Chapter 563: The Monster

Qi Xia pulled his hand back and covered his ears, feeling like he had completely lost his mind.

"An... The one outside the door isn't you... So where is the real you?"

But the voice in his ear didn't respond to Qi Xia, as if it couldn't hear him at all. It just kept repeating the same sentence over and over.

"The one outside the door isn't me... Xia, outside the door, it's not me..."

"I know, I know..." Qi Xia pressed his hands against his ears, desperately trying to grasp this ghostly voice. His hands were icy cold, and he couldn't stop trembling. "An... Where are you trapped? And where is this 'door'?"

"Dong dong dong..."

The voice in his ear grew clearer, and Qi Xia could sense that Yu Nian'an was trying to convey some information to him, but she couldn't hear him.

"An, I'm here. Tell me where you are?"

"The one outside the door isn't me." Yu Nian'an's ethereal voice echoed, followed by a continuous series of "dong dong dong."

This situation would make anyone think they had gone mad, and Qi Xia felt his mind was on the verge of splitting apart.

Yet, he vaguely felt that he had grasped some elusive clue. In this world, there was a real "Yu Nian'an," somewhere out there—not a product of "hui xiang," not Xu Liunian in disguise, but a genuine person.

Qi Xia remembered the first time Yu Nian'an had said to him, "The one outside the door isn't me."

As Xu Liunian had described, she was playing the role of Yu Nian'an at that time, which must have been when he first got into her taxi.

Had he not actually died back then, but merely slipped into a state of near-death, dreaming the whole thing?

In the dream, he and Yu Nian'an returned to the real world and resumed their normal lives.

But because Xu Liunian was impersonating Yu Nian'an, the Yu Nian'an in his dream experienced a "rejection reaction," repeatedly warning him, "The one outside the door isn't me." She said it again and again, but he hadn't understood it at the time.

Yu Nian'an had been so anxious that tears streamed down her face under the midnight moonlight.

"You're trapped... aren't you?" Qi Xia lowered his hands from his ears and looked up. "You need me to save you, right?"

"Xia, as long as you think of me, you'll want to see me."

Hearing those words, Qi Xia slowly narrowed his eyes. It felt like his mind was a tunnel filled with debris, and now a faint light was filtering through the cracks.

The air seemed to freeze in that moment.

Xu Liunian sensed something was wrong. After the air solidified, it began to ripple, and she quickly reached out to close the car window.

"Clang!"!!!!!

The moment the windows on both sides shut, a terrifying explosion of sound erupted.

Xu Liunian had never heard such a deafening noise; it felt like her soul had been shaken loose. Even the car was trembling along with the ground.

The many "participants" running on the street were knocked down by the massive sound. Having exhausted themselves with nonstop running, once they fell, hardly anyone could get back up. They were instantly caught by the black lines and neatly split in two.

"Sheng Sheng Bu Xi" descended with the aura of the participants' deaths.

Qi Xia glanced down at his own body; it looked unchanged on the outside, but he felt his thoughts were different now.

Xu Liunian knew her first lie had succeeded, and it was time for the second one to come into play.

Every step now was a high-stakes gamble. If she chose to stop while ahead, she wouldn't lose much, but if she doubled down, the potential rewards came with enormous risks.

Yet, Xu Liunian was all in, with no way out.

"I'm sorry, Qi Xia, I lied to you." She said.

"You lied to me...?" Qi Xia's gaze had returned to its calm state. He sat quietly in the passenger seat, exuding an icy aura like a god who had just descended to earth.

"Yu Nian'an does exist." Xu Liunian said with a bitter smile. "I lied precisely to trigger your 'hui xiang.' Every time I mentioned anything about Yu Nian'an, it was when your emotions were at their peak."

"Oh?" Qi Xia nodded, his eyes gleaming sharply as he looked at Xu Liunian. If his eyes were usually profound, now they were like the vast universe, impossible to fathom.

"So... where is the real Yu Nian'an?"

"In 'Yu Cheng.'" Xu Liunian suppressed her fear and said decisively. "Yu Nian'an isn't from this city at all, which is why you've never been able to see her."

"'Yu Cheng'...?" Qi Xia slowly furrowed his brow.

"That's right. Everyone in that city has to collect 'jade' to escape this place." Xu Liunian blinked, dropping her Yu Nian'an disguise and reverting to her true form. "If you manage to come back alive next time, make sure to go to 'Yu Cheng' and take a look. The real Yu Nian'an is there."

"Is that so..." Qi Xia nodded ambiguously. "A city where you have to collect 'jade'...?"

"So, Qi Xia, I'm really glad." Xu Liunian continued. "Getting someone as powerful as you to gain 'hui xiang' brings us one step closer to everyone escaping. Whether it's you or 'Yu Cheng's Wen Qiaoyun..."

Qi Xia felt something was off, so he asked, "Where exactly is 'Yu Cheng'?"

"It's where we first met. Just follow the road straight ahead, about ten or so kilometers, and you'll reach another city." Xu Liunian tried to control her emotions as she explained to Qi Xia. "Everyone there is a powerhouse not inferior to you. They're on the verge of breaking all the rules of this place."

"Everyone is a powerhouse...?" Qi Xia looked at Xu Liunian with eyes full of pity. "Is that really how it is?"

"Yes." Xu Liunian nodded. "And 'Wen Qiaoyun' is the greatest leader in all of 'Yu Cheng.' Her power is beyond anyone's imagination."

Qi Xia stroked his chin and then curved his lips into a smile.

"'Information gap' tactic, right?" He asked softly.

"What...?"

"Xu Liunian, the only weapon you have to maneuver between me and Chu Tianqiu is the 'information gap.'" Qi Xia said. "But unfortunately, the 'information gap' is a double-edged sword. You thought you had enough information to control everything here, but you didn't realize that everyone has their own information. I've already learned about the 'Yu Cheng' you mentioned—it's completely gone mad."

"You..."

"And in this cycle, just over two days, I've suddenly heard many people mention the name 'Wen Qiaoyun.' Now, I have a bold hypothesis..." Qi Xia reached out and opened the car window, letting the foul wind rush in.

"You're not trying to use me in some planned, organized way to create a woman named 'Wen Qiaoyun,' are you?"

Qi Xia's words pierced through all of Xu Liunian's disguises, both visible and invisible.

"What kind of monster are you?" Xu Liunian said, somewhat dazed. "You said you figured this out by 'guessing'? Just by pure 'guessing,' you got this far?!"