Chapter 124: Echoes of Yun Yao

The four of them formed a temporary team and set off toward the city.

This team did seem a bit unusual.

Yun Yao and Tian Tian, two people who couldn’t be more different, had somehow ended up in the same group.

“So, sis, what did you do before coming here?” Yun Yao asked casually.

“I, I was…” Tian Tian faltered, her face flushing with insecurity at Yun Yao’s glamorous appearance. She couldn’t even form a proper sentence.

“She’s unemployed,” Qiao Jiajin suddenly chimed in. “Can’t you tell by how little she’s wearing? Those are pajamas.”

“Oh? So that’s how it is.” Yun Yao nodded. “Let me introduce myself—I’m Yun Yao, the lead singer of an idol group. You’re quite pretty, sis. If you don’t have a job, would you consider becoming an idol?”

“Idol…?” Tian Tian clearly hadn’t heard the term before.

“You don’t follow celebrities?” Yun Yao patiently explained. “‘Idol’ is just a transliteration of the word ‘idol’—it means a celebrity performer.”

“At my age…” Tian Tian forced a bitter smile. “And I’m not cut out to be an idol anyway.”

“Not cut out? Sis, you look really upset.” Yun Yao suddenly grew serious, staring at Tian Tian. “Has someone bullied you before?”

“I…”

Qiao Jiajin patted Yun Yao on the shoulder. “Hey, pretty girl, you seem to love chatting. How about you talk to me instead and leave her alone?”

“Oh?” Yun Yao’s attention shifted to him. “And what do you do?”

“Dang it…” Qiao Jiajin laughed awkwardly. “Now that you ask, I don’t really have a proper job either.”

“What’s going on?” Yun Yao looked at the two of them in confusion. “Was your interview room the ‘Unemployment Special’ or something?”

Then, as if remembering something, she turned to Qi Xia. “Qi Xia, what about you? You’re so smart—you must have a great job, right?”

Three questions, three people left speechless.

“Maybe you should change the subject,” Qi Xia said.

Now he finally understood why the bespectacled guy and Jin Yuanxun couldn’t handle her. With this kind of conversation, only Qiao Jiajin could probably hold his own against her for a few rounds.

“Change the subject…?” Yun Yao thought for a moment, then asked, “What are you all good at?”

“I don’t have any special skills,” Qi Xia replied. “I’ve just read a bit more than most people.”

“That’s obvious,” Yun Yao said, nodding with admiration. “I really like knowledgeable men.”

“I don’t have any special skills either,” Qiao Jiajin shrugged. “Just fighting.”

“Fighting?” Yun Yao blinked. “That’s the first time I’ve heard that listed as a ‘specialty.’”

“Uh…” Qiao Jiajin didn’t know how to respond and just chuckled awkwardly. “So what are you good at?”

“Me…?” Yun Yao suddenly stopped walking and turned to face the three of them. “I have incredible luck.”

Incredible luck?

Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exchanged glances.

“That sounds even less reliable than fighting,” Qi Xia said. “Are you planning to lead us to victory with your luck?”

“Why not?” Yun Yao grinned. “I’ve always been super lucky—that’s my thing.”

“There’s a difference between blind confidence and a real skill,” Qi Xia countered. “‘Luck’ is uncontrollable by nature. Unless you…”

He trailed off, suddenly struck by a thought.

He turned to Yun Yao, his eyes flashing with disbelief.

“Exactly what you’re thinking,” Yun Yao said with a smile. “You really are smart. It’s called ‘Strong Luck.’”

Qi Xia almost wished he hadn’t guessed right.

Yun Yao’s “Echo” was “Strong Luck”?

If that was the case… was there anything in the world that could challenge her?

“Dang it… What are you two even talking about?” Qiao Jiajin looked completely lost. “What’s ‘Strong Luck’? Who’s named ‘Strong Luck’?”

Qi Xia didn’t answer, only growing more unsettled the more he thought about it.

Compared to these people, he had been far too reckless.

These “Echoers” with supernatural abilities were carefully forming teams to play the games, yet he had been gambling with the “Zodiacs” as a mere mortal.

“So you can win every time?” Qi Xia asked.

“Win every time?” Yun Yao gave him a puzzled look. “Oh, I almost forgot—you don’t really understand ‘Echoes’ yet. So you might not know… but winning every time is absolutely impossible.”

“Impossible?” Qi Xia clearly didn’t follow. He lowered his voice. “If your power is ‘Strong Luck,’ how could you ever lose? Even if you faced a black bear, it might just drop dead from a sudden illness, right?”

Yun Yao thought for a moment, then answered seriously, “Qi Xia, who told you that ‘Echoes’ are ‘superpowers’?”

“Aren’t they?” Qi Xia said. “The things ‘Echoers’ do, the strength they display—ordinary people can’t do any of that. Doesn’t that count as a superpower?”

Yun Yao nodded slightly. “No wonder you think that way… but the reality is a bit different. Qi Xia, an ‘Echo’ isn’t a ‘superpower.’ It’s a ‘belief.’”

“Belief?”

That was far more abstract than “superpower.”

Qi Xia suddenly recalled Jiang Ruoxue’s explanation—she had also said that “Echoes are something very abstract.”

“It’s hard to describe this feeling,” Yun Yao said, looking at her own hand. “But my ‘Echo’ doesn’t guarantee success every time. In fact… the chance of failure isn’t low.”

“So…” Qi Xia blinked. “You’re saying you might activate ‘Strong Luck,’ but you might also fail?”

“Exactly,” Yun Yao said, pleased that he understood.

Seeing Yun Yao’s cheerful expression, Qi Xia couldn’t bring himself to smile.

He thought she was insane.

What kind of nonsense “Echo” was this?

Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.

By that logic, wasn’t he also intermittently “lucky”?

But Yun Yao had clearly retained her memories—she was undeniably an “Echoer.”

It was hard to imagine she had survived so confidently with such a mediocre ability.

Qi Xia decided to drop the topic of this bizarre “Echo” and asked instead, “What game are we going to play?”

“Anything,” Yun Yao said with a smile. “I feel like our team is strong enough to take on anyone.”

“Sounds good,” Qiao Jiajin agreed. “Scammer, last time I was tied up and couldn’t show off. This time, I’ll give you a real demonstration.”

Tian Tian spoke up too. “If there’s anything dangerous, I’d like to try it first.”

Qi Xia slowly rubbed his forehead. This team was a mess in every possible way.