Su Shan led Lin Qin, Doctor Zhao, and Han Yimo walking down the street. They originally wanted to find a few simple “Human-level” games, but stumbled upon a display screen.

On it was just a single lonely line of text.

“I heard the Echo of Scapegoat.”

Lin Qin felt something wasn’t quite right.

Although the previous screens also always displayed a single lonely line of text, it just wasn’t this one.

“Han Yimo…” Lin Qin turned around and said, “You…”

“Hmm?” Han Yimo raised his eyebrows. “What is it?”

“You…” Lin Qin thought through her wording several times before carefully asking, “Aren’t you ‘afraid’ in a place like this?”

Doctor Zhao and Su Shan, hearing the two’s conversation, also looked at them with some curiosity.

“Afraid?” Han Yimo pondered slightly and said, “Now that you mention it… the first few times I was always afraid, but after Qi Xia appeared, my sense of fear gradually disappeared.”

“What…?” Lin Qin frowned slightly. “You’re saying… you’re saying that because you’ve witnessed Qi Xia’s methods, you’re no longer afraid of this place?”

“That’s right.” Han Yimo nodded. “Haven’t you noticed? Qi Xia is the ‘Savior.’ He’ll take us out of here.”

Lin Qin looked at Han Yimo with a cold expression.

She knew this person had already gone mad.

In the days before Qi Xia appeared, his spirit had been tormented every day. Only by imagining everything here as a novel world could his heart feel somewhat better.

But fortunately, he would soon be liberated.

Once he died before his “Echo” awakened, his lost rationality, spirit, and worldview would recover.

From another perspective, this was also a kind of redemption.

“Su Shan… where exactly are we going?” Doctor Zhao asked the girl beside him.

“Just like Qi Xia said, let’s go find some ‘Human-level’ games.” Su Shan said. “Based on the knowledge you’ve all taught me, I feel that going to ‘Human-level’ games is a sure-profit venture.”

“Oh…” Doctor Zhao glanced at Su Shan with shifty eyes. “Good, good… we’ll listen to you.”

The four of them roughly determined their direction and were just about to leave when they saw an extremely eerie scene.

A tottering old woman was pulling along a bare-bottomed child, currently walking slowly along the roadside.

The old woman’s steps were very slow. The wrinkles on her face were like deep ravines, and she wore very old-fashioned clothing, like an ancient person.

The little boy looked about three or four years old, wearing a bright red belly band, with shiny gold bracelets on his hands and feet, and a tuft of hair combed up on his forehead.

Seeing this scene, all four people slowly frowned.

What was this…?

“Natives”?

Were there “Natives” as old as this grandmother and as young as this child?

Lin Qin felt very strange. She had been here for a long time and had never seen this type of “Participant.”

Their ages completely didn’t conform to the norm of the “Land of the End.”

As the two approached, Lin Qin couldn’t help but raise her hand to cover her mouth and nose.

Some strange smell seemed to have appeared.

“Oh my…” After seeing everyone, the old woman revealed a kindly smile. Her wrinkles appeared even deeper as she smiled, as if carved into her face with a knife.

Lin Qin swallowed and unconsciously took a step back.

These two seemed somewhat strange.

“Auntie…” Although Su Shan also felt somewhat curious, she understood far too little about this place and actually struck up a conversation with them. “Do you need help?”

“Little girl…” The old woman asked with a smile, “Did you all hear it?”

“Hear…?”

“That’s right, that’s right!” The old woman nodded vigorously, then released the hand holding the child. Instead, she drew a circle in front of herself, then pursed her wrinkled lips and said, “A ‘DONG’ sound, so loud! Such a loud sound! Scared me to death!”

“You, you mean… a ‘bell sound’?”

“Oh my… that’s no ordinary ‘bell sound’…” The old woman shook her head. “Did I not explain clearly? So loud! So shocking!”

“Su, Su Shan…” Lin Qin tugged at her clothes. “Stop chatting with them, let’s go quickly.”

Su Shan felt Lin Qin’s voice was even trembling.

Although she didn’t understand what was happening, she still nodded and turned to leave.

But when the four turned around, the old woman was in front of them again, this time even closer.

The rotten stench from the old woman’s body also reached everyone’s nostrils at this moment.

She still pursed her wrinkled lips and said: “Oh my… what exactly was that thing? Too loud! Right here! Right in this area!”

Only then did everyone finally realize that this old woman before them was extremely dangerous.

Seeing no way to retreat, Su Shan could only ask in a low voice: “Auntie… are you… looking for something?”

“That’s right, that’s right!” The old woman nodded vigorously. “I’m looking for someone! Looking for someone!”

“Looking for someone…” Su Shan looked meaningfully at the people beside her, then said to the old woman, “Auntie… why don’t you tell me who you’re looking for, and I’ll point you in a direction?”

Lin Qin noticed Su Shan had already broken out in cold sweat.

“Direction?” The old woman looked at Su Shan with confusion. “It’s this direction! Right here!”

Seeing this, Lin Qin also stepped forward and said: “You’re saying a bell rang here, right?”

“That’s right!” The old woman nodded happily. “I heard it even from the car! Who exactly is it?”

The four people looked at each other. This old woman’s strangeness was too much. What did she mean by “from the car”? Had she actually come here by car?

Moreover… she seemed to be looking for an “Echo wielder.” Could it be the “Scapegoat” written on the screen?

Among those present, only Lin Qin knew that “Scapegoat” was Chen Junnan.

Should she betray Chen Junnan directly right now?

Although he had an “Echo” and deserved to die…

But what exactly was this old woman’s purpose?

At this moment, the child wearing the belly band slowly walked over and grabbed the old woman’s hand: “They’re not talking, they seem stupid.”

“Stupid?” The old woman looked at the four people with confusion. “They shouldn’t be stupid…”

“I want to eat them, can I eat them?” The child asked with a grin.

This sentence sent chills down the four people’s backs.

“Didn’t you just eat your fill before coming down?” The old woman said with confusion. “We finally found people to ask questions. Let’s eat after we’re done asking.”

“Ah…” The child showed a face full of regret. “I can’t eat them now…”

As everyone was in a standoff, they suddenly heard loud shouting from afar.

“Chen Junnan, you bastard, stop right there!!”

They looked up to see a woman who looked like a shrew currently chasing after Chen Junnan.

Chen Junnan was running desperately as if he’d seen a ghost.

But the next second, he saw the old woman and child from afar. His expression was like he’d seen a real ghost.

Without a word, he changed direction and ran away again.

Qin Dingdong was about to say something when she also saw the old woman and child. Her whole body trembled, and she turned to run away following Chen Junnan.