Chapter 299: The Mad King
Chu Tianqiu waved his hand, and Xiao Nian and Zhang Shan walked out of the classroom.
“Song Qi, have a seat.” Chu Tianqiu gestured.
Song Qi nodded, unceremoniously dragged a chair over, and sat down.
“What do you want to ask?” Chu Tianqiu said with a smile.
“We're looking for a ‘Great Resonance,’” Song Qi said. “Fifth Brother gave the order personally.”
“Oh?” Chu Tianqiu raised an eyebrow. “A ‘Great Resonance’?”
“That's right.” Song Qi nodded. “Fifth Brother suspects that this ‘Resonator’ triggered their Resonance because of our large-scale assault. So you should know something about it.”
“Of course, I do.” Chu Tianqiu said with a hint of gleefulness. “I spent ten million to buy the lives of the entire ‘Cat’ team. Naturally, it was for this ‘Great Resonance.’”
“I want to know who they are,” Song Qi said.
“Is that possible?” Chu Tianqiu extended a slender finger to touch his reddened lips. “I was the one who paid the money. The ‘answer’ can only be seen by me.”
“We can trade with you.” Song Qi frowned. “Even though we can't come up with ten million, we can do something for you of equivalent value.”
“Ha!” Chu Tianqiu burst out laughing. “Do you think I care about ten million?!”
“Then you…?”
“Song Qi, whose mission did Qian Wu take this time?” Chu Tianqiu changed the subject.
“That… According to the rules, we can't disclose the client's information.”
“Hahahaha!” Chu Tianqiu laughed heartily, then leaned back and said softly, “Song Qi… this ‘client’ went to see Qian Wu in person and mobilized the entire ‘Cat’ team except for the leader and deputy leader, charging murderously to ‘Heaven’s Gate.’ Are they richer than me?”
Song Qi remained silent.
“So it's highly likely they didn't pay a single cent.” Chu Tianqiu continued. “If there's anyone in the ‘Land of the End’ who could make Qian Wu do such a thing without spending any money… it must be a ‘big shot,’ right?”
“Stop guessing.” Song Qi interrupted. “To protect the client's privacy, even if you guessed correctly, I won't admit it.”
“Protect privacy… Ha.” Chu Tianqiu's expression suddenly shifted, turning somewhat fierce. “Tell me, what is there about them worth protecting?!”
Song Qi hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. “In any case, the ‘Cat’ can't break the rules.”
“Fine.” Chu Tianqiu nodded, his smile fading as he changed his tone. “Then I want to know what stance the ‘Cat’ is taking. After you find the ‘Great Resonance,’ what will you do?”
“I don't know that.” Song Qi shook his head. “I never ask about the details of Fifth Brother's affairs. I only know I'm supposed to bring that person to see him.”
Chu Tianqiu was silent for a moment, then said, “Song Qi, if this move makes the ‘Cat’ an enemy of all the ‘Participants,’ would you still go ahead without hesitation?”
“What do you mean?” Song Qi asked.
“You and I both retain two years of memories. We should know that a Resonance of this level has never appeared before. It could very well change the structure of the ‘Land of the End,’ and it might even be everyone's hope of escape.” Chu Tianqiu wiped his lips again. “And the ‘big shot’ who hired you naturally wants to prevent that from happening. Even so… would you still help them?”
Song Qi was silent for a long time before speaking. “Chu Tianqiu, you should know… the reason the ‘Cat’ has managed to survive peacefully all this time is precisely because we don't interfere with the changes in the ‘Land of the End.’ Whether it's the ‘Zodiacs,’ the ‘Extremists,’ the ‘Participants,’ or any other organization, we treat them all equally.”
“So you treat the ‘Land of the End’ like a place to clock in?” Chu Tianqiu found the man before him pitiful to the point of being laughable. “Going home every ten days, spending the rest of your days here making money for your family?”
“What's wrong with that?” Song Qi rolled his shoulders, trying to make himself more comfortable, then gave a bitter smile. “We know we're guilty of heinous crimes. Even if we went back, we'd be dead. Besides, in the real world… there's no way we could earn this much money for our families.”
Chu Tianqiu nodded after hearing this. “So the ‘Cat's’ ultimate motive is similar to the ‘Extremists’? You want to protect this place? After all, to you, this is a ‘coal mine’ where you can dig up gold.”
“That's not it either.” Song Qi shook his head. “Let's just say we go along with the will of heaven. Earning money is naturally the best-case scenario.”
“Alright, I understand.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “This ‘Great Resonance’ is the key to my ‘escape.’ It's hard for me to tell you who they are.”
“Is there no room for negotiation?” Song Qi asked again.
“We can negotiate…” Chu Tianqiu mused. “But my price is high.”
“Name it.”
Chu Tianqiu looked out at the many members of the ‘Cat’ team sitting on the playground and asked, “How many people did you bring?”
“Eighteen,” Song Qi replied.
“How many have ‘Resonated’?”
“Six.”
“Ha…” Chu Tianqiu laughed again. He slowly stood up, walked over to Song Qi, and bent down, his face close to the other's. He spoke slowly, emphasizing each word. “I want the right hand of every single one of you. One each. Leave them here right now.”
Song Qi's brow furrowed slightly, then he let out an angry laugh. “Chu Tianqiu… you really are insane…”
“Don't misunderstand, Song Qi.” Chu Tianqiu straightened up. “This isn't a threat or a declaration of war. It's a ‘business deal.’ You can refuse. You can also haggle.”
“One right hand per person. What do I get in return?”
“I'll tell you who that person is.” Chu Tianqiu said. “If you're willing to raise the price and leave both hands from each person, or the corpses of the six ‘Resonators,’ I'll rally the entire ‘Heaven's Gate’ to help you capture them.”
Song Qi's expression slowly darkened. “In other words… if we want to complete the mission, we'll have to leave at least eighteen hands.”
“We can break the rules too, you know.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “We could just declare war directly. ‘Heaven's Gate’ currently has about five or six ‘Resonators’ as well. We're roughly evenly matched.”
“That wouldn't be in line with the mission. Fifth Brother wouldn't be satisfied.” Song Qi quickly pulled a dagger from his waist. “I'll offer my right hand first.”
Chu Tianqiu slowly leaned closer to Song Qi. “With such an old blade, can it cut off a right hand?”
Song Qi looked at his own right wrist and paused for a moment.
“Chop it off…” Chu Tianqiu stared intently at Song Qi's right hand.
“Standing so close, you'd better watch out for blood splattering on your face.”
Chu Tianqiu slowly extended a finger, pointing it at his own left eye. “My eye is cold. Splatter it here.”
Song Qi frowned, then the dagger bit into flesh with a dull thud. A small jet of blood spurted up, splashing precisely onto Chu Tianqiu's left eyeball.
Chu Tianqiu didn't even blink. Instead, he smiled and moved his pupil around, letting the blood spread evenly across his eye. Then, with his bloodshot, warm left eye, a single teardrop of blood trickled down. That streak of blood made his refined features look all the more eerie.
Song Qi threw his right hand to the ground, then quickly unbuckled his belt and wrapped it tightly around his wrist. Throughout the entire process, he didn't utter a sound, but a thin layer of sweat had already formed on his forehead.
“I take back what I said.” Chu Tianqiu wiped away the bloody tear and lightly licked his finger. “Your blade is good.”
“I take back what I said earlier too…” Song Qi said, his face pale. “You do have the temperament of a ‘leader.’”