Chu Tianqiu stood quietly in front of a classroom door for a while. After several full minutes, he finally reached out and knocked on the door.

“Please come in.”

A girl’s voice came from inside the door, causing Chu Tianqiu to freeze slightly.

He slowly pushed open the door and saw the figure of the person inside.

That single glance felt like a lifetime ago.

She wore a convenience store uniform T-shirt, her hair casually tied up, staring at him with wide eyes.

Chu Tianqiu’s gaze flickered for a moment, then the corners of his mouth revealed a bitter smile.

How many years had it been since he had seen this face?

Her cheeks were no longer gaunt, her eyes no longer lifeless, her fingers no longer withered, and even her clothes were clean and tidy.

She was no longer a crazed monster, but rather a living, breathing person.

“Endless Rebirth”—what a domineering yet bizarre ability.

It could tear apart all farewells, trample all emotions, transcend all rules, and then make all farewells begin anew.

In this instant, Chu Tianqiu felt as if he had returned to when he first arrived on this land. If not for feeling the eyeballs hanging full around his neck, he might have thought he had traveled through time.

Unfortunately, time in this cursed place never moved backward. What repeatedly traversed were only fresh, living lives.

The seemingly frail woman before him had experiences no normal “participant” had ever had. She had not only served as the leader of numerous “participants,” but had also been a “zodiac” and a “native.” She had carried everyone’s trust and suffered hardships no one else had endured.

“May I help you?” the girl asked.

After speaking, she looked at Chu Tianqiu’s attire, then said with a slightly strange expression, “This is…”

“I’m the leader here, called Chu Tianqiu.” Chu Tianqiu placed the canned food and bottled water in his hands on the table, then said, “In the future… please take care of me.”

“Leader…”

“You…” Chu Tianqiu was about to speak but felt it would be presumptuous. He could only smile bitterly and shake his head, asking symbolically, “What’s your name?”

“Wen Qiaoyun.”

“Wen… Qiaoyun.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “How wonderful…”

Wen Qiaoyun felt the man before her was somewhat strange. “What do you mean ‘how wonderful’…? Why are you dressed like this…?”

“You mean these things?” Chu Tianqiu reached up to touch the eyeballs hanging around his neck. “This is everyone’s hope, I suppose.”

“Hope…?” Wen Qiaoyun had never heard such a statement.

“Originally, I also had my own hope.” Chu Tianqiu said. “Unfortunately, under the gaze of these eyes, my hope gradually vanished into nothing. Now I want them to witness another path on this land together with me.”

“You’re really a strange person.” Wen Qiaoyun said. “You look very much like a bad person, but talking with you, I don’t sense any malice.”

“I’m truly not any kind of good person.” Chu Tianqiu slowly walked to the chair beside Wen Qiaoyun and bent down to sit. “Qiaoyun, on this land, people who are too kind never come to good ends. History has proven this to us countless times.”

“What…?” Wen Qiaoyun was slightly stunned. “But… this is really a strange feeling… We’re clearly meeting for the first time, yet when you call me ‘Qiaoyun,’ I feel it’s very familiar.”

The bizarre crimson afterglow of the setting sun reflected on Wen Qiaoyun’s face, causing countless images to flash instantly through Chu Tianqiu’s mind.

The person he had assisted, felt lost over, deeply loved, and killed with his own hands.

Numerous images intertwined and entangled in his mind, but these images were ultimately stained red with blood.

“Qiaoyun… you shouldn’t have come back.” Chu Tianqiu lowered his head and said.

“Come back…?” Wen Qiaoyun was slightly stunned, but quickly understood. “Leader, did you know me before?”

“I…”

“I suspected this before.” Wen Qiaoyun said with a smile. “I couldn’t have appeared suddenly for no reason. Did I lose my memory?”

“Perhaps.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “Everyone here will lose their memory, but you’ve lost more than others.”

“As I thought, we must have been very good friends before, right?” Wen Qiaoyun asked again.

“I suppose so.” Chu Tianqiu murmured in response.

“Then… why did you say I ‘shouldn’t have come back’?” Wen Qiaoyun smiled bitterly. “If we were once very good friends, shouldn’t you be looking forward to my return?”

“Because I killed you with my own hands.” Chu Tianqiu answered.

“Hmm…?”

“I strangled you to death right in front of me.” Chu Tianqiu raised his head, answering with a despairing expression. “Your existence was the only proof that I was still ‘human.'”

“I don’t quite understand…”

“I thought that by killing you with my own hands, I could become a ‘god.’ I never expected this path would be so difficult.” Chu Tianqiu smiled with a bleak expression, his body reeking of blood. “Who knew that Qi Xia would have an even more tragic method… He even used a method that normal humans couldn’t accomplish to abandon his ‘human’ identity.”

The more Wen Qiaoyun listened, the more she felt the person before her was somewhat crazed, but she didn’t know how to respond. Whether it was Chu Tianqiu’s appearance or the words he spoke, everything revealed an aura of “danger.”

Yet there was always a voice in Wen Qiaoyun’s heart telling her that the man before her wasn’t a bad person. He possessed a helplessness that normal people had never experienced.

“It seems the ‘spiritual world’ is what marks us as human beings… ’emotions’ aren’t it at all.” Chu Tianqiu smiled bleakly. “What I thought was the most tragic method of ‘becoming a god’ was merely an entry point for him.”

After hearing this, Wen Qiaoyun paused for a long while, then reached out to pat Chu Tianqiu’s shoulder, saying, “Being a ‘leader’ must be very exhausting, right…? If there’s anywhere you need my help, you can tell me freely.”

“Qiaoyun… what will it take for this cursed place to let us go?” Chu Tianqiu said. “Isn’t killing my lover with my own hands enough… Isn’t watching my lover suffer for over ten years enough?”

“Lover…? Tell me…” Wen Qiaoyun seemed to remember something, her eyes showing emotion as she said, “When you were killing your lover, what were you thinking?”

Chu Tianqiu remained silent for a long while before opening his mouth to answer:

“I wanted to free her, wanted to let her get out.”

“You…”

“I wanted to become a god, and I also wanted to let everyone get out.”

“How could you think like that?” Wen Qiaoyun said. “Don’t you want to get out yourself…?”

“I…” After hearing this, Chu Tianqiu slowly lowered his head. “After I get out… I’ll die immediately. Even every day I’m here, I suffer from splitting headaches, never finding peace… I have no way to fall asleep, and even less of a way to feel sadness…”

He revealed a bleak smile as he looked at Wen Qiaoyun again.

“Qiaoyun… Whether it’s sadness, grief, helplessness, or despair… I can only show a smile.”