When Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin returned to “Paradise Gate,” the sky was already completely dark.
Zhang Shan and another young man stood at the entrance, and the four of them nodded in acknowledgment.
Pushing open the classroom door, Qi Xia and his companion looked inside—everyone had already returned, except for Chen Junnan.
Yet at that moment, the person Qi Xia most wanted to see was Chen Junnan.
“Where’s that chatterbox?” Qi Xia asked.
“Chen Junnan?” Lin Qin stood up. “He seemed a bit preoccupied and went to the rooftop.”
“To the rooftop?” Qi Xia stroked his chin, then nodded.
Had Chen Junnan discovered something?
After settling Qiao Jiajin, Qi Xia was about to go find Chen Junnan when Lin Qin called out to him.
“Qi Xia…” Lin Qin pulled him aside by the arm. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?” Qi Xia asked.
“Two things…” Lin Qin glanced at Han Yimo. “First, about Han Yimo…”
She explained in detail how Han Yimo had stopped experiencing “Echoes.”
Qi Xia nodded, finding nothing particularly concerning about it.
Though “Echoers” were indispensable forces, Han Yimo’s “Echo” was rather unique.
If he could no longer “Echo,” it was neither a loss nor a gain—just an ordinary occurrence.
“What worries me now…” Lin Qin hesitated, “is that if Han Yimo forgets everything this time… then the next time he enters here, it’ll be as if he’s experiencing it all anew…”
“And so?”
“So he might unleash the most severe ‘Fear’ ever seen…” Lin Qin looked up. “After all, everything here would be fresh and terrifying to him…”
“Hmm…” Qi Xia nodded again, acknowledging the validity of her concern, though it was a difficult issue to address.
If Han Yimo truly experienced the most intense “Fear” in seven years, it would undoubtedly be a disaster. Yet forcing him to regain his “Echo” now to prevent that wasn’t a good solution either.
“Anything else?” Qi Xia asked.
“Well…” Lin Qin paused, then recounted their encounter with the old woman and the naked child.
Qi Xia had also seen the two but never witnessed the phenomena Lin Qin described.
That old woman could move at an inhuman speed?
“A Divine Beast?” Qi Xia asked.
“Probably not…” Lin Qin shook her head. “I’ve met all four Divine Beasts… but never those two.”
“Isn’t that strange?” Qi Xia mused. “Not ‘natives,’ not ‘participants,’ not ‘Divine Beasts’… They don’t wear masks, so they can’t be ‘Zodiacs’ either…”
He trailed off, then turned to Lin Qin sharply. “Have you ever met a ‘Celestial Zodiac’?”
“Me?” Lin Qin shook her head lightly. “In seven years here, I’ve never seen one.”
“Is that so…” Qi Xia narrowed his eyes. “Are ‘Celestial Zodiacs’ that elusive?”
“I can’t say for sure.” Lin Qin sighed faintly. “I’ve heard ‘Celestial Zodiacs’ don’t have fixed ‘game venues,’ so they don’t stay in one place. That makes it even harder to track them down.”
“I see. I’ll go see Chen Junnan now.”
After parting with Lin Qin, Qi Xia turned toward the school rooftop. But just as he reached the stairwell, he ran into Chu Tianqiu.
“Qi Xia?” Chu Tianqiu smiled deeply. “Not sleeping at this hour… Going for a walk?”
Qi Xia didn’t answer and was about to bypass him when something occurred to him.
“Chu Tianqiu…” Qi Xia called out. “That method you used last time to trigger my ‘Echo’—can you do it again?”
The question caught Chu Tianqiu off guard. He chuckled. “What’s this? Only the first day, and you’re already panicking about ‘memory loss’?”
“I’m not panicking,” Qi Xia replied. “I just want to use my ‘Echo’ to save someone.”
“Save someone…?” Chu Tianqiu found it amusing. “A dead person?”
Qi Xia nodded. “Yes. Someone who’s been dead for about a month.”
“With your intellect… you must realize the contradiction here, no?” Chu Tianqiu smirked. “If you still remember they’ve been dead for so long, how can your subconscious bring them back?”
Qi Xia sighed. Of course, he knew how absurd it was.
If he kept remembering, he could never revive the dead. But if he forgot, he’d forget who they were entirely.
So how could his “Endless Cycle” possibly work?
After a moment of thought, Qi Xia said, “Don’t worry about my business. Just tell me what’s needed to trigger my ‘Echo.'”
“That’s… quite difficult.” Chu Tianqiu mused. “I spent a lot of money and effort.”
“Then next time you plan to exert effort, let me know in advance.” Qi Xia grinned. “After all that trouble, we should make sure it’s worthwhile.”
Chu Tianqiu also smiled and nodded. As he turned to leave, he paused. “Qi Xia, what did you see right before your ‘Echo’?”
“Does that matter?” Qi Xia asked.
“It does.” Chu Tianqiu replied. “It’s a key part of my research.”
Qi Xia recalled the moment before his “Echo”—he remembered only unbearable pain, and then Yu Nian’an coming to take him home.
“I saw nothing.” Qi Xia said. “Go ahead with whatever plan you have. I’ll be waiting.”
A flicker of something unreadable passed over Chu Tianqiu’s face. “Qi Xia… You must realize, even if I perfectly recreate that day’s conditions, there’s no guarantee you’ll ‘Echo’ again. Your ‘trigger’ is unpredictable.”
“That’s your problem.” Qi Xia’s smile deepened. “Our new collaboration is simple—I provide the ‘Echo,’ you provide the ‘trigger.’ If I don’t succeed, how do we proceed?”
Chu Tianqiu pondered, then nodded. “Fair point, Qi Xia.”
The two exchanged a glance before parting ways—Chu Tianqiu heading straight for the classroom where Yun Yao was, while Qi Xia leisurely made his way to the rooftop.
The school rooftop was vast and empty, save for a few chairs someone had placed there.
From a distance, Qi Xia spotted Chen Junnan and Qin Dingdong sitting apart, gazing into the dark night as if they were strangers.
Hearing footsteps, Chen Junnan turned. “Hey… Old Qi. Come sit. Make yourself at home.”
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