The days that followed became tense once again. I continued to participate in various games as usual, significantly strengthening my “Echo” abilities.
I found it difficult to deal with Xiaoxiao, so I had no choice but to leave her to someone as socially adept as Old Sun. True to form, Old Sun didn’t disappoint—he became friends with Xiaoxiao on the very same day.
Finally freed up, I had more time to handle my own affairs. But soon, I noticed something strange: Zhou Mo kept saying that more and more powerful individuals were appearing here, yet I rarely encountered any of them.
For instance, nothing happened while I was following Xiaoxiao, but the moment I handed her over to Old Sun, I heard she was fairly and squarely defeated in a game.
That day, the giant bell received massive “Echoes” in rapid succession. I wasn’t far away and rushed to check, only to see the display screen clearly showing “Heaven’s Vigor” and “Shatter All Laws.”
These two lines overshadowed all others. I could barely make out Xiaoxiao’s “Frame-Up,” Old Sun’s “Original Object,” Luo Shiyi’s “Forget Sorrow,” and even “Invite Disaster” in the corner. The scene was unusually lively.
Jiang Ruoxue told me that Xiaoxiao had lost a one-on-one fight to someone I’d never heard of, and later, in an “Echo” battle, Zhang Shan punched straight through her chest.
She lost completely.
How odd… Were these strong players avoiding me? Why, despite frequenting the games, had I never encountered any formidable figures?
Just as I was about to ask Zhou Mo for a detailed list of the top players, I met an extraordinary person in Di Snake’s game.
Chen Junnan.
Yes, “extraordinary” was the only way to describe him.
At first, I thought he was just someone I’d never heard of. But it turned out he was the “Scapegoat” whose name had always been displayed on the screen outside.
This wasn’t “unknown”—this was “household name,” yet no one knew where he was.
Every time, he would briefly appear on the first day of the ten-day cycle, vanishing like a flash in the pan. But now, “Scapegoat” no longer disappeared… Chen Junnan was finally making his mark.
Timing it out… didn’t this coincide exactly with Goat’s departure?
Goat… Chen Junnan… suddenly emerging powerful “Participants”…
But I couldn’t figure it out—what had Goat done to cause the “Participants” here to slowly rise only after he left?
I was too curious about Chen Junnan. I’d never heard his name anywhere else… yet he was unforgettable.
I suspected that even if people who met Chen Junnan couldn’t remember his name, they’d definitely recall his personality.
Chen Junnan absolutely had that effect.
An ordinary “Participant” with a seemingly harmless “Echo” like “Scapegoat,” without any strategy, teammates, or even a proper understanding of the game’s rules, chose to gamble his life against the notoriously cunning “Di Snake.”
Even with eight lifetimes of training, I’d never be that reckless.
No tactics, no knowledge of the rules, no idea how to kill Di Snake—every move was pure improvisation. Who in their right mind would do that?
Yet not only did he do it, he actually won and killed Di Snake.
Just as Zhou Mo had said, things were getting more and more interesting here.
Thanks to Chen Junnan, I entered “Paradise” for the first time as a visitor and finally met Chu Tianqiu.
According to Yun Yao, while Chu Tianqiu could retain his memories long-term, he rarely activated his “Echo.” This time, I wanted to see his abilities for myself. If he lacked just a bit of despair, I wouldn’t mind killing him once.
But I never imagined that upon arriving at “Paradise,” I’d experience the most mind-shattering revelation of my life.
Chu Tianqiu’s image in my mind completely collapsed. He wasn’t even worth killing.
Far from the so-called “King of Kindness” the rumors made him out to be, he was, in fact, a complete “madman.”
His insanity far exceeded my expectations—not only was his thinking deranged, but he also carried an aura disturbingly similar to Qinglong’s.
That day, he activated some bizarre “Echo” in front of me, pulling Chen Junnan back from the brink of death.
While the outcome was that Chu Tianqiu saved Chen Junnan, the process was far more twisted. Chen Junnan, gravely injured but not yet dead, was already being reborn—with partial memories—as a new version of himself.
Two identical people stood before me. The only difference? The new Chen Junnan lacked one day’s worth of memories compared to the dying one.
I’d never imagined Chu Tianqiu’s “Echo” could be so overpowering. After all, every “Echo” here seemed to follow some underlying rules. No matter how unbelievable a power appeared, it always made sense upon closer thought. But the ability to outright duplicate or create a person without any restrictions? That defied logic.
At this point, something suspicious dawned on me…
Wait—if the new Chen Junnan never met the old one and simply woke up in an unfamiliar street, what then?
From his perspective, he wouldn’t know why he was there. His memories wouldn’t connect.
Wouldn’t it feel like… a sudden, inexplicable daze?
Instantly, an image flashed in my mind—my own corpse lying in Goat’s office.
Though Chen Junnan and I were strangers, we’d experienced the exact same phenomenon.
Yes… From this angle, everything finally linked together.
But one question still puzzled me: Chen Junnan’s revival came from Chu Tianqiu, while my daze came from Goat. I knew for a fact that Goat and Chu Tianqiu were entirely different in personality and appearance—so how could they produce the same effect?
I had a hunch—if I could unravel this connection, the entire truth would surface.
Could it be that Goat and Chu Tianqiu were collaborating in some way?
Though I had no way of knowing everything Goat had done, I was certain that in the seven years since Goat became a “Zodiac,” Chu Tianqiu had never sought him out, nor had Goat ever mentioned Chu Tianqiu.
Now, I’d mostly pieced together why my life had been so chaotic.
First, Goat had used some rare method to “modify” me—whether it was my life, memories, or abilities, slight adjustments were made at his will, creating a sense of disconnection in my self-awareness.
Second, Goat had “revived” me many times. Each resurrection erased at least a day’s worth of memories. The clearest evidence? I never remembered the “Great Shuffles,” while Old Sun and others did.
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