Chapter 508: The So-Called Catalyst
"Did I hear that right?" Qi Xia asked with a frown. "Are you trying to help me achieve 'Echo'?"
"Yes." Qian Wu nodded. "'Pegasus Moment' is no joke. I can't guarantee a one hundred percent chance that you'll survive."
"So you want to help me 'Echo'?" Qi Xia found this somewhat interesting. "To be honest, if I could figure out my own 'Echo catalyst,' I would've activated my 'Echo' myself from the very first moment."
"That's true…" Qian Wu nodded. "The fact that you could simultaneously catalyze four people's 'Echo' in a single game proves that you're still the person I remember… No, even stronger than I remember."
"Qian Wu, you might not know this." Qi Xia took a step forward. "It's precisely because I can't guarantee my own 'Echo' that every step I take and every word I say in the 'Land of the End' has been carefully considered. I'm constantly walking on thin ice, as if I could plunge into an abyss at any moment."
"I understand." Qian Wu nodded solemnly.
"That's why I've always been so cautious," Qi Xia said. "If I had any backup plan… I might get careless and make mistakes."
Qian Wu truly understood how Qi Xia felt.
This man carried so much on his shoulders in the 'Land of the End.' He had always walked ahead of everyone else, yet he didn't have 'Echo' as his trump card. From the very beginning, all he could rely on was his own mind—just as he said, he was always treading on thin ice, with a bottomless abyss beneath his feet.
"How about this…" Qian Wu said. "You tell us what happened every time before you triggered your 'Echo.' Zhou Liu and I can help you deduce the possible 'catalyst.'"
Qi Xia lowered his head and thought for a moment, then slowly said, "Qian Wu, I want to ask a question."
"Go ahead."
"Does everyone's 'Echo' necessarily have a 'catalyst'?"
Hearing this question, the usually calm Qian Wu also slowly furrowed his brow. He had considered this question himself, but had never found an answer.
"From a rigorous perspective… neither the 'Zodiacs' nor the 'Divine Beasts' have ever acknowledged the existence of an 'Echo catalyst.' The only thing they have ever admitted is that people in a state of 'extreme emotion' can gain extraordinary abilities." Qian Wu said to Qi Xia with a heavy expression. "This so-called 'Echo catalyst' is merely a conjecture among us 'Participants.' But I have to say… as long as you can find the right 'catalyst,' it can indeed significantly increase a person's probability of achieving 'Echo.'"
"So the 'catalyst' you wrote down is just the situation you summarized from countless observations that most easily triggers someone's 'Echo,'" Qi Xia said.
"Yes."
"I have a bold guess," Qi Xia said.
Hearing this, the others around him all looked at him. After all, Qi Xia's previous guesses had already been quite bold. If even he admitted that this guess was bold, then whatever he was about to say was likely to be mind-boggling.
"Go on…"
Qi Xia took a deep breath and said clearly, "Could this so-called 'Echo catalyst' actually be the deepest obsession in a person's heart?"
Upon hearing this, Qian Wu frowned. In an instant, he thought of several typical cases from the 'Cat' team and felt that what Qi Xia said made a lot of sense.
People who had experienced claustrophobia had to be plunged into darkness; those who had been starved for a long time had to start feeling hungry; those who feared being humiliated had to be repeatedly humiliated; and those who had suffered failure had to experience failure once again.
"And those of you who can 'Echo' right after waking up…" Qi Xia lifted his eyes to look at Qian Wu. "It shows that the 'obsessions' in your hearts are deeper than anyone else's. Those painful experiences linger around you, tormenting you at all times… allowing you to trigger 'Echo' more easily than anyone else. You're like this, and Chen Junnan is like that."
"I have to say…" Qian Wu nodded. "What you're saying might have some truth to it."
"But there's another possibility…" Qi Xia changed his tone. "Some people can easily trigger their 'Echo,' but because of various psychological traumas, they avoid the catalyst, or they numb themselves. In the worst cases, they become 'The Unfortunate.' This would make everything much easier to understand…"
Zhou Liu, standing to the side, also looked displeased and interrupted, "Tch, so what are you trying to say?"
"I just find it very interesting," Qi Xia replied with a blank expression. "Don't you think so? To obtain these so-called 'extraordinary abilities' in this place, we need to find the wounds in everyone's hearts, tear them open, stomp on them repeatedly, and then throw them back in their faces. That's the 'catalyst.' I'm curious—does this practice make us stronger… or just crazier?"
The people around him fell silent at these words. Even Qiao Jiajin himself knew the feeling of 'Echo.'
He had once failed to protect someone crucial to his life, causing a huge deviation in his life's trajectory. If he could do it over again, he would find a way to get to the scene, break all the conspiracies, and have a fair and square showdown.
But unfortunately, life doesn't have do-overs.
He could only return again and again to that real world where he was powerless. From the moment he walked out of prison, his bleak life was already set in stone.
So, 'protecting the people around him' was the deepest obsession in his heart.
Every time 'Echo' was activated, Qiao Jiajin felt as if he were about to lose his comrades again. At that moment, a loss of security flooded his heart, a ringing sound buzzed in his ears, and a mysterious power surged within him—that was 'Echo.'
"And what about you…?" Qian Wu looked at Qi Xia. "Since you think the 'Echo catalyst' is related to 'obsession,' what would your 'obsession' be?"
"I might be a special case," Qi Xia said. "I feel like I have more than one 'obsession.' My heart is like a city with roads leading in all directions. Perhaps different paths can lead to different 'obsessions,' ultimately triggering different effects."
Qian Wu sighed and said, "Even if the roads in your heart go everywhere, there must be one road that is the widest—the one that leads to your deepest and most painful 'obsession.'"
"My… most painful obsession…" Qi Xia's lips trembled slightly. The thing he wanted to avoid was being thrust before his eyes again.
"You should be able to figure it out, right? The most painful 'obsession' can unlock your greatest potential."
"So… you want to extract this 'obsession' from the depths of my heart, tear it apart, and put it in front of me." Qi Xia asked with a look of despair.
"That's exactly what I mean."
"Then I'm afraid you won't be able to do it." Just thinking about it made Qi Xia's voice grow low.
"What do you mean you can't? Is your 'obsession' too hard to find?" Qian Wu asked again.
"No…" Qi Xia closed his eyes and shook his head. "I suspect that my obsession has already materialized—it has become a living person."