Chapter 738: Finding Someone
Qi Xia walked along the path toward "Heaven's Gate," and when he reached the "Screen," he stopped on his own accord.
He looked up at the screen, which displayed quite a few "Echoes."
The largest line of text in the center of the screen was "Endless Rebirth."
Meanwhile, scattered across various corners were a bunch of other "Echoes," such as "Heavenly Vigor," "Scapegoat," "Calamity Call," "Disintegration," "Crafty Artifact," and "Soul Transfer."
Just as he had heard before, the closer it got to the final days, the more "Echoers" would awaken in this place.
The few people trailing behind Qi Xia saw him stop and quickly hid behind a wall in the corner.
"Having fun?" Qi Xia asked without turning his head.
Qiao Jiajin reached out and tugged at Chen Junnan. "Handsome Boy... is he talking to us?"
Chen Junnan blinked after hearing this. "No way...? This kid's lost his mind, he probably thinks that's a voice-activated screen..."
"Following me—having fun?" Qi Xia asked again.
The air fell silent at that moment.
"Alright." Chen Junnan pondered for a moment, then helplessly shook his head. "Looks like I'm the one who's lost his mind."
Since Qi Xia had already spotted them, Chen Junnan simply swaggered out into the open, and the others behind him quickly followed suit.
"Oh~ Isn't this the hot-tempered Qi Xia?" Chen Junnan said sarcastically. "Watching TV here, are you?"
"What are you following me for?" Qi Xia asked.
"Who the hell is following you?" Chen Junnan retorted. "This street is wide enough. What business is it of yours where we walk?"
Qi Xia gave Chen Junnan a cold look. "Don't follow me. Leave."
Qiao Jiajin scratched his head. "Liar... we're not comfortable with you going to 'Heaven's Gate' alone. It's dangerous there."
"Chu Tianqiu is enough," Qi Xia said. "Following me is pointless. Chu Tianqiu won't touch me."
"But..." Qiao Jiajin felt helpless but didn't know what to say.
"I told you, who the hell is following you?" Chen Junnan pressed aggressively. "They're here to help me find Sister Dong. What's that got to do with you? Once we find Sister Dong, we'll head back. Stop wasting words and get moving."
Qi Xia hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Who are you looking for?"
"Qin Dingdong," Chen Junnan said grumpily.
Qi Xia nodded. "She's right behind you."
"Huh...?"
It took the group three seconds to finally process what he meant. They hurriedly turned around.
Qin Dingdong was indeed standing behind them, looking utterly bewildered, giving everyone a scare. They hadn't heard any footsteps, yet she was only three or four steps away, as if she had been standing there waiting for them.
Zheng Yingxiong covered his nose at that moment, his expression pained.
"I...?" Qin Dingdong looked down at her own body in disbelief, then pinched her face. She felt things were getting complicated.
"Sister... Sister Dong?" Chen Junnan blinked. "Wait, how did you pop up here?"
"I... I don't know..." Qin Dingdong looked at Chen Junnan with confusion. "I just remember opening my eyes and... what's going on? Classmate Qi, Classmate Qiao, Little Tiantian... and that bastard Chen Junnan? You're all here?"
"I... we..." Chen Junnan racked his brain for the right words but had no idea how to explain the situation to her.
Since Qi Xia's "Echo" was "Endless Rebirth," was this Qin Dingdong someone he had "duplicated"...?
"Sister Dong, do you remember where you were before?" Chen Junnan asked again.
"I... I remember dying..." Qin Dingdong said blankly. "I was killed by 'Celestial Serpent'..."
Hearing Qin Dingdong's answer, Chen Junnan's thoughts grew even more tangled. He felt he had many questions to ask but didn't know where to start.
Earlier, Chu Tianqiu had performed a similar trick, "duplicating" himself. But his duplicate clearly had a memory gap compared to the original.
That wasn't the case with Qin Dingdong, though. So was she really a "duplicate"?
"Lao Qi..." Chen Junnan pondered for a long time before finally speaking up. "What the hell are you doing...?"
"Helping you find the person you're looking for," Qi Xia replied.
Chen Junnan slowly turned around, glaring at him angrily. "You know how bizarre your ability is, right...? Sister Dong was already dead, but you pulled her back. Is that right?"
"Is it wrong?" Qi Xia asked. "We've all died and come back to life here many times. One more time doesn't matter."
"Do you think you're some kind of hero?" Chen Junnan pressed. "Do you think you saved her?"
"I don't think that," Qi Xia said, still expressionless. "Anyway, there are only two days left. We're all going to die eventually."
"But what about the next cycle...?" Chen Junnan asked. "Have you thought about how many of us will wake up in the room? Even if your ability is that tyrannical, you shouldn't break this delicate balance!"
"It doesn't matter how many duplicates there are," Qi Xia said. "After all, the 'Zodiac' will kill off the extras according to the contract. That's the 'Watch Theorem.' No matter which one they kill, the one left behind is the real one."
"You..."
"Anything else?" Qi Xia asked.
Chen Junnan was so angry he couldn't speak. Tiantian and Qiao Jiajin, standing nearby, were also a bit dazed, completely unable to follow the exchange between Chen Junnan and Qi Xia.
"If there's nothing, stop following me." Qi Xia paused, then glanced sideways at Qin Dingdong. "Is Lin Qin dead?"
"I... I don't know..." Qin Dingdong answered. "We ran into 'Celestial Serpent' at the time, and the situation was critical. I was the first one he killed."
"Damn it..." Chen Junnan cursed after hearing that. "Like master, like disciple. That 'Celestial Serpent' and 'Earth Serpent' are cut from the same mold."
"I don't know if they managed to escape in the end... but 'Celestial Serpent' was questioning us, and if you couldn't answer, you died," Qin Dingdong said, still shaken. "But Lin Qin and Lawyer Zhang seemed more knowledgeable than me. It shouldn't have been a big problem, right?"
Qi Xia frowned slightly. "How many of you were there?"
"Four," Qin Dingdong replied. "Me, Zhang Chenze, Lin Qin, and Su Shan. We went to play 'Earth Dog's' game. Su Shan died, and Lin Qin and I were both injured."
"Lin Qin was injured?" Qi Xia mused for a moment. "Then she must be dead. Even if 'Celestial Serpent' didn't kill her, she couldn't have avoided 'Celestial Horse's Instant.'"
"'Celestial Horse's Instant'...?" Qin Dingdong was taken aback. "What's that?"
Qi Xia didn't answer. He turned around and said, "Go reunite with each other. Don't follow me."
Just as he was about to leave, he saw the giant bell at the side begin to swing. It seemed another "Echoer" had appeared.
**Clang!!**
The bell's sound echoed in front of everyone, and a line of text the group had never seen before appeared on the screen——
"I have heard the Echo of the 'Madman.'"
Qi Xia stared at the line of text, not a single expression on his face. After thinking for a few seconds, he set off again.