TDU Chapter 471
Chapter 471 Our Leader
As the game came to its conclusion, Terrestrial Horse’s expression gradually grew more complicated.
Of the seven participants, she had only managed to kill one—a defeat she had never experienced in decades.
“If even this game can be cleared…what further need is there for {End Point}?” Terrestrial Horse lowered her gaze to the ground. Her bamboo tube fell limply from her hand.
“Eh?” Qiao Jiajin slowly rose to his feet, sweat beading on his brow. “Isn’t it normal for us {participants} to clear through your game?”
“It is… extremely abnormal,” Terrestrial Horse replied, frowning. “But at this point, I have nothing more to say. Here are your {Dào}, you may now leave.”
Like the other {Earthly Branches}, she approached a nearby ruin, took out a grimy cloth bundle, removed the quantity corresponding to the deceased, and handed the remainder to Qiao Jiajin.
Qiao Jiajin reached out to take it, only to find his hands refusing to obey. Though he lifted them, his fingers would not respond. Before he could speak, the world spun around him, and the floor seemed to fly up to meet his eyes.
Fortunately, Qi Xia was close by and caught him just as he was about to fall.
Qiao Jiajin’s body was rapidly cooling. His hands were completely broken, and he was clearly losing blood at an alarming rate.
“Hey!” Qi Xia felt a sudden pain in his head and quickly pressed his palm to his forehead as he called back, “Qian Five has the means to save others, right?! We must find him at once!”
“All right!”
The remaining people dared not slacken their pace. Luo Eleven and Wang Eight moved to Qiao Jiajin’s side, lifting his arms and supporting him as they quickly carried him out the door. The others, after picking up the {Dào} that had scattered on the ground, followed behind.
Only Zhou Six and Bai Nine remained beside Qi Xia. Zhou Six, seeing no immediate danger around them, lowered her head and whispered a few words, seemingly to confirm Qian Five’s location.
“Tsk. Qi Xia, we should head out too,” Zhou Six said. “Good news, Five ge isn’t far. He’s by Four ge, and only about ten minutes’ distance from us.”
“You go on ahead,” Qi Xia replied. “I still have a few questions for Terrestrial Horse.”
“Will you be alright?” Bai Nine asked, rubbing the small portion of her exposed abdomen. “This woman is a ruthless one.”
“I’ll be fine. You two wait outside for me,” Qi Xia said.
The two exchanged a glance, nodded, and turned to leave.
“Want to talk to me?” Terrestrial Horse asked without looking at Qi Xia, her head lowered as she tidied the debris on the ground. “What is there for us to talk about?”
Qi Xia dropped all pretense and asked directly, “Terrestrial Horse, is there any contingency left to you?”
“Contingency…” Terrestrial Horse’s hands paused. “It has not existed since the first time I donned this horse-head mask. This special identity forces me to move forward, with no path to retreat.”
“But this time…” Qi Xia stepped forward, helping Terrestrial Horse lift a shard of the iron ball from the ice. “If you keep going down this path, it will only lead to death.”
The words seemed to completely shatter Terrestrial Horse’s mental defenses, forcing all the evasions and unanswered questions she had buried to the surface.
“Your game arena has been destroyed,” Qi Xia said. “The {participants} did not touch any of the props, yet they are no more. Doesn’t that count as your responsibility?”
The hands Terrestrial Horse had been using to gather fragments began to tremble. Even she could not comprehend what had truly happened.
All that man said was, {stop cheating}, and the props around her were wiped away. Would her superiors really find this explanation reasonable?
In her memory, no {Reverberation} could reach such an extent.
“What exactly do you intend to do?” Terrestrial Horse lifted her head to look at Qi Xia. This time, her gaze was different from before, containing a trace of sincerity almost imperceptible.
“Escape has always been our intention,” Qi Xia responded. “That’s why I’m pursuing another {path}.”
“We all want to escape,” Terrestrial Horse remarked. “You should know whether {participants} or {Earthly Branches}, all of our efforts are aimed at escaping from here.”
“But no one has ever succeeded,” Qi Xia replied. “Your memory stretches farther back than mine, so you must have witnessed more tragedies than I have. Who, in all your memories, has ever escaped from here?”
Terrestrial Horse’s eyes fell into profound despair.
Indeed… who had ever truly escaped?
“Even Wen Qiaoyun couldn’t get out…how could anyone else fare better?” Terrestrial Horse’s voice was faint, yet each word reached Qi Xia’s ears with crystal clarity.
“Wen… Qiaoyun?” Qi Xia frowned, studying the sorrow in Terrestrial Horse’s eyes as he cautiously asked, “Who is that?”
Terrestrial Horse sighed. “She was our—no, your… former leader.”
“Our… former leader?” Qi Xia felt the weight of those words exceed anything he could have imagined.
Though just a few words, the information carried enough to hint at some startling clues. In Terrestrial Horse’s memories spanning over twenty years, or perhaps even earlier, someone named Wen Qiaoyun had actually been his leader?
What an inconceivable revelation!
Though Chu Tianqiu was a brilliant figure who ruled over his own faction, Chu Tianqiu had never once been acknowledged by Qi Xia as his leader.
Then this Wen Qiaoyun… had her capabilities truly earned his full recognition?
Could there exist a person in {End Point} who could command his complete respect in every regard?
“So you mean even someone as formidable as Wen Qiaoyun failed?” Qi Xia shifted his tone, posing yet another critical question.
But even Terrestrial Horse had no answer to this.
“I don’t know,” She replied. “Qiaoyun has failed many times. Even I don’t know where she is now or whether she is still failing.”
Qi Xia slowly began to piece things together after hearing her words.
If what Terrestrial Horse said was true, even someone he himself would acknowledge as a leader had repeatedly failed. Then where lay his own hope of escape?
“So aside from Wen Qiaoyun, you don’t plan to trust anyone else in this world?” Qi Xia continued to inquire.
“What a preposterous question,” Terrestrial Horse shook her head. “If I still believed that the {participants} could get out, why would I have bothered to change fractions?”
“But you should be aware of your current situation,” Qi Xia said, pointing toward the wrecked game arena. “Sooner or later, your superiors will learn of this. What explanation will you offer them?”
“Explanation?” Terrestrial Horse looked into Qi Xia’s eyes and gave a wry smile. “You speak as though it were out of concern, but I know you’re the one who most desires my death.”
“Indeed,” Qi Xia nodded, lifting the corner of his mouth. “I wish for your death, you for mine, but our common goal is escape. Why not make the attempt? We can hinder each other while hunting for a path out. Just imagine, what an extraordinary endeavor that would be!”
“Wh—” Terrestrial Horse’s brow instantly furrowed. “Have you lost your mind? Who would knowingly join forces with their would-be killer?”
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
