“Ah, yes,” Cui Shisi nodded awkwardly. “Zodiacs die when they lose their heads… but Tenth Brother should be fine.”
Hearing this, Chen Junnan could only force himself to turn back and look in Jiang Shi’s direction, only to find that the situation was indeed quite bizarre.
Jiang Shi hadn’t shed a single drop of blood.
A few seconds later, Jiang Shi, who had been slumped on the ground, twitched his hands slightly before frantically groping his own body as if searching for something. It didn’t take long for him to find his head.
“Ah…?” Jiang Shi’s voice emerged from his throat. “That strong…? Knocked my head right off.”
Chen Junnan and the Earth Rabbit both gaped at the sight.
Jiang Shi kept fumbling with his head, trying to reattach it to his broken neck, but failed after several attempts. After all, human joints weren’t puzzle pieces—once severed, brute force couldn’t just reconnect them.
“No sense of restraint…” Jiang Shi grumbled, propping up his head with one hand while pushing himself off the ground with the other. “What do I do now…? Go back to Fifth Brother like this, holding my head?”
“Hey… k-kid,” Chen Junnan called out, bewildered. “You’re really okay?”
Hearing this, Jiang Shi turned his head in an utterly unnatural motion. Since his neck wasn’t connected, his head spun too far, completing an extra half-rotation.
“I’m fine, idiot leader,” Jiang Shi said, steadying his head. “Just a bit inconvenient… Can’t use my hands… gotta keep holding this…”
Only then did Chen Junnan notice that the left side of Jiang Shi’s face had completely caved in, the skin and muscle torn away to reveal yellowish-white bone.
“Uh…” Chen Junnan gulped. “G-Good to hear… Take care of yourself… You don’t look so great…”
“Look?” Jiang Shi reached up with his free hand to touch the missing half of his face. “You can still tell how I look?”
Before the words even settled, the Earth Rabbit, having snapped out of its daze, struck again.
This time, the Earth Rabbit was resolute—no matter what this kid was, as long as he was human, he couldn’t possibly survive.
A sweeping punch came flying. Chen Junnan yelled, “Watch out!” Jiang Shi reacted instantly, twisting slightly before executing his signature backflip.
He arched backward, hands bracing against the ground—but this time, things went differently. Though he dodged the attack, his neck stretched mid-flip, and his head smacked into the floor.
Before the flip could even finish, Jiang Shi let out a muffled groan and collapsed sideways.
Every time, Chen Junnan thought Jiang Shi was dead. And yet, he wasn’t.
The Earth Rabbit’s expression twisted in disgust. A kid with a broken neck could still talk? Fine, he could stomach that. But why was he attempting backflips?
Who the hell thought of doing a backflip right after losing their head?
“Owww… That hurt…” Jiang Shi muttered from the ground, cradling his head. “You damn rabbit’s got no manners… They say even ants and moths deserve mercy… Yet here you are, chasing me down after knocking my head off… I’ll find an exorcist to deal with you—”
“Oh no!” Chen Junnan slapped his thigh. “The kid’s gone nuts from the beating!”
“You’re the nutty one, idiot leader,” Jiang Shi retorted, cutting off his own rambling as he struggled to get up while holding his head. “Guess I can’t backflip anymore… Too risky for the head…”
“Risky…?” Chen Junnan swallowed hard. “Buddy, your problem isn’t just your head falling off anymore… Do you even feel pain?!”
“Of course I do!” Jiang Shi spun around—Chen Junnan could clearly see tears welling in his eyes. “My head’s fallen off!! And you ask if it hurts?!”
“R-Right… Then, uh, take care of yourself…”
The Earth Rabbit felt like the two were mocking it. Suppressing its fury, it steadied itself before launching another punch, this time a horizontal swing aimed straight at Jiang Shi’s head. Jiang Shi reacted swiftly, abandoning the backflip and instead yanking his head down against his chest, barely dodging the blow.
The Earth Rabbit had killed countless people, yet it had never seen such a bizarre evasion tactic. Who the hell moved their head to their chest to dodge an attack?
“Hey… Why keep aiming for the head?” Jiang Shi’s detached head asked, puzzled. “Can’t you hit somewhere else? If my head flies off, it’s a real hassle!”
“You’re a damn monster…” the Earth Rabbit muttered.
“Hey, that’s enough!” Chen Junnan chimed in, fanning the flames. “You’re an Earth-level Zodiac, yet you’re chasing a kid around. If you can’t kill him, just give up already. This is embarrassing.”
“No worries…” The Earth Rabbit shook its head. “As long as you all die here… no one will ever know…”
Done with words, the Earth Rabbit threw an uppercut straight at the head cradled in Jiang Shi’s arms. This strike was too fast—Jiang Shi couldn’t dodge.
*Thud!*
A crisp sound echoed as Jiang Shi’s head, now completely detached, was sent flying into the ceiling, scattering dust before plummeting back down. Meanwhile, Jiang Shi’s body took two steps forward and caught it midair.
The sight left both Chen Junnan and the Earth Rabbit speechless once more.
Jiang Shi hugged his head, wiping its face tenderly before tucking it under his arm like a basketball. Then, he turned to glare at the Earth Rabbit.
“You’re way too strong—trying to kill me with pain…?” Jiang Shi sighed deeply, his head still tucked under his arm. “How many times do I have to say it? Stop knocking my head off!”
Chen Junnan held his breath, staring at the ragged stump of Jiang Shi’s neck. Only in horror movies did people walk around carrying their own heads.
But upon closer inspection, Jiang Shi’s condition was even stranger—there wasn’t a single drop of blood on him.
The flesh at his neck had been violently torn apart, yet the wound wasn’t bloody or even bone-like.
It looked more like… dead wood.
“What kind of «Echo» is this…?” The Earth Rabbit’s lips trembled. “I’ve never seen anything like you.”
“Me?” Jiang Shi blinked. “My ability’s too niche—gotta pair it with Fifth Brother, or else I’ll die once the «Echo» ends. Plus, I’ve never joined a game before, so no one knows about me. Makes sense.”
Hearing this, Chen Junnan seemed to understand something.
Back then, Song Qi had mentioned that Jiang Shi’s ability was “indestructible for a limited time.” Clearly, his «Echo» had a fatal flaw.
If Chen Junnan had to guess, once the «Echo» ended, Jiang Shi’s body would revert to normal—and all the fatal injuries he’d sustained would instantly take effect, killing him on the spot.
What a ridiculous «Echo».
His body didn’t grow stronger, nor did it numb the pain. Even he was terrified by his own state. During the «Echo», no matter how severe the injury, he simply… wouldn’t die.
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