Hearing Qi Xia’s words, Qian Wuyi froze.

“Qi Xia, have you forgotten what I told you? If you collect all 3,600 ‘Daos,’ ‘Heavenly-Dragon’ and ‘Qinglong’ will definitely appear. They will start a killing spree without a word of explanation, and everything will be reshuffled.”

“Won’t there even be a chance to say a single sentence?” Qi Xia asked.

“A chance to say a sentence…?” Qian Wu’s tone wavered uncertainly. “Qi Xia… so this is your plan… you madman… you knew from the very beginning that collecting all 3,600 ‘Daos’ wouldn’t allow you to escape…”

“Yes, I’ll find a way to bet my life against ‘Heavenly-Dragon.'” Qi Xia said. “Do you think it’s feasible?”

“I don’t know…” Qian Wu shook his head somewhat nervously. “As I said, ‘Heavenly-Dragon’s’ power is completely inhuman. He only needs to wave his hand to turn you into meat paste. Even if you could speak those words at that critical moment, he might not hold back.”

“Is that so…?”

“After all, many ‘Zodiacs’ can still kill their opponents even during life-betting games.” Qian Wu said with some concern. “Ten years ago, you merely lost the game, and the consequences were already so tragic. If you lose the ‘life bet’ again…”

“Could it get any worse?” Qi Xia said. “Like you said, all our paths are blocked. Betting my life against ‘Heavenly-Dragon’ is already the final path.”

“If you lose the game, you might not even remain a ‘Native’… Instead, you could be completely erased from existence…”

“I don’t think so.” Qi Xia shook his head. “I once heard that ‘Heavenly-Dragon’ and I have a grudge. He seems to hate me to the core, but for some reason, I’m still alive and kicking to this day. So I suspect he has no way to erase me at all, or… every time he erases me, I return ten days later.”

“Alright… even if he has no way to erase you…” Qian Wu was still somewhat worried. “He can still turn you into a ‘Native,’ and then you’ll never be able to return to normal.”

Qi Xia had heard this sentence many times, but he always felt something was off about it.

After all, he had once seen someone transform from a Native back into a “Participant.” He thought this wasn’t an isolated case, but why, after wandering the “Land of the End” for so long, did everyone insist that becoming a “Native” was irreversible?

“Have you never seen a case of a ‘Native’ transforming back into a ‘Participant’?” Qi Xia confirmed.

Hearing this question, Qian Wu fell silent. Song Qi at the side could only take over the conversation: “Qi Xia, to be honest with you… we once had a teammate who went to fight an ‘Earth-Level’ due to a personal grudge. In the end, he lost his reason and became a ‘Native.’ After we found him, we used almost every method to awaken him. We didn’t succeed even after a whole year.”

“Hmm…? That long?” Qi Xia asked indifferently.

Qian Wu nodded: “After all, the ‘reason’ of Natives is personally taken away by ‘Zhu Que.’ Unless we could ask Zhu Que to return it, it’s absolutely impossible to recover.”

Qi Xia suddenly recalled that Zhu Que had once taken away Xiao Ran’s reason right in front of him. So all the “Natives” were Zhu Que’s handiwork?

Qian Wu’s words gave Qi Xia a new line of thought. Could it be that when Xu Liunian suddenly transformed back into a “Participant,” it was because Zhu Que appeared and returned her “reason” to her?

Was that possible?

He had died in Xu Liunian’s taxi. What happened after that?

Besides Zhu Que, who else came?

Why did Xu Liunian not only transform back into a “Participant” but even return to “Heaven’s Mouth” to play the role of Chu Tianqiu?

What was Chu Tianqiu planning?

“How interesting…” The corners of Qi Xia’s mouth lifted slightly. “This is how it should be… only if your plans are this complex are you qualified to cooperate with me.”

Qian Wu wanted to say something more, but Nineteen at the side suddenly interrupted him.

“Fifth Brother, the time is probably almost up.” Nineteen wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Let’s pause this meeting for now.”

“Alright.” Qian Wu nodded, then gave everyone a meaningful look. “Everyone, be cautious with your words and actions. What you say next might be heard by ‘Heaven.'”

After a few seconds, the “Silence” that enveloped the entire room disappeared.

Everyone fell into silence, not knowing what to say.

Qian Wu paused, then spoke: “Everyone… would you like to join ‘Cat’?”

Officer Li looked at Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin, then asked very cooperatively: “What does your ‘Cat’ do?”

“We’re mercenaries. We take people’s money and do their work.”

“So you earn ‘Daos’ in your own way?” Officer Li asked.

“No.” Qian Wu seemed to have answered this question countless times and skillfully replied, “We don’t need ‘Daos.’ What we collect is real money.”

“What…?” Officer Li was stunned. “How will you collect real money?”

“Naturally, we collect it in the real world.” Qian Wu smiled. “As long as you transfer money to us in the real world, we’ll work for you in the next cycle.”

“Huh?” Officer Li was taken aback. He seemed to have something to say. He turned to look at Qi Xia, feeling his mind was a bit muddled. “I don’t quite understand… we’re not from the same era. How can I transfer money to you?”

“Our ‘Cat’ members can cover a span of forty years forward and backward.” Qian Wu took out a cigarette and gestured to Li Shangwu. Li Shangwu accepted another one. “I wonder what year this officer is from?”

“I’m from…” Li Shangwu paused slightly, then looked up. “When did I ever say I was an ‘officer’?”

After hearing this, Qian Wu reached out to light Li Shangwu’s cigarette, then said: “Should I make up a reason and say ‘I think you look like a police officer’?”

Officer Li was amused by Qian Wu: “Then what’s the real reason?”

Qian Wu also smiled: “You and I have a deep friendship, so I understand your identity.”

Officer Li pondered for a moment: “I’m from 2010.”

“Perfect.” Qian Wu nodded and pointed to the girl beside him, saying, “Zhou Liu is from 2009. Her family can receive your transfer. If you need help in the future, you can look for her. She’ll work for you.”

The woman called Zhou Liu nodded at Li Shangwu very perfunctorily, then continued chewing her gum absent-mindedly.

“You’re not lying, are you…?” Officer Li’s expression turned cold as he stared at Qian Wu. “We transfer money to you outside—can you really receive it?”

“What do you mean…?” Qian Wu looked at Li Shangwu somewhat puzzled. “‘Cat’ has existed for almost seven years now. What reason would we have to lie?”

“You’re saying…” Officer Li glanced at Qi Xia again from the corner of his eye, then cautiously asked, “We can actually meet each other outside…?”