"Yet, if only one individual is allowed to leave in the end, how can I be certain you won’t turn on me?" Qi Xia inquired.
"Excellent question," Chu Tianqiu replied, his smile slipping away as his expression grew grave. "Should that day ever come, I will spare no effort in ensuring your end. And likewise, you are free to do the same to me."
Qi Xia nodded. The words of Chu Tianqiu finally contained a bit of {genuine sincerity} behind them.
"Then it’s settled," Qi Xia said, slightly extending his hand. "You {become god}, I {gather Dào}. Our cooperation is now official."
Chu Tianqiu also extended his hand, shaking Qi Xia’s firmly.
The two exchanged a complex gaze, and the atmosphere grew unexpectedly quiet. Neither of them dared to fully trust the other’s words. In that moment, their handshake felt rather hollow.
Within a few seconds, hurried footsteps echoed from outside the door, and both men turned to look.
"Phew, you scared me to death...so you really were here," Chu Tianqiu’s voice came from the door.
"Rest assured, I know when to draw the line."
"Let’s go... there are quite a few {Judgment’s Domain} here, it’s too dangerous to linger any longer."
"Alright." The Chu Tianqiu inside nodded and turned to leave.
At the same time, the Chu Tianqiu outside transformed into Xu Liunian, anxiously glancing around.
After walking a few steps, Chu Tianqiu paused and turned back to Qi Xia. "Qi Xia, it should be {sadness}."
"The trigger for your {Reverberation} should be extreme {sadness}," Chu Tianqiu explained. "This is the answer I’ve uncovered, but the means to resolve it remain beyond my grasp."
Qi Xia paused for a moment before asking, "What you mean is... you cannot figure out how to make me experience {sorrow}?"
"Exactly." Chu Tianqiu nodded. "So I’m telling you this answer. This problem...will be left for you to solve."
Qi Xia remained silent, merely nodding in acknowledgment.
Chu Tianqiu sighed after observing him, then turned to ask Xiao Nian, "Zhang Shan is above, correct?"
"Yes, I arranged for him to be there."
Chu Tianqiu nodded slightly and said to Qi Xia, "Do not worry. With Zhang Shan present, this game is nearly impossible to lose."
"Nearly impossible to lose?" Qi Xia lifted his gaze to meet Chu Tianqiu's. "Why is that?"
"Because he is about to acquire his {Reverberation}."
Qi Xia fell into silence for a moment before asking, "What is the trigger for Zhang Shan's {Reverberation}?"
"It is {the desire to win}." Chu Tianqiu let out a hearty laugh, then waved his hand and left alongside Xu Liunian.
Qi Xia stood there, staring blankly at the floor, lost in thought.
If such an opportunity existed, how could he not attain {Reverberation}?
But what about himself?
"Sorrow..." He looked expressionlessly at the dark red sky outside the door. "My sorrow..."
Before he could fully process his thoughts, a soft rustling sound suddenly echoed from within the room. Qi Xia froze for a moment, then slowly rose to his feet.
The sound was very close, almost as if it was coming from the elevator. He approached the elevator, pressing the button to go up. The doors opened, revealing nothing inside.
Yet, the soft rustling sound persisted.
He turned his gaze toward the wooden door beside the elevator, feeling that the sound was emanating from within.
"Is anyone there...?"
Slowly, he reached for the doorknob, but before his fingers could touch it, the door suddenly creaked open on its own.
Xiao Xiao was standing inside.
She looked unwell, her body bearing several wounds.
"Qi Xia...?" She froze for a moment, as though uncertain of her surroundings.
"You..." Qi Xia furrowed his brows, staring at her for a long while, his mind filled with confusion. Xiao Xiao had been on the rooftop—how could she have come through this door?
Xiao Xiao snapped out of her daze, no longer acknowledging Qi Xia. Instead, she turned and stepped into the elevator, wordlessly pressing the button for the sixth floor.
Qi Xia’s eyes widened as realization dawned upon him. ‘So this is the hidden rule of the game…’
He watched as Xiao Xiao entered the elevator, then quickly turned to investigate what’s behind the wooden door. But to his surprise, the door closed on its own before he could reach it.
Qiao Jiajin stood silently on the bridge, his body covered in blood.
It was unclear what technique Ole Sun had used, but now Qiao Jiajin's limbs were embedded in four large stones.
He clumsily attempted to move his limbs, yet not a single step could he take.
Behind him, Li Xiangling and Zhang Shan appeared to be in an even more dire situation.
Zhang Shan was pinned beneath a massive boulder, resembling a small mountain, his body collapsed onto the bridge, unconscious, with his life in question.
Meanwhile, Li Xiangling, drenched in blood, struggled to shift the boulder.
"Ole Sun... I gotta hand it to you," Luo Eleven said, a hint of respect in his voice as he patted Ole Sun's shoulder. "I bet your {Reverberation} is one of the most formidable in {End Point}, isn’t it?"
Ole Sun's gaze was vacant, and he could only nod in a daze. The effort to unleash such a powerful {Reverberation} had almost cost him his sanity.
If one wasn’t truly insane, it was nearly impossible to fathom that a human body could grow stones.
Ole Sun struggled to control his thoughts, forcing himself to stay alert. "Oi, tattooed lad, I don’t go pickin’ on people. Just jump down yerself..."
"I refuse." Qiao Jiajin lowered his head, his chest rising and falling as he gasped for breath. "The {brain} has set the tasks, and it’s the {fists} who has to take responsibility. Swindler lad has helped me countless times, so this time, I won’t take a single step back."
He raised his heavy hand, weighing over ten kilograms, and gave a bitter smile. "It’s just a pair of stone boxing gloves, right? Consider it an upgrade to my attack power..."
Ole Sun shook his head after hearing this. "Boxing gloves...?" His mind was sluggish, and after a few seconds, he finally spoke, "No... them ain’t boxing gloves—they’re ruddy great stones."
Qiao Jiajin suddenly realized that the stones on his hands had grown even larger. His right hand, which he had just lifted, once again fell to the ground, pulling him down into a crouch.
"Damn… this is really a tough situation..." Qiao Jiajin cast a fleeting glance at Li Xiangling, who was still unable to move the massive boulder crushing Zhang Shan.
"Qiao ge..." Li Xiangling’s face was filled with urgency. "What should we do now..."
The only one left unaffected was Li Xiangling. Although her skills were formidable, charging in recklessly would hardly guarantee victory against the {Reverberation} of these two opponents.
One of them could be immune to pain, with every strike lethal. The other could summon stones from thin air at any time, and a moment's inattention would have them crushed.
What was meant to be a three-on-three fight had turned into a scenario where the two before him were constantly cheating.
"Swindler lad... if it were you... what would you do?" Qiao Jiajin surveyed the area, his expression unusually serious.
Before he could come up with a solution, the sound of limping footsteps approached.
"Heh… well aren't you two quite capable?" Xiao Xiao slowly made her way over, stepping onto the single-plank bridge once again. "Killing them now would be a piece of cake… wouldn't it?"