Chapter 404: The New Organization
"She…" Zhang Chenze turned around in surprise to look at the other two.
"Her condition was already extremely poor…" Lin Qin said, a look of loss on her face. "For her, this is a form of release… When she comes back next time and regains her sanity, we can ask her what she actually saw."
Zhang Chenze nodded silently.
This place was even more terrifying than she had imagined.
"Excuse me…" Zhang Chenze looked up at the two of them and asked, "Does using 'Echo' always come with such severe side effects? Isn't it supposed to be a superpower?"
"'Echo' has never been a 'superpower'—it's a double-edged sword," Qin Dingdong said. "In this place, everyone's 'Echo' inevitably has a clear drawback, including your own."
Zhang Chenze thought of the suit that had "run away" last night.
For her, 'Echo' was more than just a double-edged sword.
It was clearly a piece of useless scrap metal.
"Generally speaking… if the 'Echo' acts on oneself, it's very easy to harm the user," Lin Qin explained. "Su Shan is a good example, but hers seems to involve another factor as well."
"What factor?"
"If the 'Echo' acts on other aspects, it will damage one's brain, eventually leading to a loss of sanity. If I'm not mistaken, the 'Echoes' of the three of us all have at least this drawback." Lin Qin paused, glancing at Su Shan's body. "Logically speaking, Su Shan's 'Echo' acted on herself, so the side effect should only have been the loss of her eyesight. But she also went insane. Might be that her 'Echo' has functions we don't know about."
"I see…" Zhang Chenze extended her left hand and looked at it. "If I use this ability too much… will I go crazy?"
"Yes," Lin Qin nodded. "Once you enter a state of 'madness,' a person's perception becomes chaotic. This can either make an 'Echo user' even more powerful or completely destroy them."
After speaking, Lin Qin turned her gaze back to the screen in front. "Soul Migration" was still listed.
She knew that Zhang Chenze's 'Echo' style was completely different from her own. It was more like a skill similar to "Disaster Attraction"—once activated, it had a high probability of causing negative effects. If such an 'Echo' couldn't be controlled, things would only get harder.
"Chenze," Lin Qin called out. "I haven't met you before, so I don't know how you're supposed to turn off your 'Echo.' When you hear the 'bell sound' again, make sure you remember that feeling."
"Oh…" Zhang Chenze nodded earnestly.
The three of them were staring blankly at Su Shan's corpse, debating whether to bring the body back to "Paradise Gate," when they noticed three figures approaching from the distance.
"Huh…?"
Both groups showed surprised expressions upon seeing each other.
The ones coming were Yun Yao, Tiantian, and Li Xiangling.
Now, all six girls met in front of the giant bell.
"You…" Lin Qin said. "Came out to participate in a game?"
"No…" Yun Yao shook her head. "The three of us have already left 'Paradise Gate.'"
"Huh…?" Lin Qin was taken aback. "Yun Yao, weren't you the deputy leader of 'Paradise Gate'?"
"A lot has happened…" Yun Yao's expression was downcast. "That place has changed. The Chu Tianqiu I knew is gone too."
"Is that so?" Lin Qin and the others didn't know much about Chu Tianqiu, so they naturally had no opinion on the matter.
Yun Yao's gaze shifted to Su Shan lying on the ground. "She…?"
"We participated in an 'Earth-level' game…" Zhang Chenze said. "Su Shan used 'Echo,' but the side effect killed her."
Everyone listened and nodded with a hint of regret.
"By the way…" Yun Yao spoke up. "I want to establish a new organization, and I'm looking to recruit a few teammates. Are you interested?"
"A new organization…?"
"Yes." Yun Yao said to them, "It seems we've been living here too long and have forgotten our true goal—we need to escape, to return to the world we once knew. I want to work toward that goal, but I know my own abilities are limited, so I asked Tiantian and Li Xiangling to join me. Do you want in?"
Qin Dingdong rubbed her chin and sneaked a glance at Lin Qin.
"I…" Qin Dingdong said, "I'm just a small-time swindler who's been going it alone for too long. Joining an organization or something… maybe you should get Old Lin's opinion first."
Lin Qin stared into Yun Yao's eyes for a long while, then spoke: "I'm from the 'Extreme Path.'"
"Huh?" Yun Yao was stunned. "You're what?"
"I'm Lin Qin, an 'Extreme Path follower,'" Lin Qin said with a smile. "Are you sure you want to recruit me?"
Yun Yao's expression turned very sour. She felt that leaving 'Paradise Gate' had been the right decision, because the 'Extreme Path' had fully infiltrated this place.
Whether it was Yan Zhichun or Lin Qin, they could both completely dismantle 'Paradise Gate.'
"'Extreme Path' really won't do," Yun Yao said. "I hate the 'Extreme Path' more than anything, so you can't join. As for the rest of you, would you like to join us?"
"What did the 'Extreme Path' ever do to you?" Qin Dingdong asked grumpily. "Did they take something from you? Eat something of yours? Some people are really something—they don't even bother to understand the situation before they start excluding others."
"Don't I understand well enough?" Yun Yao said calmly. "Back then, the purpose of our 'Paradise Gate' was very pure—we only wanted to break through the games. But the 'Extreme Path' kept sneaking in and sabotaging us. At best, they would ruin the game strategies we had prepared for a long time; at worst, they would cause our entire team to be wiped out. Isn't that enough?"
"But do you know the reason?" Qin Dingdong said. "You gambling with all the 'Zodiacs' to death was right, but were they wrong to stop you?"
"That's not the point." Yun Yao frowned. "They could have simply not interfered. As you said, since we can't determine who is right or wrong, we could each go our own way. But these lunatics had to repeatedly gain our trust, only to betray us all time and again. Is that reasonable?! For them, does completing their own mission rely on betrayal? What I hate most in this life is betrayal."
After hearing this, Qin Dingdong had nothing more to say. In some ways, Yun Yao was indeed right.
If the 'Extreme Path' wanted to protect this place, they had no choice but to keep smashing other people's plans. To Yun Yao, that was extremely cruel.
At this point, Lin Qin stepped forward and said, "Although I don't want to join you, I still need to make this clear: the methods of each 'Extreme Path' follower are different. You can't judge all of us just because of one person's betrayal."
"Yes, but I still maintain my viewpoint," Yun Yao said. "I don't know how many of you there are, nor do I know what tactics each person will use. The only way is to cut it all off cleanly."
"But that's not fair," Zhang Chenze suddenly interjected. "In this world… no one should be punished for something they didn't do."