Infinity, our Zhongzhou team has a bright future.

Chapter 264 Zhang Xiao: Zhang Jie, I was wrong! Brother Jie!

Qi Tengyi and Cheng Xiao, who were unconscious, slowly rose in the pillar of light. Their blood-soaked appearance shocked everyone.

Zhang Jie wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and muttered to himself, "How come I never realized before? These two are crazy and reckless when they get going. I can't afford to mess with them."

Although Qi Tengyi and Cheng Xiao's injuries were severe, compared to Zheng Zhayi, they were merely simple comminuted fractures and internal organ damage, insignificant in the face of the main god. They were repaired in just over ten minutes, and the two woke up one after the other.

After the repairs were completed, Qi Tengyi and Cheng Xiao landed back on the ground at the same time. The two looked at the granite powder that Luo Li had gathered into a pile, their expressions filled with excitement.

Cheng Xiao grabbed Qi Tengyi, hooked his arm around his neck, and shouted, "See! I didn't lie to you!"

Although Qi Tengyi felt a little uncomfortable, he didn't shake Cheng Xiao off like he used to. He said in a slightly stiff tone, "Indeed impressive."

Seeing that Qi Tengyi was completely convinced, Cheng Xiao laughed and pulled him to find Zhang Jie.

"Zhang Jie! Come on! Let's practice!"

Hearing Cheng Xiao call him by his real name, Zhang Jie's old face immediately darkened. "Damn it, he used to call me 'Brother Jie' when he needed me, but now that he doesn't, he just calls me 'Zhang Jie, you brat'!"
In a fit of anger, Zhang Jie used Zheng Zha as an excuse to say, "No rush, let's wait until Zheng Zha finishes repairing it."

"Oh, you're not scared, are you?" Cheng Xiao raised an eyebrow and nudged Qi Tengyi beside him with his elbow, signaling him to say a few words as well.

Qi Teng didn't really want to fight Zhang Jie, so he helped Zhang Jie by saying, "Let's wait a bit. Brother Jie is still paying Zheng Zha for repair reward points, and he hasn't strengthened himself yet."

"It's not too late to talk about it after Zheng Zha finishes repairs and enhances him."

The word "Brother Jie" immediately put Zhang Jie in a good mood. He patted Qi Tengyi on the shoulder and said sarcastically, "Brother Qi Tengyi knows how to behave, unlike some people who get all excited when given a little kindness."

Cheng Xiao, with skin as thick as a city wall, didn't care at all about Zhang Jie's open and veiled sarcasm, and shouted, "You're just scared!"

"Afraid?! You weren't even in the Main God Space when I was fighting Freddy Krueger, the Alien Queen, and Kayako! I'm not even afraid of ghosts and alien monsters, why would I be afraid of you?"

As Zhang Jie spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and beckoned to Cheng Xiao, shouting, "Since you insist on practicing, let's have a one-on-one fight! Just you and me, don't bring anyone else!"

Cheng Xiao shrank back and immediately cowered.

"Brother Jie, that's not right. We clearly agreed that it was you who would fight Qi Cheng, who appeared after I and Qi Teng combined, not me fighting you one-on-one!"

"You little brat!!!" Hearing Cheng Xiao call him Brother Jie again, Zhang Jie had to admit that he had lost in terms of shamelessness.

Just as the two were still eager to continue their conversation, Chu Xuan interrupted them.

"If you don't intend to take action, let's leave it at that for now. Cheng Xiao, Qi Tengyi, I have some questions for you about your combined form." As soon as Chu Xuan spoke, Cheng Xiao pulled Qi Tengyi to sit down in front of Chu Xuan, his disciplined demeanor finally resembling that of a soldier.

Chu Xuan pushed up his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses as cold as a scalpel: "I'm very curious, how did the personality of 'Qi Cheng,' who appeared after you merged, come to be and operate? Was it a simple superposition of consciousness, or did a completely new, independent dominant consciousness emerge? Were your individual memories, skills, and emotions merged, or do they remain independent and accessible?"

Cheng Xiao and Qi Teng exchanged a glance, and Cheng Xiao spoke first, his tone unusually serious: "Colonel Chu, to be honest, we had a very strange feeling at the time. It wasn't that one person was in control of the other, but more like... more like all of 'us' were merging together, and a completely new self was born from it."

Qi Teng nodded and added, trying to find the right words: "My thoughts and his thoughts are like two rivers, initially running parallel but not merging. After merging, they become connected like rivers flowing together. All memories and knowledge become shared resources that can be used at will. Emotions... also intertwine."

"What about the decision-making mechanism?" Chu Xuan pressed. "When faced with situations requiring quick decisions, how do you reach a consensus? For example, one person tends to take risks, while the other tends to be conservative."

“There is no ‘decision-making’ process,” Cheng Xiao shook his head and gestured with his hand. “The ideas are naturally unified. Just like when I raise my hand, I don’t first decide ‘which muscles I want to move’, they naturally work together. In that state, every thought of ‘Qi Cheng’ is the optimal solution that naturally emerges after all our knowledge, personality and emotional factors work together, or rather, the choice that best conforms to ‘our’ common interests.”

Qi Teng continued, "In that state, my understanding of Qi and Cheng Xiao's understanding of combat naturally merged together, just like I had practiced hard for many years and could even produce an effect greater than the sum of its parts."

Chu Xuan silently noted down their feelings, and then posed the last question.

"So, after the fusion is broken, will there be any residual effects on your individual personalities? For example, changes in your thought patterns or emotional tendencies?"

Chu Xuan's question startled Cheng Xiao and Qi Tengyi. The two fell into deep thought, carefully savoring the wonderful and profound experience of their union.

After a moment, Cheng Xiao spoke first, his tone less playful than usual and more serious, saying, "Residual effects... I don't feel anything about it yet. Qi Tengyi, what about you?"

Qi Teng shook his head and said, "I haven't made any discoveries in that regard either."

Chu Xuan wrote expressionlessly in the record: "Lacking corresponding data, it is impossible to determine whether the fusion will affect the user's personality. Continue to observe."
After finishing his notes, Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses and said, "That's all for now."

After a pause, Chu Xuan recalled the warning Luo Li had given him, glanced at the records in his hand, and reminded Qi Tengyi and Cheng Xiao, "Although we haven't found any impact on your personalities yet."

However, for safety's sake, I suggest you seek out Li Shuaixi and study the Taixu Sword Qi in more depth!

In order to get their attention, Chu Xuan explained to them in a very unusual way: "The Taixu Sword Qi is a cultivation method that is specifically designed to train one's mind and spirit."

It can strengthen your control over your self-awareness, solidify your self-perception, and resist potential cognitive assimilation after merging.

Qi Tengyi and Cheng Xiao realized the seriousness of the matter. They thanked Chu Xuan together and then immediately squeezed next to Li Shuaixi to offer their concern.

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(End of this chapter)