At this moment, Yan Zhichun’s expression darkened. Although the process had been convoluted, they had at least found an answer.

“Although each person in the ‘Extreme Path’ here has a different style of doing things…” she said to Lin Qin, “the core purpose of the ‘Extreme Path’ will not change. Since you fundamentally have no desire to protect this place, there’s no need for you to continue calling yourself an ‘Extreme Path practitioner.'”

“Say what you want,” Lin Qin shook her head indifferently. “Whether I’m ‘Extreme Path’ or not doesn’t require your validation.”

“Alright, stop arguing,” Jiang Ruoxue said from the side. “You don’t even know the ’cause,’ so naturally you can’t argue out the ‘effect.’ Now that the crisis has been resolved, let’s hurry on our way.”

Wen Qiaoyun cautiously surveyed the three women before her, already contemplating the complete sequence of events.

In her memory, she had been moving forward through a very long corridor. Just moments ago, at the end of that corridor, she had encountered a woman who called herself “Man-Dragon.” Then she had walked out the door and arrived at a plaza, but after a momentary daze, she found herself standing on a street instead. This ghost of a place was incomprehensible to begin with, so Wen Qiaoyun quickly calmed herself down.

She then noticed that dusk was approaching. Turning around, she walked into a building beside her and discovered two people were already there—none other than Yan Zhichun and Lin Qin.

“So this city has existed for a long time already?” Wen Qiaoyun asked. “You all came here early?”

After hearing this, Lin Qin turned to Wen Qiaoyun and said, “The place I’m taking you to can answer all your questions. Even questions you never imagined having… someone will be there to answer them for you.”

“Questions I never imagined having…?”

Lin Qin nodded. “Yes. If I’m not mistaken, before we return, we’ll encounter someone who’s come out to greet you.”

After hearing this, Wen Qiaoyun became even more curious about the “organization” Lin Qin had mentioned. This place seemed to be shrouded in an enormous secret concerning her.

“How interesting,” Wen Qiaoyun said with a smile as she reached up to brush her hair back. While following Lin Qin forward, she continued, “What have I done to deserve this? Everything you’re all doing is for my sake?”

After hearing this, Lin Qin stared at Wen Qiaoyun with furrowed brows, sensing something slightly off.

“So what?” Lin Qin asked.

“So I didn’t just arrive here… but rather I’ve lost my memories?” Wen Qiaoyun asked again.

Hearing Wen Qiaoyun’s question, Yan Zhichun and Jiang Ruoxue behind them felt that the current situation had become even more perplexing.

They had just asked two questions but hadn’t revealed much information to Wen Qiaoyun, yet she was already on the verge of deducing the full picture of events.

After listening, Lin Qin spoke indifferently, “If ‘losing memories’ is the most outrageous situation you can think of… then the bizarre nature of this place will far exceed your imagination.”

After hearing this, Wen Qiaoyun said nothing more and simply followed Lin Qin forward with greater caution.

Yan Zhichun and Jiang Ruoxue slowed their pace, gradually increasing the distance between them and the other two.

“Ruoxue, have you noticed the problem?” Yan Zhichun said. “It seems using one theorem to confirm Wen Qiaoyun’s abilities was still somewhat forced. There truly exist such people in this world—they don’t have much scholarly knowledge, but their thinking is sufficiently sharp.”

“Then her style is completely different from the ‘leader’ I had in mind,” Jiang Ruoxue said. “She navigates the world relying on ‘intuition’ rather than ‘knowledge.’ This ‘intuition’ can make her a clever person, but it won’t necessarily make her a successful person.”

“Indeed,” Yan Zhichun nodded. “I’m becoming increasingly curious about her now. As for that Lin Qin…”

Jiang Ruoxue looked toward Lin Qin’s distant figure, naturally understanding what Yan Zhichun wanted to ask.

“What do you make of an answer that even ‘Heavenly-Serpent’s Moment’ couldn’t determine as true or false?” Yan Zhichun asked.

“I…” Jiang Ruoxue thought carefully for a moment. “I believe… perhaps there exists a paradox in this matter that even ‘Heavenly-Serpent’s Moment’ cannot shake.”

“A paradox?”

“I think there might be such a possibility…” Jiang Ruoxue said. “According to the actual situation, the one called Lin Qin is not ‘Extreme Path,’ but she firmly believes in her heart that she is ‘Extreme Path.’ So from the surface, she isn’t lying, but what she’s saying isn’t the truth either. This paradox caused that black sphere to waver, not even knowing how to make a judgment.”

“Is this possible?” Yan Zhichun slowly furrowed her brows. “The ‘Heavenly-Serpent’s’ status is already quite high. Could it be that the person who created this paradox has an even higher rank than ‘Heavenly-Serpent’?”

“I can’t say for certain. After all, this is just my hypothesis. If the other party’s level is higher than ‘Heavenly-Serpent,’ there would only be two such people here, right?” Jiang Ruoxue said. “This answer sounds very dangerous. Do we need to continue investigating?”

“Of course,” Yan Zhichun chuckled softly. “This is just like the ‘Chinese Room.’ We’re all outside the room, naturally assuming the person inside is speaking Chinese, but we’ve all been deceived. Even Lin Qin herself doesn’t know the truth. Just thinking about it is quite interesting.”

“The ‘Chinese Room’? You’re starting to sound more and more like that White Sheep,” Jiang Ruoxue said with a smile. “Can’t shake off the aftereffects of spending seven years together, can you?”

“Aren’t you the same?” Yan Zhichun looked at her. “Now you’re starting to sound more and more like me too, actually asking what ‘Trauma Theory’ is. Just as you said, whatever ’cause’ produces whatever ‘effect’—we can’t interfere with what happened in the past, and we can’t control what will happen in the future either.”

“That’s true,” Jiang Ruoxue nodded. “The first time I encountered that person called Qi Xia in the Earth-Dog game ‘The Messenger,’ hearing him muttering about the ‘MiG-25 Effect,’ I blurted out ‘MiG-25 Effect’ just like you would.”

“Oh…?” Yan Zhichun’s eyes gradually widened. “That person called Qi Xia also mentioned the ‘MiG-25 Effect’?”

“Yes, why? Have you encountered him too?” Jiang Ruoxue asked.

“I was fortunate enough to see him once during ‘Pegasus’s Moment,'” Yan Zhichun raised her hand and looked wistfully at the “YNA” tattoo on her finger. “That person called Qi Xia may have already gone mad, but his eyes always make me feel very familiar. I have an ominous premonition now… I just hope what happens next won’t be the same as what I’m thinking.”

“What do you mean?” Jiang Ruoxue asked.

“I mean… could Qi Xia possibly be…” Yan Zhichun gradually found herself at a loss for words.

She remembered Qi Xia’s cold eyes, identical to Baiyang’s from years ago. Could they be the same person?