TDU Chapter 473
Chapter 473 Madness
“I…” Zhang Chenze was startled by Chu Tianqiu’s expression, but she maintained her composure. “I will do my utmost.”
Chu Tianqiu stepped away from the window, seemingly lowering the guard in his heart. He sat once more across from Zhang Chenze and spoke softly, “Lawyer Zhang, do you know… how we are supposed to survive here without losing our minds?”
“Losing our minds…?”
“Correct,” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “We are reborn cycle after cycle in this cursed place… day after day, year after year. How can we avoid delusions of the {Seven Evil Sword}? How strong must we be to rid ourselves of {Yu Nian'An}? How are we to refrain from cannibalism, and how can we even be certain that we are still human?”
Zhang Chenze realized that treating this merely as a {lawsuit} had been far too naïve. Chu Tianqiu’s words carried a philosophical weight, yet were steeped in madness. The torrent of questions left her completely without a foothold for answers.
All she could do was return a question, “Then what do you think should be done?”
“The answer is a {Lock}.” Chu Tianqiu extended a finger to the spot at his brow’s center. “This cursed place places a {Lock} on each of us, erasing the most painful memories and forcing us to start anew, expecting us to begin from zero.”
“That makes sense,” Zhang Chenze nodded. “Forgetting memories of previous cycles… it could be considered a kind of defense mechanism.”
“{Defense mechanism}…?” Chu Tianqiu’s grin twisted strangely. “What a laughable {defense mechanism}. It shelters only the weak, while pushing the strong to the brink of insanity… Among those in {End Place} who have any renown, how many are truly sane?”
“You make a valid point,” Zhang Chenze nodded. “The more often a person obtains their {Reverberation}, the longer their memories are preserved, and the greater the torment.”
“So I voluntarily placed a {Lock} on myself,” Chu Tianqiu remarked with a smile. “There is someone on this land whose {Reverberation} can lock memories… forcing me to start from zero.”
Zhang Chenze was momentarily taken aback. “Is that person…Qiaoyun?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Chu Tianqiu shook his head. “Qiaoyun is not the {Lock}. She is, in fact, a {Key}.”
“{Key}…?” Zhang Chenze felt she was struggling to keep up with Chu Tianqiu’s train of thought. This man was not only brilliant but clearly edged with madness, making normal conversation exceedingly difficult.
“I voluntarily placed countless {Locks} in my mind, and only Qiaoyun can undo them. Does that make sense?” Chu Tianqiu explained.
Now Zhang Chenze began to grasp the idea. “You mean… Qiaoyun’s {Reverberation} can restore someone’s memories?”
“That’s one way to understand it,” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “But her ability has limits. Not everyone can regain their memories… only those she has touched.”
Zhang Chenze frowned slowly, still struggling to fully comprehend his point.
“I thought Qiaoyun had lost this ability…” Chu Tianqiu slowly let a bitter smile form. “But just before encountering Qi Xia… I was suddenly struck by an unforeseen {Reverberation}, which restored a significant portion of my memory…and that {Reverberation} came from Qiaoyun.”
His short statement left Zhang Chenze’s thoughts stalling more than once; she truly knew far too little about this place.
“It was on that very day that I finally remembered who Qiaoyun was…” Chu Tianqiu’s smile twisted as tears silently slid down. “Countless fragments of memory drifted into my mind. The first thing I did was write every fragment onto my blackboard… and that was also when I remembered Qi Xia.”
Zhang Chenze swallowed lightly, then ventured, “Restoring your memory… is that not a good thing?”
“A good thing…?” Chu Tianqiu’s smile gradually turned cold. He bent down, leaning close to Zhang Chenze. “If it were a {good thing}… why would I willingly put {Locks} on myself? Do you have any idea how much despair my memories contain?”
“I—”
“Every single day…” Chu Tianqiu’s body began to tremble, as though recalling something unspeakably terrifying. “Every day, memories drift toward me from all directions… with each day I recall more despair than the day before… and you tell me this is a {good thing}? Each time I remember what happened in one cycle, I become all the more certain that {we cannot escape}… and you call that a good thing?”
“But… our only weapon against them is memory…” Zhang Chenze’s expression gradually grew sorrowful. “Only by knowing enough and remembering enough… can we hope to one day escape this cursed place…”
“No.” Chu Tianqiu shook his head. “That may be true {for you all}. But not for me. For me, the more I remember… the more certain I am that we will never be able to escape.”
Chu Tianqiu’s words plunged Zhang Chenze into silence once more.
After a moment, he spoke again, his tone calm, “As for escaping this place… I have found a better method.”
“Wh–What method?” Zhang Chenze questioned.
“I will become a god,” Chu Tianqiu said. “I will become the true ruler of this place. The moment that happens, everyone can be freed.”
“Huh…?” Zhang Chenze was momentarily stunned. She could not tell whether Chu Tianqiu before her was truly deranged or had some other design.
An ordinary person… becoming a {God}?
“Why do you harbor such a notion…?” Zhang Chenze asked, puzzled. “With so much of your memories intact, you would undoubtedly be the greatest power among the {participants}…”
“Precisely because of all the memories I hold, I know that approach would never succeed.” Chu Tianqiu replied, brushing a few strands of hair from his forehead with a face full of melancholy. “Every formidable person in my memories failed… Qiaoyun is only one of them.”
“But now we have Qi—”
“Qi Xia has, too, failed,” Chu Tianqiu said matter-of-factly. “Qi Xia and Qiaoyun are remarkably similar, and the routes they followed were the same. It’s not necessarily a bad thing; they have simply tried the missteps for me. But now, I must walk a path that is truly my own.”
Zhang Chenze tried several times to speak, only to find herself unable to form the words. She had intended to ask about a way to awaken the indigenous inhabitants, but now it seemed almost impossible to voice.
“Then, please tell me,” Zhang Chenze finally returned to the topic, “what exactly is your relationship with Qiaoyun…? And that child—”
“Thirty years ago, Qiaoyun was my lover,” Chu Tianqiu answered with calm certainty. “And that child…was also mine.”
TL Note: Omaigod 😱
