After hearing this, I suddenly became interested. Sure enough, even if Jiang Ruoxue was working with these people, she wouldn’t forget her ultimate mission.
“Tsk, Jiang Ruoxue, why don’t you go and try it yourself?” Zhou Mo said. “Even if you die, it’s fine. There are only a few days left anyway.”
“…”
“Tsk, what do you mean, ‘what’s next’?” Zhou Mo replied. “I already have the list—you think I’m afraid he’ll run?”
“…”
“Tsk, what’s the point of leaving ‘surprises’…?” Zhou Mo shook her head helplessly. “Our ultimate goal is to show him just how capable we are. Smart people know what choices to make. If you find out he really is like the intel the ‘Cat’ team gathered, then figure out a way to recruit him into ‘Polaris.’ Seems like a decent path.”
“…”
“Mhm, I’ll tell Xiaoxiao about this later. Go do your thing.”
Seeing that Zhou Mo and Jiang Ruoxue had finished their conversation, I walked over to her and asked curiously, “How is she…? Was she bullied?”
“You’re really underestimating her,” Zhou Mo said. “That tone of hers doesn’t sound like she was bullied—more like she’s ‘had her fun.’ She’ll probably be back soon.”
“So, where is she now…?”
“Tsk, she’s taking those freaks into the game,” Zhou Mo replied. “Probably saw someone strong and got her hopes up again.”
“Sounds like her style,” I nodded. “Did she meet someone really powerful?”
“Hard to say,” Zhou Mo said. “Tsk, you know how it is here—anyone even slightly capable has already been absorbed by one faction or another. But the person Jiang Ruoxue ran into? Never heard of him before.”
“Never heard of him? That is strange,” I said, sighing. “There’s still fresh blood in this godforsaken place?”
“And he’s not the only one… tsk.” Zhou Mo frowned. “Lately, there’ve been a lot of strong newcomers making waves… Have you heard about that deputy leader Chu Tianqiu picked up?”
“Wasn’t that a while ago?” I asked. “What about him?”
“Tsk, you don’t check the screens often, so you might not know,” Zhou Mo said mysteriously. “That guy’s like you—his ‘Echo’ has three words.”
“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow. That was indeed rare.
“Tsk, you can control the intensity of your ‘Echo,’ but he can’t,” Zhou Mo added. “So, as far as outsiders are concerned, he’s the only one here with a three-word ‘Echo.’”
Zhou Mo was right. I only ever risked the screens detecting me back when I was still inexperienced with my ‘Echo.’ But that was ten years ago—very few people remember mine now.
“Isn’t that… weird?” I said. “This guy has a three-word ‘Echo,’ yet he went unnoticed for so long, and he can’t control the Bell at all… Those are two paradoxes.”
“Tsk, I’m curious too,” Zhou Mo said. “If his ‘Echo’ always makes the Bell ring, then logically, he should be famous here. A three-word ‘Echo’ isn’t something you forget—yet no one’s actually seen him before.”
I nodded, feeling a sudden rush of excitement.
“Plus, word is he always fights head-on, so his ‘Echo’ triggers a lot,” Zhou Mo continued. “Tsk, I thought maybe his ‘Echo’ was just too hard to notice, but recent rumors say he’s actually got really good control over it. If it’s a direct confrontation or a fight to the death, he’ll definitely activate it.”
Yeah… another paradox.
I lowered my head, then slowly smiled after a few seconds.
This feeling was finally back.
The same thrill I only ever got during Goat’s peak days.
The feeling of having countless unsolved mysteries swirling in my mind.
Why is this deputy leader so strange?
He’s like a total newcomer dropped out of nowhere—can’t control the Bell, yet he can control his ‘Echo.’ So where did he learn how to use it? Do people where he’s from only fight honorably?
If ‘Echo’ is that easy to trigger, how come no one’s heard of him?
Even though this seems unrelated to Goat, my gut tells me he’s involved somehow.
In the seven years I spent with Goat, I learned one very useful truth: whenever something unexplainable happens in the ‘Land of Finality,’ Goat is always part of it.
“And it’s not just this deputy leader,” Zhou Mo added. “Tsk, there’s also that Qin something… Winter? And that sheep-feeding guy… Oh, and that Flash person from our room. A lot of strong players have been popping off lately.”
I couldn’t help but feel a little exasperated. “Zhou Mo… I get forgetting strangers’ names, but you can’t even remember someone from our own room…?”
“Uh…” She pouted. “None of your business. I barely interact with her—I forgot her name ages ago. Our room doesn’t do introductions, you know.”
I could only nod along. “Fine, fine.”
But Zhou Mo’s words did remind me of something. In the ‘Land of Finality,’ 99% of rooms don’t require introductions. After all, in most games, ‘names’ don’t mean much to us ‘participants’ fighting for survival. So even after leaving a room, many people remain strangers to each other.
But the weird part is… in the ‘Liar’ game Goat designed himself, not only did we have to share our names, but we also had to recount our pasts. That game didn’t just help us understand each other quickly—it also let us roughly judge each other’s character.
Since it was Goat’s design, there had to be a reason. Did he think it was better for ‘participants’ in a room to get to know each other early, so they could adapt to the ‘Land of Finality’ faster?
“Tsk… Could be a good thing,” Zhou Mo mused. “Either way, more strong players mean more recruits for our factions. Even if they join ‘Paradise Port,’ it’s fine—we’ve got people there too.”
How would I describe ‘Polaris’ in one sentence?
No matter which faction these strong players ultimately choose, they can never escape ‘Polaris.’
“Feels like things are coming back around…” I murmured. “Everyone’s working hard—I can’t slack off either.”
“You? Slacking?” Zhou Mo scoffed. “Last time, Xiao Shiba told me she ran into you in a game. She just wanted to get an ‘Echo,’ but you damn near slaughtered the entire room.”
“Oh…?” I grinned, as if taking it as a compliment. “Just doing my part. I can feel Goat’s return coming soon… Zhou Mo, everything we’ve done is finally about to pay off.”
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