Chapter 118: Officer Li’s Tactics

But should we tell him the news now?

This isn’t a good idea. The hardest thing for humans to control is their own *thoughts*.

Han Yimo’s emotions seem relatively stable at the moment. If we reveal this news now, it might inevitably disrupt his state of mind.

“Han Yimo, are you feeling scared right now?” Qi Xia asked cautiously.

“Not really,” Han Yimo replied calmly, shaking his head. “The place is well-lit, and there doesn’t seem to be any danger.”

“That’s… that’s good then…”

Officer Li noticed that Qi Xia seemed slightly flustered.

“But no one knows whether an accident or tomorrow will come first…” Han Yimo sighed, gazing up at the sky. “Qi Xia, do you think we’ll ever get out of—”

“Stop!” Qi Xia stepped forward and covered Han Yimo’s mouth, a bead of cold sweat trickling down his forehead. “Han Yimo, stay calm. We *will* get out of here.”

Han Yimo gave a slight nod, and Qi Xia lowered his hand.

“Qi Xia, for some reason, I really believe in you,” Han Yimo said. “You’re like a character I once wrote—someone who, in the story’s climax, overcame an impossible challenge.”

“That’s good to hear…” Qi Xia forced a faint smile. “With me here, you don’t need to worry.”

Watching Qi Xia’s expression, Officer Li seemed to realize something.

Could *”Disaster Summoning”* be the same as *”jinxing things”*?

“Right… Han Yimo, don’t you dare overthink things…” Officer Li said belatedly. “Qi Xia and I will get everyone out.”

Han Yimo found the two of them acting oddly.

“What’s wrong with you two?”

“I…” Officer Li and Qi Xia exchanged glances, their words stuck in their throats. “N-nothing.”

The top priority now was figuring out how to stop Han Yimo’s *”Echo”*. Otherwise, with his terrifying imagination, a train might end up crashing into the playground, or a meteor shower could rain from the sky.

“You two are *really* weird…” Han Yimo sighed. “You drag me to the middle of the field in the middle of the night, then refuse to explain anything clearly.”

Qi Xia felt his mind growing chaotic.

The *”Echoers”* they knew so far didn’t seem to possess ordinary *”superpowers”*.

They didn’t have the ability to fly or vanish into thin air—instead, their powers leaned toward something far more unsettling.

Han Yimo could summon disasters, Jiang Ruoxue could forcibly link two unrelated events with logic, and Officer Li could materialize objects out of thin air.

And that woman named Xiaoxiao—when she killed Qiao Jiajin and Tiantian, she hadn’t even moved. She’d simply eaten a bowl of meat, and everyone had collapsed.

Qi Xia remembered her *”Echo”* was called *”Framing”*.

Given that, it wasn’t unreasonable to speculate that Xiaoxiao *had* poisoned them—but she didn’t need to put the poison in their bowls. She only had to poison her own.

Then, by *”framing”* her own poisoning onto others, she could complete the murder.

Qi Xia let out a bitter chuckle. In the real world, anyone who proposed such a theory would be considered insane. But in *”Terminus”*, this deduction felt strangely plausible.

“I’m getting sleepy,” Han Yimo said, stretching. “Aren’t you two going back to rest?”

“We’ll have another smoke first. You go ahead,” Officer Li said.

“Alright then.” Han Yimo nodded. “I’ll head back. You two should get some rest too.”

With that, he turned and walked toward the brightly lit school building. Along the way, he seemed to run into Zhang Shan, and the two chatted as they disappeared into the distance.

Now, with only Qi Xia and Officer Li remaining, there was no need for further concealment.

Qi Xia turned and cut straight to the point: “Officer Li, do you remember your *’Echo’*?”

“My… *’Echo’*?” He frowned, as if trying to recall. “Did I *’Echo’* last time? All I remember is smoking a cigarette and then losing consciousness.”

“That’s exactly the issue,” Qi Xia said. “You pulled out a pristine *’Cordyceps’* cigarette from an old pack. Do you remember that?”

Qi Xia knew this question was difficult for Officer Li. At the time, his condition had been dire—not only was he severely bleeding, but he was also in excruciating pain and barely conscious.

“I think I have a vague memory of it…” Officer Li nodded. “*’Cordyceps’* is a specialty cigarette from Inner Mongolia. A pack costs a hundred yuan. I faintly recall smoking one before I died, but I have no idea how it got there.”

“What about the lighter?” Qi Xia patted his pockets but realized his own lighter was long gone. He gestured instead. “A well-used Zippo lighter—pretty standard design.”

Officer Li froze. “How do you know about that lighter? It was a gift from Xuanxuan, bought with her New Year’s money… I always carry it with me.”

Qi Xia nodded. “Then I understand. Officer Li, I suspect your *’Echo’* is incredibly powerful—you can materialize anything you desire out of thin air.”

“What?!” Officer Li’s eyes widened. “You’re saying I not only *’Echoed’*, but I also conjured up the lighter Xuanxuan gave me?”

“Yes. I, Lin Qin, and Lawyer Zhang witnessed your *’Echo’* firsthand. But now, apart from me, there are no other witnesses left.”

Officer Li lowered his head, his expression conflicted.

“What’s wrong?” Qi Xia asked.

“Qi Xia, is it true that only *’Echoers’* retain their memories?”

“That’s what I’ve heard.”

“And I… only hear my *’Echo’* when I’m on the verge of death?”

“Yes.” Qi Xia nodded again.

Officer Li slowly raised his head. “Qi Xia… I think I’ve found a way for us to escape this place.”

“What?” Qi Xia turned to look at him. “What method?”

“Find a way to kill me,” Officer Li said seriously. “Push me to the brink of death.”

Qi Xia’s brow furrowed. “Are you insane?”

“No, I’m not.”

Officer Li’s eyes flickered as if he were rapidly assessing the feasibility of the plan in his mind. After a long pause, he spoke again:

“When I’m near death, I’ll try to summon three thousand six hundred *’Dao’*. That way, all of you can escape! I don’t know exactly how this ability works, but I *will* sense it when I’m dying!”

His gaze was deadly serious—not a trace of jest in it.

“A single *’Dao’* is about the size of a walnut. How could anyone carry three thousand six hundred of them?” Qi Xia found the plan far too risky. “This doesn’t sound reliable. We should consider other options.”

“If once isn’t enough, we’ll try twice. If twice isn’t enough, we’ll try three times,” Officer Li said firmly. “I *will* make sure everyone survives.”