Chapter 552: Taking the Bullet
I heard him shout, "Stop."
That voice was undoubtedly Qi Xia. A man as clever as Qi Xia would never do something without purpose. His goal wasn't to halt me, but to alert everyone in "Heaven's Mouth."
In his mind, as long as he could spread the sense of crisis—that someone had broken in—throughout "Heaven's Mouth," catching me would naturally be no difficult task.
But he still miscalculated. Without sufficient "intelligence," he had no way to make the best judgment.
I was not an "intruder." I was the sole ruler of "Heaven's Mouth" at that moment.
That night, I escaped smoothly and didn't go to see Chu Tianqiu again.
I felt things were becoming strange—
Could Chu Tianqiu possibly be playing me?
He didn't need to know the "scent" on those people at all. What he needed was to reduce Qi Xia's sense of security. Subtly, it seemed he also wanted to provoke a conflict.
And once again, I had become the "gun."
I had originally thought Qi Xia was more or less what I had anticipated. Though difficult to control, he could navigate each game with ease.
But what I hadn't expected was that change would come so quickly.
The next day's "Welcome Party," Qi Xia determined my identity through just one conversation.
His gaze was terrifying, as if it could pierce through my flesh and see straight into my soul.
The moment he said, "Miss Xu Liunian, the actress," my entire conviction collapsed, and I revealed my true appearance.
Fortunately, I had already mastered my "Echo." In just a few seconds, I transformed back into Chu Tianqiu.
No one should have seen me during those few seconds, but I was still terrified.
This man named Qi Xia was far too distant from me. Pretending around him was utterly useless.
"I want to talk to the real Chu Tianqiu. The matters from here on are beyond your authority." When he spoke those cold words, I felt a chill run through my entire body.
"Qi Xia, stop messing around. I can't reveal my identity here." I felt my mind going blank at that moment.
"You helped me, so I won't make things difficult for you. Let me see Chu Tianqiu."
I… helped him?
Qi Xia's words shocked me. What had I helped him with?
Could it be that he already knew I had transformed into Yu Nian'an and stood before his eyes?
No… That was impossible.
No matter how great his abilities, even if he could retain all memories from the last cycle, he was still just a mortal. He couldn't possibly have been so lucid while on the verge of death.
So the "help" he mentioned was simply my act of bringing him to the edge of the city.
Hearing this, I relaxed slightly. No matter whose game I was caught in, my only advantage was that I knew enough information.
Hearing Qi Xia's words, I decided to play along. The more he wanted to see Chu Tianqiu, the more I would keep him in suspense.
"No!" I said in a low voice. "You should know that his 'memory' is the key to escaping this place. He hasn't lost his memory in two whole years! Doing this would throw him into danger!"
See? You think I'm the one taking the bullet out front while Chu Tianqiu schemes in the shadows.
Little do you know, these are all lies I cooked up with my own lips. Yes, go ahead and misunderstand—
Chu Tianqiu used me, pushed me to the forefront, while he hid himself. How could such a man be worthy of being a leader?
I deliberately let a hint of grievance show on my face, and said to Qi Xia, "Qi Xia, you really can't see him. If you have any plans, I can pass them along for you."
This was the proper way for a qualified "puppet" to speak. I wondered if Chu Tianqiu could ever guess that I had set him up here.
"Fine then…" Qi Xia thought for a moment and said to me, "Just help me ask him one question."
"What question?"
"Ask Chu Tianqiu for me—'How long have you been here?'"
Hearing this question, I was visibly stunned.
Why? Why, no matter how hard I racked my brain, could I still not figure out what this man in front of me was thinking?
At this moment, he could have told me his plan, or asked some critical question. But he chose this one instead.
How long have you been here?
Where is "here"? The school? "Heaven's Mouth"? The "Land of the End"?
"If Chu Tianqiu answers this question wrong, I'll have him eliminated completely."
After saying this, Qi Xia turned and left, but my heart was in turmoil.
Although I had been forced into their game, I simply couldn't understand this question.
After much deliberation, I still went to the basement. But I didn't know how to bring it up.
"He has a question… he wants to ask you," I said.
"Let me guess…" Chu Tianqiu interrupted me proactively. "Could it be… he wants to ask how long I've been here?"
Hearing Chu Tianqiu's words, I knew that the moment I joined this game, I had already lost.
These two could even transmit information directly through me, yet I had absolutely no idea what the message they were passing even was.
The game between people like this didn't even need encryption. And I had truly become a puppet.
"That's right," I said in a low voice.
"How incredibly interesting… Qi Xia, that's how it should be…"
What could I do now to rejoin this game?
I thought for a moment, then said, "It's all my fault… I didn't expect Qi Xia to see through the flaw."
At this moment, Chu Tianqiu and I were ostensibly on the same side, so I could deliberately expose a weakness.
"It has nothing to do with you. Even if you could fool everyone, you could never fool Qi Xia. He would have found out sooner or later. It's just much earlier than I expected."
Hearing this, I fell silent again. So Chu Tianqiu knew from the very beginning that Qi Xia would see through my disguise. Then what was his purpose in doing this?
I had thought I wasn't the "bullet catcher"—that the "bullet catcher" was just a lie I had made up.
But now it seemed I was just ridiculous. Just like the "taxi driver," my lies had once again become reality.
Chu Tianqiu had been using me to take the bullet all along.
"So how are you going to answer this question…?" I asked, my heart ashen. "He said if you answer wrong, he'll have you completely 'eliminated.'"
I didn't even know what game he and Qi Xia had entered, let alone what game they were being eliminated from.
Chu Tianqiu didn't answer directly. Instead, he asked me a few questions. I only remember him asking, "Has Lin Qin joined 'Heaven's Mouth'?"
After I nodded, he actually proposed to meet Lin Qin.
"But… but she's from the 'Jidao'…" There was a hint of panic in my voice, because I had hidden a crucial point.
She wasn't just from the "Jidao"—she had colluded with "Qinglong" and appeared in Qi Xia's interview room. This person was highly suspicious.