Chapter 686: Myself and I
"What the hell are you talking about..."
Earth Monkey was about to retort to Qiao Jiajin, but suddenly furrowed his brow.
Although this argument was very nitpicky, when he thought about it carefully, it was actually hard to refute.
"That liar, he's always been changing..." Qiao Jiajin explained. "From an outsider's perspective, he's constantly changing himself, becoming completely different from before—whether it's his 'mind,' his 'wife,' or his identity as a 'liar.' But from his own perspective, he just keeps getting stronger each time. In order to ensure the plans he once set in motion go smoothly, he has no choice but to keep changing himself."
"No... this sounds way too difficult..." Earth Monkey still found it hard to believe. "If that's the case, the originally stable plan would have countless 'variables' tied to him! As long as he makes one wrong move, everything would fail... No... this is too far-fetched, I still..."
"So his 'changes' are meant to keep you all 'stable,'" Qiao Jiajin blinked. "Isn't that the logic? Is it that hard to understand?"
Hearing this, Earth Monkey was momentarily stunned again.
"Young man..." He blinked as he looked at Qiao Jiajin. "This hypothesis of yours is built on complete faith in Qi Xia's abilities, but I..."
"I just believe in him," Qiao Jiajin replied. "I live simply, not like you who overthink everything, so I find this easy to understand. After that liar set his plan, he started acting on it himself, and everything he does is for the sake of that plan."
"But..." Earth Monkey slowly lowered his head.
How he wished everything Qiao Jiajin said was true.
Yes, if 'Qinglong' hadn't appeared back then, he too would have believed in Qi Xia as firmly as this young man.
After a long time, he heaved a deep sigh, and the grievances buried in his heart for decades seemed to dissipate with that breath.
"Forget it..." Earth Monkey said. "At this point, I don't know who to believe anymore. Let things take their course..."
Chen Junnan perked up at these words: "Hey! Brother Monkey! Don't just let things take their course! We've been listening here for a while now. Why don't you tell us about that big plan? As the saying goes, 'One good man gets help from three,' we can all brainstorm together."
"'Big plan'... Hah..." Earth Monkey shook his head helplessly. "That plan involves a lot of people, and I'm just one of them. I only know my own part. Qi Xia told me to live steadily and become a qualified 'Zodiac' as much as possible, then wait for a 'crack.'"
"Wait for a 'crack'?"
"That's right."
"What kind of 'crack'?" Chen Junnan asked.
"According to him, it's a crack that theoretically should never appear. Even if someone had the guts of a lion, they wouldn't dare create such a crack." Earth Monkey sighed after speaking. "So, do you see? I'm actually just like you."
The group exchanged glances. Tiantian also spoke up at this moment: "What do you mean?"
"We're all cogs in the machine," Earth Monkey said. "Each of us is a chess piece. All we can do now is play our part."
"You're saying we're also part of Qi Xia's plan?" Chen Junnan thought for a moment, then nodded. "While that idea isn't wrong, everything we do is voluntary. Old Qi never gave us any instructions."
"Ha." Earth Monkey let out a light laugh and said slowly, "You said it yourself at the gambling table just now... He doesn't need your consent to unilaterally treat you as part of his scheme. Remember?"
That short sentence plunged everyone into silence.
Yes, if Qi Xia could come up with such tactics on the fly at a gambling table, how could he not apply them to his grand plan?
Chen Junnan's thoughts started to open up at this point. If what Earth Monkey said was true, then he was probably a teammate Qi Xia had 'personally chosen.'
Not just him—every person he saw when he opened his eyes in the interview room should have been Qi Xia's selection.
He had deliberately gathered all these people together, forming a strange room that seemed riddled with flaws yet each person had their own role.
But how exactly did Qi Xia manage that? And what was his goal?
At this moment, not to mention the people stuck in the situation, even Qi Xia himself didn't know what the original plan was anymore.
He could only keep guessing what kind of scheme his past self had laid out, then try to join forces with his past self through accurate predictions, and ally with the chess pieces his past self had set.
How terrifying a scheme was that?
Even with Qi Xia's intellect, he had to postpone the plan for decades. If even he was pushed to this point and still hadn't succeeded, could ordinary people really escape here?
Chen Junnan looked solemnly at Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian. Both of them were deep in thought, as if processing this hard-to-swallow information.
Earth Monkey gave the group a meaningful glance and said, "Whatever Qi Xia wants to do, let him do it. I'll wait patiently. You can wait here for him to wake up, or just carry him away. But don't bother me anymore. I have nothing more to discuss with you."
After saying that, he walked straight behind the counter and sat down, leaning back, one leg propped up on the table, then closed his eyes to rest.
Qiao Jiajin scratched his head and asked, "Jun Nan, do you think that dream boy managed to treat the liar?"
"Well..." Chen Junnan hesitated at the question and replied, "I'm not sure. To be fair, Old Qi's complexion improved a lot compared to before. He looks more energized now and doesn't seem as pained. But that young man still died... So I'm not sure if he died in the line of duty or succeeded and then passed."
"Let's just wait and see..." Tiantian said timidly. "Either way, Xiao Cheng did help us out once..."
"Yeah, that kid performed well at the last moment. Next time..."
Chen Junnan nodded, about to say something, when he noticed Zheng Yingxiong walking over to Earth Monkey.
He hadn't paid attention before, but now that he thought about it, this kid had been staring at Earth Monkey from the very beginning, showing a great deal of interest.
The boy went to Earth Monkey's counter, reached out his bloodstained little hand, and patted Earth Monkey on the leg.
"Uncle, uncle."
Earth Monkey lazily opened his eyes and glanced impatiently at this child whose face was covered in dried bloodstains. "What?"
"Uncle, how do you know about 'Jade City'?"
(Folks, I'm attending Tomato's first Creator Conference tomorrow, so I need to take a leave. But I won't stop updating—just a single update for one day. Apologies in advance.)