Chapter 913: Survival

"Oh?"

I knew I had once again piqued Qing Long's interest.

Why hadn't Bai Yang been erased for saying so many treasonous things? Just as Qing Long had said... he liked clever ants.

As long as I could keep Qing Long interested in me, I might have a chance to survive.

If Qing Long really had some kind of collaboration with Bai Yang, then the "backing" that Sha Pi Gou and Mian Yang mentioned when Bai Yang first appeared must refer to Qing Long.

He always valued intelligent people.

"Qing Long, I'm stronger than most of the 'participants' here," I said. "Killing me wouldn't cost you anything, but keeping me around would benefit you. I'm smarter than you might think."

"Interesting..." Qing Long stepped forward. "What gives you the confidence to say that?"

"I..." I paused, then continued, "I've been insecure my whole life. It's about time I was confident for once."

"Yan Zhi Chun." Qing Long called out again, "How tragic. Your life has been manipulated, yet you treat it like a treasure. Insecurity is right for you—you should remain insecure for the rest of your days."

"What...?"

Qing Long slowly extended his hand, spreading his fingers and hovering them in front of my forehead.

I felt a strange force probing my brain.

"What a chaotic life," Qing Long said expressionlessly. "Memories are false, thoughts are disordered, and even your intelligence isn't your own. Your brain has activated a powerful self-repair mechanism, weaving those messy memories into a complete life story—but it's all a deception you've created for yourself."

"I..."

"You must have noticed something off about your life, right? 'Seeing is believing' means nothing here." Qing Long continued, "Everything you remember up until today is unreliable."

"I-I don't understand." I said, "I know what kind of life I'm living and how I got here. Bai Yang is my benefactor. Even if he's done something wrong, I'd never betray him."

"But he's been toying with you all along." Qing Long said, "He's manipulated many people here. That's why I've been 'monitoring' everything—to see every move Bai Yang makes. He's going to turn this place into complete chaos, and no one will escape... You felt that during the 'Jian Mo,' didn't you?"

"So what?"

"You've caught my interest." Qing Long said, "Why slave away for Bai Yang? Work for me instead. I can offer you better terms."

"It sounds tempting, but no." I said, "You and Bai Yang give off completely different first impressions. I couldn't work for you."

"What's the difference?" Qing Long said, "It's the same situation—a powerful figure approaching you for cooperation. And I lose out to Bai Yang?"

"On the surface, there doesn't seem to be any difference." I replied with a bitter smile, "But Bai Yang treated me as a person from the start, even though I saw myself as a dog. You, on the other hand, have treated me as a dog from the beginning. If I worked for you, I'd have to fight tooth and nail just to prove I'm a person."

"Hahahaha!" Qing Long laughed loudly, "Too bad you're not even a 'dog'—just an ant!"

"It's exactly that attitude of yours..." I said, "that makes no one want to work for you."

"Is that necessary...?" Qing Long said, "Yan Zhi Chun, do you even realize how dangerous your situation is right now?"

My face darkened, and I pulled a map from my pocket. "Qing Long, I won't work for you, but I'll use this to buy back my 'sanity.' If you look at it and still want to kill me, I won't complain."

I knew that if Qing Long found the map on my corpse, it would lose all its value.

Right now, offering it as a bargaining chip was my last chance.

Qing Long paused briefly, then waved his arm lightly. The map floated up from my hand, came to him, and unfolded on its own.

"A map...?" he murmured, "The one Bai Yang gave you?"

His eyes quickly scanned the eight locations on the map, and then he fell into thought.

"Don't you like clever people?" I asked, "I'll give you the map. You can try to crack the puzzle Bai Yang left behind. What do you say?"

"Interesting..." Qing Long slowly smiled, "He summoned the 'Jian Mo,' then gave you a map... And our whole conversation has been about this map, hasn't it?!"

"Yes." I nodded calmly, though my heart was racing.

Bai Yang, I've done all I can.

"Chou Niu, Mao Tu, Chen Long..." Qing Long suddenly frowned, "Chen Long...?!"

I watched Qing Long cautiously, wondering why he was reacting so strongly to "Chen Long."

"Good... you're quite the schemer..." Qing Long turned to me abruptly, "Little ant... you've really helped me out..."

"Is that so...?" I replied ambiguously.

"How entertaining, handing over such important information like this. I'd love to see how you explain it to Bai Yang." Qing Long laughed maniacally again, "Fascinating... watching insects tear each other apart is always a delight."

I knew he might be right. This secret, known only to me... this most important and secure mission, had been botched just minutes after I left Bai Yang's game area.

But the problem was, I had no way to resist Qing Long... Not even my "Hui Xiang" could affect him, since he himself was a "power stealer," and far stronger than me.

In this situation, all I could do was stay alive.

Qing Long tucked the map away, gave me a meaningful look, and vanished from sight in an instant.

Before disappearing, he was still muttering "Chen Long."

I remembered Bai Yang saying that among those eight people, there were his own allies... Now that Qing Long had the map, they were probably all done for.

I had to think of something fast...

With that thought, I hurried back to Bai Yang's game area, burst through the door, and entered the office.

Bai Yang sat expressionless in his chair, eyes slightly closed, as if deep in thought.

"Brother Yang... something's wrong..." I said, my voice trembling.

Bai Yang slowly opened his eyes and looked at me. "Take your time. What happened?"

"That map... Qing Long took it!" I said, "It's all my fault... but I had no choice. I only had two options: 'lose the map' or 'lose my sanity and the map'... I... I had no other choice..."

"What...?" Bai Yang furrowed his brow slightly, "Qing Long took the map?"

"Yes... I'm sorry."

"You can't even handle something this simple?" Bai Yang said sternly, "I trusted you so much... You've disappointed me greatly."