“Alcohol” was indeed a good thing.

The originally somewhat silent atmosphere of the “welcoming party” gradually became lively after everyone downed a few bottles of beer.

Quite a few people began holding their beer bottles, clinking glasses with others while introducing themselves.

In the days to come, everyone would become comrades facing death together.

“Qiao Jiajin.” Qi Xia asked while eating peanuts, “What’s your reason for having to leave this place?”

“I don’t really know either.” Qiao Jiajin looked at the lively crowd in the distance and slowly began to speak. “Repaying a debt of gratitude? Or seeking revenge? I’m not clear about it myself.”

He took a big gulp of beer, his expression extremely calm.

The usually playful and smiling Qiao Jiajin seemed like a completely different person at this moment.

“What about you, Han Yimo?” Qi Xia looked toward Han Yimo again.

“I want to finish my novel.” Han Yimo answered. “I’m just one final chapter away from ending this story. Even if I have to die, I want to finish the novel before I die.”

“That’s too absolute.” Qi Xia shook his head. “Is the novel more important than your life?”

“That’s not it.” Han Yimo smiled bitterly. “Who would truly want to die? But the ‘earthquake’ came, and I’m destined to die… Yet why didn’t I just directly publish that chapter? Why did I have to proofread it myself…”

After hearing this, Qi Xia sighed helplessly.

What Han Yimo described wasn’t really a “reason to leave,” but rather more like a “wish before death.”

At this moment, a dark-skinned and thin girl and a middle-aged man in a suit walked over shoulder to shoulder, holding their beer bottles.

Qi Xia remembered these two people.

They had attended Auntie Tong’s lessons.

“Everyone, let’s get acquainted.” The dark-skinned thin girl said with a smile. “Are you all from the same room?”

“Yes.” Lin Qin nodded from the side. “Are you two as well?”

“Mm, my name is Li Xiangling.” The dark-skinned girl extended her hand toward Lin Qin.

Lin Qin also extended her hand, and the two briefly shook hands.

At the moment of contact, Lin Qin noticed that this girl’s palm had quite a few calluses.

“I’m Zhong Zhen.” The suited man nodded toward the group.

Qi Xia looked at the two with a puzzled expression, then asked, “Are all your other teammates dead?”

“No.” The girl named Li Xiangling shook her head. “Five of us survived, but the remaining three didn’t want to come to ‘Heaven’s Mouth,’ so only Uncle and I came.”

“I’m Qiao Jiajin.” Qiao Jiajin picked up his beer bottle and clinked it against Zhong Zhen’s bottle. “Just call me A’Jin.”

“Alright, brother.”

The two began conversing with Lin Qin, Qiao Jiajin, and Han Yimo.

It turned out their teammates were three criminals.

From the moment those three arrived in the city, they had been searching for self-defense daggers. Zhong Zhen and Li Xiangling knew they weren’t the same kind of people as them and had wanted to act separately, but then encountered Zhang Shan who came to recruit them.

After brief communication, the two decided to come check out “Heaven’s Mouth.”

“All three are criminals?” Qi Xia frowned.

“Yes… Two of them had served their sentences and been released, and one came directly from prison…” Li Xiangling couldn’t help but reveal a trace of lingering fear. “It really felt so scary.”

Qi Xia naturally knew who these three people she mentioned were, but at this moment he had another question.

If everyone who came here was here to “atone for their sins,” were A’Mu, the bald man, and the blonde guy truly regretting their actions?

Just as Auntie Tong had said, everyone who came here was guilty of something, but Qi Xia had already witnessed with his own eyes that many people had no remorse whatsoever.

For A’Mu and his two companions, this place didn’t seem like somewhere for them to “atone,” but rather a place that completely liberated them.

Yun Yao walked over at this time. Seeing that Qi Xia had been continuously eating peanuts, she couldn’t help but feel somewhat puzzled.

“Qi Xia, why aren’t you drinking?”

