“Old Qi… isn’t it time yet?” Chen Junnan stared at the approaching evening sky and looked at Qi Xia.

At this moment, Qi Xia was sitting on an old chair with his eyes slightly closed, one hand gently resting against his cheek.

“No, we still need to wait,” Qi Xia replied.

“Aren’t we supposed to ‘board the vehicle’…?” Chen Junnan asked somewhat puzzled. “I remember this is when the ‘Zodiacs’ get off work.”

After hearing this, Qi Xia slowly opened his eyes and asked, “You should know what we’ll encounter once we enter the ‘Train,’ right?”

“Encounter what? Isn’t it just the ‘Zodiacs’?”

“What’s terrifying isn’t just the ‘Zodiacs,’ but also the ‘Corridor,'” Qi Xia said. “Numerous rectangular ‘spaces’ form each section of the train cars, so no matter from which angle you look at it, the ‘Train’ is a corridor.”

“I understand…” Chen Junnan nodded. “Those who ‘board’ first will encounter the ‘Zodiacs’ first… Because the corridor is connected front to back, theoretically they’ll see all the off-duty ‘Zodiacs’ the instant they board.”

“This is a ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma’ involving a large number of people,” Qi Xia said. “If all of us board last with perfect coordination, we might be able to avoid all the off-duty ‘Zodiacs’ and enjoy an empty corridor all to ourselves. Even if there are a small number of wandering ‘Zodiacs,’ we can quickly kill them without causing panic.”

Lawyer Zhang listened with great interest to Qi Xia’s analysis from the side, then nodded repeatedly. “That’s the most ideal situation, but generally speaking, rational people are in the minority.”

“Yes, after all, there are wolves ahead and tigers behind,” Qi Xia said. “Outside, there are Zhu Que and numerous ‘Participants’ surrounding and pursuing us. Every extra second spent outside increases the probability of encountering danger by one point.”

“Hearing it this way, the requirements are too high…” Zhang Chenze pushed up her glasses and thought carefully. “As long as any person enters the ‘Train’ first to escape, they’ll definitely alert the nearby ‘Zodiacs,’ and the time it takes for the ‘Zodiacs’ to return to their rooms will also be extended, which is unfavorable for those who come later. No wonder you’d call this a ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma’ involving many people.”

Chen Junnan reluctantly listened to the conversation between the two, thought for a few seconds, then said, “So Old Qi… do you already have an idea?”

“Me?” Qi Xia looked at Chen Junnan. “What do you mean?”

“I see you sitting here leisurely and calmly, not anxious at all,” Chen Junnan said. “Do you think this ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma’ will definitely be solved?”

“How is that possible?” Qi Xia shook his head. “I’ve merely calculated the direction, not the result. The direction is that everyone will eventually board the ‘Train,’ but whether they board early or late is beyond my prediction.”

After hearing this, Chen Junnan helplessly glanced at Qiao Jiajin. Qiao Jiajin, not knowing what he was thinking, actually stepped forward at this moment and reached out to pat Qi Xia’s shoulder.

“Liar Boy, don’t belittle yourself! You’ve already calculated so many things—that’s already very good.”

Qi Xia paused slightly. “You… are you comforting me?”

“Uh, yes.”

“That’s not really necessary,” Qi Xia said. “The only thing I can guarantee is that the general direction of the mission remains unchanged, so I don’t interfere with things that happen along the way. For myself, boarding early will definitely fall into the ‘Prisoner’s Dilemma,’ while boarding late only has the possibility of falling into it, so I can only wait.”

Hearing this statement, Qiao Jiajin dragged over a chair from the side and slowly sat down beside Qi Xia, then said, “So… Liar Boy, what are we going to do there? Once we board the ‘Train’… can we still act together?”

After hearing this, Qi Xia quietly looked at Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan, then opened his mouth and said, “To be honest… this plan didn’t include you two from the beginning.”

“What…?”

Qi Xia shook his head. “According to my vision, after I began to recover my memories, I would part ways with you, so I never left suitable positions for you in this plan.”

After saying this, he turned his head to look at Zhang Chenze, Tiantian, and Yun Yao. “That includes you all as well.”

After hearing this, everyone fell silent, not knowing what to do.

