Chapter 990: The Train is Ready

As Tian Niu was about to step out, the sudden red light before him was so intense that he couldn't open his eyes.

Even though the door was closed, he had a strong feeling that something had forced its way in.

Qing Long's face darkened, and he quickly turned to look behind him, noticing that red light was also seeping from the door of Tian Long's room. It seemed as if everyone was surrounded at the center of these glowing red waves.

"How could this be..."

"Who's playing tricks here...?" Tian Niu snapped coldly, stepping forward to open the door.

Qing Long, his face filled with terror, leaped forward with immense strength and grabbed hold of Tian Niu.

Tian Niu wanted to ask something, but it was the first time she had seen Qing Long with such an expression, so she swallowed her words.

All the Tian Ji in the room seemed to sense that something was seriously wrong. They had been on the Lie Che for so long and had never encountered a scene like this.

The red light kept seeping into the room, as if a massive fire was blazing outside the door.

They all stood up, clearly feeling that there were living things behind the front and back doors, something like noisy chaos or anguished wails.

Even though everyone present was Tian Ji, they still felt afraid of certain unknown things.

A few seconds later, Tian Niu rolled up her sleeves, revealing her sturdy forearms.

In the worst-case scenario... could the Lie Che have been invaded?

It would make sense if the door leading to the Di Ji area had been breached, but why were there strange noises coming from Tian Long's room as well?

No one could open the door to Tian Long's room except through Qing Long's Yue Qian. So how could it have been invaded?

"Why not open the door...?" Tian Niu couldn't help but whisper. "What's out there?"

Qing Long didn't answer; he just stared at the red light with wide eyes. It wasn't until a minute later, when all the red light had vanished, that he let out a slight sigh of relief.

"How could this happen..." Qing Long's earlier madness faded, replaced by a hint of panic in his eyes.

He slowly extended his hand and placed it on the door handle, waiting for a long time before cautiously opening the door just a crack.

After confirming there was nothing outside, he fully opened the door, revealing the familiar hallway.

The hallway was completely empty.

"Dammit..." Qing Long's expression shifted from panic to fury, as if he had been betrayed. "Tian Long... you bastard..."

The other Tian Ji had no idea what was going on and exchanged confused glances.

Just a moment ago, the doors seemed to lead to other places, but what had caused it?

"The Lie Che actually moved a bit..." Qing Long gritted his teeth and said, "Tian Long... you've been scheming behind my back all along... treating me like a fool..."

The other Tian Ji still didn't understand what had happened, but Qing Long vanished on the spot.

Tian Niu frowned at the sight and decided to ignore the madman, hurrying toward the Huo Cang.

In the next second, Qing Long appeared in Tian Long's room.

He flashed over to the sleeping Tian Long in an instant, his face contorted with rage.

"The Lie Che can actually be activated...?" Qing Long shouted angrily. "You've had this planned all along? You're trying to leave on your own...?!"

Tian Long gently rested his cheek on his hand, breathing steadily.

"Dammit..."

Qing Long reached out and grabbed Tian Long's neck, only for five finger marks to suddenly appear on his own neck.

"I've been too merciful..." Qing Long struggled to breathe as he said, "I thought I had plenty of time to figure out how to kill you... but you pretended to want me dead while actually planning to cui tao..."

The tighter he gripped Tian Long's neck, the harder it became for him to breathe.

Tian Long furrowed his brow at that moment.

"Aren't you Tian Long part of the Sheng Xiao? How can you cui tao? You're not even following your own rules..." Qing Long gritted his teeth and said, "You hid from me that the Lie Che was ready... you deserve to die..."

A few seconds later, Qing Long released his grip, and Tian Long's furrowed brow relaxed.

Qing Long bent over, gasping for breath, then bitterly laughed. "You still won't tell me how to control the Lie Che... So this is your trump card... You don't want to kill me or retake control; you just want to escape... Ha... Haha..."

Tian Long remained quietly asleep, but the more Qing Long looked at him, the more it seemed like he was mocking him.

"Yeah... escaping from here... and not having to worry about the Shuang Sheng Hua anymore..." Qing Long shook his head. "Luckily... if all the doors hadn't shaken like that, I really would have been fooled by you."

After speaking, Qing Long glanced back at the large tree.

"It doesn't matter anymore... I really want to know which of us is right... You're heading to the Xin Shi Jie, while I'll build the Jiu Shi Jie. I still believe the root of everything lies with those beast-like people."

He calmed his emotions and walked back to the door.

"We'll see about that, Tian Long. When you die, make sure to tell me... I don't want to be dragged down with you... Let's end our entangled lives right here..."

...

After being stopped by Di Long, Qi Xia fell silent for a few seconds before writing a name on the display screen that was both logical and unexpectedly surprising.

"Han Yi Mo."

"Qi Xia..." Chu Tian Qiu chuckled lightly upon seeing it. "What do you mean by this...?"

"What about it?"

"Wen Qiao Yun is still out there," Chu Tian Qiu reminded him. "Isn't she part of your choices?"

"Wen Qiao Yun?" Qi Xia shrugged. "Do you want me to bring her into the team?"

"It's not what I want; it's what you should do," Chu Tian Qiu said. "If I want to know the gap between us, you need to hold my weakness. Now that I have Yan Zhi Chun, taking Wen Qiao Yun would make things fairer."

"I think you're misunderstanding something," Qi Xia said. "Yan Zhi Chun isn't my weakness; it doesn't matter which team she's on. As for Wen Qiao Yun..."

Qi Xia let out a light laugh and said gravely, "You want me to use Wen Qiao Yun as a shield, forcing you to kill someone you care about... How could something so ideal happen in this world?"

"What..."

"Being forced versus choosing willingly—the motivations are completely different," Qi Xia said. "Chu Tian Qiu, now that we're at this point, you're still hoping I'll help you... That's just disappointing. Think carefully... how should Wen Qiao Yun die?"

Chu Tian Qiu closed his eyes slightly and took a deep breath, as if he both understood Qi Xia's meaning and had made some resolve.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and asked, "Qi Xia, Li Xi is already with me. Even if you take Han Yi Mo, what can you do?"

"That's more like it..." Qi Xia smiled at the question. "But... you have Li Xi, so why can't I take Han Yi Mo?"

"I see..." Chu Tian Qiu seemed to realize something. "You're not planning to use Han Yi Mo's Qi Hei Jian, but Zhao Zai... What a bold idea."

Qi Xia gave an ambiguous shrug and signaled to Di Long to open the door.