Chapter 1171: Fate

"Huh... Tiantian, I finally found you."

Yunyao said as she walked in, "You had me so worried... Are you okay?"

At that moment, Tiantian was bandaging Qiao Jiajin's fists. His wounds were numerous and extensive, with some clustered on his cheeks, making the bandaging quite challenging.

"I..." Tiantian smiled at Yunyao and paused what she was doing, "I'm fine. It's dangerous out there, so why are you looking for me?"

"It's nothing, I just didn't want you to get bullied." Yunyao walked in as if no one else was there and sat down.

"Hey, big star." Chen Junnang greeted her while turning back to Zhang Chenze, "Lawyer Zhang, maybe I should handle this myself. I'm feeling a bit uneasy about it."

"It's okay, you're not in a position to do it." Zhang Chenze shook her head, "I'm not great at bandaging either, but at least I can stop the bleeding."

"The idol girl is here." Qiao Jiajin laughed, "Don't worry, with us around, who would bully Tiantian?"

Yunyao glanced at everyone in the room, her eyes settling on Qi Xia, who was just stepping out from inside.

"Qi Xia... you're here too." Yunyao looked at him with a complicated expression, "What are you all doing here?"

"Resting up." Qi Xia replied, "How's it going outside?"

"Outside... oh my god..." Yunyao took a breath and said slowly, "When I left, the Juling was destroyed. Baihu seemed like it had gone mad, yelling about finding the 'Qiaowu.' Xuanwu showed up too, but it was led away by a group of people in leather clothes."

"Good." Qi Xia nodded, confirming his suspicions.

"The streets are total chaos right now..." Yunyao said, "I'm a bit worried about tonight."

"How so?"

"This isn't just a 'disturbance' anymore. Some unidentified people have started rushing into the streets, attacking anyone to seize the 'Dao.' They're using violence randomly without even knowing why people are gathering, as if they're creating chaos for chaos's sake..."

"That's normal." Qi Xia said, "A lot of wars start with small-scale disruptions under the banner of 'justice.' Once enough people get involved, the scope expands, and the reasons become increasingly absurd."

"So, are you all really going to stay out in the open in such a big building?" Yunyao added, "The violence will probably reach here soon. Nights like this are dangerous."

"Don't worry, we won't be here at night." Qi Xia said.

"What...?"

"Yunyao, what guided you here?" Qi Xia asked, "Was it 'strong luck'?"

"Yes." Yunyao nodded, "I threw my lipstick and told myself, 'I want to go to the place I most want to go.' It led me here."

"The place you most want to go..." Qi Xia suddenly understood the meaning of it all.

"Oh wow!" Chen Junnang chuckled, "Big star, does that mean Tiantian is that important to you?"

"At least that's what the lipstick told me." Yunyao replied, "I really was worried about Tiantian."

"Maybe for you, the place you wanted to go was something else." Qi Xia thought for a moment and said, "Since fate brought you here, there must be a reason for it."

"Um...?"

Tonight, you'll come with us.

"Where exactly are you all going?"

"You know, I've never seriously mentioned this to you before." Qi Xia said, "Now that the entire 'End Place' is in chaos, and 'Ears' probably isn't focused on me, it's time to give you all a chance to choose."

Chen Junnang and Qiao Jiajin found Qi Xia's words odd. At such a critical moment, what was there left to choose?

But they quickly realized that Zhang Chenze, Tiantian, and Yunyao were also in the room, so perhaps his words were meant for them.

"I've planned something big—leading everyone to escape the 'End Place' and return to where we should be living." Qi Xia said, "The more people who join, the better for me. After all, you're all 'Resonators,' and you might play a role at any time."

"Leading everyone... to escape?" Yunyao was startled and looked at Tiantian and Zhang Chenze beside her.

Although the two had never talked about their lives in the real world, Yunyao could tell from their eyes that they didn't want to escape.

"I..." Zhang Chenze took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "Qi Xia... 'returning to where we should be living'... that means..."

"Just as you think." Qi Xia said.

Zhang Chenze's expression grew troubled, and soon her brows furrowed, as if she was wrestling with some complex inner conflict.

After a long while, she spoke: "I... can accept it."

"Good." Qi Xia nodded, "You're someone of absolute reason, and I respect your choice."

"I want to face what I should face." Zhang Chenze nodded, "I want to go back and try once. Maybe everything will turn out for the better."

"You'll definitely succeed." Qi Xia nodded at Zhang Chenze, then turned to Tiantian, "What about you?"

Tiantian looked more composed than anyone else, as if she hadn't even considered the plan's feasibility from the start.

A few seconds later, she asked: "So, where are we going tonight?"

"To the 'Train.'" Qi Xia answered, "Where all the 'Zodiac' gather."

"Can I die there?" Tiantian asked again.

"You..." Qi Xia had anticipated Tiantian saying something like that, but he still hadn't figured out how to respond.

"What are you talking about, sis?" Chen Junnang said, "Is there anything that has to be solved with death?"

"I won't allow it." Yunyao said, "Now that we've reached this point, if we can get out and see the world... why do you have to seek death?"

"Whether I get out or not doesn't matter to me." Tiantian shook her head, "I'm really not like Lawyer Zhang... She's willing to fight her fate to the death, but my personality means I can only go along with it. I can't go back to the outside world."

"Is it still the same now?" Zhang Chenze asked, "After experiencing all this and seeing so much life and death... do you still feel you can't overcome a little fate?"

"I..."

"I think Lawyer Zhang is right." Qiao Jiajin nodded, taking the bandage from Tiantian and wrapping it around himself, "Tiantian, that trickster said the 'Cangjie Qi' only won because of you. Do you know who you beat? It was all monsters on the other side."

Tiantian was taken aback, feeling as though she had been encouraged.

"You'll succeed too." Qi Xia said, "It's just 'fate' after all. I've spent decades on all this just to tell myself that we can conquer fate."

"Qi Xia..." Tiantian looked up at him with a complex expression.

"If you've all decided..." Qi Xia said, "Let's rest here for now. Dusk is approaching, and I'll lead you to infiltrate the 'Train.'"