“Eh?!” The Earth Rabbit froze for a moment before showing an expression of utter disbelief. “What?! Not a single thing was right?! Wasn’t this your plan?!”
“Not at all,” everyone shook their heads in unison.
“Though, that plan of yours does sound really cool… Totally like Old Qi’s style…” Chen Junnan nodded approvingly. “We really should have strategized like that. That way, when we won, you’d have no choice but to accept it wholeheartedly…”
“W-Wait a second…” The Earth Rabbit felt his worldview crumbling. “If that wasn’t your plan… then what was?”
“Let me put it this way, *brother* Rabbit Bastard.” Chen Junnan stepped forward and casually patted the Earth Rabbit’s blood-stained chest. “Whoa… you don’t feel any pain?”
The Earth Rabbit’s face twisted in anger, but he remained silent, glaring at Chen Junnan.
Chen Junnan wiped the blood off his hand onto the wall and turned back. “Brother Rabbit Bastard, you thought we went to a room we’d never been to and left carvings there, but was that even realistic? Did you even calculate how many moves we had? Could we have made it that far?”
“You…” The Earth Rabbit felt like he was starting to understand, but the scenario he’d imagined seemed utterly absurd.
Seeing the thoughtful look on the Earth Rabbit’s face, Chen Junnan couldn’t help but laugh.
“Brother Rabbit Bastard, which room did you run into Song Qi in? Think back to the path you took—which room did you come out from?” Chen Junnan grinned. “Did we really never mention that room?”
The Earth Rabbit carefully retraced his steps to Room 13, and his eyes slowly widened in shock.
The realization struck him as bizarre. Based on his own route, the room he’d emerged from wasn’t Room 6 at all. His judgment had been wrong from the very beginning!
“I was… in Room 7?! I’ve been fighting this guy Song Qi in Room 7 all along?!”
“Took you long enough.” Chen Junnan smirked, his brows furrowed. “I’ve only lied once in this entire game—when I said my sense of direction was freakishly good. Kid, I grew up in the straight-as-an-arrow alleys of the capital. Even if you spun me around a hundred times in this place, I wouldn’t get lost.”
“Wha—” The Earth Rabbit felt like he’d been deceived by this man from the start. “You knew all along that I was leading you in circles?”
“Yep, Brother Rabbit Bastard. The quieter we talked, the more you led us around in circles.” Chen Junnan picked at his ear, his expression unbearably smug. “That’s when I noticed something—not only were you deliberately leading us astray, but you also had freakishly good hearing. Every word we said reached your ears. But I wasn’t sure how many others had caught on. So when we reached the end and turned back, I used that black metal hairpin to write ‘Total Silence’ on the walls we passed. From then on, no one but me was allowed to speak carelessly.”
“Y-You… wait a second…” The Earth Rabbit quickly spotted the flaw. “The room where I beat up that kid was clearly Room 5! How could I have moved to Room 7?!”
But as he said it, he realized his mistake. He’d been so consumed by bloodlust that he hadn’t noticed—when he came to, he was already standing in a room. He thought he’d reached Room 6, but in reality, he’d shifted one more space over to Room 7?!
“If you were in Room 6…” Chen Junnan chuckled, “how could Song Qi have gotten to your room? He’d already started moving too.”
The Earth Rabbit’s expression darkened to the extreme. He’d considered countless strategies, yet he’d lost because of something so simple.
“Are you this generation’s ‘Soul Snatcher’?” the Earth Rabbit asked. “Your mastery over your ability is godlike. I admit defeat—this loss, I accept wholeheartedly.”
“The hell? Who the fuck is ‘Soul Snatcher’?” Chen Junnan’s brow furrowed instantly. “I don’t change my name whether I’m standing or sitting—my Echo is goddamn ‘Wall Phasing’!”
Cui Shisi slowly shook his head. “Boss… ‘Wall Phasing’ is mine…”
“Ah, right, my bad.” Chen Junnan laughed sheepishly. “Got carried away bragging and forgot the real deal was right here. Let me rephrase.”
He turned back, his expression turning serious as he addressed the Earth Rabbit. “Listen up. I’m ‘Scapegoat.'”
The moment those words left his mouth, everyone around him froze.
“Boss… you’re the ‘Scapegoat’ that’s been on the big screen outside this whole time…?” Cui Shisi whispered.
“That’s me, kid.” Chen Junnan nodded proudly.
“You’re ‘Scapegoat’… but you controlled my movements…?” The Earth Rabbit felt like the man was still lying. “You think I’ve never met a ‘Scapegoat’ before?! How the hell do you have such a powerful ability?!”
“I never controlled your movements.” Chen Junnan grinned. “It’s just that when I activate my ability, no matter who you want to kill, you’ll cross hell and high water to come after *me* instead. That’s all. My head’s been blown off a few times—you think I wouldn’t know how this works?”
“You…” The Earth Rabbit gritted his teeth, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
“Brother Rabbit Bastard, your mouth’s already blown to bits—stop grinding your teeth.” Chen Junnan clicked his tongue. “Don’t blame anyone but yourself. Your bloodlust was too strong, and this arena restricts movement. With the right timing, terrain, and people, even my otherwise useless ability could shine.”
The Earth Rabbit opened his mouth to retort, but after a moment, he simply sighed in resignation.
In this world, stories only care about success or failure—no one bothers with the *why*. The outcome speaks for itself.
“I have a question,” the Earth Rabbit said, his voice laced with defeat.
“Go ahead.”
“Do you… try to find the perfect opportunity to activate your otherwise *useless* Echo in every game?”
Just then, a deafening bell toll echoed from the distance, startling everyone in the room—except Chen Junnan, who remained unfazed.
In his memory, very few Echoes could produce such a resounding chime. It seemed Old Qiao was giving it his all too.
“Useless Echo? That’s a bit rude, don’t you think?” Chen Junnan shook his head before stretching lazily. “Brother Rabbit Bastard, do you really think there’s such a thing as a ‘useless Echo’ in this godforsaken place?”
That single question left the Earth Rabbit utterly stunned.
Was there really such a thing as a “useless Echo” in this land?
The “Explosive Combustion” he’d seen earlier was stronger than its previous wielder. And now, this “Scapegoat” surpassed his predecessor too.
The same ability could manifest in infinitely different ways depending on its user. These two had proven that beyond doubt.
The Earth Rabbit sighed. “You said if you won, you’d ask me for one thing. What is it?”
Chen Junnan’s eyebrows lifted in delight, but before he could speak, the Earth Rabbit raised a hand to stop him. “If it’s ‘rebellion,’ I suggest you leave now.”
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