Chapter 233 Arrival of Death
"Chen Junnan, how old do I look now?" Qi Xia asked, his voice steady but laced with an underlying tension.
"How old...?" Chen Junnan’s brow furrowed as he scrutinized Qi Xia, then answered, "You look exactly the same as you did back then."
The simplicity of the answer struck Qi Xia like a jolt, shattering half of the wild speculations he’d been piecing together in his mind.
This meant he hadn’t entered {End Point} at nineteen, as he had assumed, but at twenty-six. And if he wasn’t from seven years ago, could it be that he was from seven years in the future?
"There are too many inconsistencies..." Qi Xia murmured, his hand clenching as he processed the fragments of his broken memories. His eyes sharpened, and suddenly, he grabbed Chen Junnan by the wrist. "Don’t you think there are too many inconsistencies here?"
Chen Junnan was taken aback. "What’d ya mean?"
"If, at twenty-six, I managed to escape after seven years... and returned here, shouldn’t I be in my thirties by now? Why do I still look exactly as I did when I left? Why am I still twenty-six?"
The question lingered in the air, and Chen Junnan fell into a long, quiet thought.
Qi Xia felt that the only way to explain everything was by losing his sanity: "During those days, I went mad... and met another indigenous inhabitant, Yu Nian'An! Since every indigenous inhabitant here believes that {End Point} is the real world. I thought I met her in the real world, but in truth, we were just two deluded souls—two madmen, trapped in a nightmare of our own making."
Qi Xia felt that this guess was closer to the truth than anything before, offering a clearer explanation for Yu Nian'An's presence in {End Point}.
Chen Junnan, on the other hand, believed that Qi Xia had finally lost his grip on reality.
"Ole Qi…" Chen Junnan's brow furrowed as he spoke, his voice tinged with disbelief. "After everything we've been through in {End Point}, you should understand one {principle} by now."
"{Indigenous inhabitants} can never return to the {probation room}," Chen Junnan said coldly. "If you truly became one of them… you would remain one forever."
"No… that’s not right…" Qi Xia shook his head. "{Indigenous inhabitants} can return to their {probation room}… the Xu Liunian I met before… she did…"
Before Qi Xia could finish, he froze.
Had Xu Liunian truly returned to the probation room?
It was said that Xu Liunian, along with Chu Tianqiu, Yun Yao, and Kim Wonhun, all hailed from the same probation room. If she had truly returned, how could Yun Yao be unaware?
From Yun Yao’s response in the previous cycle, it was clear she had no knowledge of Xu Liunian's situation.
"Could it be that I’ve been deceived again…?"
Had Yun Yao and Xu Liunian conspired to fool him?
"Yun Yao knew everything?!"
At the sight of Qi Xia’s reaction, Chen Junnan was momentarily stunned. Without hesitation, he raised his hand and, with swift precision, delivered a sharp slap across Qi Xia’s face.
The slap, though not especially painful, resonated with a startling clarity.
"What are you doing?" Qi Xia jolted in surprise.
"Are ya here to impersonate Qi Xia?" Chen Junnan asked, his voice sharp with suspicion. "Are you {Matter Morphing}?"
"What?" Qi Xia's brows knit slowly. "How could I possibly be {Matter Morphing}?"
"Then what’s all this nonsense you’re spouting?" Chen Junnan pressed, his confusion growing. "The old Qi Xia I knew never once said {I’ve been deceived}, yet I’ve heard it slip from your lips on several occasions. Are ya truly not an imposter?"
"I never said {I’ve been deceived}?"
"Exactly. You only ever told me, {Don’t worry, they can’t deceive me}." Chen Junnan replied, shaking his head in resignation. "At this rate, I fear we may never escape again."
Chen Junnan's words awakened a realization in Qi Xia.
When he had first stepped into {End Point}, he had once spoken something similar with unwavering conviction—When it comes to deception, he would never be intimidated.
Yet now, he found himself like a startled bird, cautious of every step, wary of every move.
"I’m starting to believe you were my teammate," Qi Xia said, patting Chen Junnan’s shoulder. Although this was their first conversation, Qi Xia felt an odd sense of familiarity with Chen Junnan.
"Ya don’t touch me," Chen Junnan muttered impatiently, shaking off Qi Xia’s hand. "I still suspect you’re an imposter."
"Indeed, I almost lost myself," Qi Xia said, a slight smile playing on his lips. "I should have trusted my intuition from the start."
As the two conversed, Yun Yao emerged from the entrance of the teaching building.
"Qi Xia," she called out.
"This is...?" Yun Yao looked toward Chen Junnan.
"He’s an old friend who just joined," Qi Xia answered.
"Oh…" Yun Yao nodded. "As usual, there’s a welcome party tonight, do you want to attend?"
"Noted. You go ahead, we'll catch up later," Qi Xia said.
Once Yun Yao walked away, Chen Junnan quietly asked, "You don’t remember who Chu Tianqiu is?"
"Hm?" Qi Xia’s expression darkened. "We were acquainted with him before?"
At the welcome event, everyone listened to Chu Tianqiu’s monotonous opening speech.
This time, it seemed like the roles had reversed. Most of Qi Xia’s teammates were {Reverberatees}, but the number of those in {Passage to Heaven} who had retained their memories was even fewer than before.
But this couldn’t be helped; after all, the more people who retained their memories, the harder it would be for Chu Tianqiu to control them.
What Qi Xia didn’t expect was that this time, Xu Liunian sat boldly among the crowd, as though everything that happened previously had nothing to do with her.
In this bizarre realm, it seemed that even the gravest of wrongdoings could be erased—so long as you killed the witnesses before they triggered their {Reverberation}, it could be as if it had never happened at all.
Qi Xia turned his gaze and spotted the timid Tian Tian standing beside Yun Yao.
At that moment, Yun Yao was introducing her to everyone, urging them to take care of her. It wasn’t the best idea, though; it would only heighten Tian Tian’s anxiety. After all, in her mind, anyone who showed her kindness surely had hidden motives.
Su Shan sipped on a bottle of beer while glancing around at the noisy crowd. She had to admit that her first impression of {Passage to Heaven} was quite good. It didn’t seem like there were any bad people here.
She turned to look at Qi Xia and asked, "Why are you so late?"
"I just went to deliver something to my wife," Qi Xia replied.
"Where’s your wife?" Lin Qin asked Qi Xia.
"She didn’t want to come," Qi Xia shook his head. "I didn’t want her to come either. We’re only attending this pretense-of-a-gathering as an excuse to get some beer for Fists. No need for her to be involved."
"You haven’t introduced her to us yet. What kind of person is she?"
At that moment, Doctor Zhao and the others gathered around. Although they didn’t understand why Yu Nian'An had appeared in their probation room, she didn’t seem to pose any threat. She was a quiet, unassuming young woman.
"She’s a perfect individual," Qi Xia remarked.
"Perfect?" The others exchanged confused glances.
Doctor Zhao smiled and shook his head. "Qi Xia, there’s no such thing as a perfect person in this world."
"No, there is," Qi Xia replied earnestly. "Yu Nian'An is perfect; she has no flaws."