Chapter 158: Senior

Qi Xia listened silently for a moment before saying, "I'll summarize your meaning: you're saying all the Jí Dào Zhě want to protect this place, but you don't."

"Yes."

"You plan to take a completely different path from them and destroy this place."

"Yes."

"In that case… why do you still call yourself a Jí Dào Zhě?" Qi Xia cast a doubtful glance at Lin Geng. "Your current goal aligns with Tiān Táng Kǒu or all the Cán Yú Zhě; wouldn't it be better to just hide it and become a full-fledged Cán Yú Zhě?"

"In front of you, I can't hide it," Lin Geng said. "When I was explaining the Fēng Zi Lǐ Lùn to you, I felt like you saw right through me. Rather than having you expose me harshly someday, it's better to tell you the truth directly."

"Is that so…" Qi Xia nodded. "I originally thought you weren't a madman, but you're even more extreme than the Jí Dào Zhě."

"I'm clear-headed," Lin Geng continued drinking, her cheeks starting to flush. "I majored in psychology in the real world, so how could I become a madman…"

"But why haven't you Jī Fā'd me?" Qi Xia asked expressionlessly. "If you haven't shown your sincerity, how can I cooperate with you?"

"Who says I haven't tried?" Lin Geng sighed. "Every time I touched you, I asked, 'What are you thinking?' but your thoughts were locked away. You were always missing your wife and couldn't feel my Jī Fā at all."

Seeing that Qi Xia didn't respond, Lin Geng added, "I want to join forces with you, Qi Xia. I have no other way out."

Hearing this, Qi Xia fell silent again.

At that moment, one of them was eating peanuts while the other drank beer, chatting as casually as friends.

"What was that thing you mentioned last time about going back to the real world to confirm something?"

"I forgot to tell you, that matter changed me," Lin Geng smiled happily. "Qi Xia, you eventually got out of here, even if you lived like a walking corpse in utter misery, you did make it out."

Qi Xia paused and asked slowly, "Have you seen me in the real world?"

"Not exactly," Lin Geng laughed. "I just heard about you. In my time, you were living in a hospital where my friend works, a complete madman. You kept preaching bizarre theories like Zhōng Yán Jiàng Zhì, Wú Rén Shēng Huán, and Shén Zhī Qī Piàn, which gave everyone in the hospital a headache."

Qi Xia's face darkened. "So what did you want to confirm…?"

"I wanted to confirm if that person was you," Lin Geng smiled even more cheerfully. "After all, when my friend described that old man, I always felt he was a lot like you. That old man had incredibly strong logical thinking, but unfortunately, he was insane."

"Is he me, then?"

"Most likely," Lin Geng nodded. "Though that old man had no name or surname, and calling him 'Qi Xia' got no reaction, as soon as anyone mentioned the three words 'Yú Niàn Ān' near his ear, he'd completely break down."

At that point, Lin Geng chuckled and turned to Qi Xia. "I had my friend try it many times, constantly calling 'Yú Niàn Ān' in his ear. It was quite entertaining."

There was a crunch.

Qi Xia crushed a peanut in his hand.

"So that's what you meant by… me living like a walking corpse in utter misery…" Qi Xia said with a look of despair. "You think that by following me, you can definitely find a way to escape…"

"Yes!" Lin Geng nodded happily. "You didn't die in 2022 and instead lived until 2068—that's the best evidence, isn't it? A seventy-two-year-old grandfather."

"You don't understand me," Qi Xia shook his head. "If I really returned to reality but lost Yú Niàn Ān, I couldn't possibly live until 2068."

"So you're saying… that old man isn't you?" Lin Geng laughed and raised her beer bottle, shaking it. "Maybe some twist in the future will make you lose Yú Niàn Ān and still have to survive?"

Qi Xia stared into Lin Geng's eyes, pondering for a long time before nodding slightly.

He gave a cold smile and said, "Fine, I agree to team up. Let me see what twists the future holds."

So, in this place, the key to survival is Shén Zhī Qī Piàn, isn't it?

Lin Geng also smiled at Qi Xia, and the two exchanged a glance, as if sealing their agreement.

After Yún Yáo finished singing a song, she started the recorder again in response to the crowd's encore calls and sang it once more.

It seemed she only had the tape for that one song.

"Lin Geng, how long have you been wandering here?" Qi Xia asked casually.

"Do you think my answer would be the truth?" Lin Geng asked.

"I can judge whether it's true or false from your answer."

"It's been a long time, longer than you imagine," Lin Geng said with a sly grin. "I'm a veteran Jí Dào Zhě."

"Have you ever seen me before?" Qi Xia asked again.

"No," Lin Geng shook her head. "I've been wandering in the Zhōng Yán Zhī Dì longer than Chǔ Tiān Qiū, but I've never encountered you."

Qi Xia frowned slightly, feeling that things were exceeding his expectations.

"This question is important to me; I hope you're telling the truth," Qi Xia stared into Lin Geng's eyes and asked.

"Really," Lin Geng nodded. "I know what you're thinking, so I won't lie about this, Qi Xia. For at least seven years, I haven't heard anything about you in the Zhōng Yán Zhī Dì. As for before those seven years… I didn't even know if the Zhōng Yán Zhī Dì existed."

"Seven years?!" Qi Xia was stunned.

Could his deduction be wrong?

He had thought, based on what Bái Hǔ said, that he should have been wandering in the Zhōng Yán Zhī Dì for a long time, but what about these seven years?

Qi Xia knew his mind wouldn't change with each cycle, meaning that as soon as he woke up in the Zhōng Yán Zhī Dì, he would definitely go through the Miàn Shì Fáng Jiān.

If he encountered the Shēng Xiào in the city, he would surely challenge them.

With a bit of luck to retain his memories, he knew he could turn the Zhōng Yán Zhī Dì upside down.

He would meet many people and kill many Shēng Xiào.

But why hadn't any of that happened over seven years?

"Does that mean I haven't passed the Miàn Shì even once in these seven years?"

Qi Xia's eyes turned cold, and he suddenly turned to Lin Geng.

"So, when did you start infiltrating our Miàn Shì Fáng Jiān?" Qi Xia said. "If you've never seen me, why would you infiltrate our room and choose to be my teammate?"

Lin Geng slowly extended her hand and counted on her fingers.

"Our meeting is the third time." She looked at Qi Xia. "The first time, I saw you in the game, but you died. The second time, I entered the Miàn Shì Fáng Jiān, and this is the third."

She smiled again. "I've never seen anyone fight Shēng Xiào desperately without any Huí Xiǎng, but you did it. Too bad you ended up dying in an ordinary Dì Jí game."

"In other words…" Qi Xia looked at Lin Geng with a heavy expression, "I've only been to the Zhōng Yán Zhī Dì for three cycles?"