“But I always believe that everything is predetermined,” Qi Xia said, looking at Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin. “Just as I’ve always told you—do what you want to do. Those strange things called ‘Cause and Effect,’ ‘Karma,’ ‘Strong Luck,’ ‘Destiny,’ and ‘Heavenly Will’ will subtly guide the results toward the endpoint.”

“Do whatever I want to do…” Chen Junnan nodded. “Old Qi, I’ve discovered that you’re the same from start to finish—you never worry about this young master causing trouble.”

After saying this, he looked at Qiao Jiajin and asked, “Old Qiao, what do you say? Once we board later, where will you sit?”

“Me…” Qiao Jiajin lowered his head to look at his blood-drenched fists and replied, “Wherever I can fight, that’s where I’ll go.”

“There’s always fighting on the train,” Qi Xia responded.

“I’ll go kill Qinglong,” Qiao Jiajin said decisively. “Wherever it’s hardest to fight, that’s where I’ll fight.”

“Qinglong…” After hearing this, Qi Xia paused slightly. “Perhaps this is also predetermined?”

“What?”

“Fists,” Qi Xia shook his head and said, “Regarding ‘killing Qinglong’… I can give you some advice. Perhaps it can slightly increase your odds of winning.”

After hearing this, Chen Junnan was instantly stunned. “No way, Old Qi… Old Qiao’s crazy, and you’re going crazy with him? If he fights Qinglong, is this a problem that can be solved with ‘advice’ to improve his ‘odds of winning’?”

“Having it is better than not having it.”

“Oh?” Upon hearing this, Qiao Jiajin became interested. “Do I need to find the owners of those ‘eyes’ and then break their magic?”

“That’s unrealistic,” Qi Xia said. “Even Qinglong himself doesn’t remember who those eyes belong to, and Heavenly-Snake remembers even less.”

“Then how should I fight?”

Qi Xia thought carefully for a moment. “The most important thing is to destroy his ‘Faith’ and make Qinglong develop extreme doubts about himself.”

Chen Junnan nodded, but quickly realized something was wrong. “That theory is correct, but for someone as crazy as Qinglong… how much doubt would he need to have?”

“Doubt about the entire ‘Land of the End,’ doubt about his own life, doubt about the memories in his mind,” Qi Xia said. “If we can achieve a collapse of faith on this scale, then killing him would be a certainty.”

“That powerful?” Qiao Jiajin frowned.

“Fists, the strategy I’m giving you is just two words. If you enter a bitter struggle, you might as well try…” He gently raised his head and whispered those two words into Qiao Jiajin’s ear.

“Ah…?” Qiao Jiajin immediately frowned.

“What the hell?” Chen Junnan moved closer. “Liar Boy, you can’t do this! Share the news when you have it! What two words are so mysterious that you have to whisper them?”

“This is a temporary trump card,” Qi Xia said. “Right now, it can only increase Qiao Jiajin’s survival rate and cannot fundamentally change the situation. If word gets out, it might even reduce the effectiveness. So you’d better not know.”

“You’re saying Old Qiao’s survival rate is low?” Chen Junnan asked.

“His survival rate is high, but his victory rate is low,” Qi Xia replied. “But with this trump card, he might be able to die a few times less.”

“Good lord…” Chen Junnan sighed. “I was wondering why I felt you were acting strange—turns out you’re planning to let Old Qiao go die.”

“I just said that I believe everything is predetermined,” Qi Xia said. “Perhaps one day this trump card will become a key move—who can say for sure?”

After hearing this, Qiao Jiajin turned to look at Chen Junnan and said, “Old Chen, what about you? You haven’t said where you’re going yet.”

“Me?” Chen Junnan thought for a moment. “I can go anywhere except where you’re going.”

“Why?”

“There’s only one reason,” Chen Junnan said. “Old Qiao, your punch can knock down a cow, and when you get serious in a fight, you don’t recognize anyone. The place you go to is definitely very dangerous—either Qinglong or some powerful monster. My abilities are all long-range and wide-area. If we end up in the same space, your size is too big and will block my moves.”

Qiao Jiajin was stunned after hearing this, looking down at his own body. “Do you think… I’m fat?”

“Get lost.”