Chapter 509: The Truth Draws Closer
Upon hearing Qi Xia's description, Qiao Jiajin slowly lowered his head.
In this cycle, the cheerful girl in white appeared in his mind. She had suddenly emerged, quietly beside everyone.
She was the "Materialized Obsession" from "Endless Life."
"Qian Wu, you probably won't believe this," Qi Xia said somberly. "My 'ability' and my 'obsession' conflict with each other."
"What do you mean by 'conflict'...?"
"My ability alleviates my obsession," Qi Xia replied.
"What...?"
"The deeper my obsession, the stronger my ability becomes. Unfortunately, the stronger my ability, the more it relieves my obsession." Qi Xia extended his hand and slowly touched his forehead. "I'd really like to ask you... under these circumstances... should I 'Echo' or not?"
"What exactly have you done with your ability...?" Qian Wu frowned as he looked at Qi Xia, feeling as though he was conversing with a madman.
"I created a 'copy' of Yu Nian'an..." Qi Xia answered softly. "Yu Nian'an is my wife."
"You..." Upon hearing this, Qian Wu turned to exchange a glance with Zhou Liu. Both of their expressions turned somewhat unnatural.
Qi Xia's... wife?
"So do you understand now?" Qi Xia said. "My wife occupied the most important time of my life. She was everything to me. But someone took her away. My deepest 'obsession,' my sole plea, is to ask the 'Land of the End' to return Yu Nian'an to me. That is the only motivation that has kept me moving forward through all the hardships."
Qian Wu listened and nodded gravely. "So when you activate your 'Endless Life'... you create your wife? But you know she's not your real wife, just a copy."
"Exactly that." Qi Xia sighed and said, "In the days ahead, I'm afraid you'll still need to treat me as an 'unfortunate one.' After all, even if I were to see Yu Nian'an now, I wouldn't be able to confirm whether she's real or fake. Once doubt creeps into my heart... the 'Echo' can never be successfully triggered."
Qian Wu knew the biggest problem still lay with Qi Xia himself—he was a bit too rational.
Some people lose their rationality when they go mad, but Qi Xia seemed to be the opposite. He would sink into the abyss of rationality, coldly treating everything around him.
If it were anyone else, being able to create the person they yearned for day and night—even if it was fake—would be enough to offer some comfort in this godforsaken place.
But Qi Xia would keenly detect that the person was a copy and then cut off that faint glimmer of hope on his own. Was this a good thing or a bad thing?
"So... the only memory you retained..." Qian Wu shook his head. "Is it the night we stormed 'Heaven's Gate,' when you erupted with that 'Echo'...?"
"I..." Qi Xia wanted to nod in agreement, but a paradox was clearly staring him in the face. "Actually, no. I retained two memories in total."
"Two...?"
"That's right," Qi Xia said. "The first time was also very special. These two retained memories have no common ground that I can find, so I'm still uncertain about the path ahead. I can't figure out what my next move should be."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Liu walked over and muttered a few words to Qian Wu, who nodded knowingly.
"Qi Xia, let's talk as we walk." He then turned and gestured to Qiao Jiajin and Officer Li. "Chen Junnan's game should be ending soon. I heard there are quite a few injured. We're far away, so let's head toward them first."
Everyone nodded and set off again. Qi Xia cast one last glance back at the Earth Pig standing in the distance.
He knew that today was only the first day of launching the "Grand Plan." It wouldn't be wise to provoke too many "Zodiacs" at once, or it would surely arouse suspicion. He had no choice but to let this arrogant little Earth Pig go for now.
While walking, Qi Xia explained to Qian Wu about his first death.
At that time, he had been dragging his severely injured body toward the city's edge. Halfway there, he had gotten into Xu Liunian's car. This strange original inhabitant had driven Qi Xia at high speed along the road, until they reached the city's boundary. Qi Xia had seen the road stretching endlessly toward other cities. In that moment, his heart had died, and he collapsed and died.
The second time he arrived in the "Land of the End," Qi Xia had retained his memory.
There were simply too many questionable points in this account—so many that Qian Wu didn't know where to start.
First, an original inhabitant working as a taxi driver was something he had never heard of.
Vehicles in the "Land of the End" weren't rare, but most were completely decayed and rusted. Occasionally, one might find a relatively intact car, but it was likely old and worn out, requiring professional mechanics to tune it up before it could possibly run.
But even so, the "gasoline" problem was equally severe. In a city with such scarce resources, how could one obtain a stable supply of gasoline?
The small amounts of gasoline scavenged from various places were now likely in the hands of the major powers—an extremely valuable, non-renewable resource.
So from every angle, an original inhabitant who had become a taxi driver was a huge red flag.
Then there was the matter of "death."
According to the timeline Qi Xia provided, the bell had not rung on the day he died.
The group walked along the decaying, foul-smelling streets. Qian Wu finally shook his head and said, "Although there have been cases in the past where an 'Echoer' died before the bell rang, if your 'Echo' was truly that enormous, the great bell couldn't have gone completely silent."
"So I can't figure it out," Qi Xia said. "If I had to pinpoint the most suspicious thing... my first suspect would be Xu Liunian."
"That's what I was thinking," Qian Wu nodded. "What is so special about this woman named Xu Liunian?"
"How should I put it..." Qi Xia squinted, carefully recalling Xu Liunian. "Average intelligence, weak 'Echo,' plain appearance, low presence. But someone like her... transformed from an 'original inhabitant' back into a 'participant.'"
"No wonder you're so hesitant," Qian Wu said. "If you combine your bizarre 'Echo' situation with that strange woman, you might be able to piece it together, right?"
"I've thought about that," Qi Xia replied. "But all my information comes from hearsay... Everyone told me that the transformation of 'original inhabitants' is irreversible, yet I have indeed witnessed one case of reversibility... If that's the case, assuming none of you are lying..."
Qi Xia gradually stopped walking and said to Qian Wu with a serious expression, "Then I can only conclude that the problem lies with Xu Liunian herself. Whether it's her 'Echo' or something else, she is special. This is something only she can do."