Qiao Jiajin slowly lowered his head as he listened to Qi Xia’s description.
This time during the cycle, the image of that cheerful girl in white flashed through his mind—she had appeared so suddenly, quietly lingering by everyone’s side.
She was the “manifestation of obsession” born from “Endless Life.”
“Qian Wu, you might not believe this,” Qi Xia said gloomily, “but my ‘ability’ and my ‘obsession’ are in conflict.”
“What do you mean by ‘in conflict’…?”
“My ability alleviates my obsession,” Qi Xia replied.
“What…?”
“The deeper my obsession, the stronger my ability becomes. But the stronger my ability grows, the more it weakens my obsession.” Qi Xia raised a hand and slowly touched his forehead. “I really want to ask you… in a situation like this… should I even attempt an ‘Echo’?”
“What exactly have you done with your ability…?” Qian Wu frowned at Qi Xia, feeling like he was talking to a madman.
“I created a ‘copy’ of Yu Nian’an…” Qi Xia answered softly. “Yu Nian’an is my wife.”
“You…” Hearing this, Qian Wu turned to exchange a glance with Zhou Liu, their expressions uneasy.
Qi Xia’s… wife?
“So do you understand now…?” Qi Xia continued. “My wife occupied the most important years of my life. She was my everything. But someone took her from me. My deepest ‘obsession,’ my sole desire, is to demand Yu Nian’an back from ‘Terminal Land.’ That’s the only reason I’ve endured all this hardship and kept moving forward alone.”
Qian Wu nodded grimly. “So when you activate your ‘Endless Life’… you create your wife? But you know she isn’t the real her—just a copy.”
“Exactly.” Qi Xia sighed. “From now on, you’ll probably have to keep treating me as an ‘unfortunate one.’ Even if I were to see Yu Nian’an now, I wouldn’t be able to tell if she’s real or not. The moment doubt creeps into my mind… an ‘Echo’ can’t succeed.”
Qian Wu knew the biggest problem lay with Qi Xia himself—he was far too rational.
Some people lose their rationality when they go mad, but Qi Xia seemed the opposite. He would plunge into the abyss of reason, treating everything around him with cold detachment.
For anyone else, being able to create the person they longed for—even if fake—would be enough comfort in a hellish place like this.
But Qi Xia would immediately recognize the copy, severing that faint glimmer of hope himself. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?
“So… the one memory you retained…” Qian Wu shook his head. “Was it the night we stormed ‘Paradise Port,’ when your ‘Echo’ erupted…?”
“I…” Qi Xia wanted to nod, but an obvious paradox stopped him. “Actually, no. I’ve retained two memories in total.”
“Two…?”
“Right.” Qi Xia said. “The first time was also under unusual circumstances. These two instances of memory retention have no obvious commonality, so I’m still in the dark, unsure of what to do next.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Liu stepped over and whispered something to Qian Wu, who nodded in understanding.
“Qi Xia, let’s talk while we walk.” He gestured to Qiao Jiajin and Officer Li. “Chen Junan’s game is about to wrap up, and it sounds like there are quite a few injured. We’re far away, so we should start heading over now.”
The group nodded and resumed their journey. Qi Xia glanced back one last time at the distant figure of Earth Pig.
He knew today was only the first day of their “grand plan.” It wasn’t wise to provoke too many “Zodiacs” at once—that would raise suspicion. This arrogant little Earth Pig would have to be left alone for now.
As they walked, Qi Xia briefly explained the circumstances of his first death to Qian Wu.
Back then, he had been dragging his severely wounded body toward the city’s edge when Xu Liunian picked him up in her car. This odd native had driven Qi Xia at breakneck speed until they reached the city’s border. There, Qi Xia saw the road stretching into other cities and, in despair, collapsed and died.
When he returned to “Terminal Land” for the second time, he retained his memories.
This explanation left Qian Wu with far too many questions—so many that he didn’t know where to start.
First, a native acting as a taxi driver? He had never heard of such a thing.
Cars weren’t uncommon in “Terminal Land,” but most were rusted wrecks. Occasionally, a relatively intact one could be found, but even those would be in disrepair, needing professional mechanics to get them running again.
And even then, gasoline was a major issue. In a city so starved of resources, how could anyone secure a stable supply?
Whatever small amounts of gasoline could be scavenged were likely hoarded by powerful factions—precious, non-renewable resources.
From every angle, a native working as a taxi driver was highly suspicious.
Then there was the matter of “death.”
According to Qi Xia’s timeline, the Bell hadn’t tolled on the day he died.
As they walked through the decaying, foul-smelling streets, Qian Wu finally shook his head. “There have been cases where an ‘Echo’ user died before the Bell tolled, but if your ‘Echo’ was truly as powerful as you say, the Bell should have reacted in some way.”
“That’s what I can’t figure out,” Qi Xia admitted. “If we’re looking for the most suspicious element… my first guess would be Xu Liunian herself.”
“Same here.” Qian Wu nodded. “What’s so special about this woman, Xu Liunian?”
“Well…” Qi Xia narrowed his eyes, trying to recall her. “Average intelligence, weak ‘Echo,’ unremarkable looks, low presence. And yet… she somehow reverted from being a ‘native’ back to a ‘participant.'”
“No wonder you’re so conflicted,” Qian Wu said. “If we connect your bizarre ‘Echo’ situation with that strange woman, maybe we can piece it together?”
“I’ve considered that.” Qi Xia replied. “But all my information is hearsay… Everyone insists that a ‘native’s’ transformation is irreversible, yet I’ve witnessed it happening once. So if none of you are lying…”
Qi Xia suddenly stopped walking, turning to face Qian Wu with a grave expression.
“Then the only explanation is that the anomaly lies with Xu Liunian herself. Whether it’s her ‘Echo’ or something else, she’s unique. Whatever happened, she’s the only one who could have done it.”
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