Chapter 231: New Member

Turned to powder...

Yu Nian'an witnessed the end of the world.

This wasn't surprising. Not just this time, but Yu Nian'an would live forever in this place, witnessing every "end," unless someone could kill her. Otherwise, she would never disappear.

But who could kill her?

Though she was a substitute, she possessed everything that belonged to Yu Nian'an.

Qi Xia naturally couldn't bring himself to do it and absolutely wouldn't allow anyone else to.

In this place, no one was allowed to kill any version of Yu Nian'an. It was better to let a thousand go than to mistakenly kill one.

But if things continued like this... could it really work?

Just as Qi Xia thought, eventually, this place would be "full of Yu Nian'ans."

At that moment, a faint knock came from the door. Jin Yuanxun was standing outside.

Lin Geng opened the door and asked, "What is it?"

"May I ask which brother is Qi Xia?" Jin Yuanxun asked.

"I am," Qi Xia replied.

"Brother, there's someone here looking for you," Jin Yuanxun organized his words a bit. "Someone came specifically to find you."

"Looking for me...?" Qi Xia furrowed his brow, his mind a mess, with no clue.

"It's a sister," Jin Yuanxun gestured. "Short hair, neat and tidy, with bright eyes."

After hearing this, Qi Xia slowly stood up. He remembered who it was.

Su Shan.

"Alright, I'll go see her," he said.

Qi Xia followed Jin Yuanxun out the door and indeed saw that girl with the glowing eyes.

She was staring blankly at the massive pile of corpses in the center of the Tian Tang Kou playground.

"Su Shan, you've come," Qi Xia said as he walked over.

"West side, school, Tian Tang Kou, Qi Xia," Su Shan frowned and pointed at the huge mound of bodies in front of her. "Did you lure me here to slaughter me?"

"My name isn't that long," Qi Xia shook his head and said. "You should know what kind of person I am. If I wanted to slaughter you, I wouldn't go to such lengths to trick you into coming."

"I think you're right," Su Shan nodded. "So, what are you all doing here? Collecting bodies?"

"Not exactly," Qi Xia glanced around and asked, "Where's your one-meter-ninety teammate? Why didn't you bring him?"

Su Shan was silent for a moment before answering, "I think you were right. If you want to survive here, there's no need to keep taking care of the weak."

"You're lying again," Qi Xia stared into Su Shan's eyes and said. "Su Shan, you're afraid that the path I pointed out leads to hell, so you deliberately didn't bring your teammate, right?"

Su Shan gave a bitter smile after hearing this.

"Qi Xia, you're really terrifying," she shook her head and said. "Why can you always see right through me?"

"Because you're not that cold-blooded," Qi Xia replied. "You once fought hard to protect your teammate in the 'Bing Qi Pai' game. For you, that was just yesterday—how could your nature change so quickly after one day?"

"True," Su Shan said. "Qi Xia, you killed me with your own hands, so I can't fully trust you, but my subconscious tells me I have to come here and see for myself no matter what."

"Your decision was correct," Qi Xia replied. "Join me, and it will increase your chances of getting out."

"So... what's really going on in this place?" Su Shan asked. "Will we keep reviving?"

Qi Xia glanced at the massive pile of bodies nearby and said quietly, "Come inside first, and I'll tell you everything."

Su Shan followed Qi Xia back into the classroom, startling Zhao Yisheng.

He knew this girl was no ordinary person. In the Zhong Yan Zhi Di, few could go toe-to-toe with Qi Xia for several rounds.

"Let me introduce everyone," Qi Xia said. "This is Su Shan, a very smart person. Starting today, she's joining us."

Qiao Jiajin curiously sized up Su Shan. "If the trickster calls you 'smart,' you must be pretty sharp."

Su Shan greeted everyone a bit awkwardly.

Honestly, Qi Xia's teammates seemed much kinder than Qi Xia himself, which made Su Shan feel a little more at ease.

Except for that tattooed guy nearby, who didn't look like a good person—the rest seemed fairly friendly.

"Qi Xia, so are you the leader of Tian Tang Kou?" Su Shan asked. "How many people are here?"

"I'm not the leader," Qi Xia said. "I'm just an extremely dangerous figure in Tian Tang Kou. There are about thirty people here."

Qi Xia briefly explained Tian Tang Kou's main goal to Su Shan—betting on the death of all zodiac signs—and then shared some basic knowledge about the Zhong Yan Zhi Di.

But what surprised everyone was that Qi Xia also casually revealed all the grudges between himself and Chu Tianqiu.

He was saying this not just for Su Shan, but for all his teammates present.

From his first meeting with Chu Tianqiu right up to their last fierce battle.

This made Qiao Jiajin unable to hold back.

"Trickster... you're saying Tianqiu did all that? He's killing his own teammates?"

Qi Xia nodded after hearing this. "Yes."

"In that case, why are we joining him?" Qiao Jiajin grew more agitated as he thought about it. "What the hell is that guy thinking? No, I need to go kick his ass."

"No need," Qi Xia shook his head. "First, the reason I'm staying here is that Chu Tianqiu still has some value. He promised me 2,900 'Dao' and hasn't delivered yet. If I can get that many 'Dao,' we're not far from getting out."

Everyone's faces grew heavy after hearing this.

Someone like Chu Tianqiu—would he really hand over all his 'Dao'?

What if he suddenly lost it and killed them all again?

Lin Geng's expression was also grim. She had roamed the Zhong Yan Zhi Di for years, and even the "Cat" gave her some respect, but Chu Tianqiu didn't care at all. Was he really insane?

"So, what's our next move?" Qiao Jiajin asked again.

"Next, Su Shan will act as the new brain for the team, handling game arrangements for all of you," Qi Xia said. "This time, no one has to follow Chu Tianqiu's orders."

Everyone felt something was off after hearing this.

"Su Shan as the new brain..." Qiao Jiajin blinked. "What about you?"

"This time, I have a special action," Qi Xia said. "I'll go alone to various 'Di Ji' games. If you want to stay alive, avoid those games as much as possible—so you don't end up facing me as your opponent."

"Going alone to 'Di Ji'...?"

Han Yimo, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke up: "Qi Xia... that doesn't seem right?"

"What?" Qi Xia turned his head. "What's not right?"

"As the 'Jiu Shi Zhu'... why are you participating in games by yourself? Shouldn't you take me with you?"

Qi Xia found the question a bit ridiculous.

To put it bluntly, even if he took anyone, it wouldn't be Han Yimo.

"There's no need for you to go and die," Qi Xia shook his head. "I'll handle it myself. Remember my advice: stay away from 'Di Ji' as much as possible."

At that moment, the pale-faced young man sitting in the corner of the room suddenly spoke up: "Hey, buddy... can I have a word with you alone?"

"Alone?" Qi Xia was slightly taken aback. "Alright, let's go outside."

The two of them went out to the schoolyard.

The young man stared at Qi Xia for a long time before slowly smiling: "You're quite the joker, not letting us join 'Di Ji'..."

"What did you say?"

"Why can't we join 'Di Ji' games... and then kill you in them?"