Hearing Qin Dingdong’s question, Qi Xia simply remained silent.

“Isn’t this terrifying?” Qin Dingdong shuddered slightly. “The friends around me aren’t my friends, my parents might not be my parents either. I’ll be living what I think is a normal life in a completely unfamiliar place. I might even forget everything and become intimate with those people… This is too creepy. What the hell are those people? What am I at that time? Where did my real friends and family go?”

“I’ve said it before,” Qi Xia reiterated. “It’s possible your memories weren’t tampered with—only your personality was.”

“But I don’t believe it!” Qin Dingdong retorted. “Classmate Qi, I would believe every single word you said before, but not this time… Because I’m also a liar. Your expression betrays you. You’re clearly deceiving yourself! Even you aren’t certain of the answer to this matter…”

“Qin Dingdong,” Qi Xia looked at her coldly. “As a liar, if you don’t even deceive yourself, who can you deceive?”

“You…”

Seeing the two about to argue, Chen Junnan quickly stepped forward and stood between them. “Sister Dong…”

Only now did he understand why Qin Dingdong had always been so concerned about her life being altered, because she wholeheartedly wanted to return to reality to live a normal life.

That’s right—she was only in her twenties, yet she had already been here for decades. She had dedicated the best years of her life to the “Land of the End.” Why shouldn’t she be able to return to her own life?

“Calm down, Sister Dong,” Chen Junnan said softly. “Let’s all think of a solution together and try to work in the same direction.”

Qin Dingdong looked at Chen Junnan standing before her, gradually calmed her emotions, then gently pushed him aside and continued speaking to Qi Xia. “Classmate Qi, I want to get out. I’m sick of this place. I must find my correct life and return there accurately without error.”

“Don’t be foolish…” Qi Xia replied. “Qin Dingdong, in seventy years, no one has been able to get out. How do you know you can succeed?”

“Because I’m more clear-headed than anyone,” Qin Dingdong said resolutely. “Not just seventy years—if necessary, I can even wait seven hundred years. As long as you give me enough time, even if I’m not as smart as you and Chu Tianqiu, I’m still confident I can escape from here.”

“I hope you can always remain this confident,” Qi Xia said. “And I hope you never go insane.”

“Are you certain?” Qi Xia asked.

“Certain,” Qin Dingdong nodded. “Sister’s thinking has always been this wild and fanciful. I believe that as long as I stay here, my timeline will remain forever stopped, my important friends and family won’t disappear, and I won’t fall into a lifetime of confusion because of it.”

Qi Xia stopped speaking. He just nodded seriously at Qin Dingdong, then slowly walked toward Earth-Snake’s direction. The people behind him followed when they saw this.

Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin exchanged glances as they walked forward, feeling the situation was still somewhat tricky.

No matter how many times the same problem appeared with Qi Xia, he would always give the same response.

He refused to discuss anything about Yu Nian’an with anyone, and he absolutely would not admit there was even the slightest falsehood about Yu Nian’an. Even if much evidence pointed to this, he absolutely would not relent.

But this time was clearly different from before—Qi Xia had invited the three people before him to “guard” this answer of “Yu Nian’an” together, which actually sounded like he was asking for help.

He had entrusted the three of them with his trust, but Chen Junnan had a very ominous premonition in his heart—Qi Xia seemed to be wavering.

Although Chen Junnan didn’t know what would happen if Qi Xia wavered, the fact that he would make this kind of request for help meant the consequences must be very serious. Could whether Yu Nian’an existed directly affect his plans?

Chen Junnan looked at Qi Xia’s slightly lonely figure and sighed heavily with a solemn expression. The current Qi Xia was like a candle flame swaying in a storm. Self-suggestion alone was no longer enough for him to one hundred percent believe that “Yu Nian’an” definitely existed. He needed others to constantly remind him in order to maintain his original intentions.

“But what exactly is Yu Nian’an…” Chen Junnan murmured to himself while looking at Qi Xia’s back not far away. “Why must it be this person?”

If Yu Nian’an truly didn’t exist, what did Qi Xia rely on to create a completely non-existent person? If he really wanted to find someone to care about, there were so many people in the “Land of the End”—why not find a real, tangible “Participant”?

The four of them walked in silence. After walking on the street for about two hours, they finally saw Earth-Snake’s game venue.

The building was clearly a shop, but at first glance, it was impossible to tell what goods it sold.

Both sides of the walls were glass, and the walls reflected rows of wooden shelves, except the shelves were all empty.

Qi Xia walked closer and didn’t find “Earth-Snake,” so he looked up at the shop’s sign. On the extremely mottled, rusty storefront, he could vaguely make out the two characters “Bookstore.”

These two characters also made Qi Xia furrow his brow slightly.

“Bookstore…” He looked at the completely empty shelves inside the store. “Where are the books?”

In just a few seconds, Qiao Jiajin, Chen Junnan, and the third person also came to the front.

“Old Qi…” Chen Junnan called out. “Is this the place?”

Qi Xia took out the map from his pocket and lowered his head to confirm. “That’s right.”

“Why is there no one?” Qiao Jiajin also asked from the side. “Is a game in progress?”

“Possibly.”

Qi Xia nodded and looked at the shop door, which was actually locked from the inside. It seemed this game didn’t allow spectators while in progress.

Before the four could discuss a strategy, shadows began to slowly emerge from behind a wall inside the door. About three or four “Participants” walked out from an area inside the building that couldn’t be seen. Each person had their head lowered with a dejected expression, slowly coming to the door.

Behind them followed a white-skinned snake-headed person. He held a rope in his hand and also looked somewhat sad.

“Oh ho, it’s even a white snake,” Chen Junnan said. “Is this thing poisonous?”

Qi Xia didn’t answer. His eyes stared at the Participants inside the building as they came to the door, opened the shop door, and slowly walked out.

Qi Xia stared at them and immediately felt curious—these people all had tear stains on their faces.

“This…?” Qiao Jiajin was slightly stunned. “Why are these people crying?”

The “Participants” wiped their tears while turning back to bid farewell to Earth-Snake with reluctance. Some even turned back to grasp Earth-Snake’s hand, muttering things like “you must take care of yourself.”

Earth-Snake, expressionless, comforted everyone, only saying he “understood.”

The situation before them left all four of Qi Xia’s group with puzzled expressions.