Qiao Jiajin’s expression had grown utterly frigid. Several times he opened his mouth to speak, only to swallow the words back down each time.
Zhou Six slowly set Ning Eighteen upon the ground, then turned toward Wang Eight and said, “Take her out and burn her.”
“Alright...” Wang Eight nodded, trembling. He hefted Ning Eighteen over his shoulder, then looked back and asked, “Six jie... are we truly not striking? That damned horse—”
“That isn’t Five ge’s intention.” Zhou Six shook her head. “Don’t add to his burdens. Get Xiao Eighteen out of here first; she has performed more than well enough.”
Qiao Jiajin watched as Ning Eighteen was carried out the door. In the distance, the stout man arranged some splintered wood on the ground, laid her upon it, then struck his lighter to spark a flame. A heavy sorrow welled within him.Anatomy
“You Big ol’ Horse...” He turned back toward Terrestrial Horse. “Your method of claiming victory is to strike down one who cannot even move?”
Terrestrial Horse nodded. “So long as I kill, this game will not be a loss.”
“Where is your {morality}?” Qiao Jiajin demanded.Horses
“I’m nothing more than a monster with a horse’s head, what {morality} should I have?”
“But your field bears {Monetary Affairs}...” Qiao Jiajin let out a cold laugh. “You would slay the wounded before {Monetary Affairs}. Do you not hear that star’s saddened cries?”
“{Monetary Affairs} is but a tool fabricated by human hands,” Terrestrial Horse replied. “It must obey my commands to kill.”
Qiao Jiajin clenched the iron bat in his grip, his face like ice as he strode forward several paces.
“Well well.” Terrestrial Horse’s smile was all mockery. She drew an ice-ball from her bamboo tube. “Your gaze suggests you mean to kill, how amusing. And just what do you intend to do?”
“You refuse Yi Gor his morality, then I shall grant it on your behalf.” Qiao Jiajin’s aura began to shift, slow and deliberate. “Those who followed me were beaten to death by you...and you find it amusing?”Teaching & Classroom Resources
“Of course it is amusing.” Terrestrial Horse’s pitch-black mouth split in a sneer. “A group of participants dares to confront a {Terrestrial-grade} head-on. Where, I ask, does this confidence come from?”
“That confidence comes from me.” Qiao Jiajin slowly closed his eyes, recalling everything that had transpired since entering this game. “You are indeed cunning...I have played a fair number of games myself, yet some {Earthly Branches} are straightforward and honorable, speaking and acting with integrity. You, however, concealed every rule that might lead to our deaths, merely to let carelessness claim our lives.”
“Indeed.” Terrestrial Horse nodded. “Though it may seem unscrupulous, only by such means can one compel more people to willingly march toward death.”
“Hah...” Qiao Jiajin felt a buzzing in his ears. “How laughable...So {remaining silent} is not considered {lying}...? This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.”
Terrestrial Horse sensed something amiss. The ground beneath them seemed to tremble slightly.Games
“Big ol’ Horse, I’ll say it again, I am the source of everyone’s confidence.” Qiao Jiajin slowly opened his eyes, and suddenly, from all directions, a tremendous bell tolled.
{Dong}!!
The sound was so immense that everyone was startled, and even the formidable Terrestrial Horse wavered in place.Horses
{Purge All Power} had descended!
Qi Xia frowned at the sight. He looked around, knowing only Qiao Jiajin’s {Reverberation} could summon such a colossal toll.
But was this truly necessary?
According to the information he had gathered, {Earthly Branches} did not possess {Reverberation}. Then what purpose did {Purge All Power} serve here?
What could it possibly {purge} here?Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
“I’ve had enough of you...” Qiao Jiajin slowly extended his bat, pointing it toward Terrestrial Horse in the distance. “Put aside your petty cleverness and stop cheating.”
“Heh.” Terrestrial Horse found it immensely amusing. “Your {Reverberation} sounds impressive, yet how do you intend to deal with me?”
No sooner had the words fallen than Terrestrial Horse’s eyes widened in shock. Something she never could [N O V E L I G H T] have imagined was unfolding right before her.
All the {contraptions} along both sides of the track gradually began to dissolve. In a matter of seconds, they shattered into countless points of glittering light, which then drifted upward into the air.
The glittering light swirled and fell repeatedly, illuminating the room as if it were a sea of stars.Anatomy
At this moment, neither the members of {Cats} nor the usually composed Qi Xia could speak, struck dumb by the sight.
“How...” Qi Xia’s lips moved slightly, a haze clouding his thoughts.
All the {contraptions} had been neutralized. What bizarre occurrence was this?Physics
‘W–Wait a moment...’ Qi Xia narrowed his eyes as he realized the discrepancy. ‘These {Earthly Branches} game props... were actually produced through {Reverberation}?!’
Clues raced frantically through his mind, each seeming to flicker with some vital importance.
So, all of this was constructed with the aid of a certain {Reverberatee}?
From this perspective, Qi Xia suddenly felt that many things he had previously been unable to comprehend now became acceptable.
Those inconceivable {game props}, items that should never have appeared in {End Point}... all of these came from {Reverberation}?
‘Heavens...’ Qi Xia realized he had overlooked a crucial question. ‘Could it be that there are {Reverberatees} siding with the {Earthly Branches}?’Teaching & Classroom Resources
The others, naturally, did not consider matters as deeply as Qi Xia. They were simply astonished by the sea of stars above them. It felt as though they had returned to the real world, their eyes vacant as they watched points of glittering light fall from the sky, sighing at its breathtaking beauty.
“Xiao Eighteen.” Zhou Six smiled faintly, tinged with melancholy. “If you had held on a little longer, you would have witnessed this star-filled sky, and you would have been able to divinate an {auspicious} result... We now have a way to resist the {Earthly Branches}.”
Qiao Jiajin swung the star‑dusted metal bat, his gaze steely upon Terrestrial Horse. “Now let us...fight to the death.”Horses
Terrestrial Horse’s whole frame shook at the scene, caught in a tempest of anger and anxiety.
A far more troublesome situation now lay before her.
The tools she had relied upon to kill had been transformed into glitter by an unknown force... These meticulously constructed mechanisms, refined over nearly thirty years, had disappeared right before her eyes.
What was she to do next?
Had she violated the {rules}?Famous Quotations
Or had they violated them?
Yet he had not even touched these props and had made them vanish. Could {vanishing} itself be considered a form of {destruction}?
One thought after another swirled through her mind, leaving her in utter confusion.
The game she had submitted to her superiors clearly used {Big Dipper} to kill—but where was the {Big Dipper} now?
If this game existed merely to push a wheelbarrow, then what purpose would it serve?
“What exactly are you?” Terrestrial Horse felt as if she had been cast into an inescapable dilemma. “What have you done to my {contraptions}?”Games
Qiao Jiajin looked around at the shimmering points of light, twinkling like stars above and below, and replied softly, “I’ve done nothing but wish for a fair and just duel.”
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