Chapter 157: The Jidao in the Team
Qi Xia did not stop peeling peanuts. He rubbed the thin red skin off a peanut with his fingers, blew on it, and tossed it into his mouth.
"Purging this place... then why haven't you done it?" he asked.
"Because I don't want to expose myself too soon." Lin Qin looked straight ahead and took another sip of wine.
"I don't want to hear that answer." Qi Xia lowered his head, looking at the peanut in his hand. "I want the truth."
"Because I want to invite you to join the 'Jidao,' so that we can better protect the 'Land of the End.'" Lin Qin said again.
"That's not it either." Qi Xia shook his head. "Try another reason."
Lin Qin was silent.
Qi Xia was more calculating than she had imagined.
"Qi Xia, why don't you tell me what you think?" Lin Qin tossed the question back. "In your speculation, what kind of person am I?"
"You're strange." Qi Xia said expressionlessly. "You've helped us many times, so it's hard for me to deduce your motives. I only know that you mean no harm, but you're planning something."
"You can deduce even that?" Lin Qin smiled. "You're not trying to bluff me, are you?"
Qi Xia ate another peanut, then turned his head and said, "Lin Qin, you could never purge 'Heaven's Gate,' because your 'Echo' is 'Stimulation.'"
"What..." Lin Qin was stunned at first, then quickly calmed down. She let out a bitter laugh, shook her head, and asked, "How could you possibly know that?"
"Lin Qin, what do you want to do?" Qi Xia said, looking down. "Are you my enemy, or my ally?"
"I haven't determined my stance yet." Lin Qin still wore a smile. "It's impressive that you've kept your composure. You guessed my identity but never said a word."
Qi Xia paused. "The Art of War says, 'One who is good at fighting first makes himself invincible.' Before you attack, I won't reveal my weakness."
"Haha!" Lin Qin covered her mouth and laughed. "I don't believe in 'The Art of War.' I only believe in 'On War,' because it says, 'Attack is the best defense.'"
Qi Xia didn't want to argue with her. He patted the peanut crumbs off his hands, turned around, and asked, "So you deliberately infiltrated our team and 'stimulated' three 'Echoers'? Is that your method of attack?"
"Yes." Lin Qin nodded. "I was the first to wake up in the entire room. I touched the man beside me, so he 'echoed.' After I stood up, I touched Han Yimo, so he 'echoed' too. When we found Officer Li last time, I ran up to check his injuries first, and that also allowed him to get his 'Echo.'"
Lin Qin's description of "Stimulation" was no different from what Qi Xia had thought. Every time a "Resonator" in the team gained their ability, Lin Qin had touched them.
Lin Qin continued, "Originally, I could have avoided triggering the 'Bell Sound,' but that woman called Xiao Xiao insisted on killing you. I had no choice but to reveal my ability to prove my identity and save you. But I didn't expect you to be so ruthless. The very next day, you just 'ran away,' and I, along with Attorney Zhang, searched for you for seven whole days."
"Oh?" Qi Xia frowned. There seemed to be two doubtful points in Lin Qin's words. He planned to get to the bottom of them one by one. "Lin Qin, you and Xiao Xiao are both from the 'Jidao' organization, but you don't recognize each other?"
Lin Qin grabbed another bottle of beer from beside her and handed it to Qi Xia. "Can you open this for me?"
Qi Xia picked up a bottle opener, uncapped the bottle, and handed it to her.
She took a big gulp of wine and then said, "First of all, the 'Jidao' is not an 'organization.' We have no leader, no rules, no fixed members, and no fixed plans. Apart from the phrase 'Long live the Jidao,' we have nothing."
"What...?"
Qi Xia had originally thought that the "Land of the End" was a tripartite standoff among the "Zodiacs," "Participants," and "Jidaoists," but now it seemed that was not the case.
"Secondly, every member who calls themselves 'Jidao' protects this place in their own way. I have no idea who the other 'Jidaoists' are, nor do I know their plans."
Lin Qin glanced at Qi Xia with some melancholy. "It seems I'm not the only one who has targeted you. That duo of Jiang Ruoxue and Xiao Xiao also had their eyes on you."
Qi Xia stopped dwelling on that issue and shifted the conversation. "Why can you use your ability without triggering the bell sound?"
"That's a very interesting question." Lin Qin sat on the chair, stretched lazily, and said nonchalantly, "Qi Xia, if the bell rings, someone must have 'echoed.' But if someone 'echoes,' the bell doesn't necessarily have to ring."
"You mean..." Qi Xia pondered the statement carefully and inferred, "There are people here whose 'Echo' doesn't disturb that giant bell?"
"Exactly."
Qi Xia felt he had been somewhat prejudiced.
After all, every time the bell rang, it was accompanied by an "Echo." But who said that the bell must ring when an "Echo" occurs?
Back then, when he asked Jiang Ruoxue about the principle behind the bell's ringing, she only answered "Hearing an Echo" or "Echo disappearing." She never said that "Echo" and "Bell Sound" were necessarily linked.
"This is 'Pavlov's Dog'..." Qi Xia frowned. "Someone is using the bell to toy with us?"
"It's not exactly toying with you... Once you can control your 'Echo,' you'll naturally understand what I mean." Lin Qin lightly wiped her mouth and asked again, "So, Qi Xia, do you think any of your teammates... might be an 'Echoer' who has been hiding their identity all along? Do you think someone might have been deceiving you all this time?"
Qi Xia had to admit that Lin Qin's words sent a chill down his spine. If such a person existed, their cunning would be too deep.
But how much of Lin Qin's words could he trust?
Everyone he met in this godforsaken place was lying. How was he supposed to see through it?
"I don't care if there's a 'Jidao' in the team, so why would I care about an 'Echoer' hiding their identity?" Qi Xia gave Lin Qin a meaningful look. "Right now, I don't want to discuss others. I just want to know your stance. How should I treat you from now on?"
Lin Qin lowered her head and thought for a while, then said, "Qi Xia, I have a 'big plan,' but I can't do it alone. I want to bring you in."
"What plan?"
"As I said, the 'Jidao' has always been protecting this place, but I think they're wrong." Lin Qin's expression turned serious. "I'll lend you my power. Let's destroy this place together."
"You mean..." Qi Xia seemed to have an idea.
"My 'Stimulation' can greatly increase a person's probability of 'Echoing.' Let's form an 'Echo army,' smash this place to pieces, and finally return to the real world."