TDU Chapter 231
Chapter 231 A New Member
Turn to dust...
Yu Nian'An had witnessed the day of the End.
It wasn’t surprising. Not just this time, but Yu Nian'An would remain here forever, endlessly bearing witness to every {End}. Unless someone were to kill her, she would never fade away.
But who could kill her? Despite being nothing more than a replica, she embodied everything that Yu Nian'An was. Qi Xia, naturally, couldn’t bring himself to do it, nor would he allow anyone else to.
No one in this place would be permitted to kill any version of Yu Nian'An. It was better for a hundred guilty persons to escape than one Yu Nian’An to suffer.
But could this path actually lead to a future?
Or as Qi Xia feared, one day, would this place be {filled with Yu Nian'An}.
At that moment, a faint knock echoed at the door. Kim Wonhun stood on the other side.
Lin Qin opened the door and inquired, "What's the matter?"
"May I ask which ge is Qi Xia here?" Kim Wonhun asked.
"I am," Qi Xia replied.
"Ge, there's someone looking for you nayang," Kim Wonhun hesitated, carefully choosing his words. "Specifically requesting to see you."
"Looking for me...?" Qi Xia furrowed his brows, his mind in disarray, utterly without a clue.
"A jie," Kim Wonhun gestured, "Short, neat hair, and eyes that sparkle."
At the mention of those details, Qi Xia slowly rose, the memory resurfacing with a quiet certainty.
Su Shan.
"Alright, I'll go meet her."
Following Kim Wonhun out the door, Qi Xia soon spotted the young woman with gleaming eyes. She stood motionless, her gaze distant, as she stared at the towering mound of corpses in the center of {Passage to Heaven}'s sports field.
"Su Shan, you’ve arrived," Qi Xia called as he approached.
"West of the city, school, Passage to Heaven, Qi Xia," Su Shan furrowed her brows and pointed at the massive mountain of corpses before them. "Did you lead me here just to slaughter me?"
"My name isn't that long," Qi Xia shook his head. "You should know what kind of person I am. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t go through the trouble of luring you here."
"I suppose you’re right," Su Shan nodded, accepting his words. "So what exactly is happening here? Collecting corpses?"
"Not exactly," Qi Xia glanced around the area, then asked, "Where’s your teammate—the one who’s about 1.9 meters tall? Why didn’t you bring him along?"
Su Shan fell silent for a moment before responding, "I thought over your words and realized you were right—If I want to survive here, I can’t afford to keep caring for the weak."
"You're lying again," Qi Xia’s gaze locked onto Su Shan’s eyes. "Su Shan, you’re afraid that the path I’ve shown you leads straight to hell, so you deliberately left your teammate behind, didn’t you?"
A bitter smile tugged at the corners of Su Shan’s lips as she heard his words. "Qi Xia, you’re truly terrifying," she shook her head, a hint of admiration in her voice. "How do you always manage to see right through me?"
"Because you’re not as cold-hearted as you want to appear," Qi Xia replied, his voice steady. "You fought tooth and nail to protect your teammate in the {Arsenal Cards} game. To you, that was an event that had just transpired the day before. How could your feelings change so drastically in just one day?"
"True," Su Shan nodded, her expression softening just slightly. "Qi Xia, after all, you did kill me with your own hands. I can’t fully trust you, but something deep within me compelled me to see this place for myself."
"Your instinct was not wrong," Qi Xia replied, his voice steady and composed. "Aligning yourself with me increases your chances of escape."
"So..." Su Shan hesitated, her gaze sweeping over the surrounding chaos, a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. "What exactly is this place? Will we continue to return to life, again and again?"
Qi Xia looked over at the towering mountain of corpses before quietly answering, "Come inside. I’ll explain everything in detail."
Su Shan followed him into their designated classroom, her presence causing Doctor Zhao to startle in surprise. He knew well that this woman was no ordinary individual. Few could match Qi Xia in a battle of wits for several rounds within {End Point}.
"Let me introduce everyone," Qi Xia announced. "This is Su Shan, a woman of exceptional intellect. From this moment forward, she will be joining our ranks."
