Chapter 921: Return
Following the clues Jiang Ruoxue gave me, I quickly arrived at the building where Xiaoxiao often stayed.
But I didn't show myself; I just hid in the shadows and observed that unusually burly girl.
After all, my task wasn't to make friends with her—I just needed to confirm that she was a "Jidao."
I have to say... she really was crazy.
She could attack anyone for no reason, and would suddenly become paranoid about disrupting the normal progress of a game. I realized Jiang Ruoxue was simply a genius—every time Xiaoxiao had an episode, her code of conduct was like the most perfect "Jidao."
She could kill based on her own preferences, and casually grant "despair" to her teammates. Her existence was a ticking time bomb, capable of fulfilling all of Aries' requirements for a "Jidao."
And her "Echo" was called "Frame." Ordinary people couldn't even seek revenge against her, because she could effortlessly transfer any calamity that fell upon herself to others.
I roughly understood the origin of Xiaoxiao's "Frame"—after all, every time she had an episode, it was others who suffered the misfortune. It was an innate ability of hers: even though the disaster belonged to her, she could single-handedly shift it onto others.
I followed her from a distance to many places and discovered that her favorite venue was an "Earth Ox" game.
That Earth Ox used black bears to kill, and Xiaoxiao frequented it—the game suited her perfectly.
Not only did she have an innocent-looking face, but when she wore a coat, her figure seemed completely harmless. Anyone would think she was just a chubby girl; they would never imagine that under her coat lay a terrifying set of muscles.
So she could move through the game according to her own whims—kill, sow discord. The Earth Ox there saw her every day, and the game venue seemed to be her exclusive domain.
After observing for a while, I found that the Earth Ox wasn't a bad person. Every time, from his own perspective, he would advise Xiaoxiao to turn over a new leaf. From his viewpoint, Xiaoxiao's actions not only made many enemies but were also pointless. However, he didn't know that Xiaoxiao couldn't even control her own urge to cause destruction.
That shameless Jiang Ruoxue had lied after all. Xiaoxiao wasn't "having episodes most of the time"—she was "having an episode all the time." I clearly saw her take medicine, but the pills had no effect. I had never seen her normal; I really didn't know how that crazy girl Jiang Ruoxue dared to chat with someone like this.
Now the only thing I could do was to protect her slightly from the shadows before Xiaoxiao gained her "Echo," using "Soul Steal" to control those who tried to ambush her. After she obtained her "Echo," I would just stand by. If she died, she died—at least the memory would be preserved.
After some more days, Xiaoxiao finished participating in the Earth Ox's game and walked out of the venue with a disgruntled expression. Then I saw a group of people coming out of the venue. I had never seen so many survivors at once from an Earth Ox game, and most of them were unfamiliar faces I'd never seen before. Among them, there were even two people carrying bear arms, looking like they were returning with a full load.
After the crowd dispersed, Xiaoxiao went back to say a few words to the Earth Ox. The Earth Ox still advised her to reform, but she completely ignored him.
Then with a strange expression, she ran out of the game venue and quickly walked toward one of the "participant" teams that was carrying bear arms. I wondered what kind of "Echo" they had that allowed them to tear off a bear's arm.
If one day they discovered that these "bears" were actually products of "Echoes," or that these "bears" were transformed from humans through "Transformation"... would they still feel comfortable tearing off the bear's arm?
I looked in the direction Xiaoxiao was heading. I had seen that expression on her before—she wanted to kill.
This time, unusually, she hadn't killed anyone in the game, but instead wanted to hunt them down outside the game. Were those people important?
I hid in the shadows and saw Xiaoxiao quickly enter a restaurant. Before long, the two men and two women carrying the bear arms also came.
This time the situation was indeed special—Xiaoxiao had actually started using cunning to kill. Was this tactic "waiting for the rabbit by the tree stump"?
Since she chose to wait for the hare, I would wait for her. This girl hadn't obtained her "Echo" yet, which was really worrisome.
Fortunately, before long, a bell sounded in the distance. It seemed that Xiaoxiao's "Frame" had descended. What surprised me was that a few minutes later, another "bell" sounded in the distance—I didn't know how it was related to Xiaoxiao's "Frame."
"Tsk..." A voice suddenly sounded in my ear. "'Activation'?"
"Zhou Mo?" I asked in confusion. "Why the sudden telepathy? What 'Activation'?"
"Uh..." Zhou Mo was taken aback. "Nothing much, Yan Zhichun, are you with 'Frame'?"
"How do you know?" I was a bit puzzled.
"Tsk, that bitch Jiang Ruoxue told me. She said you'd be with 'Frame' these days and told me to contact you if anything came up."
I was about to answer, but I realized it wasn't convenient to tell Zhou Mo that I had been observing 'Frame' from the shadows all along—it made me seem socially anxious.
"We're together, more or less," I said. "What happened?"
"Tsk, nothing really," Zhou Mo's voice sounded in my ear. "I happened to be in front of the display screen and saw two 'Echoes' sound off in succession. I thought Xiaoxiao had gotten into a fight with someone."
"So do you need help?" I asked again.
"Tsk, no need. We've made a deal with that 'Activation'," Zhou Mo said. "She's a decent person. If Xiaoxiao and that 'Activation' actually fight, you might need to mediate since you're nearby. After all, we've been recruiting strong people recently."
"Recruiting strong people...?"
"Tsk, yeah. Whether it's the 'Jidao' or the 'Cat,' we're in need of people right now," Zhou Mo said. "By the way, last cycle they said a very powerful character appeared, called Qi... damn, what was it? Forget it, I'll confirm the name again and have my people tell Jiang Ruoxue directly. After all, it's not good for the 'King of Jidao' to step in. But where the hell has that bitch Jiang Ruoxue gone? I haven't seen her for days."
I shook my head helplessly after hearing that. "Don't mention the 'King of Jidao.' Xiaoxiao has obtained her 'Echo' this time, and my mission is over. Let's find a chance to meet, and I'll tell you about Jiang Ruoxue."
"Alright," Zhou Mo said. "Tsk, but you'll have to wait a bit—I need to ask Fifth Brother for leave."
After ending the call with Zhou Mo, I arranged to meet her in a house where Jiang Ruoxue and I often met.
But before Zhou Mo showed up, I saw Jiang Ruoxue, looking exhausted. Bathed in the light of the setting sun, she walked through the door like a corpse.
She had only been gone for a little over ten days, but her eyes seemed to have experienced decades of vicissitudes.
"Ru... Ruoxue? You're back?"
Jiang Ruoxue's expression was clearly off. She picked up a chair and slowly sat down with a sorrowful face.
"What happened...?" I said. "Where are 'Flower' and 'Seed'...?"
"Zhichun... let's destroy this damn place..."