Chapter 1063: The Setup Begins

Not long after, Tian Tian slowly opened her eyes and was startled to find a “shi” piece placed on the floor. Her eyes widened in surprise.

This “shi” looked incredibly refined, almost realistic enough to be mistaken for the real thing.

“Oh…?” Qi Xia also looked down. “Even though my eyes never left the chain, I didn’t notice it had turned into a ‘zi.’ It’s as if it was always a ‘zi’ to begin with.”

After hearing this, Tian Tian felt as if she had indeed activated her “Echo.”

Previously, the first time she used her “Echo” in front of Zheng Yingxiong had been the same. She had activated her “Echo” in front of everyone, replacing the original object with something she had created. To everyone else, it seemed as if nothing had changed; those things had always been that way.

But this time felt somehow strange—it felt both like an “Echo” and not like one at the same time.

Could it be that Qi Xia was faking the entire thing just to trick her? But then, where had this “shi” come from?

Tian Tian quickly figured it out. Qi Xia had previously mentioned that the opponent should have a “shi,” which was well protected. Therefore, this “zi” couldn’t possibly belong to the enemy—it must have been created by herself.

“It really is me then…” Tian Tian murmured. “It’s hard to believe, considering I don’t even know the internal structure of this ‘zi,’ yet I was still able to create a replica?”

Qi Xia nodded after hearing this. “This shows that your ‘Echo’ has become stronger than before. Therefore, this mission should go smoothly.”

“Okay… I’ll do it as soon as possible!” Tian Tian nodded in agreement and closed her eyes once more.

Qi Xia knew that Tian Tian would be the true “ace” in this match. He decided not to disturb her anymore, allowing her to train her “Echo” as much as possible. Originally, he had intended to enter the “River Channel” directly, but unexpectedly, he found the door between Tian Tian’s room and the “River Channel” locked.

Frowning, he felt something was off and asked, “Who was in the room in front of yours just now?”

“It seemed to be… Lawyer Zhang?” Tian Tian replied, opening her eyes.

“Lawyer Zhang…?” Qi Xia nodded and had to take another route, making sure no one was around before stepping inside.

He closed the door behind him and began testing his hypothesis.

His theory was simple: in this space where “Echo” was normally impossible, Xu Liunian had been the first to activate her “Echo.”

Xu Liunian’s intelligence and skills weren’t particularly outstanding, so “Echo” had nothing to do with intellect or skill. Instead, it was related solely to “experience.”

As an extremely experienced “Echoer,” Xu Liunian possessed a level of experience that others lacked, which was why she was the first to activate her “Echo.”

Therefore, based on this, Qi Xia immediately realized that “Echo” wasn’t particularly difficult, but it required an additional element—”belief.”

Now, he had already transferred this additional “belief” to Tian Tian. This was the moment to verify whether this “belief” had taken shape.

From his pocket, Qi Xia pulled out the chain.

As expected, part of the chain had already fused together, forming a crooked “zi.”

“Shi.”

Although it had the outline of a “shi,” half of the chain still dangled loosely, as if it had only partially melted and been shaped into a “zi,” with the rest remaining unfused.

Qi Xia exhaled in relief, feeling as though he had used a real “zi” to lure Tian Tian into creating a fake one—an act of reverse baiting. But this was enough.

No one cared whether the “zi” was real or fake, as long as Tian Tian believed it was real.

He gently shook the fake “shi” and felt that it was heavier than a real “zi.”

It seemed that the real “zi” indeed had some kind of mechanism inside, while the one Tian Tian had created was solid. This solid “zi” wouldn’t activate the “Phoenix Delivering the Scroll Platform,” nor would it earn points.

Qi Xia put the fake “shi” into his pocket, thinking this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Although it could easily be identified as fake upon close inspection, as long as the enemy didn’t get a chance to examine it closely, it would always remain “real.”

He opened the door and entered the “River Channel,” but instead of immediately heading to the other side, he moved sideways after confirming no one was around, opening each of their own rooms one by one, as if searching for someone.

In the far-left room, Qi Xia found Zheng Yingxiong.

“Hmm…?” Zheng Yingxiong frowned, looking at Qi Xia with a cold gaze. “What do you want?”

Seeing Qi Xia entering from the “River Channel,” Zheng was 100% certain he was fake, having already planned how to headbutt him.

But Qi Xia shook his head and, taking Zheng by surprise, walked directly into the room.

Zheng immediately turned to flee, pushed open the door, and ran into another room.

Separated by the door, they stared at each other, but Zheng felt something was off.

“The door wasn’t locked before. Come back,” Qi Xia said.

“Eh…?”

Zheng Yingxiong found the door indeed unlocked, but he couldn’t believe that the Qi Xia who had walked in so openly from the “River Channel” could possibly be real.

“You… shouldn’t you be behind me?” Zheng asked.

“Circumstances have changed,” Qi Xia replied. “I have a new mission for you.”

“What mission…?” Zheng was taken aback.

Qi Xia didn’t answer immediately but stared at Zheng and asked, “How’s your nose…? Has your sense of smell returned?”

Zheng sighed after hearing this. “No luck. I thought it might recover over time, but instead, the longer it’s been, the more familiar I’ve become with the smells here, and the less I can sense other people’s scents.”

Qi Xia took another step forward, entering Zheng’s room and whispering, “Good. Now I’ll tell you the details of the mission, but you must promise not to tell anyone else—not even if you die.”

“What…?” Zheng was stunned, pointing toward Qinglong. “What about him…?”

“No problem. He’s not human,” Qi Xia said.

“Uh… okay.”

“Now, I’ll tell you each person’s ‘Echo’ in our team. Memorize them and tell them you’ve smelled these scents.”

“What?” Zheng was confused. “I didn’t smell anything, but I have to say I did?”

“Exactly. This is the first part of the mission.”

In a few short sentences, Qi Xia told Zheng Yingxiong the names of the “Echo” abilities of Tian Tian, Chen Junnan, Qiao Jiajin, Zhang Chenzhe, and Han Yimo.

“Got it?”

“Got it…” Zheng nodded. “But why are we doing this?”

“Once you say it convincingly, they will truly gain their ‘Echo,'” Qi Xia said. “There is no ‘Bell’ here, but you are the ‘Bell.'”

“I’m… the ‘Bell’?”

“Remember this, Zheng Yingxiong,” Qi Xia said. “It’s not that the bell rings because someone has ‘Echoed,’ but rather, when the bell rings, someone will ‘Echo.'”

After hearing this, Zheng Yingxiong slowly widened his eyes, feeling as if he had just heard something utterly unbelievable.