Chapter 574: No way?

That feeling was strange, standing on the edge of endless darkness, ready to leap into the abyss together.

San Yue Qi lowered her head and gave Lin a glance.

"Are you ready?"

Lin closed their eyes and nodded.

San Yue Qi took a deep breath and leapt!

The wind whistled past their ears.

San Yue Qi held her tightly, feeling her own body constantly falling.

"Lin, you really are an idiot."

"Same to you, Jiaojiao!"

Lin couldn't help screaming, but San Yue Qi's hand stayed tightly on her.

No one knew how long had passed—maybe a second, maybe ten thousand years—when San Yue Qi's foot suddenly stepped on something.

She opened her eyes and found herself standing on solid ground.

In front of her was a massive door, its surface etched with intricate patterns that glowed faintly in the darkness.

Lin also fell down, a leg going weak and almost collapsing, but San Yue Qi caught them.

"We... survived, Jiaojiao?" Lin's voice trembled.

San Yue Qi nodded, looking at the door, a wave of relief rising in her heart.

"Looks like it."

Lin took a few breaths, then stared at the door, a faint smile appearing on their face.

"Finally... finally found a way out, Jiaojiao!"

San Yue Qi suddenly felt an inexplicable confidence surge within her.

"Lin, do you think this time will be especially smooth?"

Lin tilted their head.

"What do you mean, Jiaojiao?"

"You know, the kind where everything goes unimpeded and we find the exit straight away."

Lin thought for a moment, then said seriously:

"It could be, Jiaojiao, after all we've been unlucky for so long, it's time our luck turned, Jiaojiao."

San Yue Qi nodded.

"Makes sense. Then let's open the door."

She reached out and pushed the door open—

A flash of light filled her vision.

Before San Yue Qi could react, she found herself bound to a chair.

All around was pure white, a blank whiteness.

No floor, no sky, no walls—nothing at all.

She seemed to float in a white void, every direction the same color.

San Yue Qi's eyes widened, her mind a blank.

Wait.

The familiar chair, the familiar space, the familiar prickling foreboding.

She looked down at herself—tied up tight, unable to move.

She looked up at the surroundings—empty, nothing at all.

Looking further ahead—

A massive screen was slowly lighting up.

The corner of San Yue Qi's mouth twitched.

"... No way?"

The screen began to play a scene.

This opening was even more absurd—Aha wore a sequined bodysuit, twisting on stage, while behind her a troupe of Nanuk clones performed pole dancing.

The background music was a kind of electronic synth that made you want to slam into a wall, its lyrics nothing but "Jiaojiao Jiaojiao Jiaojiao Jiaojiao Jiaojiao".

San Yue Qi's pupils began to dilate.

(Did... I die?)

(When did I die?)

(I didn't feel anything at all!)

The scene on the screen grew even more outrageous—Aha began spouting various Star Gods from her belly, the Nanuk kept their dancing pose as they were expelled, and Kelipe, when expelled, still held a wall‑building hammer.

Then those Star Gods circled Aha, singing as they turned, the lyrics roughly "Aha Aha I love you, like a mouse loves rice".

San Yue Qi's expression was completely numb.

(Rewind a few hours to watch this, she could understand, after all it's a long time.)

(But now... how long has she just rewound?)

(Minutes? Seconds?)

(That's it? That's it?!)

She couldn't help wailing inside:

(Clockboy! Get out for me!)

There was no response.

(Why! By what right!?)

The scene on the screen kept going, Aha began to do Nanu Ke's makeup, applying lipstick and eye shadow, singing as she did so: "You are my little, little apple~".

"We are Star God—We are Star God—We can do anything—We are everywhere—!"

San Yue Qi closed her eyes, but those images were etched in her mind like a brand.

No!

They actually started playing in her mind!!!

San Yue Qi's face turned green.

She was wrong.

She shouldn't have set that flag.

What the heck is 'unimpeded'!

She suddenly wanted to go back a few minutes and slap the flag‑setting version of herself.

Perspective shift.

Lin stood on the stairs, brow furrowed, pondering how to leave this damned place.

She tried every method she could think of—knocking on the wall, shouting, going up, going down, even attempting to blast the wall with a gem—but none worked.

The stairwell was like a cage one could never escape, trapping her and San Yue Qi here.

She looked at the San Yue Qi beside her and saw San Yue Qi standing there, staring blankly.

"San Yue Jie?" Lin called out tentatively.

San Yue Qi's body trembled slightly, then she turned her head toward her.

That glance left Lin stunned.

In those powder‑blue eyes was something she couldn't read—fatigue, and a hint of… relief.

But in an instant those emotions vanished, replaced by a somewhat forced smile.

"It's fine," San Yue Qi said, "I know how to get out now."

Lin was momentarily dazed.

"What banana?"

San Yue Qi gave no explanation, just walked to her side and scooped her up in one arm.

"Hold on tight."

"Wait, wait banana—!"

San Yue Qi, already holding her, leapt down from the stairwell entrance.

Wind howled past her ears, and Lin's scream echoed in the darkness.

San Yue Qi watched the stairs ahead endlessly rising, silently counting in her mind:

(877th time.)

Yes, eight hundred seventy‑seven times.

She could no longer recall how many times she'd watched those Star God Skits.

Aha danced in women's clothing, Nanu Ke sang love songs, Yaoshi's wig was blown off by the wind revealing a bald head, Taiyi was drawn as a panda…

Those scenes were like nightmares, etched in her mind, impossible to shake off.

But she had learned.

She had learned how to stay clear‑headed amid those eye‑burning scenes, how to memorize each failure's lesson within the brief Rewind time, and how to find a sliver of hope in the endless loop.

The first time, she didn't know there was a trap behind the door and was pierced by an arrow.

The second time, she evaded the arrow but not the mechanism beneath her feet.

The third time, she avoided the mechanism but didn't notice the falling rock overhead.

The fourth time, the fifth time, the tenth time, the hundredth time…

She gradually worked out the pattern.

The layout of the traps, the trigger conditions of the mechanisms, the hidden passages and secret doors—she remembered them all perfectly.

(This time, it will work.)

An unknown amount of time passed.

San Yue Qi's foot touched the ground.

She set Lin down; Lin's leg went limp, nearly collapsing onto the floor, and she clutched the wall, gasping heavily.

"I… why banana…"

San Yue Qi inhaled deeply and stepped forward.

In front of her was that familiar door.