Chapter 1226: Gao Yang

“Baili Yi” opened his eyes, having calculated an ending.

He took a deep breath and tried to calculate another, but his face twisted, and he threw up blood before falling unconscious.

Tang Xiaocong was playing another role after all. Her energy had run out.

“Time Reset!”

Hong Xiaoxiao interfered.

Thirty seconds later, Tang Xiaocong returned.

Dr. Jia immediately rushed over to put his hands on her head. He shook his head with frustration after ten seconds. “Doesn’t work. I don’t see anything!”

“How can that be?” Chen Ying asked.

“It’s strange. There’s no trace of memory at all.” Dr. Jia frowned. “Can the fake Baili Yi not use Flake Out?”

“That can’t be,” Adept Horse said. “If NPC has succeeded in playing the role, the Talents must be accessible.”

“Or maybe...” Liao Liao thought of another possibility. “Baili Yi couldn’t calculate the endings, so Tang Xiaocong failed, too?”

Gao Yang fell silent for a few seconds, his eyes grim. “That proved that Baili Yi had calculated the ending.”

“Oh!” Liao Liao exclaimed in realization. “Calculation within calculation!”

“So that’s what happened.” Dr. Jia huffed out a laugh.

“Huh?” Zhang Wei’s gaze shifted between them. He had been listening closely. Why was he left confused again?

“It goes like this!” Liao Liao explained to those who hadn’t caught up. “We believed Baili Yi to have calculated the ending of the Battle of the Curtain Call. Thus, we thought about having Tang Xiaocong play Baili Yi, looking into the future for us. That, however, was part of the future Baili Yi had deduced.”

“Oh, shit!” Zhang Wei finally realized. “That man is cunning!”

Adept Horse put two and two together as well. “So Baili Yi saw us looking into the future through Tang Xiaocong. He believed that we must not know the ending first, or the ending might be changed. Thus, he used Flake Out to set up an automatic failsafe. He’d forget about the ending even if he deduced it. Then the same happened to Tang Xiaocong, too. That prevented us from using the loophole...”

White Dew frowned. “But didn’t that change the future? Doesn’t that count as interference with our causality?“

“So he did it in a roundabout way.” Liao Liao smiled wryly.

“Ha, guidance instead of taking control? Now he’s fucking misdirecting us!” Zhang Wei ranted. “His mentor would be clawing out of his grave!”

“It is misdirection.” Liao Liao’s eyes lit up. “Isn’t that interesting? It’s because we discover his misdirection that we discard his calculation and have to make a decision ourselves... Therefore, our future is in our hands.”

“Right...back to the beginning.” Chen Ying blinked in surprise.

Dr. Jia rubbed his nose. “Tsk, it’s borderline a grandfather paradox.”

“So if I’m getting this right,” One Stone grumbled, “the answer we got after all the trouble is that we cannot get the right answer.”

“Yep.” Liao Liao nodded.

They all turned to Gao Yang.

With his back to everyone else, Gao Yang looked at the blond man sitting on the throne through the barrier.

Seconds crawled by in silence. Unable to bear the stillness, Sun Hu spoke up, “Why don’t we put it to a vote? Majority rules...”

“No!” Old Seven interjected. “Why must the minority obey the majority? Who gives the majority the right to determine the fate of the minority?”

“Then what?” Zhang Wei despaired. “We can’t just each do whatever we want to do, right?”

Old Seven didn’t have an answer. Clenching his teeth, he turned to look at Gao Yang’s back. “I’ll follow Brother Yang! He’s our leader!”

“Hear, hear!” Zhang Wei agreed. “I’ll listen to Brother Yang! Whatever choice he makes, I’ll live with it!”

“Same for me,” Hong Xiaoxiao said.

“And me,” Liao Liao chimed in.

“Me, too.” Gregor narrowed his eyes and chuckled like an old man sharing his wisdom. “It’s not a bad thing to not have a choice.”

The others silently looked at Gao Yang. As Gregor had said, not having a choice could be considered luck sometimes. This was a difficult decision that would determine the fate of humanity and even the world, a decision not for the faint of heart to make.

Perhaps that was why a leader was necessary.

After a moment, Gao Yang turned around.

“I’m sorry, everyone.”

The apology hit them like a physical force. Many of them had already guessed his decision.

Gao Yang smiled. It was devoid of emotions, filled with an immeasurable exhaustion and emptiness.

“This time, I’m not the Divine Scion or the leader, but simply Gao Yang.”

He turned back to look at Wang Zikai. “My best friend challenged me to a fight. I’m not backing down from that.”

He took a step, leaving the Absolute Barrier.

“Captain!” Chen Ying rushed over, but the barrier stopped her. “There’s still time. Give it another thought!”

“Captain, I’ll follow your order!” Adept Horse shouted a warning. “But consider it again. It can be a trap!”

Zhang Wei was panicking. He didn’t expect Gao Yang to choose a duel. “Brother Yang! This isn’t how a bossman should be! You can’t just shoulder everything on your own! We aren’t afraid of death. Let us fight together!”

“A real man!” Old Seven, who had been opposing the decision, changed his mind instead. He understood Gao Yang. “I don’t agree with you, but I understand you! Brother Yang, even if you go alone first, I’ll be right behind!”

“Brother Gao Yang! Good luck!” Lovely Lamb rushed up to the barrier and raised her voice. “Defeat the evil dragon and save everyone!”

Raven Shark stared at Gao Yang’s back and said, “Defeat...the evil dragon!”

Hong Xiaoxiao joined after a pause. “May the odds be with you, Captain!”

Quiet Book grabbed Hong Xiaoxiao’s hands nervously. “Be careful, Captain!”

Liao Liao clenched her fists and took a deep breath. “Come back victorious, Captain!”

Sun Hu held an unconscious Tang Xiaocong in his arms as he repeated, “Come back victorious!”

White Dew said with a slight smile, “Don’t disappoint me, Gao Yang.”

Eyes sad, One Stone added in a projected voice, “And don’t disappoint yourself!”

Gregor shook ash from the cigarette in his hand. “Go. Put a period to this mess.”

Dr. Jia said worriedly, “Fight hard, Gao Yang. I haven’t completed my research!”

Nainai hovered above them with her arms crossed and her chin lifted pridefully. “Face your fate, mortal. This Empress will be blessing you!”

Parry flapped its wings and flew around Nainai.

“Gao Yang!”

“Gao Yang!”

“Gao Yang!”