Chapter 988: Conservatism

"Qi Xia, you and Yan Zhichun have a deep connection, right?" Chu Tianqiu asked.

Upon hearing this, Qi Xia shook his head. "To be precise, the one with a deep connection with her isn't me, but another arrogant and conceited individual."

"Regardless of whether that person is you or not, Yan Zhichun is a powerful ally for you," Chu Tianqiu said. "If she joins my side, what would your countermeasure be?"

"It would be a bit difficult," Qi Xia said. "My original intention was to get Yan Zhichun to join my team and become my true 'teammate,' but right now, she doesn't fully trust me—instead, she trusts that other person."

"So your plan failed?" Chu Tianqiu asked.

"No." Qi Xia shook his head. "I realized it when I learned about the 'Dian Jiang' rule. Time is extremely limited, and there's no way to build something as vague as 'trust' between us in just one morning."

"Oh...?"

"I think 'fear' and 'defeat' are more direct," Qi Xia said. "So it's not a problem if she joins your team. What I need now is someone I can completely control, not a long-term partner who trusts me."

"Based on just that..." Chu Tianqiu said, "You were just calling someone else arrogant and conceited—what's the difference between you and him?"

"Ha..." Qi Xia laughed, "So in your eyes... I'm that kind of person too?"

Chu Tianqiu didn't answer; he just shook his head and asked, "Did you know from the start that I would choose Yan Zhichun?"

"Yes." Qi Xia nodded. "Yan Zhichun has been to 'Tian Tang Kou,' so you should know her capabilities. Considering her relationship with me, I prepared for both possibilities from the beginning—you had a high chance of choosing her."

Chu Tianqiu narrowed his eyes, starting to calculate Qi Xia's next choice. If he had chosen "Yan Zhichun," then wouldn't Qi Xia take "Wen Qiaoyun"?

These two pieces were now both in the opponent's hands, but "Yan Zhichun" meant something completely different to Qi Xia than "Wen Qiaoyun" did to him.

At that moment, Di Long turned around and opened the wooden door, revealing Yan Zhichun on the other side.

After explaining the situation, Yan Zhichun clearly hesitated.

Her purpose in coming here was to fight alongside Qi Xia and see his abilities for herself. Who could have expected that she would now have to join Chu Tianqiu's team?

"Didn't you try to win me over...?" Yan Zhichun murmured to herself. "Once 'Duo Xin Po' joins the other side, how will you win?"

Only Di Long's voice could carry outside the door, so she couldn't give Yan Zhichun any answer.

Yan Zhichun stood there thinking for a long time before finally stepping through the door.

Qi Xia knew that Yan Zhichun would only make this "acceptance" choice when she didn't fully trust him. From her perspective, she also realized that choosing to oppose him would give her a more direct sense of the power gap.

Next, Chu Tianqiu watched Qi Xia's actions intently—it was now Qi Xia's turn for "Dian Jiang," and that person was almost certainly "Wen Qiaoyun."

The two sides were essentially "exchanging hostages." For Qi Xia, "Wen Qiaoyun" was the optimal choice right now, and Chu Tianqiu could only quickly think of countermeasures.

Qi Xia raised his hand, his fingers hovering in the air for a long time without writing a single character.

"By the way..." Qi Xia looked at Di Long and asked softly, "Can this door lead to anywhere at all?"

"Yes." Di Long nodded. "Theoretically, yes."

Qi Xia fell silent for a moment, then a smile slowly spread across his face, growing increasingly strange as his voice gradually grew louder.

Although Di Long's game space appeared vast in the darkness, Qi Xia's laughter echoed.

This laughter left Di Long and Chu Tianqiu feeling puzzled.

"What are you laughing about?" Di Long asked expressionlessly.

"There's an 'echo' here— that's really interesting..." Qi Xia replied. "I've suddenly thought of a new way to play."

"What...?"

Chu Tianqiu frowned at Qi Xia. He had guessed that Qi Xia would write "Wen Qiaoyun," but he felt that just one "Wen Qiaoyun" wouldn't make him this excited.

Qi Xia looked up at Di Long, his face full of excitement: "How could I be so conservative...?"

Di Long was slightly startled and quickly stepped forward, coldly demanding, "What are you planning to do?!"

"If I just honestly do 'Dian Jiang' here... how will 'Qing Long' show up?" Qi Xia said. "Isn't there enough fun yet?"

A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in Di Long's mind, and her back felt icy for a moment—Qi Xia's state made her feel extremely dangerous.

"Don't do anything reckless!" Di Long said. "You should know about this game..."

Before she could finish, Qi Xia had already extended his hand and quickly wrote a character on the screen—

"Yu"!

As soon as the character appeared, a blood-red glow burst from the seams of the wooden door behind Di Long, as if the other side led straight to hell.

Countless wails and screams faintly emerged from beyond the door, as if evil spirits were about to appear.

"Ha ha ha ha!" Qi Xia laughed wildly. "'Qing Long' isn't here for the fun? I've thought of the most entertaining fun!! A door that can lead to 'any location'! What a bold move! Putting something like this in front of me... it seems 'Qing Long' really knows nothing... such an insignificant 'dragon'..."

Chu Tianqiu also widened his eyes at this point—he realized he could no longer keep up with Qi Xia's thoughts.

Qi Xia was breaking away from the realm of "humans," heading toward a higher level.

What was he trying to summon?

Without hesitation, Qi Xia reached out again to write the next character, but Di Long leaped forward and grabbed his wrist.

"Stop!" she shouted coldly. "Don't do anything dangerous! Where are you trying to make this door lead?"

Qi Xia, who didn't have any special abilities, couldn't move with his wrist held, but he turned his head and stared at Di Long with an utterly mad look in his eyes, then answered word by word:

"To... 'Xin Shi Jie'!"

"'Xin Shi Jie'... You're insane..." Di Long said. "Calm down, don't do anything unnecessary—'Qing Long' will be here soon!"

"Three seconds enough?" Qi Xia asked.

"What...?"

"Five seconds?" Qi Xia asked again.

"Don't push it!" Di Long said. "'Qing Long' designed this game personally—how could he not show up at all?"

Di Long held Qi Xia's wrist until the red characters on the electronic screen faded and the bloody glow behind the wooden door vanished completely. Only then did she let out a slight breath of relief.

Qi Xia gradually stopped his mad laughter and said with a cold expression, "It turns out the ones being conservative are you all."

"You two... I'll reiterate the rules," Di Long said, still a bit shaken. "The target for this 'Dian Jiang' can only be a 'participant.' If anyone makes a dangerous move again, I will personally 'sanction' them."