Chapter 796: Aftermath of Knowledge

At this moment, Yan Zhichun's face darkened. Although the process had been full of twists and turns, they had finally found an answer.

"Although the 'Jí Dào' here each has a different way of operating..." she said to Lin Qian, "the core principles of 'Jí Dào' never change. Since you have no intention of protecting this place, there's no need for you to call yourself a 'Jí Dào' member anymore."

"Say whatever you want." Lin Qian shrugged indifferently. "I don't need your validation to be a 'Jí Dào' or not."

"Enough, stop arguing." Jiang Ruoxue interjected from the side. "You don't even know the 'cause,' so you can't argue about the 'effect.' The crisis is over now—let's get moving."

Wen Qiaoyun carefully scanned the three girls in front of her, already piecing together the events from start to finish in her mind.

In her memory, she had been walking down a long corridor, and at the end, she encountered a woman who called herself 'Rén Lóng.' Then, she stepped out of the door into a square, but in a daze, she found herself standing on a busy street. This strange place was hard to comprehend, so Wen Qiaoyun quickly calmed herself.

She noticed that evening was approaching, so she turned and entered the nearby building, where she saw two people already inside: Yan Zhichun and Lin Qian.

"So, has this city been around for a long time?" Wen Qiaoyun asked. "Have you two been here for a while?"

Lin Qian turned to Wen Qiaoyun and said,

"The place I'm taking you to can answer all your questions. Even the ones you never expected...

Someone will answer them for you."

"The ones I never expected...?"

Lin Qian nodded and said,

"Yes. If I'm not mistaken, before we get back, we'll run into someone who's come out to welcome you."

After hearing this, Wen Qiaoyun grew even more curious about the "organization" Lin Qian mentioned. This place seemed shrouded in a massive secret about herself.

"How intriguing." Wen Qiaoyun smiled, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she walked alongside Lin Qian. "What have I done to deserve this? Is everything you're doing for my sake?"

Lin Qian frowned slightly at Wen Qiaoyun, sensing something off.

"But from what I've observed, none of you have ever met me—you've only heard the name 'Wen Qiaoyun.'" Wen Qiaoyun continued, smiling as she looked ahead. "You don't dare kill me, and you don't dare let me go, so even if I reach your organization, it'll be the same."

"So...?" Lin Qian asked.

"So, I didn't just arrive here... Have I lost my memories?" Wen Qiaoyun asked.

Yan Zhichun and Jiang Ruoxue, trailing behind, felt the situation growing even more confusing upon hearing Wen Qiaoyun's question.

They had only asked two questions earlier and hadn't revealed much information to her, yet she seemed on the verge of figuring out the whole truth.

Lin Qian responded calmly,

"If 'losing memories' is the most outlandish scenario you can imagine... then the strangeness of this place far exceeds your wildest thoughts."

Wen Qiaoyun fell silent after that, following Lin Qian more cautiously.

Yan Zhichun and Jiang Ruoxue slowed their pace, gradually increasing the distance between them and the other two.

"Ruoxue, have you noticed the issue?" Yan Zhichun said. "It seems a bit forced to use that theorem to verify Wen Qiaoyun's abilities. There are people in this world who lack formal knowledge but have incredibly sharp minds."

"Then she's completely different from the 'leader' I imagined," Jiang Ruoxue said. "She navigates the world with 'intuition,' not 'knowledge.' That kind of 'intuition' can make her clever, but it doesn't guarantee success."

"Yes." Yan Zhichun nodded. "I'm getting more and more curious about her. As for Lin Qian..."

Jiang Ruoxue glanced at Lin Qian's distant figure, knowing exactly what Yan Zhichun was implying.

"What do you make of an answer that even 'Tiān Shè Shī Kè' couldn't verify as true or false?" Yan Zhichun asked.

"I..." Jiang Ruoxue thought carefully for a moment. "I think... there might be a paradox at play that even 'Tiān Shè Shī Kè' can't resolve."

"A paradox?"

"I suspect there could be a possibility..." Jiang Ruoxue said. "In reality, that person called Lin Qian isn't a 'Jí Dào,' but she firmly believes in her heart that she is. So, on the surface, she's not lying, but what she's saying isn't the truth. This paradox leaves that black little ball swaying, unsure how to decide."

"Is that even possible?" Yan Zhichun slowly furrowed her brow. "'Tiān Shè' is already at a high level. Does that mean the one creating this paradox is even higher?"

"I'm not sure," Jiang Ruoxue said. "After all, this is just my hypothesis. If someone's level is higher than 'Tiān Shè,' then in this place, only two people would fit that description. This answer sounds incredibly dangerous—do we need to keep investigating?"

"Of course." Yan Zhichun chuckled lightly. "It's like the 'Zhōng Wén Fáng Jiān'—we're all outside the room, assuming the person inside is speaking Chinese, but we're all being deceived. Even Lin Qian herself doesn't know the truth. It's quite fascinating to think about."

"'Zhōng Wén Fáng Jiān'? You're starting to sound more and more like that white sheep." Jiang Ruoxue laughed. "Is the aftereffect of seven years together something you can't shake off?"

"Aren't you the same?" Yan Zhichun looked at her. "You're starting to sound more like me now, even asking about 'trauma theory.' As you said, every 'cause' bears its own 'effect'—we can't interfere with what's already happened, and we can't control what's to come."

"That's true." Jiang Ruoxue nodded. "The first time I encountered that person named Qi Xia in the 'Dì Gōu Yóu Xì' game 'Sòng Xīn Rén,' and heard him mumbling about the 'Mǐ Gē-25 Xiǎo Yǐng,' I blurted it out just like you would."

"Oh...?" Yan Zhichun's eyes widened slowly. "That person named Qi Xia mentioned the 'Mǐ Gē-25 Xiǎo Yǐng' too?"

"Yeah, why? Have you met him as well?" Jiang Ruoxue asked.

"I had the fortune to see him once in 'Tiān Mǎ Shī Kè.'" Yan Zhichun raised her hand, gazing wistfully at the tattoo on her fingers: "YNA." "That Qi Xia might have gone mad, but his eyes always feel familiar to me. Now, I have a bad premonition... I just hope what's coming doesn't turn out as I fear."

"What do you mean?" Jiang Ruoxue asked.

"I mean... Qi Xia... could he be..." Yan Zhichun trailed off, her words catching in her throat.

She remembered Qi Xia's icy eyes, so similar to the white sheep's from back then. Could they be the same person?