Chapter 540: The Shell
The situation now left Qi Xia in a profound dilemma. At any other time, he would never have allowed himself to be forced into such a dangerous position, but this time was too peculiar.
That strange feeling lingered around him, making it impossible to think calmly.
Could Yu Nian'an truly exist in the "Final Land," only she had lost her memories?
In this dark alley, there was no need to mention the white-clad girl's black threads—even Qi Xia's own black threads were invisible.
"Regardless, I have to untie this knot in my heart today..." Qi Xia's gaze gradually turned icy as he once again plunged into the darkness.
Qi Xia tried to keep as far away from his left side as possible, walking forward at a steady pace—neither fast nor slow. This speed should be just enough to keep pace with the black threads behind him, but Qi Xia had no idea how far away his own black threads were.
Every step Qi Xia took now brought him closer to death. If the path ahead turned out to be a dead end, he would have absolutely no hope of making it out of this alley unscathed.
That girl had clearly walked into this pitch-black alley—but where was she?
Suddenly, a thought crossed Qi Xia's mind.
Could it be... she was dead?
If she really was Yu Nian'an, it was indeed possible she would do something so reckless.
She might have stumbled into a dead end like a headless fly, only to be trapped by the black threads, dying silently where no one could see her.
A bad premonition echoed in Qi Xia's heart. If she was truly dead, then this path would lead to the worst possible outcome. Not only would he fail to see the girl's face, but he would also be implicated, dying an obscure death in this wretched place.
Taking a few more steps forward, Qi Xia realized that the area ahead was even darker. He felt something was off—he had been in this dim environment for some time now. In theory, his eyes should have gradually adjusted, so why was it still so dark before him?
He had the constant feeling that something was right in front of his eyes, so he could only stop and cautiously reach out a hand to feel ahead.
Not feeling it was fine—but once he did, it gave him a fright.
As soon as Qi Xia raised his hand, he felt a sharp sting at his fingertips. The girl's black thread, which had been there all along, was now right in front of him, cutting into his finger.
If he hadn't stopped, his neck would have been severed by now.
He thought for a moment, then reached out again, carefully bypassing the black thread in front of him before reaching further forward. Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine, and his eyes widened.
In the darkness, he had touched someone's shoulder.
That person stood silently before him, less than half a meter away.
At that moment, Qi Xia felt as if he were floating in an utterly dark cosmos—completely pitch black in all four directions—and someone was standing quietly right in front of him.
That person neither spoke nor made any move, just stood there, leaving Qi Xia's hand resting on their shoulder, unsure of what to do.
To his left and behind him lay the deadly black threads. Three directions were dangerous—he had somehow been surrounded without realizing it.
"You... who are you?" Qi Xia called out softly.
But the other person showed no reaction at all.
A sense of insecurity gnawed at Qi Xia's heart. He felt that he had never been so torn in his entire life. At any other time, he could tell in advance whether something was a trap, but this time, it made him feel uneasy.
Even if this really was a trap, he had no choice but to jump into it without hesitation.
Otherwise, the deepest pain in his heart would continue to ache, and the branching paths would never reach their destination.
"Only the right side is left to go..."
Just as Qi Xia was staring into the pitch black on his right, wondering what to do next, he vaguely saw something extend out of the darkness and instantly grab his collar.
Qi Xia's eyes widened. Before he could react at all, he was yanked over by that force.
*BAM!!*
A heavy door slammed shut, bringing with it a gust of thick wind.
Qi Xia was about to say something, but a faint light suddenly flickered before his eyes. It seemed someone had lit a lighter, and he could finally see—he had been pulled into a small shop.
In front of him stood three people.
Qi Xia's gaze could not shift to the two on either side; it was fixed solely on the white-clad girl in the middle.
Strange...
It was truly too strange.
The girl before him wore the exact same white dress as Yu Nian'an, had the same long hair, and even her height and weight were identical... and yet, her face was completely different.
This girl was also quite pretty, but at this moment, her expression was stern, her brows tightly knit with a deep intensity.
Her lips were pressed together seriously, and her eyes continuously scanned Qi Xia. In terms of demeanor alone, she was a world apart from Yu Nian'an.
Who... was she?
Qi Xia's mind felt chaotic, countless fragments of memory colliding within, but he couldn't grasp a single one.
A girl who seemed exactly like Yu Nian'an, except for her face...
"What are you doing?" The white-clad girl frowned. "Don't you know what's going on? Running straight into a dead end?"
That brief sentence left Qi Xia completely at a loss for how to respond.
"I... you..." Qi Xia took another step forward, studying the girl by the faint light of the lighter. "Have we met before?"
"Met?" The girl looked puzzled, then immediately thought of something. "You weren't following me here, were you?"
"Huh?!" A man with a northeastern accent beside her recognized Qi Xia's face and exclaimed in surprise, "It's you, kid!!"
Qi Xia turned to look. To the girl's right stood a gaunt man who indeed looked familiar.
"Hey! It's me!" The man extended his hand, and a smooth stone appeared in his palm. "'Original Object'! My surname is Sun!"
Only then did Qi Xia remember this man he had met once before. He had teamed up with Xiao Xiao and Luo Shiyi to fight against Qiao Jiajin, Zhang Shan, and Li Xiangling, losing in Di Hu's "Single-Plank Bridge" game.
"You're that Old Sun who can conjure stones..." Qi Xia said with a frown.
"Ha! That's right!" Old Sun nodded. "I was wondering who was so bold as to charge straight into a dead end—turns out it was you, brother!"
Qi Xia frowned again and looked at the other person beside the white-clad girl. It was a short, plump man with a very kind face, who was currently muttering something with his eyes closed. Qi Xia knew he had never seen this man before.
But this made things even stranger—at such a critical moment, why were these three hiding together in an airtight little room?
"Are you all 'Jidao'?" Qi Xia instantly came to a conclusion.
The white-clad girl's pupils contracted upon hearing this, and then she broke into a smile. "Oh? So you're not just an ordinary 'participant'—you know quite a bit, huh."
Qi Xia felt something was off. Strange not only because of these three "Jidao," but also because, ever since entering this room, the black threads behind him had stopped moving.