Chapter 796: The Aftermath of Knowledge
Yan Zhichun's face darkened at this point. Although the process had been convoluted, they had finally found an answer.
"Even though every 'Extreme Path' member here acts differently…" she said to Lin Qin, "the tenets of the 'Extreme Path' never change. Since you don't want to protect this place at all, there's no need for you to call yourself an 'Extreme Path member' anymore."
"Say whatever you like." Lin Qin shook her head indifferently. "Whether I'm an 'Extreme Path member' or not doesn't require your approval."
"Alright, stop arguing." Jiang Ruoxue interjected from the side. "You don't even know the 'cause,' so naturally you can't argue your way to an 'effect.' The crisis is over now. Let's get moving."
Wen Qiaoyun was carefully scanning the three girls before her, already pondering the entire sequence of events.
In her memory, she had been walking down a very long corridor. At the end of the corridor, she had encountered a woman who called herself the 'Human Dragon,' and then she had stepped out of the door into a plaza. But in a daze, she had suddenly found herself standing on the street again. This damned place was inherently incomprehensible, so Wen Qiaoyun quickly calmed down.
Then she noticed that the sky was growing dark. She turned and entered the building beside her, finding two people already inside—Yan Zhichun and Lin Qin.
"So this city has existed for a long time?" Wen Qiaoyun asked. "Have you been here for a while?"
Lin Qin turned to Wen Qiaoyun and said, "The place I'm taking you to will answer all your questions. Even questions you never thought to ask… someone will answer them for you."
"Questions I never thought to ask…?"
Lin Qin nodded. "Yes. If I'm not mistaken, before we go back, we'll run into someone coming out to welcome you."
Wen Qiaoyun became even more curious about the 'organization' Lin Qin had mentioned. This place seemed to be shrouded in a colossal secret concerning her.
"Interesting." Wen Qiaoyun smiled and ran a hand through her hair, walking forward beside Lin Qin. "What have I done to deserve this? Is everything you're doing all for me?"
Lin Qin frowned at Wen Qiaoyun, sensing a slight dissonance.
"But from what I've observed, none of you have ever seen me before. You've only heard the name 'Wen Qiaoyun.'" Wen Qiaoyun kept smiling as she looked ahead. "You don't dare kill me, and you don't dare let me go. So it'll be the same even if I go to your organization."
"So…?" Lin Qin asked.
"So, I'm not someone who just arrived here… but someone who lost her memories?" Wen Qiaoyun pressed.
Behind them, Yan Zhichun and Jiang Ruoxue heard Wen Qiaoyun's questions, and they only felt even more confused by the situation.
They had only asked two questions and hadn't revealed much information to Wen Qiaoyun, yet she seemed on the verge of deducing the whole picture.
Lin Qin said flatly, "If 'lost memories' is the most outrageous thing you can think of… then the strangeness of this place will far exceed your imagination."
Hearing this, Wen Qiaoyun fell silent and followed Lin Qin forward more cautiously.
Yan Zhichun and Jiang Ruoxue slowed their pace, gradually widening the distance between them and the other two.
"Ruoxue, did you notice the problem?" Yan Zhichun said. "It seems a bit forced to confirm Wen Qiaoyun's abilities using a theorem. There really are people like this in the world—they may not have much book learning, but their thinking is sharp enough."
"Then she's a completely different style from the 'leader' I have in mind," Jiang Ruoxue said. "She navigates the world by 'instinct,' not 'knowledge.' That kind of 'instinct' can make her clever, but not necessarily successful."
"Yes." Yan Zhichun nodded. "I'm becoming more and more curious about her. As for that Lin Qin…"
Jiang Ruoxue looked at Lin Qin's distant back and naturally knew what Yan Zhichun wanted to ask.
"An answer that even the 'Celestial Serpent Moment' can't tell if it's true or false—what do you make of it?" Yan Zhichun asked.
"I…" Jiang Ruoxue thought carefully for a while. "I think… perhaps there exists a paradox that even the 'Celestial Serpent Moment' cannot overturn."
"A paradox?"
"I think there might be a possibility like this…" Jiang Ruoxue said. "According to the actual situation, that girl named Lin Qin is not an 'Extreme Path member,' but deep down she firmly believes she is. So on the surface, she isn't lying, but what she says isn't the truth. This paradox made that little black ball waver, not even knowing how to make a judgment."
"Is that possible?" Yan Zhichun slowly furrowed her brow. "The status of 'Celestial Serpent' is already very high. Could the creator of this paradox be of an even higher rank than the 'Celestial Serpent'?"
"I can't say for sure. After all, it's just a hypothesis of mine. If the other party's level is higher than the 'Celestial Serpent,' then there are only two people left here." Jiang Ruoxue said. "This answer sounds very dangerous. Should we continue investigating?"
"Of course." Yan Zhichun chuckled lightly. "It's like the 'Chinese Room.' We're all outside the room, so we naturally think the person inside is speaking Chinese. But we've all been deceived. Even Lin Qin herself doesn't know the truth. Just thinking about it is quite interesting."
"'Chinese Room'? You're starting to sound more and more like that White Ram." Jiang Ruoxue smiled. "Seven years of cohabitation, and the aftereffects can't be shaken off, huh?"
"Aren't you the same?" Yan Zhichun looked at her. "You're starting to sound more and more like me. You even asked what 'trauma theory' is. It's just like you said—a certain 'cause' produces a certain 'effect.' We can't interfere with what once happened, and we can't control what will happen in the future."
"It really is like that." Jiang Ruoxue nodded. "The first time I met that guy named Qi Xia in the Dog Game 'The Messenger,' he was muttering about the 'MiG-25 Effect,' and I just blurted out 'MiG-25 Effect' just like you would."
"Oh…?" Yan Zhichun's eyes widened slowly. "That guy named Qi Xia also mentioned the 'MiG-25 Effect'?"
"Yeah. What, have you met him too?" Jiang Ruoxue asked.
"I had the honor of seeing him once during the 'Pegasus Moment.'" Yan Zhichun raised her hand and looked at the tattoo 'YNA' on her finger with a melancholy expression. "That guy named Qi Xia might be crazy, but his eyes always feel very familiar to me. I have a bad feeling now… I just hope what happens next isn't what I'm thinking."
"What do you mean?" Jiang Ruoxue asked.
"I mean… could Qi Xia be…" Yan Zhichun's words trailed off.
She remembered Qi Xia's icy eyes, exactly like the White Ram's from back then. Could they be the same person?