Chapter 745: Spiked

Qi Xia narrowed his eyes after listening and pondered for a moment.

The harpoons flying everywhere, Zhao Zai, the injured Han Yimo, the doctor who needed medical equipment, and the one who had said that at the time...

“In that case, there really was someone who first suggested going to the nearby convenience store to find things that could save lives…” Qi Xia showed a strange smile. “Ha… interesting, so someone has been intervening since then. She… is actually from ‘Qinglong’?”

“Oh?” Chu Tianqiu turned his head. “Who? That extra ‘Ji Dao Zhe’ in your room?”

“Who else could it be…? This is really fascinating!” Qi Xia turned to Chu Tianqiu with a frenzied expression. “We might be standing on the brink of the greatest comeback in history. In my fragmented memories, I’ve never recalled ‘Qinglong’ getting involved before.”

“But is ‘Qinglong’ some kind of great benefactor?” Chu Tianqiu asked again. “Every time he’s intervened in the past, it’s led to our deaths. How do you know this isn’t the same?”

“Because he went to a lot of trouble. If he wanted us dead, he wouldn’t need all this effort.” Qi Xia changed the subject and continued, “But… Chu Tianqiu, when did you find out that Wen Qiaoyun was at the convenience store?”

“I…” Chu Tianqiu’s face gradually turned cold. “I’d rather not remember that person as Wen Qiaoyun. I’d rather she was just an ordinary native. After all, I conducted dirty experiments on her, and I can’t explain why I developed these feelings for a native. But when I realized she was Wen Qiaoyun… I nearly lost all reason.”

“So what happened to her?” Qi Xia pressed on. “Why haven’t my memories fully returned? Only a small part has come back?”

“Ha…” Chu Tianqiu’s cold expression vanished in an instant, replaced by a mad glint in his eyes. “What a shame, Qi Xia, you’re too late.”

“Oh?”

“I killed her.”

“Wen Qiaoyun… is dead?”

Chu Tianqiu looked down at his hands and said hoarsely, “Theoretically, I couldn’t strangle a ‘Di Ji’ level native… but you know what?”

He slowly brought his hands together, as if tying a knot in the air.

Then he pulled his hands apart slowly, his expression indifferent.

“When I strangled her like that, she didn’t resist at all.”

Chu Tianqiu tightened his hands in the air with force. “She just kept muttering ‘Don’t cry, don’t cry’, and her hands gently patted my arm. Right up until she died, she was comforting me, without any attempt to struggle. The tighter I squeezed, the softer her voice became… until she suffocated, still patting my arm… Qi Xia… I killed her with my own hands… I threw away the last shred of my humanity. Not only did I kill someone, I killed the person I loved most.”

Seeing Chu Tianqiu’s hands shaking with effort, Qi Xia said expressionlessly, “Killing a ‘Dian Ren’, you know what that means, right?”

“It means she can never appear again… I know.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “That’s exactly what I wanted.”

“So you’ve always been like this?” Qi Xia asked. “I’m sorry, I never really paid attention to you before.”

“It’s truly laughable.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “Back then, I compiled massive amounts of game guides to lead everyone out of here. To get food for my so-called ‘comrades’, I even made deals with the ‘Di Long’. I proposed trading with them, and in return, they asked for eyeballs from corpses. I roamed this land searching for the strong, unconditionally accepting the weak ‘Hui Xiang’ users, and wrote a notebook for escapees to give them hope. I did everything I could, risked my life countless times for others, only to end up with teammates dying and repeated memory loss. I was even suspected of lacking leadership skills. Why do you think that is?”

“That’s the path you chose.” Qi Xia said. “From the start, it was never smooth—full of invisible thorns.”

“The path I chose was the one left by the former Wen Qiaoyun.” Chu Tianqiu said. “I think I’ve truly gone mad. I not only destroyed the path but killed the guide.”

“But she’s been liberated, and we haven’t.”

Chu Tianqiu slowly smiled bitterly after hearing this.

“Yes, Qi Xia.” He gradually lowered his straining hands and said softly, “She’s liberated. She doesn’t have to muddle through life here or turn into a sky full of red dust; she’s just sleeping forever.”

“But this makes things a bit tricky for me.” Qi Xia said. “Without her as the key, how do I recover my memories?”

“Oh…? That’s strange.” Chu Tianqiu looked at Qi Xia. “You wanting to regain your memories… what does that have to do with Wen Qiaoyun? Our ways of losing memories are different, and you don’t need her as a ‘key’, right?”

“How… would you know how I regain my memories?” Qi Xia sneered. “Have we reached the point where we need to lay all our cards on the table?”

“Yes, over the past few decades, you’ve never taken me seriously.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “But I’ve always been observing you. You’re just too intriguing.”

“Is that so?” Qi Xia replied ambiguously.

Chu Tianqiu pulled two yellowed pieces of paper from his shirt pocket and slowly held them out to Qi Xia. “Want to take a look?”

Qi Xia took them without a care and unfolded them.

One read, “I must make Qi Xia gain Hui Xiang,” and the other, “I absolutely cannot let Qi Xia gain Hui Xiang.”

The handwriting on both notes was clearly from the same person—undoubtedly Chu Tianqiu himself.

“So why do you think that is?” Chu Tianqiu asked. “I only write notes for important reminders. But what happened back then… that made me write two completely contradictory ones?”

“What’s wrong?” Qi Xia handed the notes back to Chu Tianqiu. “Your memories haven’t fully returned either?”

Chu Tianqiu put the notes back in his shirt pocket and looked up at the sky. “My memories are floating up there, searching for their owner. I’ll remember eventually.”

“That’s not surprising.” Qi Xia shook his head. “Because my ‘Hui Xiang’ changed, your attitude changed along with it. That’s all.”

“Nonsense.” Chu Tianqiu interrupted Qi Xia. “Are you saying your ‘Hui Xiang’ went from ‘Ling Wen’ to ‘Sheng Sheng Bu Xi’? Would I need to write a note to remind myself of that?”

“Isn’t that right?” Qi Xia asked.

“No matter which ‘Hui Xiang’ you had, I wouldn’t write ‘I absolutely cannot let Qi Xia gain Hui Xiang’.” Chu Tianqiu looked at Qi Xia with cold, frenzied eyes. “What exactly have you been hiding… that would make me write that?”

(Tomorrow will bring the final cycle of the year—stay tuned:

[ Bilibili ] The theme song with the same name, "Shi Ri Zhong Yan", is now online—welcome to listen and hunt for MV easter eggs.

[ Douyin ] Popular COSERs are launching a zodiac costume challenge—come join in!

[ Weibo ] Multiple renowned artists are interpreting the zodiac game, with super topics full of activities (Complete tasks to unlock Qi Xia, Qiao Jia Jin, Chen Jun Nan side story surprise voice easter eggs, customized Weibo ID badges and titles, exclusive easter egg effects).

[ Ban Tang ] The third phase of the anniversary celebration is starting—leave comments to share in 1 billion gold coins + signed books/signed cards drops.)