TDU Chapter 338
Chapter 338 Path of Annihilation
{Conjoined Identity Bloom}...?
Qi Xia turned to look at Zheng Hero once more, sensing the boy’s remarkable ability. He was akin to a mobile {Display Screen}, capable of identifying others’ {Reverberation}.
Qiao Jiajin and Li Shangwu stared blankly at Qian Five, witnessing her transform from a female into a male, something rarely seen even in films.
“Y—You really are a pervert, huh...?” Qiao Jiajin muttered, feeling the sweetness of the liquor in his mouth turn bitter.
“No.” Qian Five shook his head. “I am {Conjoined Identity Bloom} Qian Five. One of my abilities is to alter my form.”
Qi Xia turned his gaze to Qian Five. Though his figure had changed in an instant, nothing in {End Point} was truly impossible to accept.
“Why can’t we gather three thousand six hundred {Dào}?”
Qian Five took a steady breath, released Qi Xia’s arm, leaned back, and sat upright. She answered with more questions of her own, “Qi Xia, don’t you find it strange? What exactly is {Dào}? Where does it come from, and what is its purpose? And what will happen once we collect all three thousand six hundred {Dào}?”
“I’m not sure, but since these are the established rules, we are obliged to follow them.”
“Wrong,” Qian Five shook his head. “I can only tell you this: {Dào} is the greatest deception in {End Point}. Once any {participant} collects three thousand six hundred {Dào}, Celestial Dragon and Azure Dragon will both appear. They will erase everyone’s memories, slaughter all visible beings, then reshuffle the entire {End Point}—making it seem as if everyone has just arrived. This is the so-called {salvation}.”
Qiao Jiajin and Li Shangwu raised their eyebrows, sensing the situation was far beyond expectation.
It all seemed unbelievable, yet inevitable.
Those three thousand six hundred {Dào} were never a way out, but a path to annihilation.
“Qi Xia, you should also know that {End Point} might have existed longer than our own ages. How could no one have collected all three thousand six hundred {Dào} by now?”
Qi Xia silently nodded. “It is as you say.”
He was certain that even his former self had once gathered the full count. With the rules clearly grasped, accomplishing it again shouldn’t pose much difficulty.
“As long as you linger in this place long enough, you’ll notice everyone’s memories have a consistent gap,” Qian Five slowly furrowed his brow as if recalling some painful truth. “Some have memories preserved for seven years, some for five, and others only for two.”
Li Shangwu was momentarily taken aback. “Are you saying… the reason everyone retains memories aligned to these specific time spans is because someone collected three thousand six hundred {Dào} at those points?”
“Exactly.” Qian Five nodded. “Among the {Cats}, some xiōngdì retain five years of memory, most only two years, and the only one preserving memories beyond seven years… is me.”
Just as Li Shangwu opened his mouth to ask further, Qi Xia silently laid a hand on his arm and stopped him.
“Qian Five, how have you managed to escape every {reshuffle}?” Qi Xia asked. “You made it through the {Reshuffles} of seven, five, and two years ago unscathed?”
Qian Five paused momentarily, then pulled a cigarette from the pack on the table and lit it. “My {Reverberation} has a unique effect, allowing me to avoid being caught in the {reshuffle}.”
“So your implication… is that your memories are essentially the entire recorded history of {End Point}?”
“No, as I said earlier, {End Point} should have existed longer than either of us have lived. I only discovered how to escape the {reshuffle} ten years ago. Memories from before that time I could not preserve. But this method is my means of survival—I cannot reveal it.”
Qi Xia narrowed his eyes, lost in thought.
“Qi Xia, I’ve laid everything I know on the table this time, hoping to hear your plan,” Qian Five sighed and continued. “If I find your plan viable, I will lead all {Cats} to risk their lives alongside you.”
“Oh?” Qi Xia stroked his chin, weighing each word carefully, then said, “I remember {Cats} are mercenaries, right? You stay here to collect money and handle business for others. Now you want to break out?”
Qian Five turned his head to look at Song Seven, Zhou Six, and Nineteen before responding, “I fear this matter is known only to the few of us…”
“What is it?”
“The number of participants in {End Point} is steadily declining. If we don’t find a way out soon, everyone will be trapped here forever. But recklessly fighting {Celestial Dragon} is definitely unwise; we can only wait for the right opportunity.”
“Is that so…?” Qi Xia raised his head slightly. “From {Five} to {Twenty-One}, your Cats only numbers seventeen members. You claim the once impossible feat of ten thousand is now possible for your seventeen?”
“At that time, I knew nothing, only that I followed behind you. But now it’s different.” Qian Five slowly drew on his cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke into the center of the room. “Qi Xia, {Cats} are a well-trained unit capable of accomplishing any mission.”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense to ask Chu Tianqiu for assistance rather than you?” Qi Xia asked. “His desire to kill {Celestial Dragon} surpasses yours, and {Passage to Heaven} outnumbers {Cats} by almost twofold.”
At these words, the {Cats} before him all showed disdain. Zhou Six spat a wad of chewed gum harshly onto the floor, then looked up viciously at Qi Xia. “Tsk! What a load of bull! No matter how many people {Passage to Heaven} has, they’re just cannon fodder. Can’t you see how disunited they are?”
Qian Five reached out and patted Zhou Six’s shoulder; his form instantly shifted back into that of a female. “Zhou Six, it’s not worth it.”
“Tsk, Five ge, just who does he think he is?” Zhou Six spat on the floor, still irritated. “I’ve kept quiet since we came in, but his attitude—does this look like someone trying to talk reasonably?”
Qian Five furrowed his brows slightly and said, “Zhou Six, pick up your gum. Spitting on the floor is unsanitary.”
Zhou Six drew a heavy breath, gritted her teeth, and bent down to pick up the gum.
Qian Five turned back to Qi Xia and said, “Qi Xia, I’ve always been curious, why did you join Chu Tianqiu’s faction? Do you really get along with him?”
Qi Xia understood there was more beneath Qian Five’s words and simply nodded. “Chu Tianqiu is an interesting man. He’s kept many things from me.”
“Indeed…” Qian Five laughed. “You ought to realize Chu Tianqiu doesn’t fall within the {two-year} bracket.”
“Certainly not,” Qi Xia also chuckled. “Though he’s been deceiving me all along, our ultimate goals don’t conflict, so we can, for now, stand on the same side.”
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
