Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Meng Chao was slightly startled by the cold voice that sounded like a scalpel.
Meng Chao said, “Sister Ya, are you crazy or conscious? Your acting’s too solid. When you hugged me just now, you didn’t even give me any hints!”
“Nonsense, of course I’m conscious. The hug itself was the biggest hint.”
Lu Siya curled her lips. “If it weren’t for the fact that something was fishy, would you have ever seen me hug you so gently?”
Meng Chao thought for a moment and had to admit it, “Alright, I was too slow. You gave me the biggest hint the second you saw me.
“Speaking of which, I have the same question. How do I know that you’re the real Lu Siya and not a beast that’s good at disguising as a human being? Maybe you’re just a ‘virus’ that’s implanted in my cerebral cortex to disrupt my visual nerves and make me hallucinate?”
Meng Chao’s voice turned cold and sharp too.
The corner of Lu Siya’s lips curled up. “It seems that you suspect that everything in front of you is not real, including me?”
Meng Chao pondered for a moment and shook his head slowly. “I don’t think that everything in front of me is fake, but there are definitely elements of falsehood and hallucination. It should be known that 99% of the best lies are the truth, and the best hallucinations should be made up of 99% reality.
“Perhaps, the entire Peach Blossom Town is real, except for you. You could have been formed in my retina. What if the last and most critical 1% is fake?
“It seems that we have to figure out a way to prove that we are the real Meng Chao and Lu Siya before we can have a deeper conversation.”
Lu Siya was not angry at Meng Chao’s suspicion. Instead, she looked appreciative and said, “I have an idea. Let’s ask each other three questions involving three secrets that only we know. What do you think?”
“Alright.”
Meng Chao thought for a moment before adding, “The questions and answers should be as short as possible, similar to riddles. Unless it’s the real Meng Chao and Lu Siya, others won’t even know what the question is. Furthermore, these questions should not involve Dragon City’s core secrets, such as the Supernatural Tower and the ancient ruins. It’s to prevent the walls from eavesdropping and allowing the monster mastermind to take advantage of them.
“If we can answer such riddles, there are only two possibilities.
“First, the people standing opposite each other are indeed the best partners who can communicate telepathically, and they are not imposters pretending to be beasts.
“Second, the monster mastermind can read our thoughts and retrieve the corresponding answers. If that is the case, we don’t have to waste our efforts on cracking the situation in Peach Blossom Town, because all our thoughts and actions are under the monster mastermind’s control.
“That’s right.”
Lu Siya bluntly said, “If the monster mastermind can read our minds at will, there’s no need for us to spend so much effort to manage the situation in Peach Blossom Town. We just have to devour every human brain it controls.”.
“Three questions. Shall I go first?”
Since they were riddles, the questions were the answers, and it did not make any difference who went first. Meng Chao nodded and said, “Sure, Sister Ya. Ask away!”
“The first question, A’Ji,” Lu Siya said quickly.
At first glance, the word “A’Ji” did not make any sense, so it posed no problem at all.
Even if the monster mastermind had a large amount of information about Dragon City and knew everything about Meng Chao and Lu Siya, even if it knew that Meng Chao had met a young leper named “A’Ji” during the Lair battle, it would still be impossible for it to know… what was Lu Siya’s real question.
Only Meng Chao could answer it without hesitation. “Jin Wanhao!”
That’s right, the leper, A’Ji was “Underground Emperor” Jin Wanhao’s new identity after he returned to his youth.
That secret was only known to Meng Chao, Lu Siya, and A’Ji himself.
The first password was a match.
“The second question, it’s my turn.”
Meng Chao stared at Lu Siya and said, “At the bottom of Raging Waves Mountain, why did Qin Hu escape?”
Lu Siya thought for two seconds, raised her eyebrows, and said, “Beauty crevice!”
At first glance, that was an even stranger answer than “Jin Wanhao.”
However, Meng Chao immediately understood what she meant.
When he, Lu Siya, and Qin Hu had encountered the Red Radiance Jade tide at the bottom of Raging Waves Mountain, there had been two crevices in front of them.
The first crevice had led straight to the ground, but it had been zigzagging and complicated. It would take them more than twenty hours to climb to the ground.
If they had really chosen that escape route, they would have been burned to ashes by the Red Radiance Jade tide before they even covered one-third of the way.
The second crevice had seemed to be a dead end, but it had led straight to a mine where a lot of Blue Origin Crystals were stored.
It was exactly through this crevice that they had been able to resist the assault of the Red Radiance Jade tide by relying on the surging spirit energy of the Blue Origin Crystals. They had even benefited from the disaster by absorbing the spirit energy of two completely opposite natures into their bodies and integrating them. It had laid a solid foundation for breaking through the Heaven Realm.
Whether it was in his previous life or in this life, the crevice leading to the Blue Origin Crystals had been Qin Hu’s choice.
