Chapter 764: Attorney Zhang's Request
"My god..." Chen Junnan's eyes slowly widened, as if realizing something. "You mean..."
Chen Junnan almost blurted out "Your teammate became a 'mite,'" but after thinking it over, he swallowed the words.
If even the term "mite" was being kept under wraps, he probably shouldn't just shout it out.
"Chen Junnan, you said it yourself... the eight teammates in my room were all reassembled," Qi Xia said. "So where do you think the original eight went?"
Although Qi Xia didn't say it explicitly, Chen Junnan had fully grasped the implications.
If the eight people drawn on that map were all Qi Xia's former teammates, and they had followed his instructions to become "Zodiacs," then what followed became worth examining.
The one who climbed the fastest and highest had been promoted to "Dragon."
The person who became the "Dragon" must have been Qi Xia's most capable teammate—otherwise, they could never have become the leader of the "Zodiacs."
But this "Dragon," perhaps because they had revealed their identity or committed some other infraction, had now been demoted to a "mite." Not only had they lost everything they had, but they had also lost the chance to fight alongside Qi Xia.
Now this "Dragon," who had become a "mite," came before Qi Xia to warn him to be careful of the current "Dragon."
Putting it all together like this, everything made sense.
"Lao Qi... could this be real?" Chen Junnan asked.
"Like I said before..." Qi Xia sighed. "He isn't even considered 'human' right now. There's no reason for him to take such a huge risk coming here to warn me. He could have simply ignored me. But he still chose to pass along this information, which can only mean it's crucial to him. Who would risk delivering a false message that brings them no benefit?"
"Hiss..." Chen Junnan slowly lowered his head and pointed at the "Chen Dragon" on the map. "So if this person... really was replaced... what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to pretend I don't know," Qi Xia said.
"Huh?"
Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin both wore confused expressions.
"Pretend you don't know? Why?"
"Because I want to wait for the other side to make a move," Qi Xia replied. "If I prepare all my defenses in advance, I'll never know what this 'Dragon' is trying to do."
"But..."
After hearing this, Chen Junnan gave Qi Xia a quiet look. In his memory, Qi Xia had always been this kind of person.
He not only guessed ahead of time what the current situation might be, but he would also formulate a countermeasure based on that speculation.
If the other party really intended to scheme against him, they would need to think at least two steps further than him.
"Couldn't this be a bit dangerous?" Chen Junnan asked again.
"No," Qi Xia answered. "Before this 'mite' appeared, I was in the open and the enemy was in the dark. Now he's flipped our positions. That's already the biggest gain I've made today."
Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin both nodded after hearing this, though judging by Qiao Jiajin's expression, he probably hadn't fully understood.
"This plan sounds fine on the surface, but it feels really dangerous," Chen Junnan said. "Knowing it's a trap and still jumping in... that means your opponent won't just be Xiao Chu, but also the referee? What if he rigs the game?"
Qi Xia let out a light laugh. "But if you want to know where your opponent is going to strike, you have to let them make the first move."
The two knew that Qi Xia's decisions were always made with thorough consideration, far beyond what they could interfere with, so they simply nodded.
The room fell into silence again, but none of the three could sleep. Qi Xia turned to look out the window, where it was still pitch black.
The nights in the "Land of Finality" had no moonlight. In this darkness so thick you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, the campfires lit in the various rooms of "Heaven's Gate" illuminated the area for several hundred meters.
Qi Xia sat in his chair, staring blankly into the night, until the tawny yellow sun rose.
He gazed at the slowly rising sun for a long time, then slowly pressed his hand to his forehead.
Every time he saw that sun now, his forehead would ache faintly, as if the aftereffects of the "Heavenly Dragon" hadn't yet faded.
"It's been a long time since I last had a headache..." Qi Xia muttered to himself. "Heavenly Dragon... Heavenly Dragon... Did you use my dreams to build the 'Land of Finality,' or did you use the 'Land of Finality' to invade my dreams?"
This was the seventh day of the cycle. Qi Xia knew there were still many things he hadn't done, and he needed to make the most of every remaining moment.
Though it was only early morning, sounds of movement could already be heard coming from some of the school's classrooms.
Scattered figures had also begun to gather at the main gate. A new day was coming to life.
Qi Xia stood up and stretched his waist. Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan followed suit, yawning. The uninvited guest from the night before had kept the three of them awake all night, and none of them were in great spirits.
"Where are we headed first today, Lao Qi?" Chen Junnan asked. "Are we just gonna wait here for them to bring back Wen Qiaoyun and that Yan... Yan what's-her-name?"
"No... I still have a lot of people to see," Qi Xia said. "You two wait here. I'm going to follow the map."
"Huh?"
Chen Junnan clearly didn't understand. "Lao Qi, aren't the people on your map all 'Zodiacs'? You're going alone?"
"Yes," Qi Xia said. "But I probably won't be playing any more games. I just want to talk with them."
"There are 'Resonators' all over the place out there," Chen Junnan said. "Don't go dying on the street without a reason."
"Don't worry. Unless it's the tenth day, no one can kill me," Qi Xia said quietly.
"You bastard..." Chen Junnan frowned, feeling like Qi Xia was brewing a very bold idea in his mind. "You're not telling me you can 'copy' yourself again...?"
"I'll be back," Qi Xia said. "Leave the rest to me."
Just as the three were talking, a knock came at the classroom door.
They turned to look and saw Attorney Zhang standing there, smiling and nodding at them.
"Oh?" Chen Junnan was startled. "What a coincidence? The big lawyer's here."
"Sorry to intrude," Attorney Zhang said. "I ran into Qin Dingdong in the hallway just now, and suddenly remembered something I needed to pass along to Qi Xia."
"Me?" Qi Xia raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Before... Su Shan and I participated in a game," Attorney Zhang said, her face tinged with sadness. "A 'Zodiac' wanted to see you. The few of us agreed, and we were about to trade information about you to that 'Zodiac' for some small cakes and fruit..."
Attorney Zhang's words left the three people in the room utterly bewildered.