Chapter 349: The Quality of a King
"Your thinking is a bit outdated," Chu Tianqiu said to the group. "Think about it carefully—what does it matter even if it's a copy of yourself?"
"What?"
"They have our memories, our thoughts. They are fundamentally identical to us." Chu Tianqiu pulled out another handkerchief and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "When it comes down to it, as long as one version of yourself gets out, aren't your goals achieved?"
After speaking, Chu Tianqiu looked at Yun Yao and asked seriously, "Have you ever thought about it... do you want 'yourself' to get out, or do you want the person named 'Yun Yao' to get out?"
Hearing this, Yun Yao stood frozen for a long time. No matter how she tried, she couldn't figure out how to answer that question. Everyone wanted 'themselves' to get out, yet every 'self' died on the tenth day.
Who was the one getting out?
A soft voice rang out from the corner of the room: "That's actually quite interesting."
Chu Tianqiu followed the sound and saw a face he had never seen before—a person dressed in white.
"Oh...?" Chu Tianqiu nodded at her very gentlemanly. "May I ask your name?"
"Yan Zhichun."
"A pleasure to meet you." Chu Tianqiu nodded.
"No, the pleasure should be mine." Yan Zhichun smiled. "I never thought the leader of 'Heaven's Gate,' the man once called the 'Liangren King,' would be this insane."
"Oh, you flatter me too much." Chu Tianqiu smiled happily. "Do you agree with my point?"
"Of course." Yan Zhichun nodded. "What you said makes perfect sense. If there are ten thousand versions of me in the Land of Ender, as long as one escapes, people will only remember that 'Yan Zhichun escaped.'"
"It seems you understand what I mean." Chu Tianqiu's eyes blazed with eagerness. "Finding a kindred spirit is such a rare pleasure. Judging by how you're not an ordinary person—you even remember the title 'Liangren King'—are you interested in joining 'Heaven's Gate'?"
"No interest." Yan Zhichun shook her head very firmly. "Chu Tianqiu, I originally planned to kill you."
"Oh...?" Hearing this, far from being afraid, Chu Tianqiu's expression became even more excited. "You came to kill me? Are you from the 'Jidao'?"
"That's right." Yan Zhichun nodded, then looked at Yun Yao. "The little celebrity by your side is also quite interesting. She knew full well that I was from the 'Jidao' but let me follow you in without a fuss. It's a pity that the tactic of 'borrowing a knife to kill' doesn't work very well on me."
"How thrilling." Chu Tianqiu stood up and walked to a spot three steps away from Yan Zhichun. "I've been hiding here for two years, and this is the first time a 'Jidao' has come right up to me... My heart is racing right now."
"Is that so? Unfortunately, it's a pity—I've decided not to kill you anymore," Yan Zhichun said.
"Yes, what a pity..." Chu Tianqiu still hadn't given up. He leaned in even closer to Yan Zhichun. "Is it because it's hard to act? I'm this close to you now... Still not confident enough?"
"Not confident...?" Yan Zhichun felt as if she were being looked down upon.
She gently raised her left hand and smoothed her hair. At the same moment, everyone in the room raised their left hand and smoothed their own hair—including Chen Junnan, who had almost lost consciousness.
"Killing you isn't difficult—it's just a matter of whether I want to or not."
Yan Zhichun's small gesture caused everyone in the room to change expression.
The most awkward one was Old Lü. He had long since gone bald, so he could only smooth the top of his bald head.
"Impressive indeed." Chu Tianqiu nodded. "Your 'Echo' control is effortless. Looks like you've been around for many years."
"You're not bad either." Yan Zhichun returned the compliment. "To replicate a person—that's a powerful ability—and you managed it in one go. Your conviction must be strong as well."
"Strong conviction?" Chu Tianqiu chuckled. "To others, it might not seem like strong conviction, but rather that I'm thoroughly insane."
"Same thing. How many people with strong convictions aren't insane?"
Seeing the two of them playing off each other, Yun Yao couldn't hold back any longer: "Chu Tianqiu, even if you can activate this 'replication' with a hundred percent success rate, I don't think you're more fit to be the leader than Chen Junnan."
"Even that isn't enough?" Chu Tianqiu looked coldly at Yun Yao. "What else do I need to improve?"
"Never mind that you killed all of our people. Just the one thing—betting your life against a ground-level 'Zodiac'—that alone means you've already lost to Chen Junnan."
"Is that so?" Chu Tianqiu paused, then signaled Jin Yuanxun with his eyes.
Jin Yuanxun nodded, turned around, and opened his bundle.
A foul stench immediately filled the air.
Everyone covered their noses and mouths as Jin Yuanxun pulled out two heads. Though the heads were severely decomposed, their outlines were still distinguishable.
One was a shriveled monkey head, the other a blackened rabbit head.
These heads seemed to have been around for some time. The rabbit head appeared to have been ripped off violently—the skin at the neck was torn—while the monkey head had been severed cleanly.
"What is this...?"
Everyone in the room stared blankly at the two heads. They were clearly not the size of ordinary animals—they were unmistakably ground-level 'Zodiacs.'
"Can't you tell?" Chu Tianqiu laughed. "Do I need to tell you which two 'Zodiacs' these belong to?"
Upon hearing this short sentence, no one reacted more strongly than Chen Junnan.
Bearing the pain all over his body, he stumbled forward a few steps. After clearly recognizing that they were indeed 'Ground Monkey' and 'Ground Rabbit,' a bitter smile spread across his face. Then his pupils completely glazed over, and like a blade of grass swaying in the wind, he pitched forward and collapsed.
All of his hopes were gone.
Before Yan Zhichun could even move to control him, the Chen Junnan at the door rushed forward and caught his battered 'self.'
He stared blankly at the severely injured man before him, feeling an indescribable strangeness.
"B-Big star..." Chen Junnan said, "What the hell is going on...?"
"This..." Yun Yao furrowed her brow, completely unable to speak.
After all, the comrade who had gone through life-and-death moments with her was dead. How was she supposed to face this 'brand-new' Chen Junnan?
"So, am I qualified to be the leader of 'Heaven's Gate' or not?" Chu Tianqiu paid no attention to Chen Junnan's corpse, only sneering as he asked, "I have both the ability and the strength. It's just that unlike some people, I don't make a big fuss all over town just because I killed a 'ground-level' Zodiac."
He looked around the room and asked, "What do you all think?"
Everyone had seen too many unbelievable things in such a short time. Now, beyond shock, they couldn't speak.
"This is impossible..." Yun Yao came to her senses and stepped forward to examine the two heads. "You don't have time to participate in games. Where did you get these two ground-level Zodiac heads?"
Chu Tianqiu raised a hand and tapped his temple. "From here."
"You..."
"Who said you have to participate in a game to make a 'Zodiac' die...?" Chu Tianqiu grinned, a wide smile on his face. "I have my own methods."