Qi Xia’s hands didn’t stop peeling peanuts. He rubbed the red thin skin off a peanut with his fingers, then blew on it and tossed it into his mouth.

“Purge this place… Then why haven’t you made your move?” he asked.

“Because I don’t want to be exposed so quickly.” Lin Qin gazed ahead and took another sip of alcohol.

“I don’t want to hear that answer.” Qi Xia kept his head down, looking at the peanuts in his hand. “I want to hear the truth.”

“Because I want to invite you to join the ‘Extreme Path,’ so we can better protect the ‘Land of Finality.'” Lin Qin said again.

“That’s not right either.” Qi Xia shook his head. “Give me another reason.”

Lin Qin fell silent.

Qi Xia was more shrewd than she had imagined.

“Qi Xia, why don’t you tell me your thoughts?” Lin Qin threw the question back at him. “In your speculation, what kind of person am I?”

“You’re strange.” Qi Xia said expressionlessly. “You’ve helped us multiple times, so it’s difficult for me to deduce your motives. I only know you bear no ill will, but are planning something.”

“You can deduce even this?” Lin Qin smiled. “You’re not bluffing me, are you?”

Qi Xia ate another peanut and turned back to say, “Lin Qin, there’s no way you could purge ‘Heaven’s Mouth,’ because your ‘Echo’ is ‘Ignition.'”

“What…” Lin Qin was stunned at first, then quickly calmed down. She gave a bitter laugh, shook her head and asked, “How could you possibly know this?”

“Lin Qin, what do you want to do?” Qi Xia said with his head lowered. “Are you my enemy or my teammate?”

“I haven’t determined my position.” Lin Qin still wore a smile as she spoke to Qi Xia. “You really can keep your composure—you guessed my identity but never said anything.”

Qi Xia paused. “The book says ‘A skilled warrior first makes himself invincible.’ Before you attack, I won’t proactively reveal any openings.”

“Haha!” Lin Qin covered her mouth and laughed. “I don’t believe in ‘The Art of War.’ I only believe in ‘On War,’ because On War says ‘Attack is the best defense.'”

Qi Xia didn’t want to argue with her. He patted the peanut crumbs off his hands and turned to ask, “So you deliberately infiltrated our team and ‘ignited’ three ‘Echo’ users? Is this your method of attack?”

“Yes.” Lin Qin nodded. “I was the first to wake up in the entire room. I touched the man beside me, so he ‘echoed.’ After I stood up, I touched Han Yimo, so he ‘echoed’ too. The last time we found Officer Li, I immediately ran forward to check his injuries, which also allowed him to successfully obtain an ‘Echo.'”

The “Ignition” that Lin Qin described was no different from what Qi Xia had imagined. Every time a member of the team obtained “Echo” abilities, Lin Qin had touched them.

Lin Qin continued, “Originally I didn’t need to trigger the ‘bell sound,’ but who knew that woman called Xiao Xiao would insist on killing you? I had no choice but to reveal my ability to prove my identity, which is how I saved you. But I didn’t expect you to be so ruthless—just one day later you directly ‘ran away from home.’ Lawyer Zhang and I searched for you for seven full days.”

“Oh?” Qi Xia furrowed his brow. What Lin Qin said seemed to have two questionable points. He prepared to ask about them one by one. “Lin Qin, you and Xiao Xiao both belong to the ‘Extreme Path’ organization, yet you don’t know each other?”

Lin Qin reached for another beer from the side and handed it to Qi Xia. “Can you help me open it?”

Qi Xia picked up the bottle opener beside him, opened the cap, and handed it to her.

She took a big gulp of beer, then said, “First, ‘Extreme Path’ is not an ‘organization.’ We have no leader, no regulations, no fixed members, and no fixed plans. Apart from the phrase ‘Long Live Extreme Path,’ we have nothing.”

“What…?”

Qi Xia had originally thought that the “Land of Finality” was a three-way balance between the “Zodiac,” “Participants,” and “Extreme Path practitioners,” but now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“Second, every member who calls themselves ‘Extreme Path’ is protecting this place in their own way. I have no idea who the other ‘Extreme Path’ members are, nor do I know their plans at all.”

Lin Qin looked at Qi Xia somewhat melancholically. “It seems I’m not the only one who wants to make a move on you. That duo called Jiang Ruoxue and Xiao Xiao also have their eyes on you.”

Qi Xia stopped dwelling on this issue and changed the subject. “Why can you use your ability without triggering the bell sound?”

“Now this question is very interesting.” Lin Qin stretched lazily while sitting in her chair, speaking casually. “Qi Xia, hearing the bell sound means someone must ‘echo,’ but someone ‘echoing’ doesn’t necessarily mean there will be a bell sound.”

“You’re saying…” Qi Xia carefully processed this statement and deduced, “Some people here don’t disturb that giant bell at all when they ‘echo’?”

“Correct.”

Qi Xia felt he had been somewhat presumptuous.

After all, every time the bell sounded, it was accompanied by an “Echo,” but who said the bell must ring when someone “echoes”?

When he had asked Jiang Ruoxue about the principle behind the bell ringing, she had only answered “hearing an echo” or “an echo disappearing.” She had never said that “Echo” and “bell sound” were necessarily related.

“This is ‘Pavlov’s dog’…” Qi Xia furrowed his brow. “Is someone using the bell sound to trick us?”

“It’s not exactly tricking you… When you can control ‘Echo,’ you’ll naturally understand what I mean.” Lin Qin gently wiped her mouth and asked again, “So Qi Xia, do you think among your teammates… is there someone who is clearly an ‘Echo’ user but has been hiding their identity all along? Do you think someone might have been deceiving you this entire time?”

It must be said that Lin Qin’s words sent a chill down Qi Xia’s spine. If such a person truly existed, their scheming would be far too deep.

But how much of what Lin Qin said could be believed?

Every single person encountered in this godforsaken place was lying. How could this be cracked?

“I don’t even care that there’s an ‘Extreme Path’ member in the team, so how could I possibly care about an ‘Echo’ user hiding their identity?” Qi Xia looked at Lin Qin meaningfully. “Right now I don’t want to discuss others with you. I only want to ask about your position. In the coming days, how should I treat you?”

Lin Qin lowered her head and thought for a moment before saying, “Qi Xia, I have a ‘grand plan,’ but I can’t do it alone. I want to bring you in.”

“What plan?”

“Just as I said, ‘Extreme Path’ has always been protecting this place, but I think they’re wrong.” Lin Qin showed a completely serious expression. “Let me lend you my power, and let’s destroy this place together.”

“You mean…” Qi Xia seemed to think of something.

“My ‘Ignition’ can greatly increase a person’s probability of ‘echoing.’ Let’s form an ‘Echo army,’ then smash this place to smithereens and finally return to the real world.”