Chapter 813: Mourning Snake
Qi Xia remained silent when he heard Qin Dingdong's question.
"Isn't this terrifying?" Qin Dingdong shivered slightly. "The friends around me aren't my friends, my parents might not be my parents either. I'll live what I think is a normal life in a completely unfamiliar place, and I might even forget everything and grow close to those people... This is absolutely chilling. What exactly are those people? What would I even be at that point? Where did my real friends and family go?"
"As I said," Qi Xia reiterated, "it's possible your memories weren't tampered with—only your personality was."
"But I don't believe it!" Qin Dingdong retorted. "Classmate Qi, I've believed every word you've said before, but not this time... because I'm a liar too. Your expression gives you away—you're clearly deceiving yourself! Even you're not sure of the answer..."
"Qin Dingdong." Qi Xia shot her a cold look. "You're a liar. If you can't even deceive yourself, who can you possibly deceive?"
"You..."
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Chen Junnan quickly stepped forward and positioned himself between them. "Sister Dong..."
Only now did he understand why Qin Dingdong had always been so disturbed by the idea of her life being altered—because all she wanted was to return to reality and live a normal life.
That was right. She was only in her twenties, yet she'd already spent decades here. She had given the best years of her life to the "Land of the End." Why shouldn't she be allowed to go back to her own life?
"Calm down, Sister Dong," Chen Junnan said softly. "Let's all think of a way together. We need to pull in the same direction."
Qin Dingdong looked at Chen Junnan standing before her, gradually calmed her emotions, then gently pushed him aside and continued speaking to Qi Xia. "Classmate Qi, I want to get out. I've had enough of this place. I have to find my true life and return to it exactly as it should be."
"Don't be foolish..." Qi Xia replied. "Qin Dingdong, no one has escaped in seventy years. How can you be so sure you'll succeed?"
"Because I'm more clear-headed than anyone," Qin Dingdong said resolutely. "Seventy years—if necessary, I could wait seven hundred years. As long as I'm given enough time, even if I'm not as clever as you or Chu Tianqiu, I'm still confident I can find a way out of here."
"I hope you can always remain that confident," Qi Xia said. "And I hope you never go mad."
"Then sister will accept your kind words," Qin Dingdong replied. "If the time comes when you can liberate this place and you find that I still haven't confirmed which segment of my life is real, then please leave me here forever."
"Are you sure?" Qi Xia asked.
"Sure." Qin Dingdong nodded. "Sister's thoughts have always been this unrestrained. I believe that as long as I stay here, my timeline will remain frozen forever. My important friends and family won't disappear, and I won't fall into a lifetime of confusion because of this."
Qi Xia said nothing more. He simply gave Qin Dingdong a solemn nod, then slowly walked toward the direction of Ground Snake. The others followed behind him.
As they walked forward, Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin exchanged glances, both feeling that the situation was still quite troublesome.
No matter how many times the same problem surfaced with Qi Xia, he always responded the same way.
He refused to discuss anything concerning Yu Nian'an, and he absolutely would not admit that there was anything false about Yu Nian'an. Even when a great deal of evidence pointed to that conclusion, he never wavered.
But this time, there was a clear difference—Qi Xia had invited the three of them to come and "guard" this answer of "Yu Nian'an" together with him. It almost sounded like he was asking for help.
He had entrusted a portion of his trust to the three of them, but Chen Junnan felt a very ominous premonition in his heart—Qi Xia seemed to be wavering.
Although Chen Junnan didn't know what would happen if Qi Xia actually wavered, the fact that he had to make such a request for help meant the consequences must be severe. Could it be that whether Yu Nian'an existed or not directly affected his plans?
Chen Junnan looked at Qi Xia's slightly lonely figure and sighed heavily. Qi Xia now seemed like a candle flame flickering in a storm. Through his own psychological self-suggestion alone, he could no longer fully believe that "Yu Nian'an" definitely existed. He needed constant reminders from others to maintain his original conviction.
"But what exactly is Yu Nian'an..." Chen Junnan muttered to himself as he stared at Qi Xia's back in the distance. "Why does it have to be this person?"
If Yu Nian'an truly didn't exist, what exactly was Qi Xia relying on to create a completely nonexistent person? And if he truly wanted to find someone to hold onto, there were so many people in the "Land of the End"—why not pick a real "participant"?
The four of them walked in silence for about two hours before they finally caught sight of Ground Snake's game venue.
The building was clearly a storefront, but at first glance, it was impossible to tell what kind of goods it sold.
Both sides of the wall were made of glass, and rows of wooden shelves were visible through the glass, though all of them were empty.
Qi Xia approached but didn't see "Ground Snake." He looked up at the store's sign. On the heavily weathered and rusted signage, he could faintly make out two words: "Bookstore."
These two words made Qi Xia furrow his brow slightly.
"A bookstore..." He looked at the empty shelves inside the store. "Where are the books?"
In just a few seconds, Qiao Jiajin, Chen Junnan, and the others reached his side.
"Old Qi..." Chen Junnan called out. "Is this the place?"
Qi Xia pulled the map from his pocket and looked down to confirm. "That's right."
"Why is no one here?" Qiao Jiajin asked from the side. "Is a game in progress?"
"Possibly."
Qi Xia nodded and examined the store's door. It was locked from the inside, which suggested that the game was not open to spectators.
Before the four of them could figure out what to do, figures began to slowly emerge from behind a wall inside the store. About three or four "participants" walked out from a place hidden from view. Each of them had their heads lowered and looked dejected as they slowly made their way to the door.
Behind them followed a snake-headed person with white skin. He held a rope in his hand and also appeared somewhat sorrowful.
"Oh ho, a white-patterned snake," Chen Junnan remarked. "Is this thing venomous?"
Qi Xia didn't answer. He watched as the participants inside reached the door and opened it, then slowly walked out.
Qi Xia looked at them closely and grew curious. These people all had tear stains on their faces.
"Wha...?" Qiao Jiajin was slightly startled. "Are these people crying?"
The "participants," while wiping their tears, kept turning back to reluctantly say goodbye to Ground Snake. Some even went back to grasp his hand, muttering things like, "You have to take care of yourself."
Ground Snake, on the other hand, calmly reassured them, simply saying "I understand."
The scene before them made Qi Xia and the other three exchange looks of confusion.