“Because I need to stay clear-headed.” Qi Xia said. “You all go ahead and drink.”

“Why exhaust yourself like that?” Yun Yao sat down beside Qi Xia and opened a bottle for him. “We’re already in a place where we’re certain to die. What is there that requires such constant vigilance?”

Qi Xia felt that what Yun Yao said wasn’t without reason, but after so many years he had already grown accustomed to it.

“I’ll pass. I’ll just eat peanuts.”

After Qi Xia finished speaking, he continued peeling peanuts.

Yun Yao felt Qi Xia was very strange. The pile of peanut shells in front of him was almost becoming a small mountain. Just how much did this person love eating peanuts?

“Hmph, fine, don’t drink then.” Yun Yao pouted, then turned and saw Lin Qin. “Miss, what do you do?”

“I’m a psychological counselor.” Lin Qin answered with a slight smile.

“Wow…” Yun Yao happily clinked her bottle against hers. “Our team also used to have a professional psychological consultant.”

“Team?” Lin Qin paused. “So you’re…?”

“We’re a girl idol group called ‘Qisi Miao.'” She smiled and asked, “We already debuted in 2027. Miss, have you heard of our group? What year are you from?”

Hearing this, Lin Qin’s face showed a trace of awkwardness. “No, I haven’t heard of it… My time period is quite a bit later…”

Qi Xia shook his head helplessly, also feeling embarrassed for Yun Yao.

Lin Qin was from 2068. By the time she was following celebrities, Yun Yao would probably already be retired.

But Yun Yao seemed completely unconcerned and began chatting endlessly with Lin Qin, from daily life to philosophical thought. Fortunately, Lin Qin had substance in her belly and could chat about any topic for a while.

Before long, someone from “Heaven’s Mouth” brought over a few batteries and handed them to Yun Yao.

Seeing this, she happily turned and left, walking to an old-fashioned radio. She installed the batteries, pressed the play button, then turned back to address everyone present: “Everyone, everyone!! For today’s ‘welcoming party,’ we’ve recruited several teammates we haven’t seen before. I really like them, so I’m in an especially good mood and I’m going to sing a song for everyone.”

After hearing this, everyone eagerly applauded enthusiastically.

Qiao Jiajin, Han Yimo, Zhong Zhen, Li Xiangling, and Doctor Zhao all crowded forward and found seats with excellent views to sit down.

As the old melody came through the radio, Yun Yao also very generously began singing along.

With her sweet appearance and excellent stage presence, she didn’t seem much like an idol group member, but rather like a professional singer.

The song playing from the radio was quite familiar. Many people present could sing it.

This performance slowly transformed from Yun Yao’s solo into a large chorus.

Among them, Qiao Jiajin sang the most enthusiastically.

“Though the road beside you is long, I’m not weary.”

“Accompanying you as I walk, section after section.”

“Crossing one peak, another peak appears.”

“The goal keeps moving further, letting ideals forever stay ahead.”

This was “Strolling Through Life’s Journey” released by Teresa Teng in 1984. For some reason, playing it here always felt very fitting.

Watching the crowd singing loudly in the distance, Qi Xia was also infected by them, seeming for an instant to forget where he was.

It appeared that only he and Lin Qin didn’t know this song. The two sat in the corner, as if isolated from this world.

“Qi Xia.” Lin Qin called out. “There’s something I want to tell you.”

Qi Xia’s hands paused in peeling peanuts, then he asked as if nothing was wrong, “What is it?”

“I’m an ‘Extreme Path’ practitioner wandering the Land of Finality. My purpose is to purge the entire ‘Heaven’s Mouth.'”

Lin Qin smiled happily, looking at the crowd in the distance as she took a sip of beer.

“I wish to use laughter’s sound to cover up the painful side.”

“Whether sad or happy.”

“Every day, find new discoveries.”

In the distance, everyone continued singing loudly, filled with a joyful atmosphere.