Chapter 268: The Present-Day Paradise Gate
“Not exactly.” Qixia shook his head. “Have you heard of ‘Paradise Gate’?”
Song Qi stared at Qixia, suspicion rising in his heart.
He had once bloodied Paradise Gate, yet he had never seen Qixia there.
After a moment of silence, Song Qi said, “Brother, don’t you think you should find somewhere else to be?”
“Somewhere else?”
“Can Paradise Gate even contain you?”
“Ah, so that’s what you meant.” Qixia shook his head again. “No need, brother. Forget Paradise Gate—I have a feeling the entire ‘Land of the End’ can’t contain me.”
“Haha!” Song Qi let out a laugh. “I think so too.”
With that, he waved behind him, and another leather-clad man approached.
This man had his hair tied up in a bun, giving the impression of long locks.
“Brother Qi,” the man addressed him.
“Stay here and protect this brother. If anyone tries to touch him, kill them on the spot.”
“Understood.” The long-haired man nodded.
Song Qi turned back to Qixia. “I’ll be back from Paradise Gate soon. My brother will keep you safe while I’m gone.”
Qixia had never expected Song Qi to be so thorough in his arrangements.
Song Qi took the IOU from Diyang and left, while the other participants gradually dispersed after collecting their own IOUs.
Just then, a figure slowly approached Qixia—it was Qin Dingdong.
Seeing someone approaching, the long-haired man’s expression turned cold as he stepped directly in front of Qixia, blocking the way.
The sudden stance left both Qin Dingdong and Qixia momentarily stunned.
After a long pause, Qin Dingdong spoke, “Classmate Qi… did you get robbed?”
“I…” Qixia was at a loss for words. He could only reach out and pat the long-haired man on the shoulder. “Brother, I know her.”
The man’s expression shifted slightly, and he stepped aside.
“Classmate Qi, what’s going on?” Qin Dingdong asked, bewildered. “Big sister here just got her first IOU…”
“You’re lucky to even get an IOU,” Qixia sighed. “It’s a miracle you’ve survived this long with that scam of yours.”
“You…” Qin Dingdong was fuming. “What’s wrong with my scam? Didn’t it work?”
“It did,” Qixia nodded. “But next time, try to be smarter about it.”
“Then… would you teach big sister how to scam people?” Qin Dingdong stepped forward, reaching for Qixia’s hand, but he dodged her.
“No,” Qixia said flatly. “Qin Dingdong, take the ‘Dao’ you earned and find a way to survive. We’re not the same kind of people.”
“How do you know we’re not the same kind of people?” Qin Dingdong suddenly wore a meaningful expression. “Qixia, you just made 1,476 ‘Dao’ this time, and now you’re pretending you don’t know me, huh?”
“What…?”
Luckily, she hadn’t spoken loudly, but it still startled the long-haired man beside them.
Qixia slowly narrowed his eyes. “Qin Dingdong… I really underestimated you.”
Qin Dingdong leaned in closer, lowering her voice. “Qixia, there are two kinds of con artists. One is like you—someone who doesn’t look like a con artist but uses deception all the time. The other is like me—everyone thinks I’m just a small-time hustler, so they let their guard down.”
She reached out and touched Qixia’s chest. “So tell me… which one of us is more likely to succeed?”
Qixia pushed her away again, but a sense of unease crept over him.
Was this woman just bluffing?
But thinking back, everything she did in the game had been too “coincidental.”
At the start of the game, she rallied everyone to isolate the burly man who had snatched the fan.
Right before the fans were replenished, she gave him three ‘Dao.’
When Qixia tried to monopolize, she handed him a handful of ‘Sorrow.’
Just when things had stabilized, her appearance led to someone’s death.
It seemed like she had been silently guiding the game’s progression all along. But what was her goal?
Was she a member of the ‘Jidao’? Or some other faction?
Or was she simply a madwoman?
Countless dangerous possibilities swirled in Qixia’s mind. He was relieved that this woman seemed to bear no ill will, or else he might have fallen into her trap by now.
“Qin Dingdong, what do you want?” he asked.
“I just want to help you.”
Qixia still felt something was off. “Then what’s your endgame…?”
“I knew you wouldn’t remember me.” Qin Dingdong shook her head, a wistful look crossing her face. “But that’s okay. The person I’m looking for isn’t you. Qixia… tell me, where is that bastard Chen Junnan?”
“Huh…?!”
…
Not long after, Song Qi had arrived at the entrance of Paradise Gate. Tian Chuqiu was standing there, looking around.
“You are…?” Tian Chuqiu asked, puzzled.
“Stop pretending,” Song Qi sighed. “There’s no one else here.”
Tian Chuqiu paused for a moment, then quickly corrected himself. “You… why are you here?”
“I have a mission.” Song Qi stretched his neck. “For all these years, this is the first time someone has commissioned me with ‘Dao’ as payment. Interesting stuff.”
“Oh…?” Tian Chuqiu didn’t know what to say, just offering a token sound of curiosity.
“But he’s a good guy, so I decided to help him out.” Song Qi peered into the school grounds. “Is there someone here called ‘Qiao Jiajin’? I need to see him.”
“Qiao Jiajin…” Tian Chuqiu nodded. “Wait a moment.”
He gave instructions to one of the people on campus, who immediately ran into the teaching building.
Before long, a lazy-looking man with tattooed arms strolled out.
When Song Qi saw this figure, he nearly stumbled in shock.
“Eh?” Qiao Jiajin looked at Song Qi curiously. “Aren’t you that ‘Explosion Guy’?”
“You…” Song Qi’s voice trembled. “You… ‘A-Jin of Bowring Street’?! You’re Qiao Jiajin?!”
“Yeah!” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “What’s up? Here to kill again?”
Song Qi felt a wave of helplessness wash over him.
Back then, twenty people had surrounded Qiao Jiajin alone. After the fight, over thirty corpses lay on the ground.
The ‘Cat’ team had fought to the last man, yet they still couldn’t finish him off.
This man was terrifying.
Song Qi couldn’t help but wonder… when did Paradise Gate gather so many formidable figures?
One man who could annihilate the entire ‘Cat’ squad without using ‘Echo,’ and another who could single-handedly bring Diyang to ruin.
And he even saw ‘Jidaozhe Linqin’ here…
Just how powerful had Tian Chuqiu become?!
“Thank goodness there are only two or three of these kinds of people…” Song Qi had just breathed a sigh of relief when a fair-faced young man walked out of the teaching building.
He stretched dramatically, then slowly let his gaze drift, finally landing on Song Qi’s face.
Frowning, he walked over step by step.
Song Qi was certain he had never seen this man before, but there was something strange about his demeanor.
“Who is this…” The fair-faced man stroked his chin, scrutinizing Song Qi.
Song Qi, Tian Chuqiu, and Qiao Jiajin had no idea what was going on, staring blankly at Chen Junnan.
“Ah…” Chen Junnan smacked his forehead. “I remember! Song Minghui! Right?!”