Chapter 741: Gathered Here
"But there's no such thing as a useless 'Echo' on this land, is there?" Zhang Shan asked.
"Of course. I've only just realized this truth myself," Chu Tianqiu said with a smile. "Perhaps my 'Echo' isn't the most useless... but the most useful. It can make me the 'God' here."
Xiao Yanjing pondered for a long moment before speaking with a hint of helplessness. "But Mr. Chu... forgive me for saying this, but you seem quite mad. Can you really reach that point?"
"My 'Echo' destined me to be a madman," Chu Tianqiu said with a grin. "If I had accepted the role that this 'Echo' gave me sooner, I'd probably have become a god already."
After speaking, he swept his gaze over the crowd and asked softly, "Will you join me?"
Old Lü rubbed his face and said, "But Chu boy... is 'Heaven's Mouth' still around? I have a feeling this place is already finished..."
"It doesn't matter," Chu Tianqiu replied. "'Heaven's Mouth' was never mine to begin with. Consider it returned now. Besides, as long as I'm here, I'm not afraid of gathering helpers. I just want to know what you all think."
The others fell into contemplation.
Chu Tianqiu had laid out a very peculiar path.
Ahead of this path lay an abyss; behind it, a fog of uncertainty.
None of them knew what had happened in the past, nor could they predict what the future held. They only knew that if they refused, they could continue living here, and if they agreed, they might be utterly annihilated.
If they thought carefully, they would realize... just how absurd a suggestion Chu Tianqiu had proposed?
"Zhang Shan," Chu Tianqiu said, noticing no one had answered. He turned his head to look at Zhang Shan. "What do you say?"
"I..." Zhang Shan knew he had already agreed to work for Chu Tianqiu, so there was no reason to back out now, but a question still lingered in his mind. "Can you... tell me about Nie Bei...?"
"Oh, of course." Chu Tianqiu nodded. "Nie Bei is likely from 2040. He served in the 'Southwest Falcon' special forces unit of the Chengdu Military District. Exceptional individual combat capability, sharp mind, tactical knowledge—he was also the leader of 'Whirlpool City.'"
"You're saying he... ruled an entire city?" Zhang Shan asked.
"Correct. It might seem unbelievable to you, but that's how it is. Other than the city we're in, every city has a clear leader who guides the entire population forward." Chu Tianqiu let out a slight sigh. "But as I said, he was also a 'fleeting bloom.'"
"You mean... he also reached that peak?"
"No..." Chu Tianqiu shook his head. "How should I put it..."
He lowered his head and thought for a moment before speaking. "Many years ago, I met Nie Bei, and we set a plan in motion. We started from the same point, but later we took different paths. First of all, he was more suited to being a leader than I was—he could quickly unite a faction of nearly ten thousand people, whereas I couldn't. Second... he took that path to its very end."
"What path?"
"'Gambling with the Zodiacs,'" Chu Tianqiu replied with a serious expression. "He's a man worthy of respect. I heard that when 'Whirlpool City' was declared fallen, the 'Zodiacs' standing guard there spread the news among themselves as if they had been granted a new lease on life."
"This..."
The others looked shocked. Xiao Yanjing spoke slowly, "Mr. Chu... are you saying that man named Nie Bei led tens of thousands of people to keep gambling their lives against the 'Zodiacs'?"
"Yes." Chu Tianqiu nodded. "Is there anyone else here who would have that kind of courage? In his eyes... this was a war from the very beginning."
"But he failed," Zhang Shan said. "Even if tens of thousands of people gamble their lives against a hundred 'Zodiacs,' there's no winning. What can a few of us do?"
"He did fail," Chu Tianqiu admitted. "But he also made us discover something... those 'Zodiacs' can be afraid too... even the 'Earth-level' ones. At the same time..."
Chu Tianqiu turned to look at Zhang Shan again. "I also understood something else."
"What?" Zhang Shan asked.
"'Troop Deployment,'" Chu Tianqiu said with a smile. "It's an incredible feeling—suddenly discovering a strategy set in motion by a dead man over a year later. That strategy helped me figure out a lot more."
Just as Chu Tianqiu said this, he suddenly felt something strange behind him.
He slowly turned around and saw a lean figure walking toward them from outside the school gate.
Even from a hundred meters away, the figure's extraordinary aura was unmistakable.
No one spoke. They all watched as the figure walked toward them step by step.
Han Yimo, who had been standing there dumbfounded, swallowed hard and asked, "Chu Tianqiu... do we still need to kill?"
"Kill...?" Chu Tianqiu turned back to look at Han Yimo with interest. "Kill with your 'Seven Black Swords'?"
Han Yimo nodded. "That's my only option."
"Your 'Seven Black Swords' can only judge the wicked, can't they?" Chu Tianqiu couldn't help but laugh. "If I'm not mistaken... that sword won't harm him at all."
"What?" Han Yimo looked incredulously toward the distant figure. "Are you saying that person has no 'sin' at all...?"
"If you don't believe me, feel free to try," Chu Tianqiu said. "The only ones who might die here are you and Xiao Yanjing. Everyone else is perfectly safe."
"But who is that?" Han Yimo stared at the distant silhouette.
"He..." Chu Tianqiu said, "is another 'fleeting bloom.'"
Qi Xia saw the group standing on the playground from a distance and paused slightly. Then, expressionless, he continued walking forward. A few steps later, a very strange smile spread across his face.
Chen Junnan, Qiao Jialin, Tiantian, Zheng Yingxiong, and Qin Dingdong had been following Qi Xia all the way to 'Heaven's Mouth.' They watched him walk through the school gate and were about to follow when their peripheral vision caught another figure hurrying to the gate from the corner of the wall.
The five of them turned their heads in unison and saw that the one sneaking over was none other than Qiao Jialin.
Chen Junnan and Tiantian simultaneously looked at the Qiao Jialin standing beside them. The atmosphere was indescribably strange.
Before anyone could react, the figure suddenly transformed into Chu Tianqiu in less than half a second.
This 'Chu Tianqiu' stood facing the group on the playground, gazing into the distance. He neither spoke nor moved, but his mind was clearly in turmoil. It seemed he couldn't control his 'Echo.'
In the blink of an eye, 'Chu Tianqiu' turned into a young woman.
"Wait... how can she just keep changing right in front of us?" Chen Junnan said as he walked forward, keeping his voice low. "Sister Xu, showing off your skills?"