Chapter 555: Truth and Falsehood

I agreed to Qing Long's request.

It wasn't because I was particularly interested in the matter, but because our statuses were so disparate that I couldn't refuse.

In the days that followed, I kept thinking of a way to trigger Qi Xia's "resonance."

Every evening, Chu Tian Qiu would give me plans he had prepared in advance, to ensure that all members of Tian Tang Kou could activate their "resonance" according to the schedule the next day.

Since he understood the resonance triggers of everyone in Tian Tang Kou better than I did, I completely trusted his arrangements.

But he betrayed me.

On the first day, he provided the game map for Ren Long, directly leading to the deaths of Qi Xia's teammate, as well as Tian Tang Kou's veteran Jin Yuan Xun and Xiao Yan Jing.

Qi Xia unleashed all his anger on me.

Fortunately, I truly knew nothing about it, and no matter what, I wasn't lying. Even if Qi Xia was incredibly sharp, he couldn't detect any flaws in my tone or demeanor.

From that day on, I stopped following Chu Tian Qiu's arrangements and decided to handle everything myself.

However, when I personally selected Zhang Shan, Qiao Jia Jing, and Li Xiang Ling for the Di Hu game, I was suspected by Yun Yao.

I'm not as clever as Chu Tian Qiu, so no matter what I did, I would eventually show my weaknesses.

That was inevitable, and I could foresee it.

But do you all even realize how dire the situation is right now?

Tian Long is on the verge of winning!

We have no time left. We're racing against the "gods," and every step we take is extremely dangerous. Even if I'm a fake, we can't afford to dwell on that issue anymore.

That day, after Qi Xia resolved the incident where Xiao Ran turned into a human-rabbit, he returned to Tian Tang Kou and confidently said to me:

"Xu Liu Nian, the person I'm cooperating with is Chu Tian Qiu, and you're you—we're three independent individuals. I can work with Chu Tian Qiu, so naturally, I can also work with Xu Liu Nian."

Only then did I vaguely realize that Qi Xia had opened a "door" to me.

But what he extended to me wasn't an olive branch—it was a bloodstained thorn.

I could no longer keep up with everyone's pace. No matter how many wounds this thorn might leave on my arms, I had to grab it and climb up.

Yet I couldn't agree directly, after all, the other party was Qi Xia.

"Qi Xia, you're a very hard person to trust. I'm not as smart as you, so I'm even more afraid to believe you. I'm scared you'll drag me into hell."

"You're right not to believe me. I'm a liar—my words are only half true."

"In that case, how can I cooperate with you?"

Qi Xia explained his purpose to me. He wanted to Ji Dao, and I could help him protect his teammates. In his view, our goals aligned.

But Qi Xia, you don't really understand me. Our goals have never aligned.

Even Chu Tian Qiu doesn't know that my ultimate goal is to destroy this place, not to escape from it.

Qi Xia had exposed a weakness, and that weakness was enough for me to achieve my goal.

"So, Xu Liu Nian, let me see what you're capable of."

I was thinking the same thing. I'll definitely show you my capabilities.

After all, I have a trump card that's fatal to you—Yu Nian An.

But there's still one pressing issue to resolve: Qi Xia's specific "resonance trigger."

Based on the previous incident, the most straightforward triggers are two: he was in a "near-death" state and saw "Yu Nian An."

Since Qi Xia has died many times before, "near-death" probably isn't a necessary condition—it's "Yu Nian An" that matters.

But could such a powerful "resonance" be triggered just by seeing Yu Nian An?

To be safe, I'll wait for an opportunity.

That is, to fully replicate the previous situation: make Qi Xia see "Yu Nian An" while in a "near-death" state. That way, he'll have a high probability of gaining "resonance."

Although Qi Xia would die immediately, our deal with Qing Long didn't require him to stay alive anyway.

My task would be complete.

Now, I need to wait for an opportunity—that is, for Chu Tian Qiu to extend a "thorn" to me as well.

As long as both of them open a door for me, I can tiptoe my way through.

That evening, I went to the basement to see Chu Tian Qiu, but what intrigued me was the cellar door wasn't locked.

For a moment, I was confused. Was it because I forgot to lock it, or did Chu Tian Qiu open it himself?

"Xiao Nian, you're here." Chu Tian Qiu laughed from inside the door.

He was sitting at his dining table as always, as if he had never left.

"You seem really happy today," I said.

"Yes." Chu Tian Qiu nodded. "What about you? Did anything happen today?"

"Today..." I thought for a moment, omitting the conversation with Qi Xia, and gave a general account of what happened at Tian Tang Kou. "There are quite a few injured people. Li Xiang Ling is the most seriously hurt."

"Li Xiang Ling?" Chu Tian Qiu raised an eyebrow. "Can she still participate in the game going forward?"

"Probably not," I replied. "She needs to rest."

"Good..." Chu Tian Qiu nodded, then stood up and walked to the wall, pulling open a drawer in the cabinet. He took out a syringe from inside.

"What are you going to do...?" I asked softly.

"Tian Tang Kou has been operating for so many years, and our medical supplies are running low." Chu Tian Qiu examined the syringe, then flicked the needle tip. "Sometimes we have to make some choices. You understand that, right?"

Seeing his stern expression, I realized something was off.

Had he already started killing people on his own initiative?

"You're going to kill Li Xiang Ling?"

"Me? Oh, no, of course not." Chu Tian Qiu shook his head, capped the needle, and tucked it into his pocket. "I just want to give Li Xiang Ling some antibiotics, so don't lock me up tonight. I need to go out for a bit."

But how could I believe what he said?

His first question was whether "Li Xiang Ling could still participate in the game." After getting the answer, he insisted on going out at night with the syringe, risking it all to inject her personally. How could that possibly not be for murder?

"Xiao Nian." Chu Tian Qiu called out to me as he passed by, speaking in a calm tone. "Tonight, I'm going to bloodbath Tian Tang Kou."

"Hmm?"

I felt like I'd misheard, as if some words that shouldn't come from Chu Tian Qiu's mouth had just poured into my ears.

"I've hired the 'Cats' to kill everyone in Tian Tang Kou." He smiled as he explained. "Once midnight hits, no one will escape. I suggest you get out while you can."

Looking into his sincere eyes, I knew he wasn't just making empty threats. It's possible he really intended to wipe out all of Tian Tang Kou's members, but what would be the point of that?

In just a few seconds, my thoughts suddenly cleared.

If what Chu Tian Qiu said was true, this wasn't a disaster—it was a "thorn" he was throwing to me.