Chapter 571: The Principle of the Tianluo Moment
Chu Tianqiu, Dr. Zhao, and Han Yimo sat quietly in the classroom.
At that moment, the "Tianluo Moment" was wreaking havoc all around, yet the three of them remained motionless in their chairs.
Three black threads stretched into the room, but every time they approached the trio, they turned into black powder.
Three small piles of black powder had also accumulated on the floor.
"Dr. Zhao... you're way too amazing..." Han Yimo muttered, moving his lips. "Can you turn everything into powder?"
"Everything?" Dr. Zhao shook his head. "I can't."
"But your ability is so powerful!" Han Yimo exclaimed. "You just sit here doing nothing, and these black threads keep disintegrating! You're like a 'savior,' saving the three of us!"
"Savior...?" Dr. Zhao gave a bitter smile. "You flatter me. The fact that I can save the three of us is probably just dumb luck."
"Oh...?" Chu Tianqiu chuckled lightly. "What kind of 'dumb luck'?"
"I only wished for these three threads to disintegrate," Dr. Zhao said helplessly. "But they seem to keep growing, creating this bizarre stalemate. They grow and disintegrate simultaneously, and right now, the rate of disintegration exactly matches the rate of growth. So the threads neither advance nor retreat, just hanging in midair."
"So your 'Disintegration' never stops until its goal is achieved..." Chu Tianqiu nodded with a slight smirk. "Dr. Zhao, when do you think you'll be able to 'disintegrate' a human?"
"'Disintegrate' a human...?" Dr. Zhao was momentarily taken aback. "No way... Chu Tianqiu, what are you thinking? Do you intend to use this ability to kill...?"
Chu Tianqiu raised his right hand and made a fist, holding it in front of his eyes. "'Kill'? No, 'killing' is hardly my goal. I'm just looking forward to the day when you'll turn all the 'higher-ups' here... swoosh!"
He abruptly opened his hand, his slender fingers pointing in five directions, as if simulating a bizarre explosion.
"... with just a single thought, turn them all into powder."
"Impossible," Dr. Zhao said. "It may be inappropriate to say this, but I actually once tried to use this ability to kill someone, but I couldn't. So I concluded that this 'Echo' can only dismantle inanimate objects."
Dr. Zhao recalled the first time he had participated in the Ground Chicken's "Weapon Card" game with Qi Xia. He had tried to use his "Disintegration" to dismantle his opponent, but no matter how he attempted it, it didn't work.
"That's because you don't believe it yourself..." Chu Tianqiu adjusted his glasses and said. "Deep down, you reject the idea. You instinctively think a living person shouldn't turn into powder. You're not crazy enough yet. In some ways, you really should learn from Han Yimo."
"Me...?" Han Yimo was startled.
"Yeah." Chu Tianqiu smiled. "I want to help you break through the 'shackles' in your minds. The first step is to delete three words from your dictionary."
Dr. Zhao frowned at Chu Tianqiu. "Which three words?"
"'It's impossible,'" Chu Tianqiu replied. "Ever since I started accepting all the premises of this 'Land of the End,' I've never said those three words again, because anything is possible here. The biggest shackle in your subconscious is the instinctive assumption that some things are impossible."
"But that's just too absurd..."
"Not absurd," Chu Tianqiu shook his head. "Here, people can have sharp blades growing out of their bodies, sand flowing from their eyes, and countless severed tongues spewing from their mouths. If all that can be accepted, why can't a person turn into powder?"
Dr. Zhao and Han Yimo exchanged a glance, their expressions complicated.
Chu Tianqiu immediately saw through their concerns.
"Wait..." Chu Tianqiu slowly raised a hand to his forehead, finding the situation ironic. "The shocked looks on your faces make me feel like I've misidentified your 'shackles.'"
Dr. Zhao found the man increasingly unsettling—he seemed able to read minds.
"Could it be that the shackle in your hearts is the belief that you're 'still decent people'?" Chu Tianqiu couldn't help but laugh as he finished. "A writer who spreads malicious rumors and a doctor who killed someone... and yet you two look at yourselves as good people...?"
"Chu Tianqiu, you even know our past..." Dr. Zhao frowned. "So in your view, we can't be considered 'good people'?"
"Good people...?" Chu Tianqiu smiled faintly. "Are you referring to Han Yimo, who spread malicious rumors, desperately tried to make amends, and eventually went mad and killed an entire family... or you, Zhao Haibo, who accepted a bribe, insisted on performing surgery, and turned a patient into a vegetable?"
Dr. Zhao lowered his head, his expression extremely sorrowful.
"So how do you distinguish between 'good' and 'bad' people...?" Han Yimo's eyes also dimmed. "We never harmed anyone in our lives. We tried our best to live well, but one mistake defined us as 'bad people.'"
Chu Tianqiu stood up and slowly walked over to the three black threads.
"In this world, what good people are there...? It's just that everyone has different degrees of badness."
"No good people..."
Hearing this, Dr. Zhao and Han Yimo felt the last bit of conviction they held on to crumble.
"In a lifetime of decades... haven't you ever had a single 'bad' thought?" Chu Tianqiu reached out and touched the black thread in front of him, then examined his finger. "Where in this world is there a saint? How could a saint ever have a good ending..."
His eyes seemed even more despondent than those of Han Yimo and Dr. Zhao combined, as if his words carried a deeper meaning.
The atmosphere fell silent for a few seconds before Chu Tianqiu smiled again. "But thanks to Dr. Zhao, I think I've figured out what this 'Tianluo Moment' actually is."
Chu Tianqiu bent down and picked up a pinch of black powder from the ground, then pressed it hard between his thumb and forefinger. He felt the powder pierce his skin, causing a sharp pain.
"What is it?"
The two walked over and looked at Chu Tianqiu's finger. Upon closer inspection, the black powder appeared to be tiny sticks—some embedded in his skin, others protruding outward.
"It's hair," Chu Tianqiu said with a smile. "Hair as hard as iron, sharp enough to pierce the skin."
"What...?" The two were stunned.
"I get it now—'Hardening,' 'Tracking,' and 'Rampant Growth'..." Chu Tianqiu slowly grinned. "The 'Tianluo Moment' that can kill everyone—when you break it down, the principle is actually this simple."