TDU Chapter 520
Chapter 520 Foolproof Evidence?
“I…” Qi Xia paused, his mind feeling strangely swollen. “I–I relied on experience, on what I learned from scraping by in society…”
“Does that include that Lei-something-something effect too?” Qiao Jiajin asked from the side. “Swindler lad, your society teaches that kind of stuff?”
“The Leidenfrost effect…” Qi Xia blurted out, then immediately found it odd himself.
Where had all this knowledge come from…?
Whenever he needed it, the information surfaced effortlessly, slipping from his lips as naturally as moving his right hand.
“I… I’m just well-read,” Qi Xia said hesitantly. “I just happened to read more than most…”
The instant the words left him, he realized how hollow they sounded. His home had been entirely bare; forget books, there hadn’t even been a single sheet of paper.
Why had he never questioned this before?
Where had he read those books?
What books had he read?
Qi Xia could vaguely recall himself turning pages in the corner of a dim, shadowed room: {Game Theory}, {Murphy’s Law}, {Art of War}, {Thirty-Six Stratagems}…
Every word of the book was painstakingly noted down, page by page, though he could not remember where he had ever laid eyes on them.
But that knowledge had indeed become part of him, fused into his very flesh and blood.
“Ole Qi… if it were you,” Chen Junnan began with furrowed brows, “what sounds more likely…that you’re a swindler, or that you’ve got a master’s degree in psychology?”
A master’s degree in psychology… how perfectly suited to the art of manipulating minds.
Qi Xia’s expression darkened slowly. After a long silence, he finally muttered a heavy word, "Neither."
“You—” Chen Junnan could never quite fathom Qi Xia’s thoughts. And now, of all times, he refused to believe anyone—not even himself?
How could seven years spent as an {Earthly Branch} make him forget even the course of his own life?
Was this the cost of becoming an {Earthly Branch}?
“So Swindler lad is actually a very cultured person?” Qiao Jiajin whispered to Chen Junnan.
“Is he not, Ole Qiao?” Chen Junnan replied, a bit bewildered. “Do you really believe his words? That he’s a swindler, a man who navigates the dark underbelly of the city? Someone who would risk everything for two million… even becoming a criminal? Do you really think someone with his mind would end up so destitute?”
Qi Xia overheard their murmured conversation, and his gaze grew complicated at that moment.
Indeed… the truth was actually quite straightforward.
If he could just admit that Yu Nian’An truly did not exist, everything would fall into place.
At twenty-six, he would be the age of a freshly graduated master’s student, just stepping into the wider world.
Why did everything seem to align so perfectly?
Had he met Yu Nian’An the year he finished high school, setting off a bleak and absurd life… or, as Chen Junnan suggested, had he continued his studies and only just graduated before arriving here?
Qi Xia furrowed his brow, suddenly feeling as though a realization had struck him.
“Yu Nian’An cannot not exist…” he muttered under his breath.
“What…?” Chen Junnan saw that Qi Xia still refused to believe, and a troubled expression appeared on his face. “Ole Qi, this young master don’t mean to discourage you, but you’ve never mentioned Yu—”
“YU NIAN’AN CANNOT NOT EXIST!” Qi Xia shouted, his voice rising with obsession, cutting Chen Junnan off.
“You—”
“Hadn’t everyone claimed,” Qi Xia seized Chen Junnan’s forearm before he could speak. Chen Junnan immediately felt the coldness of his grip.
“Chen Junnan, is it not a known fact that those who arrive at {End Point} are sinners?!” Qi Xia’s eyes bulged, his face blank with intensity. “I’ve finally found foolproof evidence that Yu Nian’An exists!”
“What do you mean?”
“Only if Yu Nian’An exists would I commit a crime!” Qi Xia’s smile twisted into something strange. “If Yu Nian’An didn’t exist, I would have no reason to swindle that two million… I’d be {innocent}! I’d have no reason to be here… Wonderful… I’ve finally found a logical loophole… No one can deceive me, not even {Celestial Dragon}!”
Qi Xia’s unstable emotions made the usually playful Chen Junnan immediately frown.
He felt as though Qi Xia was ill, seriously so.
“Ole Qi…” Chen Junnan placed both hands on Qi Xia’s shoulders, his expression full of concern. “Sorry to rain on your parade, but we’ve discussed this topic a long time ago. Back then, we discovered a small number of {innocents} in {End Point}. From what I know, you and Chu Tianqiu both count among them. Prior to coming to {End Point}, you had done nothing criminal, not even anything seriously wrong.”
“What…?” Qi Xia’s recently forged conviction nearly collapsed once more. “Both of us are {innocent}...?”
“Yeah…” Chen Junnan nodded. “It may be a surprise to you, but for us… this has long ceased to be news.”
Qi Xia recalled Song Seven’s words: this place was not merely inhabited by those who had sinned, but some among them could no longer recollect ever having transgressed.
If that was the case… then wouldn’t it mean this damned place was never constructed for the purpose of {atonement} at all?!
What, then, is the true meaning of its existence?!
And why was he brought to this hellhole in the first place?!
Qi Xia’s mind raced, spinning at a dizzying speed, until everything felt strange, distorted.
“You mean that deranged Chu Tianqiu… never committed a single wrongdoing…?” Qi Xia remarked, disbelief lacing his voice. “What a joke…”
It was as if Chen Junnan had told him a tale from a fantastical realm. How could Chu Tianqiu possibly be {innocent}?!
“This was never a matter of {Yu Nian’An’s absence} making sense…” Qi Xia’s teeth sank into his lip as his body shook. “It’s her existence that completes the logic. Only with her here… am I truly a sinner… only then should I have been dragged here… only then would I have the drive to escape… only then would I have all the motivation… Yes, that’s perfectly reasonable… Yu Nian’An must exist…”
It was as if Qi Xia were ensnaring himself in a spell, repeating his words over and over, causing the two men near him to shift uncomfortably.
Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin exchanged a glance, neither of them knowing how to respond.
Qiao Jiajin shook his head with a resigned expression. He was used to Qi Xia’s emotional volatility, especially whenever the name {Yu Nian’An} was mentioned; this was a reaction that had surfaced countless times before.
Chen Junnan, on the other hand, felt a genuine chill. In all the seven years prior, Qi Xia had never approached this level of near-collapse. If even Qi Xia could be driven to the brink in this cursed place, whose psychological resilience could possibly withstand it?
“Wonderful…” Qi Xia’s eyes remained vacant, his voice distant. “Yu Nian’An exists… Let’s set off immediately… I have to find her as soon as possible…”
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