Qin Hu was a veteran hunter, but he knew nothing about rock formation exploration and underground survival.
As a prospector and a sensitive person, Lu Siya had chosen another crevice that led straight to the ground.
Based on his memories from his previous life, Meng Chao had trusted Qin Hu unconditionally, allowing them to escape.
After the incident, when the two of them asked Qin Hu why he had subconsciously chosen that crevice, Qin Hu gave an answer that was neither funny nor amusing.
The reason was, he felt that the crevice that led straight to the Blue Origin Crystals was well-proportioned and had exquisite curves. It outlined the silhouette of a beauty lying on her side.
Similarly, only Meng Chao, Lu Siya, and Qin Hu knew about it.
Since it was not an important matter, and it would be a little embarrassing if it was revealed, Qin Hu could not reveal that secret to anyone.
Even if the monster mastermind found out about Jin Wanhao’s biggest secret through some incredible means via Jin Qianxi…
It was impossible for it to know the random thoughts that popped up in Qin Hu’s mind and that Qin Hu was about to die.
Therefore, those two riddles alone were enough to prove their identities.
Just to be safe, Meng Chao asked Lu Siya to throw out a third question.
Lu Siya pondered for a moment and narrowed her eyes. She stared at Meng Chao and coldly asked, “Do you still remember the last time we met before we left?”
Meng Chao contemplated for a short while and said, “The time when I came to visit you with a gift in the Lair Reconstruction Committee’s office?”
“Right, that time.”
Lu Siya enunciated each word carefully. “Okay, one last question. Listen carefully, if you were the real Meng Chao, you would know why I was angry at that time!”
Meng Chao was stunned.
He widened his eyes and pondered for a long time, but his eyes remained blank.
“I-I don’t know!”
He scratched his head and said, “Wait, Sister Ya, were you angry that time?”
Hearing this, Lu Siya finally let out a long sigh of relief and completely relaxed. “Your answer’s correct. It seems that you are indeed the real Meng Chao.”
“Huh?”
Meng Chao was at a loss. “That’s the correct answer? But I still don’t know why you were angry that day!”
“That’s right, because I wasn’t angry at all.”
Lu Siya smiled coldly. “You were so busy cultivating with Battle God Lei Zongchao that you even took time out of your busy schedule to visit me. You even prepared a gift for me and the kind-hearted Ms. Mulian, who saved thousands of citizens. It turned out to be gene medicine and high-grade nutrition fluid that you had personally selected.
“You must know that the current Su Mulian is a goddess that countless citizens of Dragon City regard as pure and flawless. She’s the one who saves people from their suffering. I actually enjoyed the same treatment as the goddess when I was with you. Even half of the gene medicine and high-grade nutrition fluids were no less better than hers. That’s simply too touching. I was overjoyed. How could I possibly be angry?
“Therefore, ‘I’m not angry’ is the correct answer. Congratulations!”
“Alright. Now, I can 100% confirm that you are the real Lu Siya.”
Meng Chao moistened his dry throat with his saliva and said, “You say that you’re angry, but for some reason, I feel that you’re a little angry.
“You congratulated me for passing the test, but for some reason, I don’t know why, I feel that I didn’t pass at all. I even feel my heart palpitating.
“Only the real Queen Bee, Lu Siya, can be like that. Even if the Vortex is reborn and imitates your appearance perfectly, it’s impossible to replicate such a baffling feeling.
“Speaking of which, Sister Ya, are you angry or not? Have I passed or not?”
“The details are not important. You can worry about that after you get out of here alive. Right now, the most important thing is to figure out the truth behind Peach Blossom Town.”
Lu Siya said, “Our time is limited. We must find a way to stop and destroy the Tree of Wisdom before the Harvest Ceremony is over and the tree fully awakens. Next, I will describe what happened after I arrived in Peach Blossom Town and the bewilderment that I experienced in the shortest possible way. Pay attention and listen carefully. Let’s piece the truth together!
“Also, let’s not whisper to each other so suspiciously, and don’t let your spirit energy leak out of your pores either. Wear it like transparent armor, and people will know that you are on guard at first glance.
“I suggest that you absorb some hallucinogenic spores and create the illusion that you are gradually going crazy. Just like the townspeople around you, it will be easier for you to disguise yourself.”
Following her advice, Meng Chao released some of the pores that were far away from his core organs and allowed a small amount of the hallucinogenic spores to invade his body. Then, he forced them to stay in the epidermis and nerve endings with his spirit energy.
His entire body immediately turned red as if he was allergic to alcohol. He was steaming, staggering, and dancing.
“That’s right. That’s it. Don’t stop. Keep dancing.”
Lu Siya danced with him and quickly said under the cover of the colorful feathers, “That day, I led the entire special search group, Team Nine to the edge of the sinkhole. We were divided into three groups and were about to explore the sinkhole…
“All of a sudden, all our communication and data links were cut off. But in the jungle behind us, there was an overwhelming beast tide…”