# Chapter 1063: The Layout Begins
After a short while, Tian Tian slowly opened her eyes. To her shock, she saw a "Scholar" piece lying on the ground.
This "Scholar" looked extremely refined—so much so that it could pass for the real thing.
"Oh...?" Qi Xia also lowered his head. "Even though I never looked away, I didn't notice the chain turning into a piece. It's as if it had always been a piece."
Hearing this description, Tian Tian felt that she might have actually activated her "Echo."
It was the same when she had first unleashed her "Echo" in front of Zheng Yingxiong—she had activated it under everyone's gaze, and in that moment, the thing she created replaced the original object. To everyone present, it was as if nothing had happened, as if those things had always been like that.
But this time, something felt a bit strange. It was like she had Echoed, yet also like she hadn't.
Could Qi Xia have used a real piece to stage this act and trick her? But where did this "Scholar" come from?
Tian Tian quickly realized what was going on. Qi Xia had said before that the opponent's piece should be an "Advisor," and that it was being carefully protected by them. So this piece couldn't possibly have come from the enemy side—it could only have been created by her.
"So it really was me..." Tian Tian said. "I can hardly believe it. I don't even know the internal structure of this piece, yet I managed to make a replica?"
Qi Xia nodded after hearing this. "This shows that your 'Echo' has become stronger than before. So this task will also fall into place naturally."
"Alright... then I'll do it as soon as possible!" Tian Tian nodded in agreement and closed her eyes again.
Knowing that Tian Tian would be the true "surprise weapon" in this match, Qi Xia decided not to disturb her further and let her train her "Echo" as much as possible. He originally wanted to enter the "River" from the front, but unexpectedly found that the room between Tian Tian's room and the "River" was locked.
He furrowed his brow, sensing something strange, and had to ask, "Who was in the room before you?"
"It seems... it was Lawyer Zhang," Tian Tian said, opening her eyes.
"Lawyer Zhang...?" Qi Xia nodded, then had to take another route. After confirming that no one was around, he walked in.
He closed the door and began to verify his conjecture.
His hypothesis was simple: in this space where no one could "Echo," Xu Liunian was the first to regain her "Echo."
And since Xu Liunian's intelligence and skills were nothing outstanding, it meant that "Echo" had nothing to do with intelligence or skill—it was only related to "experience."
As a very seasoned "Echo user," Xu Liunian possessed experiences that others lacked. That was the reason she could "Echo" first.
So, in conclusion, Qi Xia quickly realized that the difficulty of "Echoing" wasn't very high, but it required some extra "belief."
Now that he had transferred this extra "belief" to Tian Tian, it was time to verify whether that "belief" had taken shape.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the pile of chains.
Just as he had expected, part of the chains had fused together, forming a crooked "piece."
A "Scholar."
Though it had the rough shape of a "Scholar," half of the chain still hung down, as if it had been half-formed into a piece and the rest hadn't fused completely.
Qi Xia let out a breath, feeling that he had been using a real piece to draw out a fake one from Tian Tian. But this was enough.
No one cared whether the pieces were real or fake, as long as Tian Tian believed they were real.
He gently shook this fake "Scholar" and felt it was a bit heavier than the real piece.
It seemed that the real pieces had mechanisms inside them, while the piece Tian Tian had created was probably solid. This solid piece couldn't activate the "Phoenix Bearing Letters Platform" and likely wouldn't score any points.
Qi Xia put the piece into his pocket, thinking that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Though one could tell it was fake just by looking at it, as long as the enemy never had a chance to examine it carefully, it would forever be genuine.
He opened the door and stepped into the "River." But instead of rushing to the other side, he first made sure the "River" was empty, then moved horizontally, opening the doors on his own side one by one as if searching for someone.
In the leftmost room, Qi Xia found Zheng Yingxiong.
"Huh...?" Zheng Yingxiong frowned at Qi Xia, his gaze quickly turning cold. "What do you want?"
Seeing Qi Xia walk in from the "River," he was one hundred percent certain this was a fake. He even had a headbutt trajectory planned in his mind.
But Qi Xia shook his head and, before Zheng Yingxiong could react, walked straight into the room.
Zheng Yingxiong turned and fled, pushing open the door and going into another room.
The two stared at each other through the doorway, but Zheng Yingxiong felt something was off.
"The door wasn't locked just now. Come back," Qi Xia said.
"Huh...?"
Zheng Yingxiong found that the door was indeed unlocked, but he couldn't believe that Qi Xia—who had swaggered in from the "River"—was the real one.
"Aren't you... supposed to be behind me?" Zheng Yingxiong asked.
"The situation has changed," Qi Xia said. "I have a new task for you."
"What task...?" Zheng Yingxiong was taken aback.
Qi Xia didn't answer. Instead, he stared at Zheng Yingxiong and asked, "How's your nose...? Has your sense of smell recovered?"
Zheng Yingxiong sighed upon hearing this. "No... I thought it would come back after a while, but the longer it's been, the more familiar I've become with the smells here. I can't pick up on anyone else's scent anymore."
Qi Xia took another step forward, entering Zheng Yingxiong's room, and said softly, "Alright. I'll tell you the content of the task now, but you must promise not to tell anyone else. Even if you die, you have to take it to your grave."
"Ah...?" Zheng Yingxiong was stunned, then pointed in the direction of Qinglong. "What about him...?"
"Don't worry, he's not human," Qi Xia said.
"Uh... alright."
"I'm going to tell you the 'Echo' of everyone on our team now. Memorize them carefully, and then tell them you've smelled these scents."
"Huh?" Zheng Yingxiong didn't understand. "I haven't smelled anything, but you want me to say I have?"
"Exactly. This is the first step of the task."
With a few brief sentences, Qi Xia told Zheng Yingxiong the names of the "Echoes" belonging to Tian Tian, Chen Junnan, Qiao Jiajin, Zhang Chenze, and Han Yimo.
"Got it?"
"Got it..." Zheng Yingxiong nodded. "But why do we need to do this?"
"As long as you say it convincingly, they will genuinely obtain their 'Echo,'" Qi Xia said. "There is no 'Bell' here, and you are the 'Bell.'"
"I am... the 'Bell'?"
"Remember this, Zheng Yingxiong," Qi Xia said. "It's not that when someone 'Echoes,' the bell rings—it's that when the bell rings, someone 'Echoes.'"
Zheng Yingxiong's eyes slowly widened as he listened, feeling as if he had just heard something incredible.