Chapter 505

Arc 5: I Am Deeply Disappointed Jan 28 Written By Pure Preview

TLN: L.N., this chapter is dedicated to you, your support is very much appreciated ^^

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Chapter 505 Omniscient Clarity

Zhou Six noticed Qi Xia’s abnormal state and stepped forward, a hint of concern in her voice. “Tsk, Qi Xia, you alright?”

Qi Xia covered his forehead and turned to look at her, his expression cold. “I… have a bit of a headache.”

“A headache…?” Qiu Sixteen and Luo Eleven also looked over. “Are you injured?”

“I’m fine.” Qi Xia shook his head and replied, “Initially, I believed my thoughts were being blocked. But now, I fear something has taken root within my brain…”

Bai Nine looked at Qi Xia with visible worry. “You didn’t have something like a brain tumor before coming here, did you?”

‘Brain tumor…?’ Qi Xia paused, startled, but quickly rejected the notion as baseless. His memories preserved in {End Point} might be incomplete, but his memories of the real world were intact. He had never suffered from any neurological illness. How could he possibly have a brain tumor?

He shifted the topic and looked at Zhou Six. “Zhou Six, does Qian Five encounter any restrictions when performing a rescue?”

“Tsk, elaborate?”

Qi Xia paused, then asked, “If my skull were opened…could he bring me back alive?”

Qi Xia’s statement baffled everyone present. Even with the chaos and injured all around, he dared to mention opening his own skull.

“Why would you want to do that?” Bai Nine blinked. “Why would you cut open your head when you’re perfectly fine?”

“Haven’t I already explained?” Qi Xia replied plainly. “There’s something stirring inside my head. Open my skull… take out my brain, and let me see what it holds.”

Zhou Six and Bai Nine shared a look, each convinced that Qi Xia had veered into madness.

“Tsk, that would be very difficult.” Zhou Six remarked. “Five ge’s ability isn’t as powerful as you imagine. The moment your skull is opened, you’d die, no one could bring you back.”

“I see,” Qi Xia said, his gaze cooling. “What a shame. I want to see it with my own eyes… to know exactly what has been tormenting my brain all this time.”

“But do you even understand the structure of the brain?” Bai Nine said. “Even if you really managed to get your hands on your own brain and could clearly see its structure… would you even be able to tell what’s wrong with it?”

“I…” Qi Xia paused, a thought dawning on him. “You’re implying… if I want to understand what’s wrong with my brain, my best option would be to consult a {neurologist}…”

“If you happen to know a {neurologist}, that would be ideal,” Bai Nine smiled and nodded. “All you’d have to do is die first, let them dissect your brain, and the truth would be laid bare. They could leave you a note or preserve their memory to tell you afterward.”

Qi Xia reflected carefully. However it was framed, dissecting his brain would inevitably mean death.

If he sought answers, waiting for the next cycle was his only option.

“In that case… the best course would be to find Doctor Zhao before the tenth day, before the {End} descends, and have him help me with this…” Qi Xia murmured. “What a curious coincidence that among the ten people in the probation room, one just happened to be a {neurologist}…”

Qi Xia’s eyes narrowed as he considered the situation. Doctor Zhao had long resided at {Passage to Heaven}. Though naturally timid, his {Reverberation} was powerful, and Chu Tianqiu would almost certainly seek to enlist him. If Doctor Zhao joined, would any opportunity remain for him to collaborate?

“What a nuisance…” Qi Xia slowly lowered the hand covering his forehead. The sharp pain had already begun to fade, leaving his face blank, cold, and filled with despair. Those watching closely could see nothing but icy resolve. ‘Why… does this damn place require me to do so much…?’

Doubt crept into his mind. Could it be that the moment he was gone, all the {participants} at {End Point} would flail helplessly like hunted prey, resigned to defeat?

Are the truly {formidable} so astonishingly rare?

As his thoughts drifted, three words suddenly surfaced in Qi Xia’s mind:

Wen Qiaoyun.

According to Terrestrial Horse, the woman named Wen Qiaoyun was extraordinarily formidable, yet she appeared ensnared in unending failure.

How peculiar, that someone so strong could exist entirely beyond his knowledge in {End Point}.

Yet, in hindsight… hadn’t he been stumbling just as much?

‘One… as formidable as me?’ Qi Xia narrowed his eyes sharply, sensing the argument was difficult to sustain. If someone this powerful had been active in {End Point} all along, she would surely be some kind of leader. Yet whether it was Qian Five, Chu Tianqiu, Lin Qin, Chen Junnan, or any other memory-bearing person, none had ever mentioned Wen Qiaoyun.

If Wen Qiaoyun truly outclassed him, it would imply she possessed just the right touch of madness; otherwise, for a purely rational woman to command his unquestioned respect seemed inconceivable.

Yet if her madness exceeded his, or even Chu Tianqiu’s, she would be indistinguishable from the indigenous inhabitants, making it impossible for her to possess such overwhelming power.

‘This is a {Catch-22}…only a madman dares, but he who accomplishes it is no longer mad.’

Qi Xia quickly sorted through his thoughts. If Terrestrial Horse had not lied, then it meant that long ago, there had indeed been an incredibly powerful woman on this land named Wen Qiaoyun.

Yet she had not appeared for a very long time, which meant she had most likely failed, either driven completely insane or reduced to an {indigenous inhabitant}, for there was no trace left of her previous existence.

Terrestrial Horse’s memory spanned over twenty years, enough to show that Wen Qiaoyun’s presence belonged to a distant past.

A daring hypothesis formed in Qi Xia’s mind: if no one had lied and Wen Qiaoyun was truly formidable, might she have been a leader two decades past, or perhaps even earlier?

At that thought, Qi Xia’s lips curved ever so slightly.

‘If Wen Qiaoyun was indeed the leader two decades ago, then matters grow all the more peculiar…’ His eyes took on a hint of contempt. It was as if he had found a lone spike jutting from a flawless iron plate, its hue identical to the plate, trying to remain hidden, yet revealed to him from a different angle.

Indeed, just by changing perspective, the spike became glaringly obvious.

‘More than two decades have gone by… Terrestrial Horse, why is it that you still mention this person?’ Qi Xia traced his jaw, unraveling the concealed spike until it was entirely revealed before him. ‘Have you, in all these twenty years, never encountered another formidable individual? Have you never witnessed how powerful I once was?’

Qi Xia let out a soft smile. ‘Fascinating… Terrestrial Horse, was this deliberate?’

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TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)