# Chapter 215: The Schemes of Three People
Chu Tianqiu and Yun Yao were currently driving a sedan, speeding down the road.
"Chu Tianqiu... what are you doing?" Yun Yao asked in confusion. "Didn't you see that 'Heaven's Gate' has been attacked?!"
"I saw it, but we can't solve it." Chu Tianqiu held the steering wheel, looking straight ahead as he spoke. "These people's goal is to 'slaughter Heaven's Gate.' You and I staying there would only mean dying for nothing."
"You..." Yun Yao was stunned. "Do you know something?"
"Haha, of course." Chu Tianqiu said. "Tonight, I, Xu Liunian, and Qi Xia each have our own objectives, and we've each arranged our own plans. What I didn't expect was that all three of us pretended to fall for each other's tricks, acting out schemes within schemes within each other's schemes. Now the three schemes are interweaving brilliantly..."
After hearing this, Yun Yao was still completely confused. Xu Liunian had actually come back?
Not only was she here, but she had even planned some kind of action?
"What does this all mean?" Yun Yao asked. "What are the three of you trying to achieve?"
Chu Tianqiu thought for a moment, then replied: "My goal naturally goes without saying—I want Qi Xia to obtain his 'Echo.' As for Xu Liunian's purpose..."
He paused for a moment, then said: "I don't know if my guess is correct, but it seems like she's trying to prove something to someone, or maybe she wants to get rid of me... When she asked me to be the one to kill Li Xiangling tonight, I already felt something was off."
"What?" Yun Yao's eyes widened again. "She asked you to kill Li Xiangling?"
"I thought it over repeatedly, and felt that something was fishy, so I replaced the cyanide with antibiotics." Chu Tianqiu laughed loudly. "It seems caution is the mother of safety indeed. That bitch Xu Liunian actually dared to scheme against me."
Yun Yao paused, then asked: "And what about Qi Xia's goal?"
"This one is even harder to figure out..." Chu Tianqiu held the steering wheel with one hand while stroking his chin with the other. "Could it be that Qi Xia is scouting for another partner...? If tonight's 'scheme' was a challenge Qi Xia gave to Xu Liunian, then everything makes sense..."
Although Yun Yao was sitting in the sealed car, she felt a chill run down her spine.
These three people, without knowing what the others would decide to do, had each laid their own traps.
"You said you want Qi Xia to obtain his 'Echo'... What scheme did you set up?" Yun Yao asked.
"It's the 'slaughter of Heaven's Gate.'" Chu Tianqiu replied.
"What...?" Yun Yao's eyes slowly widened. "Those invaders... were arranged by you?"
"That's right. It cost quite a bit." Chu Tianqiu nodded. "Tonight the cats are on the prowl; Heaven's Gate won't leave a single soul alive."
"Chu Tianqiu, have you lost your mind?!" Yun Yao stared at him. "More than half of 'Heaven's Gate' hasn't obtained their 'Echo' yet!"
"Yun Yao, I haven't lost my mind. I've just woken up." A strange smile appeared on Chu Tianqiu's face. "Those people have died many times already. Dying once more won't make a difference. But Qi Xia is different. Qi Xia's abilities are formidable, but his mental state is unstable. I estimate that after three to five cycles, he'll completely lose his mind and never be able to obtain his 'Echo.'"
Yun Yao furrowed her brows but said nothing.
"So I need to race against time. Within at most three cycles, I must find the trigger for Qi Xia's 'Echo.'" Chu Tianqiu laughed. "I was so wrong before... I always thought Qi Xia's trigger was 'sorrow,' but after looking through all the records, I realized there was one state that Qi Xia had never experienced!"
"What is it...?" Yun Yao asked cautiously.
"It's 'peace of mind'! It's 'contentment'! It's 'happiness'! Hahahahaha!"
Chu Tianqiu laughed heartily as he drove, running over the insignificant ants on the road, splattering blood all over the windshield.
After hearing this, Yun Yao's eyes slowly widened: "I understand... So you left Li Xiangling there... You're gambling with everyone's lives at 'Heaven's Gate'..."
"Hahahahaha!" Chu Tianqiu laughed loudly. "Li Xiangling's 'Echo' is so weak... yet it can unleash tremendous power at this moment! Her trigger 'encountering the flames of war' has been achieved. Now it's time to witness Qi Xia's 'Echo'!"
"Then... where are you taking me?"
"To the screen, of course." Chu Tianqiu turned on the windshield wipers, smearing the blood on the glass even more evenly.
"You specifically asked me to come along so you could leave 'Heaven's Gate' smoothly." Yun Yao said. "But to erase everything you've done tonight... you'll kill me to silence me, won't you?"
"You underestimate me, Yun Yao." Chu Tianqiu shook his head. "Killing you is meaningless. I'm just afraid that I've already gone mad, and that I might see strange things on the screen. So I need the most normal person in all of 'Heaven's Gate'—you—to watch with me."
The two arrived at the square. Chu Tianqiu turned on the car's high beams, illuminating a large area nearby.
The screen was already densely covered with text.
Chu Tianqiu squinted for a long time before finally breaking into a smile.
"Look, Yun Yao. I did it. Li Xiangling didn't let me down."
The last line of small text on the screen read: "I have heard the Echo of 'Manifestation.'"
"Excellent... excellent!!" Chu Tianqiu shouted to the sky.
But the next second, a pained expression suddenly appeared on his face, and he bent over, vomiting.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Chu Tianqiu vomited for a long time before finally taking a deep breath and wiping his mouth. "Sure enough... tonight's dinner wasn't refined enough?"
Yun Yao shuddered slightly. She could clearly see a human fingernail in Chu Tianqiu's vomit.
...
Li Xiangling sat in the classroom, listening to the sounds of slaughter outside the door, cold sweat trickling down her face.
Some unpleasant memories began to surface.
"Brother Qi... Brother Qi..." Li Xiangling called out. "Find a chance to run... Don't worry about me."
Qi Xia remained silently staring at the crack in the door, then replied quietly: "Don't misunderstand. I'm not staying to take care of you. Running out now would be no different from seeking death."
A look of worry appeared on his face.
Not long after Qiao Jiajin had gone out, a violent explosion had sounded from the first floor. Now Qi Xia had no idea what to do.
The person who drove out was most likely Chu Tianqiu, which meant he had probably planned this attack himself.
He was about to abandon all his teammates at "Heaven's Gate." But what was his goal?
Qi Xia couldn't guess.
In that case, he would have to completely go against Chu Tianqiu's wishes to prevent his objective from being achieved.
Chu Tianqiu had told him to stay in the room, so Qi Xia had moved positions.
But he had also said to "take care of the wounded."
Should he separate from Li Xiangling?
Yes. When you can't figure out what your opponent wants, you first have to think about what your opponent doesn't want.
Qi Xia thought for a moment and was about to turn around to speak, but suddenly froze.
Standing behind Li Xiangling was a girl dressed in white. Her face was sweet, her long hair fell past her shoulders, and she was currently smiling at Qi Xia.