Chapter 510: Qi Xia
Zhang Chenze arrived at the square where she had previously parted ways with Yun Yao and the others, her heart filled with trepidation. There she found Li Xiangling, thin and dark-skinned, already waiting ahead of her.
Lying neatly beside her were the bodies of Qin Dingdong and Su Shan. It seemed Li Xiangling had carefully arranged them, covering their faces with two relatively clean pieces of discarded cloth.
Li Xiangling herself was kneeling before the two, hands clasped in devout prayer.
Hearing footsteps approaching, she turned her head sharply, her eyes instantly alert—then relaxed upon seeing that it was Zhang Chenze.
"Sister Zhang!" Li Xiangling let out a light laugh, brushed the dust off her clothes, and slowly stood up. "I was worried you might not know how to get to the Earth Snake's game venue, so after settling them, I waited here for you. How did it go? Any news on Wen Qiaoyun?"
"Qiaoyun..." Zhang Chenze's expression turned visibly grim.
The words Xu Liunian and Chu Tianqiu had spoken earlier echoed in her ears, leaving her flustered and uncertain of how to answer.
Should she follow Chu Tianqiu's plan—stay out of it and let things take their natural course? Or should she follow Xu Liunian's arrangement—use Qi Xia to create a brand-new Wen Qiaoyun in the subconscious?
"Xiangling, let's go see Yun Yao and the others first... I have something I want to discuss with all of you."
Li Xiangling nodded in agreement and led Zhang Chenze toward the Earth Snake's game venue. Before leaving, the two glanced at the large screen nearby. The number of "Echoes" displayed was enormous, with names they had rarely seen before, such as "Red Flame," "Giant," "Forget Sorrow," and even... "Destroy All Laws."
Unfortunately, now was not the time to discuss these matters, as a far more pressing issue had already presented itself.
Upon entering the Earth Snake's game venue, Zhang Chenze noticed the pungent odor—a mix of decay and stench that made anyone wrinkle their nose after just a few seconds.
Fortunately, Yun Yao and Tiantian had already cleared away most of the debris and rubble inside. The room was relatively tidy, and Lin Qin was resting on the floor in the center of the room, though her right leg still looked in bad shape.
"Sister Zhang?" Yun Yao wiped the sweat from her forehead; her face was also smudged with dust. "You're back?"
"Mm..." Zhang Chenze still wore a heavy expression, unsure where to begin. "I know you all just went through a tough ordeal... but I do have a tricky matter to discuss with you right now..."
Upon hearing this, the others fetched chairs and sat in a circle in the main hall of the Earth Snake's game venue, quietly looking at Zhang Chenze.
Standing from a completely neutral perspective, Zhang Chenze recounted everything she had seen and heard during her visit to "Paradise Gate." True to her professional habits, her narration was detailed down to every word spoken by Old Lyu and Aunt Tong.
As she spoke, the expressions of the others shifted repeatedly.
Both Chu Tianqiu's words and Xu Liunian's words were difficult for them to comprehend.
"I think I roughly understand..." Yun Yao nodded. "In the final analysis... Tianqiu's ultimate goal and Xiaonian's ultimate goal are opposites."
"Exactly." Zhang Chenze nodded, looking at Lin Qin and Yun Yao. "The two of you know far more about the 'Land of the End' than I do. I really want to hear your opinions."
Lin Qin and Yun Yao exchanged glances. Even with all their memories, they couldn't offer any constructive advice on such a matter.
One wanted to "become a god," the other wanted to "create a person."
"I think we can first clarify the direction of our discussion..." Zhang Chenze straightened up in her chair, leaned back, and then crossed her legs before speaking. "First, we need to discuss whether we should help one of them. If so, who? Second, if we don't plan to get involved in their affairs... what should our next direction of effort be?"
"And there's a third question," Lin Qin said. "Qi Xia."
"Yes." Zhang Chenze nodded after hearing this. "Qi Xia is also a tricky issue... Earlier, the White Tiger Elder said 'Qi Xia is the one closest to being a god.' In other words, even the management here values Qi Xia's abilities. They believe Qi Xia has the highest probability of success... From the most rational perspective, we could also choose to help Qi Xia."
Upon hearing this, Yun Yao took a deep breath, as if she wanted to say something, but before speaking, she shook her head slightly and turned to look at Lin Qin.
"What...?" Lin Qin noticed Yun Yao's movement and turned to ask.
Yun Yao organized her thoughts and replied, "Lin Qin, I haven't had much contact with Qi Xia... I want to know—what kind of person do you think he is?"
"He..." Lin Qin thought carefully, then spoke slowly, "To be honest... the first impression Qi Xia gave me was 'dangerous.'"
"Dangerous...?"
"Yes." Lin Qin nodded. "The feeling he gives people is very strange... I've studied psychology thoroughly, yet I can't see through what he's thinking at all. Even if I notice every micro-expression and movement he makes, I can never predict what he'll do or say next, let alone know the plans hidden in his mind... Back then, I always felt I was dealing with an extremely dangerous person. Even if his ultimate goal was to kill me, I would have had no way to detect it in advance."
Yun Yao nodded. She had briefly interacted with Qi Xia before, and that "Human-Dragon" game was still vivid in her memory. Qi Xia's behavior at the time was very strange.
On the "seesaw," he had been extremely flustered, even his tone trembling. But when Tiantian personally slit her own neck and let the blood flow, Qi Xia's state began to change. When Tiantian finally died, all of Qi Xia's panic and sorrow vanished completely, replaced by only a cold sentence:
"Watch closely. We're going to win."
Thinking carefully, this aligned perfectly with what Lin Qin had said in certain aspects. Had Qi Xia really been panicked at that time...?
Had he truly been so frantic that he couldn't think of any solution?
In that game, Yun Yao had begun to suspect Chu Tianqiu, but wasn't Qi Xia equally worthy of suspicion?
"I think you're right..." Yun Yao said with a grave expression. "Qi Xia really can be a dangerous person sometimes..."
Seeing Yun Yao's serious face, Lin Qin suddenly broke into a smile. "But I changed my mind later."
Upon hearing this, the others turned their gazes to her again.
Lin Qin paused, then said, "I don't know what level artificial intelligence has reached in your era. But Qi Xia is very much like a machine designed to clear games. His algorithm only contains 'victory.' This kind of AI has clear strengths and weaknesses. The strength is that it's invincible, but the weakness is equally obvious—if necessary, to achieve victory, he will calculate everyone around him into the equation."