Qiao Jiajin eyed Su Shan with curiosity. "If someone like Swindler Lad calls you an {intellect}, you must be quite sharp."
Su Shan blushed slightly, offering a polite nod as she greeted everyone.
In truth, Qi Xia’s teammates were far more approachable than Qi Xia himself, which offered Su Shan some comfort. Except for the heavily tattooed man beside her—who gave off a decidedly unsavory vibe—the others appeared quite easygoing and welcoming.
"Qi Xia, so you’re the leader of {Passage to Heaven}?" Su Shan inquired, her tone laced with curiosity. "How many members are there in total?"
"I am not the leader," Qi Xia said. "I am merely an extremely dangerous individual in {Passage to Heaven}. There are nearly thirty members here in total."
Qi Xia proceeded to explain the objectives of {Passage to Heaven} to Su Shan—namely, the pursuit of eliminating every Earthly Branch through life-staking gambles—before delving into the fundamental aspects of {End Point}.
Yet, what no one anticipated was that Qi Xia went further, unveiling the entire history of his interactions with Chu Tianqiu. He recounted every detail, from their initial encounter to the ambush during the previous cycle. This revelation wasn’t meant solely for Su Shan; it was a disclosure intended for all the teammates present.
Qiao Jiajin couldn’t restrain himself any longer. "Swindler lad… are you saying that Tianqiu lad is responsible for all of this? He was killing his own teammates?"
Qi Xia nodded in response. "Yes."
"Then why are we still sticking with him?" Qiao Jiajin’s anger flared, his voice rising with each passing thought. "What kind of seoi zai (bastard) does that? I have to go kick his ass myself."
"There’s no need for that," Qi Xia countered, his tone steady as he shook his head. "Fists, the reason I’m still here is because Chu Tianqiu still holds some value for me. He promised me two thousand nine hundred {Dào}, and he hasn’t delivered on it yet. Once we have that much {Dào}, we’ll be one step closer to escaping this place."
At these words, the mood in the room darkened, and the weight of the situation settled on everyone.
Could someone like Chu Tianqiu truly be trusted to deliver all that {Dào}?
What if he snapped again, losing control and decided to slaughter them all once more?
Lin Qin’s expression grew equally somber. Due to her extensive experience navigating {End Point}, even the {Cats} showed her a degree of respect. Yet Chu Tianqiu seemed completely indifferent—had he truly lost his mind?
"So, what’s our next move?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"{Su Shan} will act as the new brain of the team," Qi Xia said. "She will be responsible for assigning tasks and organizing our moves. This time, no one will follow Chu Tianqiu's lead."
A strange tension filled the room as everyone processed this, a sense of unease settling in. Something wasn’t quite right.
"Su Shan as the new brain..." Qiao Jiajin blinked, clearly taken aback. "Then what about you?"
"This time, I have a special mission," Qi Xia replied. "I’ll be tackling various {Terrestrial-grade} games on my own. If you want to stay alive, you’d better avoid these games. Your opponent might just be me."
"On your own...?"
After a long silence, Han Yimo finally spoke up. "Qi Xia... hold on, this doesn’t seem right."
"What’s wrong?" Qi Xia turned to him. "What doesn’t seem right."
"As my {Savior}... why would you go alone to participate in the games? Shouldn’t you be taking me along with you?"
Qi Xia couldn’t help but find the question somewhat laughable. To be candid, even if he were to take someone along, Han Yimo wouldn’t even be his last choice.
"You don’t need to risk your lives," Qi Xia shook his head. "I’ll handle it on my own. But heed my warning—keep your distance from the {Terrestrial-grade} games as much as you can."
At that moment, the pale young man sitting in the corner of the room suddenly spoke up. "Uh, bro... could I speak with you for a moment? Alone?"
"Alone?" Qi Xia blinked, momentarily caught off guard, before nodding. "Alright. Let’s step outside."
Together, they made their way out into the open expanse of the campus.
The young man studied Qi Xia intently for a moment before his lips curled into a slow, almost amused smile. "You’re pretty funny, aren’t you? Telling us to stay away from the {Terrestrial-grade} games..."
"What are you getting at?"
"Why should we avoid {Terrestrial-grade} games... when we could join them and kill you in the process?"
