Chapter 1215: The Researcher
"It looks like it's going smoothly." Black Sheep looked at the leaders of the few teams before him.
An unknown old man, Old Deng, Aunt Tong, plus the three teams that had just arrived—Yan Zhichun, Jiang Ruoxue, and Old Sun. Out of the expected seven teams, six had shown up.
"Can't wait for the last team anymore," Black Sheep said. "'Participants,' bring your 'Beliefs' and prepare to set off. 'Zodiacs,' do as you please."
The few 'Zodiacs' exchanged glances after hearing this, then dispersed to act on their own.
"What's going on...?" Old Sun turned his head to look at Yan Zhichun. "Why's one team missing? Little sis, who didn't come?"
Yan Zhichun felt that the current situation had some discrepancies with reality, so she quickly spoke up: "There should still be two teams. They're both alive. Xiaoxiao's team and Zhoumo's team."
"Where are they?! Why aren't they here?!" Old Sun asked again. "It's a straight road, so just come on!"
As they were talking, they saw Zhoumo leading a few people as they jogged over from a distance.
"Tch, goddammit... a few 'Human-level' were blocking the way..." Zhoumo panted as he reached them. "Killed them all. It's clear now."
Seeing Zhoumo arrive, the crowd couldn't help but feel relieved. But then they took a closer look—what kind of 'Jidao' team was this that had come running?
Qian Wu, Saturday, Bai Jiu, and Luo Shiyi, these four famous 'Cats,' were all present, along with Officer Li and Su Shan.
Zhoumo noticed everyone staring at him and could only shake his head. "There was an accident. The 'Jidao' ran into a 'Death Gate,' so I had to let the 'Cats' enter instead."
"As long as you're here, it's fine," Yan Zhichun said. "Now only..."
Although no one saw it, they could all imagine that Xiaoxiao, Lin Qin, and Zheng Yingxiong had run into trouble.
Even if they hadn't encountered danger outside, the possibility of death on the 'Train' still existed.
That team was probably already wiped out by now.
Jiang Ruoxue looked at Zhoumo: "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and use 'Telepathy' to ask! What good are you if you don't use it?"
"Tch, you bitch, stop making trouble for me. If I could use it, I would've already," Zhoumo frowned. "In this damn place, all 'Echoes' are out of order."
"Can't we 'Echo' here?" Many of the 'Jidao' were puzzled.
The only thing they relied on to challenge the 'Train' was their 'Echo.' If they couldn't trigger it, how were they supposed to fight those 'Zodiacs'?
"Echoing is possible..." Yan Zhichun said.
Zhoumo looked at her after hearing that: "Tch, how do we do it?"
"I..." Yan Zhichun hesitated. The words came to her lips but didn't come out.
According to what Chu Tianqiu had said back then, all you had to do was firmly believe that you had already obtained your 'Echo.'
But once that was said out loud, for those with weak subconscious minds, it would turn into 'Never Echo Again,' because they would fall into a state of 'uncertainty.'
Her mind was spinning rapidly—how did Qi Xia manage to make everyone obtain their 'Echo' back then?
"Right... Zheng Yingxiong..." Yan Zhichun was stunned, suddenly recalling this living 'Bell.'
As long as he declared that the person had obtained their 'Echo,' then they would definitely be able to 'Echo.'
But Zheng Yingxiong was in the same team as Xiaoxiao, and that girl who called herself 'Inspiration,' Lin Qin, was also with them. None of them had shown up to join them yet.
Was there really no way now?
"None of you can 'Echo'?" Jiang Ruoxue slowly stepped forward. "I can't even tell if my own 'Echo' is active. Let me try!"
She reached out and grabbed Yan Zhichun's hand.
"Zhichun, what are you thinking about?" Jiang Ruoxue asked.
"I..." Yan Zhichun sighed. "I'm thinking about how to make everyone stably obtain their 'Echo.'"
"Alright." Jiang Ruoxue nodded. "Zhichun, you need to understand the logical relationship here... Right now, just close your eyes and open them again, and you'll see the person who can help you solve this problem."
Yan Zhichun naturally knew Jiang Ruoxue's ability, so she closed her eyes. A few seconds later, she opened them again, but the person before her was still Jiang Ruoxue.
Well, that made sense... Jiang Ruoxue was standing right in front of her. How could opening her eyes let her see someone else?
"This..." Yan Zhichun was a bit dazed. "Ruoxue... is your 'Echo' really active?"
"Uh..." Jiang Ruoxue smiled sheepishly. "Hehe, I'm not sure either... I don't feel anything at all."
"I think you'd better..."
Yan Zhichun was about to say something else when she suddenly paused, because she noticed that not only was Jiang Ruoxue in her line of sight, but also Su Shan, who was standing not far behind Jiang Ruoxue.
What was this strange woman doing here...?
"Wait... could it be her...?"
Yan Zhichun let go of Jiang Ruoxue's hand and walked over to Su Shan. "Sister, what's your 'Echo'?"
"I'm... 'Clairvoyance'..."
Hearing this, Yan Zhichun's eyes slowly widened. Was this coincidence or 'Causality'?
She didn't know if Jiang Ruoxue had done it by accident or had genuinely activated her ability, but the solution was indeed right before her eyes.
"Sister! I need to ask you for a favor..." Yan Zhichun pulled Su Shan aside and said mysteriously.
Old Sun turned around and looked at the teammates who had now arrived. His gaze involuntarily stopped on the old man.
He thought of himself as the 'Jidao' social butterfly, but he'd apparently never spoken to this old man before.
"Old man," Old Sun called out. "You've got a pretty sturdy build there."
"Ah, yes, young man," the old man nodded. "I've done manual labor my whole life. Of course I'm sturdy."
"What did you do, old man?"
"Farmed." After saying this, the old man shook his head. "No, now I'm a researcher."
"Whoa, that's pretty fancy," Old Sun said. "Making a big career change, huh? Jumped pretty far."
"Yeah..." The old man turned to Old Sun mysteriously. "I'm hoping this operation ends soon. I've still got things to research."
"Research what?"
"The study of 'Evolution.'" The old man raised a finger and pointed at himself. "Young man, tell me... what did us humans evolve from?"
"What the hell...?" Old Sun was baffled. "Old man, you're studying... evolution theory in this crappy place?"
"Yeah... soon... very soon, I'll have results." The old man nodded. "I remember I was just about to dig up some important content, and then suddenly I was standing on the street. I'm really anxious now."
Even though they'd only exchanged a few words, Old Sun could tell this old man was a bit off his rocker, so he decided to ignore him.
Whatever he was researching, as long as he didn't jeopardize the safety of the entire team, it was fine.
Su Shan had also been talking to Yan Zhichun for a while, nodding frequently. Then she turned around and said to everyone, "Everyone... I have something I need to inform you all."