“Did I hear that right?” Qi Xia frowned and asked, “Are you trying to help me ‘Echo’?”
“Yes,” Qian Wu nodded. “The ‘Pegasus Moment’ is no joke. I can’t guarantee you’ll survive it a hundred percent.”
“So you want to help me ‘Echo’?” Qi Xia found it somewhat amusing. “To be honest, if I knew my ‘Echo trigger,’ I’d make myself ‘Echo’ the first chance I got.”
“Fair point…” Qian Wu nodded again. “The fact that you can trigger four people’s ‘Echo’ in a single game proves you’re still the person I remember—no, even stronger than I remember.”
“Qian Wu, you might not know this,” Qi Xia took a step forward, “but precisely because I can’t guarantee my own ‘Echo,’ every step I take and every word I say in the ‘Land of Finality’ has been carefully weighed. It’s like walking on thin ice, always on the verge of plunging into an abyss.”
“I understand,” Qian Wu nodded solemnly.
“That’s why I’m always so cautious,” Qi Xia said. “If I had any fallback, I might make mistakes out of carelessness.”
Qian Wu truly understood Qi Xia’s feelings.
This man carried so much in the “Land of Finality.” He always walked ahead of everyone, yet he had no ‘Echo’ as a trump card. From the very beginning, all he could rely on was his own mind. As he said, he was constantly walking on thin ice, with an abyss beneath his feet.
“Then how about this…” Qian Wu suggested. “Tell me what happened each time before you triggered ‘Echo,’ and Saturday and I can help deduce your possible ‘trigger.'”
Qi Xia lowered his head in thought for a moment before speaking slowly, “Qian Wu, I have a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Is there always a ‘trigger’ for everyone’s ‘Echo’?”
Hearing this, even the usually composed Qian Wu slowly furrowed his brows. He had pondered this question before but never found an answer.
“From a strict perspective… neither the ‘Zodiacs’ nor the ‘Mythical Beasts’ have ever acknowledged the existence of an ‘Echo trigger.’ The only thing they admit is that people in ‘extreme emotional states’ gain extraordinary abilities,” Qian Wu said gravely to Qi Xia. “The so-called ‘Echo trigger’ is just speculation among us ‘participants.’ But it’s undeniable… finding the right ‘trigger’ can significantly increase someone’s chances of ‘Echoing.'”
“So the ‘triggers’ you’ve written down are just the conditions you’ve observed to be the most likely to make someone ‘Echo,'” Qi Xia concluded.
“Yes.”
“I have a bold hypothesis,” Qi Xia said.
Hearing this, the others around them turned to look at him. After all, Qi Xia’s past guesses were already daring. If even he admitted this one was bold, the content was likely to be almost unbelievable.
“Go on…”
Qi Xia took a deep breath and said clearly, “Could the so-called ‘Echo trigger’ actually be the deepest obsession in someone’s heart?”
Qian Wu frowned at this, instantly recalling several typical cases from the “Cat” team and feeling that Qi Xia’s words held some truth.
Those who had experienced confinement had to face darkness again, those who had starved had to endure hunger, those who feared humiliation had to be insulted repeatedly, and those who had suffered defeat had to face failure once more.
“And people like you, who can ‘Echo’ the moment you wake up…” Qi Xia looked up at Qian Wu, “it means your ‘obsessions’ run deeper than anyone else’s. Those painful experiences haunt you constantly, tormenting you… making your ‘Echo’ easier to trigger than anyone else’s. You’re like this, and so is Chen Junnan.”
“I have to admit…” Qian Wu nodded, “you might be onto something.”
“But there’s another scenario…” Qi Xia shifted the topic. “Some people could easily trigger their ‘Echo,’ but due to psychological trauma, they avoid their triggers or numb themselves. Some even become ‘unfortunates.’ Viewed this way, everything makes sense…”
Saturday, standing nearby, looked uneasy and interjected, “Tch, so what are you trying to say?”
“I just find it interesting,” Qi Xia replied expressionlessly. “Don’t you? To gain so-called ‘extraordinary abilities’ in this place, we have to find, tear apart, and trample on everyone’s deepest wounds before shoving them back in their faces. That’s the ‘trigger.’ I wonder—does this make us stronger… or just more insane?”
The others fell silent at his words. Even Qiao Jiajin knew the feeling of ‘Echoing.’
He had once failed to protect someone crucial in his life, altering the course of his existence. If he could go back, he would find a way to reach the scene, dismantle all the schemes, and engage in a fair fight.
But life had no “ifs.”
All he could do was return, again and again, to that powerless reality. The moment he stepped out of prison, his bleak fate was sealed.
So “protecting those around him” became his deepest obsession.
Every time his ‘Echo’ activated, Qiao Jiajin believed he would lose his comrades once more. The overwhelming sense of insecurity would flood his heart, his ears would ring, and a strange power would surge through him—that was ‘Echo.’
“What about you…?” Qian Wu looked at Qi Xia. “If you think the ‘Echo trigger’ is tied to ‘obsession,’ what would yours be?”
“I might be a special case,” Qi Xia said. “I feel like I have more than one ‘obsession.’ My heart is like a sprawling city—different paths might lead to different ‘obsessions,’ triggering different effects.”
Qian Wu sighed. “Even if the paths in your heart are numerous, there must be one that’s the widest, leading to your deepest, most painful ‘obsession.'”
“My… most painful obsession…” Qi Xia’s lips trembled slightly, as though the very thing he wanted to avoid had been thrust before him.
“You should be able to guess it, right? The most painful ‘obsession’ can unleash your greatest potential.”
“So… you want to extract this ‘obsession’ from my heart, tear it apart, and lay it bare before me,” Qi Xia asked, his voice tinged with despair.
“That’s the idea.”
“Then I’m afraid you can’t do it,” Qi Xia said, his voice deepening at the thought.
“What do you mean? Is your ‘obsession’ too hard to uncover?” Qian Wu pressed.
“No…” Qi Xia closed his eyes and shook his head. “I suspect my obsession has already materialized—into a living person.”
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