Chapter 377: The Fairness in Her Heart
"What kind of talk is that?" Di Gou said. "The reason Su Shan made the choice she did is because she doesn't understand this place."
"And you don't have the right to understand things for others, either," Zhang Chenze explained. "From my perspective, you're making Su Shan choose something she understands even less. That's not fair."
"Hmph..." Di Gou let out a cold snort, then turned around and said in a low voice, "Su Shan, this is the first time I've seen you in all these years. Seeing you still alive and kicking with no memories, I'm happy for you. But trust me—trusting anyone here will only get you screwed."
"Is that so?" Su Shan countered. "But from where I'm standing, in this game, it's been them protecting their teammates, while you've been trying every way you can to kill people."
"But I didn't kill you," Di Gou said. "From start to finish, I never used a single 'Calamity' on you."
Hearing this, Su Shan slowly furrowed her brow.
Could it be that she hadn't received the "Calamity Sign" simply because of Di Gou's tactics? Was there personal feeling mixed in here as well?
"But you..." Su Shan started to say more, but Di Gou had already pushed open the door and left.
"Sorry, it really is too late. I'm going to miss the last train," Di Gou said from outside the door. "You all rest here for the night. If fate allows, we'll meet again."
"Can you tell me your name?" Su Shan asked one last time.
"Me...?" Di Gou blinked. "I'm just a stray dog who wants to lie flat and do nothing. I might bite people, but I won't bite my own."
He closed the door from the outside, and his figure vanished into the darkness.
The four girls finally let out a sigh of relief. The game was truly over now.
Aside from Su Shan, everyone else was in rough shape. Qin Dingdong and Lin Qin were injured, while Zhang Chenze was still picking locusts out of her hair.
"How are you guys?" Su Shan looked at Qin Dingdong and Lin Qin.
"What else can I say...?" Qin Dingdong shook her head helplessly. "One's got internal injuries, the other's got external wounds. Are you going to channel some inner energy to heal us?"
"You guys don't look so good... I'm a little worried."
Hearing Su Shan speak, everyone turned to look at her. If there was anyone here who looked worrying at first glance, it was Qin Dingdong and Su Shan.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and two especially conspicuous streaks of blood were smeared across her face.
"What? Why are you all staring at me?" Su Shan asked.
"You... are you okay?" Zhang Chenze asked with concern. "Your eyes..."
Su Shan reached up and touched her cheek. When she looked at her fingers, they were completely covered in blood.
"What is this...?"
"Don't you feel any discomfort?" Zhang Chenze pressed.
"Not really... just that everything looks a bit blurry..." Su Shan wiped her face with her sleeve, but a few seconds later, her eyes began to sting.
"At least we survived." Su Shan didn't dwell on it and turned to Lin Qin and Qin Dingdong. "You two are seniors. I want to ask—what's the standard for everyone surviving an 'Earth-level' game?"
The two thought for a moment, then slowly frowned.
Yes, having everyone survive an Earth-level game was extremely rare. While Earth-level games didn't always massacre all the "participants," they would definitely kill someone.
After all, the purpose of every Earth-level game was for the "Earth-level" to use "Dao" to lure participants in, and then directly purchase their deaths.
"I have to say... full survival is rare." Qin Dingdong coughed softly. "But considering I'm not much better off than dead, I can't give you a score. Your best bet would have been to let me die."
"Maybe I still haven't gotten used to the 'survival rules' here," Su Shan explained. "I think as long as you're alive, you can do more things. It's like if others sleep and I don't, then my days are just a little bit longer than theirs."
"What kind of twisted logic..." Qin Dingdong sighed and found a corner to lean against the wall. "We probably can't get out tonight... We'll have to stay here. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be able to get a good night's sleep..."
Zhang Chenze turned to look at her. "You all said you can't go out at night... What's so strange about this place at night?"
"Yeah, you probably can't imagine it." Qin Dingdong closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, speaking softly. "Outside, there are people who look like bugs running all over the streets."
"People who look like... bugs?" Zhang Chenze was momentarily stunned, as if she had something to say.
**CRASH!!**
Before anyone could react, a glass door was suddenly smashed open by something, and the loud noise echoed through the room.
"Huh?"
Everyone turned to look. A women's black suit jacket came hopping out of the room. Its two sleeves were propping it up on the floor as it lifted its collar to look at the group.
Not only did it look like a locust, but it was also crawling with real locusts, making the girls' hair stand on end just by looking at it.
"I almost forgot about this thing..." Su Shan frowned at the suit, then slowly widened her eyes. "Lawyer Zhang... how exactly did this thing come about?"
Su Shan clearly saw that there was a glowing locust silhouette on the suit.
"I'm not entirely sure..." Zhang Chenze said. "It seems like something I did... turned this jacket into a 'locust'..."
Lin Qin and Qin Dingdong exchanged a glance. Something felt off.
This clearly sounded like an "Echo," yet they had never seen this woman in the seven years they'd been here.
If her "Echo" was this powerful, why had she been hidden for so long?
Lin Qin's mind flashed back to Qi Xia, while Qin Dingdong thought of Chen Junnan.
It seemed like some strange events had occurred, preventing everyone from that room from appearing in the "Land of Finality."
Su Shan took a deep breath, pulled Zhang Chenze behind her, and squared off against the strange black suit.
Since the thing's essence was "clothing," Su Shan had no idea how to kill it. All she could do was plant her feet and try to project as much intimidation as possible.
Zhang Chenze frowned, looked up at the spotlights, thought for a moment, then walked over to the wall and opened the door.
The outdoor air instantly flooded in, carrying the unique fishy stench of the "Land of Finality."
The suit seemed to sense something too. It turned its collar toward the pitch-black outdoors. After a moment of stillness, it pushed off with its sleeves and leaped outside.
Zhang Chenze quickly locked the door, and everyone finally let out the breath they'd been holding.
If they weren't mistaken, that locust-like suit would now wander the "Land of Finality" forever. Since it wasn't a living organism, it had no concept of "lifespan."
"Although I killed you... I suppose this also counts as giving you eternal life..." Zhang Chenze murmured. "That's fair."