Chu Tianqiu was wearing a coat and about to head to the cemetery in the night when he was blocked by a young man.

Jin Yuanxun stood before him with an extremely troubled expression, staring at Chu Tianqiu for a long time without saying a word.

“What’s wrong?” Chu Tianqiu asked with a smile. “Do you need something from me?”

“Bro…” Jin Yuanxun lowered his head to organize his words before speaking. “Will you kill me to silence me?”

“Kill you?” Chu Tianqiu grinned, revealing his white teeth. “What would be the reason?”

“Because I saw that…” Jin Yuanxun swallowed. “Bro, what exactly are you doing down there?”

“Of course I’m trying to leave this damned place.” Chu Tianqiu said with a serious expression. “I’m just conducting experiments… all kinds of experiments, that’s all.”

“Those masks… and that person’s corpse… are all experiments?” Jin Yuanxun asked skeptically.

“Of course.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “I told you before, I’m a biology PhD.”

Jin Yuanxun didn’t dare look directly into Chu Tianqiu’s eyes and could only turn his head to the side, asking despondently, “Bro, have you ever killed anyone?”

“Your question… How could I kill people?” Chu Tianqiu laughed happily. “Since I’ve had memory, my hands have never been stained with even a trace of blood from beginning to end.”

“Is that so…?”

“What, you don’t believe me?” Chu Tianqiu stepped forward and patted Jin Yuanxun’s shoulder. “In your memory, is Brother Chu a demon who kills without batting an eye?”

Jin Yuanxun sighed. “Bro, I don’t remember things from before.”

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Chu Tianqiu also sighed. “Jin Yuanxun, in any case, rest assured. If one day I can leave here, you’ll all benefit along with me.”

“Benefit along with you?”

“Yes.” Chu Tianqiu smiled happily. “Your Chinese isn’t good, so you might not know… We have an old saying that goes like this: ‘When one person attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.'”

“Attain Dao… ascend to heaven?” Jin Yuanxun raised his head and blinked. “What does that mean?”

“It means if one person becomes a god, the people around him will also ascend to heaven with him.” Chu Tianqiu smiled gently. “Do you understand now?”

“Bro… I believe you…” Jin Yuanxun nodded silently. “Besides believing you… I have no other choice.”

“Good, go back to sleep.”

Jin Yuanxun turned and left with a complicated expression. Walking in the pitch-black night, he felt he was similar to that man called Qiao Jiajin, yet not completely similar.

They had the same personality but followed different “brains.”

Whose path was truly correct?

After bidding farewell to Jin Yuanxun, Chu Tianqiu arrived at the cemetery, found the third tombstone from the left, then descended the secret passage.

This was a small warehouse he’d discovered by chance. After simple repairs, it had now become his hideout.

However, now that the hideout was exposed, he needed to relocate soon.

Chu Tianqiu walked down the stairs and pushed open the small door of the warehouse. A fresh stench assaulted his nose.

He took a deep breath with slight intoxication, then smiled and walked in. After that, he pulled out a lighter from his pocket and lit the candles on the wall.

At the same moment, the animal masks on several shelves in the room were illuminated simultaneously, their hollow eyes appearing before him one by one.

“My exquisite dinner…”

Chu Tianqiu unconcernedly took down a boning knife from the wall beside him, then walked toward the dining table.

On the dining table lay a corpse of Qi Xia.

Not only had many organs been cut from the corpse, but now even the skin had been sliced to pieces.

“This damned divine beast didn’t leave me much…”

Chu Tianqiu held the knife, as if observing premium ingredients.

“Which part should I eat today…?” His smile gradually became manic. “Eating the heart didn’t work… Could it be that ‘Echo’ is stored in the brain?”

Chu Tianqiu thought for a few seconds, then made his decision.

He took the knife and found a hammer.

Then he gripped the knife in reverse, pressing it against the top of the corpse’s skull, and began slowly chiseling with the hammer.

If the corpse before him weren’t Qi Xia’s, he absolutely wouldn’t choose to eat these white things.

After all, without seasoning, this part’s fishy smell was difficult to handle, and the texture was rather soft and greasy when eaten.

In comparison, he preferred fingers.

Especially beautiful fingers.

Fingers shouldn’t be stewed too soft—seventy to eighty percent done was best.

The taut skin fit seamlessly against the bones. You just had to pick it up, gently lift the nail, tear off a piece of flesh with your teeth, and the bone could be completely stripped out.

Have you ever eaten chicken feet that were about to fall off the bone?

Biting into them with a “crunch crunch,” full of chewiness.

Both beautiful and delicious.

After eating, chewing on the pretty nails in your mouth—that was an exquisite dinner.

“It’s just a pity none of your ten fingers remain.” Chu Tianqiu shook his head helplessly and continued opening Qi Xia’s skull.

He rhythmically hammered away, humming Chopin’s Nocturne in E-flat major, making the entire scene look even more bizarre.

After about half an hour’s work, a piece of bloodied bone was carefully removed.

Chu Tianqiu looked at the somewhat dark red interior of the skull, slowly revealed a smile, then took out a spoon and reached inside.

Like scooping out the sweetest piece of flesh from the center of a cut watermelon, he rotated the spoon in a circle, then extracted a spoonful of red and white substance resembling tofu.

Then he used firewood to light a fire, took out a piece of aged butter to wipe the frying pan, and placed the ingredients on it to fry with satisfaction.

“Sizzle—”

The slightly rotted brain touched the frying pan and released an intense fragrance.

“Should I make butter cheese gratin today…?” Chu Tianqiu rummaged through his cupboard and showed a regretful expression. “Too bad there’s no cheese. I’ll just simply pan-fry it.”

He held the spoon and gently pressed down on the ingredients in the pan. This way, they could heat evenly while the shape also became more square.

To make food more refined, you had to shape it during the cooking process.

Fry each side for thirty seconds until the exterior turned slightly golden.

When the white smoke stopped rising, it could be plated and enjoyed.

Chu Tianqiu placed the part belonging to Qi Xia’s body into a large flat plate, then spread a napkin on his lap and picked up his knife and fork.

He carefully cut a small piece from the pan-fried whitish corner, lifted it with his fork to sniff before his nose, then put it in his mouth.

The exterior was slightly hard, the interior soft and greasy.

Applying a bit of force with his tongue, he spread the delicacy in his mouth, and a fragrant flavor wandered through his mouth. The taste was far better than Chu Tianqiu had imagined.

“‘Resonance’…” Chu Tianqiu showed a completely satisfied expression. “Maybe when I wake up tomorrow… I’ll be a ‘Resonator’…”

He pulled out a crumpled note from his chest and spread it flat on the table.

It still bore his own handwriting.

“As long as you eat it, you can obtain that person’s ‘Echo.'”

His expression quickly dimmed as he thought to himself: Chu Tianqiu, oh Chu Tianqiu, you’re so clever by half. Why didn’t you write it more clearly at the time?

Exactly what must be eaten for it to work?