Chapter 907: Sabotage Squad

My heart raced once again.

After following Aries for so long, it seemed I was finally about to witness the culmination of his plan.

“Brother Goat… after I find you… then what?”

He raised his head and looked at me, saying, “Wait for someone. Once that person arrives, I’ll tell you.”

“Wait for someone…?”

We sat quietly in the office, waiting. Before long, a handsome young man in a black leather jacket walked in through the door.

Upon entering, he gave Aries a slight bow and said, “Is this the business you mentioned?”

“Yes.”

“An Earth-level ‘Zodiac’… my apologies. Fifth Brother has already given instructions. We can begin now.”

“Will you be staying nearby?” Aries asked.

“Yes, I must remain here,” the young man replied. “Otherwise, I won’t be able to activate my ability. Please understand. But I swear on my life—nothing said here today will leak even a single word. Otherwise, we’ll all pay with our heads.”

“Good,” Aries nodded. “Let’s begin.”

The young man gently closed his eyes, and I instantly felt enveloped by a strange force, the surroundings falling into absolute silence.

So, Aries indeed had other pieces in play…

This person’s attire seemed vaguely familiar… Could he be from the same organization as Zhou Mo?

“Yan Zhichun, your first task after finding me is to confirm whether I’ve regained my memories,” Aries stated bluntly. “If I have… then…”

Aries actually hesitated for a moment.

“Then… what?”

“Then you must immediately lead a team to dismantle all the ‘Giant Clocks’ and ‘Displays’ in the city.”

“What…?”

I could faintly sense the atmosphere of a “last stand.”

To dismantle all the ‘Giant Clocks’ and ‘Displays’… How would the less experienced ‘Echoers’ determine whether they had obtained their ‘Echo’?

“But you must act quickly,” Aries added. “Otherwise, the higher-ups will interfere during the dismantling.”

“Higher-ups interfering?” I paused, not quite understanding. “Brother Goat… From what I gather, those ‘Displays’ were likely built by a former ‘Participant,’ right? Their purpose is to aid ‘Participants.’ So why would the higher-ups here interfere? Shouldn’t they want these things destroyed?”

“Don’t be naive,” Aries said. “If those things were solely meant to help ‘Participants,’ do you think Tianlong and Qinglong would just stand by?”

“You mean… those things are useful to them too?”

“Exactly. It’s a double-edged sword. Not only do we use the Displays to locate ‘Echoers,’ but so do they,” Aries explained. “The Displays are our eyes and ears—and theirs as well. If we want to wage the final battle against them, we must destroy these things.”

This reasoning… It seems we’ll be moving blindly in the days ahead. If we fail, this place will undoubtedly descend into chaos.

“But there are four Displays in total…” I said. “To prevent interference from the higher-ups, we’d have to dismantle all four ‘Giant Clocks’ and ‘Displays’ simultaneously. Otherwise, they’ll notice and slaughter my people…”

Even if they didn’t notice and we successfully dismantled the Clocks and Displays, we’d never escape unscathed afterward. This path would be one of heavy casualties.

If Tianlong and Qinglong truly rely on the Displays to locate ‘Echoers’… then I’d be directly challenging their authority.

“You’re overcomplicating it,” Aries said. “There’s a glaring flaw regarding the Giant Clocks and Displays, yet no one has noticed it.”

“A glaring flaw…?”

“Yan Zhichun, if someone were to build four multi-ton bronze clocks and four massive, fully functional Displays, would this city even have enough materials?”

I blinked. “You mean…”

“Such things can’t materialize out of thin air. Even the most powerful ‘Echoer’ would need materials to construct them. But for structures of this scale, gathering enough materials would be impossible. Plus, all four sets of equipment are bound by ‘Causality’—’when the screen lights up, the bell tolls.’ Such an enormous project, such an unbelievable ‘Echo’ creation, such precise alignment… yet no one has questioned it.”

“I still don’t understand… So what’s the flaw?” I asked.

“Yan Zhichun, the four Giant Clocks and four Displays look identical, with no differences,” Aries turned to me. “Because one of them is the ‘original,’ and the other three are ‘replicas.'”

“What?!”

“You don’t need to dismantle all of them at once. Just locate the Giant Clock and Display marked with the number ’87’ and destroy them. The other ‘replicas’ will vanish on their own, since the ‘original’ no longer exists.”

Wait… My head is spinning.

“What do you mean by ‘replicas’?” I asked, stunned. “Are they… ‘Echoes’?”

“Yes,” Aries nodded. “Only one set of the Display and Giant Clock needed to be built in the true south. The other three directions were ‘replicated’ through ‘Echoes,’ drastically reducing the workload.”

A chill ran down my spine. I suddenly felt deep admiration for whoever built the Giant Clocks and Displays. How on earth did they come up with this method?

The ‘Echoes’ embedded in those Clocks and Displays must be even more complex than Aries implied… Who was it that organized such powerful ‘Echoers’ to create a system that could benefit everyone?

“And what does ’87’ mean?” I pressed.

“It’s a mark left by an ‘Explorer.’ He’s been recording the arrival points of every group of ‘Participants,’ numbering them in the order he discovered them. The team that descended near the Giant Clock was labeled the ’87th.'”

Aries explained it clearly, yet I still didn’t fully grasp it.

“Brother Goat… How do you know all this?” I asked.

“Don’t ask,” Aries said. “Just remember—once you find me again and confirm I’ve regained my memories, your first priority is to assemble a ‘demolition team.’ That’s the first task I’m entrusting to you.”

“Got it…” I nodded solemnly.

“The first task is simple. The second one, however, is a point of no return just by the sound of it,” Aries said.

I stared at Aries, waiting for him to continue, but the young man in the leather jacket suddenly spoke up.

“W-Wait a minute…” His face had turned pale as he looked at Aries. “I’m sorry… The things you two are discussing are just too unbelievable… I’m just here to do a job. I don’t want to get dragged into this.”