Yan Zhichun had just walked out of the venue and was standing on the sticky, foul-smelling street when a familiar voice reached her ears.

“Tsk.”

“Oh?” Yan Zhichun replied softly.

“Tsk, ‘oh’ my ass. You finally have signal again,” Zhou Mo said. “I fucking thought you were dead.”

Yan Zhichun glanced at the people around her. Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she stepped back a few paces to the side.

Upon seeing this, Doctor Zhao immediately also retreated a step secretly, quietly coming to Yan Zhichun’s side.

Yan Zhichun was obviously still somewhat guarded toward Doctor Zhao who had suddenly approached her, but after a few seconds, she realized that Doctor Zhao could now be considered “one of her own,” so she stopped paying him any mind.

She sighed and continued, “Did everything go smoothly?”

“Tsk, smooth enough,” Zhou Mo replied. “So what do you say—do it or not? How did your probing go on your end?”

“Everything is ready. Just waiting for me to arrive,” Yan Zhichun said.

“Alright.” After Zhou Mo answered, there was no more sound.

After finishing, Yan Zhichun turned to look at Doctor Zhao. After pausing for a few seconds, she asked, “Are you coming with me?”

“I…” After hearing this, Doctor Zhao’s expression showed some difficulty. He looked behind Yan Zhichun. “It’s not that I don’t want to go with you, but my brother…”

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhichun looked at the empty street behind her—the location where several people had just emerged from thin air.

“‘Disaster Attraction’?” Yan Zhichun said. “What if your brother can’t come out?”

“I understand this feeling,” Yan Zhichun said. “On this land, it’s extremely rare to encounter someone who doesn’t carry malice and can keep you company, even if he’s someone who doesn’t have much else to say. But now that things have reached this point, you also need to choose your own life.”

Doctor Zhao found this feeling very difficult to grasp. He didn’t even know himself why he was so insistent on bringing Han Yimo along.

Was Han Yimo his brother? His friend?

Logically speaking, he probably wasn’t either.

He only knew that Han Yimo was someone in the “Land of the End” who was as weak and humble as himself. They had the same circumstances—their backgrounds were riddled with stains, they weren’t liked by many people, yet they truly wanted to live.

Here, he couldn’t throw himself alone into the plans of a group of monsters. He knew he couldn’t accomplish any earth-shattering great deeds. At this time, if he could have a small person like Han Yimo accompany him, he would somehow feel inexplicably at ease.

“I don’t know how to choose my own life,” Doctor Zhao answered. “I still want to wait to go together with Han Yimo. To be honest… I’m too afraid.”

“Afraid?” Yan Zhichun was a bit puzzled. “You weren’t afraid when you agreed yesterday, but you’re afraid now?”

“I…” Doctor Zhao shook his head. “After I saw the eyes of Xuanwu and Qinglong today… I realized that I’m simply not on the same level as them. I’m holding a scalpel while they’re holding machine guns. I don’t know how to kill people, but they do.”

“A scalpel has its advantages,” Yan Zhichun replied. “As long as you find the right moment to cut toward the opponent’s vital point, you can win even when facing machine guns. My suggestion is that you come with me first. After all, there’s still some time on the road, and I’ll send someone to pick up Han Yimo then.”

After Yan Zhichun finished speaking, she paused and added, “That’s assuming he can actually walk out from inside.”

“You…” Doctor Zhao sighed. “…Alright.”

Although neither of them spoke openly about it, it was difficult to be certain that Han Yimo would really walk out from “Cangjie Chess.”

The “referee” of this game was, after all, Earth-Dragon, and she was already dead. She had used her own life to secure the survival of Chu Tianqiu’s entire team.

In an environment without rules and without constraints, the referees in that venue had become Qinglong and Xuanwu.

What kind of brain malfunction would make anyone believe these two would abide by the rules?

…

Qinglong leaped from the air and landed on the ground without a sound.

The current game venue, aside from the surrounding perimeter walls, only had the huge wall structure erected in the center with a massive display screen hanging above it.

The people in the venue began to slowly gather toward the display screen, all looking at the huge device before them with hesitation.

Since this was a “Life Gamble” using “Cangjie Chess,” it naturally meant that the upcoming game rules would be a variant of “Cangjie Chess.”

But the huge display screen before them looked like it could neither write characters nor had a “Phoenix Book-Carrying Platform”—how could it be considered “Cangjie Chess”?

Qi Xia stood in front of the display screen and raised his head, then turned to look in Qinglong’s direction.

“So how is it?” Qi Xia asked.

“Short, straightforward, and quick,” Qinglong answered. “You and I will compete with three ‘characters.’ After three ‘characters,’ we’ll decide the outcome on the spot.”

“Only three ‘characters’?” Qi Xia raised an eyebrow. “You seem quite confident.”

“How should I put it…” Qinglong shook his head. “I’ve also observed the design philosophy of many of Baiyang’s games and believe I’ve learned some things.”

“Ha, learning from Baiyang?”

Qi Xia didn’t know whether he was angry or excited, but after hearing this, he actually laughed.

“What’s the matter?” Qinglong also asked with a smile. “Although the design of many games is related to Baiyang, ‘Cangjie Chess’ alone is not.”

“You’re not a fool either,” Qi Xia said. “Think back more carefully—is there really nothing?”

After hearing this, Qinglong paused slightly. His expression gradually grew cold, then he said in a deep voice, “Even if ‘Cangjie Chess’ was influenced by Baiyang’s thinking, this variant rule for the ‘Life Gamble’ was not.”

“Oh?” Qi Xia nodded. “Qinglong, if that’s the case, there’s still one thing I don’t quite understand.”

“What?”

“Some people are responsible for creating questions, while others are responsible for solving them,” Qi Xia said, gently stroking his chin, then asked, “Who do you think is stronger—the one who creates questions or the one who solves them?”

After hearing this, Qinglong thought for a few seconds, then also revealed a smile. “If I’m not mistaken, what you’re saying means ‘I’m stronger than Baiyang.'”

“You heard correctly,” Qi Xia said.

“This question is also very interesting,” Qinglong said. “If you can solve it correctly every time, it only proves you understand the question-creator’s thinking. It doesn’t prove you’re stronger than the question-creator.”

“But I can solve ‘variant problems,'” Qi Xia said. “Rather than learning from Baiyang, you’d be better off learning from me. Next, I’ll solve the variant problem you’ve researched.”

“That would be best,” Qinglong said. “This is a ‘Life Gamble,’ after all. If you fail to solve it this time, you won’t have another chance to solve it in the future.”