'Heaven's Gate' or all the other 'Participants'. Isn't it better for you to just hide that fact and be a thorough 'Participant'?"
"I couldn't hide it from you anyway," Lin Qin said. "When I was explaining the 'madman theory' to you, I felt like you saw right through me. Rather than have you expose me harshly one day in the future, it's better for me to tell you the answer directly."
"Is that so..." Qi Xia nodded. "I originally thought you weren't a madman, but you're even crazier than the 'Extreme Path Cultivators'."
"I'm clear-headed." Lin Qin continued drinking the beer, her cheeks starting to flush. "I majored in psychology in the real world, how could I possibly become a madman..."
"But why haven't you 'Stimulated' me?" Qi Xia asked expressionlessly. "You haven't shown me your sincerity, so how can I cooperate with you?"
"Who says I haven't tried?" Lin Qin sighed. "Every time I touched you, I would ask 'What are you thinking?', but your thoughts were locked. You were thinking about your wife every time, completely unable to feel my 'Stimulation'."
Seeing that Qi Xia didn't speak, Lin Qin added, "I want to be on the same side as you, Qi Xia. I have no other way out."
Hearing this, Qi Xia fell silent again.
At this moment, one was eating peanuts, the other drinking beer, chatting as casually as friends.
"You said last time you wanted to go back to the real world to confirm something. What was that thing?"
"I forgot to tell you, that thing changed me." Lin Qin smiled happily. "Qi Xia, you eventually walked out of here. Although you lived as miserably as a walking corpse, you really did get out."
Qi Xia paused, then asked slowly, "Have you seen me in the real world?"
"Not really." Lin Qin smiled. "I've only heard of you. In my time, you lived in the hospital where my friend worked, a complete madman. You constantly preached bizarre theories like 'The End is Near', 'No Survivors', 'Deception of the Gods', driving the entire hospital staff crazy."
Qi Xia's face darkened. "So what you wanted to go back and confirm was...?"
"I wanted to confirm if that person was you." Lin Qin's smile grew wider. "Because when my friend described that old man to me, I always felt he was very similar to you. That old man had extremely strong logical thinking, but unfortunately, he was insane."
"So was it me?"
"Very likely." Lin Qin nodded. "Although that old man had no name, and calling him 'Qi Xia' got no reaction, as long as you mentioned the words 'Yu Nian'an' in his ear, he would fall into a completely broken state."
Speaking of this, Lin Qin chuckled and turned to Qi Xia. "I had my friend try many times, constantly shouting 'Yu Nian'an' in his ear. The effect was quite amusing."
"Crack."
Qi Xia crushed a peanut in his hand.
"So this is what you meant by... I lived as miserably as a walking corpse..." Qi Xia said with a desperate expression. "You think that as long as you follow me, you'll definitely find a way to escape..."
"Yes!" Lin Qin nodded happily. "Didn't you die in 2022, but lived until 2068? Isn't that the best evidence? Seventy-two-year-old grandpa."
"You don't understand me." Qi Xia shook his head. "If I really did return to reality from here but lost Yu Nian'an, I couldn't have lived until 2068."
"So you're saying... that old man wasn't you?" Lin Qin laughed, raising her beer bottle and shaking it. "Maybe some change will occur in the future, forcing you to live on even after losing Yu Nian'an?"
Qi Xia stared into Lin Qin's eyes, thinking for a long time, then nodded slightly.
He let out a cold smile and said, "Alright, I agree to join forces. Let me see this future change."
So here, to survive, the most important thing was 'deception', was it?
Lin Qin also smiled at Qi Xia. The two exchanged a glance, as if an agreement had been reached.
Yun Yao finished singing a song. Amid the audience's calls for an 'encore', she turned on the tape recorder again and sang it once more.
It seemed she had only found the cassette tape for this one song.
"Lin Qin, how long have you been wandering around here?" Qi Xia asked casually.
"Do you think my answer will be the truth?" Lin Qin asked.
"I can judge true and false from your answer."
"A long time. Longer than you can imagine." Lin Qin gave a sly smile. "I'm a veteran 'Extreme Path Cultivator'."
"Then have you ever seen me before?" Qi Xia asked again.
"No." Lin Qin shook her head. "I've been wandering in 'Zhongyan Land' longer than Chu Tianqiu, but I've never seen you."
Qi Xia frowned slightly, feeling that things were once again beyond his expectations.
"This question is very important to me. I hope you tell the truth." Qi Xia stared into Lin Qin's eyes.
"Really." Lin Qin nodded. "I know what you're thinking, so I won't lie to you on this issue. Qi Xia, I haven't heard of anyone like you in 'Zhongyan Land' for at least seven years. As for before seven years... I don't even know if 'Zhongyan Land' existed."
"Seven years?!" Qi Xia was stunned.
Could his deduction be wrong?
He originally thought, according to 'White Tiger', that he should have been wandering in 'Zhongyan Land' for a long time. But what was this 'seven years'?
Qi Xia knew his mind wouldn't change with the number of cycles. In other words, as long as he woke up in 'Zhongyan Land', he would definitely pass through the 'Interview Room'.
And if he encountered a 'Zodiac' in the city, he would certainly go and challenge them.
With a bit of luck, if he could retain his memory, he knew he could turn 'Zhongyan Land' upside down.
He would meet many people and kill many 'Zodiacs'.
But why had this never happened in over seven years?
"Could it be that in these seven years, I never passed the 'Interview' even once?"
Qi Xia's eyes turned cold. He suddenly turned to look at Lin Qin.
"Then when did you start sneaking into our 'Interview Room'?" Qi Xia said. "If you had never seen me before, why did you sneak into our room and willingly become my teammate?"
Lin Qin slowly raised her hand, counting on her fingers.
"This is our third meeting, I suppose." She looked at Qi Xia. "The first time, I saw you in a game, but you died. The second time, I entered the 'Interview Room'. This is the third time."
She smiled again. "I've never seen anyone, without any 'Echo', manage to fight 'Zodiacs' for their lives again and again. But you did it. Unfortunately, you ended up dying in an ordinary 'Earth Chicken' game."
"So you're saying..." Qi Xia said with a grim expression, "I've only been in 'Zhongyan Land' for three cycles?"