“You’re afraid that no one knows you’re here,” Qi Xia said.

“Hey! What kind of talk is that!” Chen Junnan said. “A quiet man like me only speaks up when meeting people I’m especially close with.”

“Better be,” Qi Xia replied.

At this moment, Qiao Jiajin quickly ran forward a couple of steps and asked, “Liar boy, are you done with your business?”

“Almost. There’s still one last person I need to meet,” Qi Xia nodded and said. “Do you guys want to come with me?”

“Nah,” Chen Junnan shook his head. “Us brothers were just worried you’d get killed by that black rain, so we came to check on you out of concern. We didn’t expect you’d already cracked that black bead. Now that everything’s fine, go ahead and do your thing. The three of us still need to go have a meeting.”

After hearing this, Qiao Jiajin nudged Chen Junnan with his elbow. “Handsome boy, are you still holding a grudge?”

“I never hold grudges,” Chen Junnan said. “I just have a quick temper, a small heart, can’t get over things, and have a strong sense of revenge.”

Qi Xia let out a light sigh and then shook his head.

“Ah, come on,” Qiao Jiajin said with a smile, pulling at him. “Didn’t we already make up before? Good brothers shouldn’t hold overnight grudges.”

“You really think I’m holding a grudge?” Chen Junnan laughed. “Old Qi, the reason I came to find you this time is to make you owe me a huge favor. Listen carefully—we know that big rat’s motives now.”

“Oh?”

In a few words, Chen Junnan relayed what Earth-Mouse had said to Qi Xia.

He not only told Qi Xia that Earth-Mouse was a trustworthy “fence-sitter,” but also mentioned that the eight “Zodiacs” on the map should all be receiving special care from “Heavenly-Dragon,” allowing their promotion speed to be faster than anyone else’s, and the games they oversee had also been guided by “Heavenly-Dragon.”

So anyone would think these eight people were “Heavenly-Dragon’s” trusted confidants. The situation seemed quite strange.

Why would “Heavenly-Dragon” specifically care for these eight people?

If these eight people’s identities were exposed, they should all be labeled as “ants” like the former “Earth-Dragon.” But if these eight people’s identities haven’t been exposed, why would they specifically receive special care?

“Someone is ensuring my plan is executed accurately…” Qi Xia murmured to himself. Could this person be “Heavenly-Dragon”?

Thinking this way, Qi Xia felt the direction of his deductions had become slightly clearer.

Many subtle and difficult-to-detect clues were pointing out that in the “Land of the End,” the person who most needs to be guarded against is probably not “Heavenly-Dragon,” but “Qinglong.”

“Qinglong” has appeared far more times than “Heavenly-Dragon,” and most of the information Qi Xia has obtained also came from “Qinglong.” If he lied, no one would be able to refute it.

Since “Heavenly-Dragon” has always been asleep and doesn’t possess the “Spiritual Hearing” ability, even if “Qinglong” told lies, “Heavenly-Dragon” wouldn’t detect them.

“Just as I thought,” Qi Xia nodded. “At least for me, Heavenly-Dragon isn’t as evil as imagined, and Qinglong isn’t as good as imagined.”

“Huh?” Chen Junnan made a questioning sound. “What are you talking about, boy?”

“Nothing,” Qi Xia shook his head. “Is there any other news?”

After hearing this, the three of them looked at each other, as if they had something difficult to say.

“Speak,” Qi Xia said. “Your eyes clearly show there’s something else.”

The group could only sigh helplessly. After hesitating for a long time, they finally told Qi Xia about Qin Dingdong’s matter.

They told Qi Xia that Qin Dingdong was Wei Yang’s disciple, who had specifically learned deceptive techniques from Wei Yang. She was responsible for disrupting various games of the Participants, preventing anyone from escaping this place. It sounded extremely similar to “Extreme Path’s” methods, but Qi Xia’s expression remained cold throughout, as if he wasn’t interested in this information.

Then everyone talked about her “disordered memories.”

When Qi Xia heard this part of the information, his eyes kept flickering with bright light, and his whole person was rapidly contemplating something.

He turned to look at Qin Dingdong and asked with slight doubt, “You’re saying your entire life is fake?”

“I only suspect that the life in my memories is fake,” Qin Dingdong spread her hands. “After all, I am who I am. I understand my own personality. With my personality, I absolutely couldn’t do the things in my memories, nor could I live the life in my memories.”

“Somewhat interesting,” Qi Xia nodded. “If it’s really as you say, I have a question.”

“What question?”

After thinking for a while, Qi Xia asked, “Why do you think the life in your memories is fake, rather than thinking your current personality is fake?”

“Ah…?” After hearing this, Qin Dingdong was slightly stunned. “Classmate Qi, what do you mean by this?”

“Don’t misunderstand, I just have a small question,” Qi Xia said. “If you believe you’ve had ‘fabricated memories,’ that means your entire life has been modified by someone.”

“Right, that’s what I mean…” Qin Dingdong nodded.

“But if it’s a ‘fabricated personality,’ it would only require changing your current personality,” Qi Xia said. “Analyzing these two situations, isn’t the latter more likely to occur? After all, the latter could possibly be achieved just by using an ‘Echo’ in the ‘Land of the End.'”

“But that doesn’t seem right either…” Qin Dingdong was also slightly stunned. “If my personality needs to be changed, the workload also seems small… Because every time I’m reborn, I have this personality, so when exactly was it changed…?”

As Qin Dingdong spoke, her voice gradually became quieter, because even she found that what Qi Xia said made some sense.

Rather than going all the way back to the past to completely modify a person’s life, it would be more realistic to modify a person’s personality in the “Land of the End.”

But why would the other party do this?

Although these two methods seem to have completely different starting points, they would both create the same result—making the person in question doubt that their life is fake.

“I don’t dare to be completely certain either,” Qi Xia said. “It’s just that a ‘drastic change in temperament’ sounds more likely than ‘fabricated life.'”

“Drastic change in temperament…” After thinking for a long time, Qin Dingdong raised her head and asked softly, “Classmate Qi… In this place, besides me, have you seen anyone else undergo a ‘drastic change in temperament’? No matter how you think about it…”

“Yes.”

“Yes…? Who?”

“I suspect there are two more people.”

“Two more people?”

“Me and Chu Tianqiu,” Qi Xia replied coldly. “Currently, many clues are pointing to this, making me have to believe it.”

“You…” Qin Dingdong was slightly stunned. “No, that’s not right… Classmate Qi, when I first met you, your personality was already about the same as now.”

“That can only mean I changed earlier, possibly even before we met,” Qi Xia answered.

“Wait a minute…” Qin Dingdong felt she had heard a problem she’d never heard before. “If you and Chu Tianqiu also underwent ‘drastic changes in temperament,’ doesn’t that mean you’ve also suspected that your lives are fake?!”