Qian Wu stared into Officer Li’s eyes and smiled slightly: “It’s getting late. Time to rest.”

“Then you…” Qi Xia called out to her. “Have you already confirmed my ‘attitude’?”

“Is there any need to confirm?” Qian Wu shook his head. “Haven’t you always been like this?”

He decisively turned and pushed the door to leave. Zhou Liu followed closely behind, leaving only a few people standing dumbfounded in place.

“Everyone, please follow me…” Song Qi said to them. “I’ll take you to your rooms. I should mention in advance that our ‘Cat’ rooms are all single-person cells. I hope you won’t mind.”

Officer Li smiled bitterly and shook his head: “I never thought I’d one day be sleeping in a prison cell.”

……

The group followed Song Qi to their respective cells. Zheng Yingxiong insisted on staying with Qi Xia.

When Song Qi was about to leave, Qi Xia called out to him. He was somewhat worried about Chen Junnan.

This morning, Chen Junnan had sworn to go alone to Earth-Snake’s game. Calculating the time, it should be over by now.

“Song Qi, could you go back to ‘Heaven’s Mouth’ and gather some information for me?” Qi Xia said. “I want to know if Chen Junnan has returned.”

“Chen Junnan…?” Song Qi nodded. “Got it. I’ll go and come back.”

After everyone had left, Qi Xia turned to look at Zheng Yingxiong.

This strange child always gave him a strong sense of incongruity.

“Yingxiong.” Qi Xia called out.

“What is it, civilian?” Yingxiong replied.

Qi Xia sighed helplessly after hearing this: “What is your ‘Echo’?”

“‘Echo’…?” Zheng Yingxiong seemed to understand the meaning of these two words, then moved his nose, took a few sniffs, and answered: “I’m ‘Spirit Smell.'”

“‘Spirit Smell’…?” Qi Xia was hearing such a strange “Echo” for the first time. “So when you said before that you could smell the stench on ‘Zodiacs’ and the scent of ‘Echoes,’ it was precisely because of this ‘Spirit Smell’?”

“That’s right.” Yingxiong nodded vigorously. “So I’m different from all of you. I’m destined to be a lonely ‘Hero.'”

Qi Xia felt something was off: “Then wouldn’t you be just like the ‘Display Screen’ and the ‘Giant Bell’? Except you ‘smell’…”

“It’s not the same!!” Zheng Yingxiong said with a resolute expression. “I’m far more powerful than that ‘Display Screen’!”

“Oh?” The corners of Qi Xia’s mouth lifted as he slowly sat down on the bedside. “Then tell me, how are you stronger than it?”

“I can capture imperceptible scents, but the display screen can’t!” Zheng Yingxiong said as if praising himself. “That dumb display screen can only show ‘Echoes’ based on the ‘bell sound.’ Once someone’s ‘Echo’ activates very faintly, it won’t trigger the bell sound at all, and the display screen won’t light up either.”

“Oh…?” Qi Xia felt like he had discovered some clue. “So that means… if someone’s ‘Echo’ activates gently, then the ‘bell’ won’t ‘ring’?”

“There’s another situation!” Zheng Yingxiong’s childish voice echoed in the small cell. “That is when this person’s ‘Echo’ can be used with great proficiency. They can quickly activate their ‘Echo’ and end it before the ‘bell rings.'”

Qi Xia slowly raised his eyebrows, feeling that this “Cat” journey had truly taught him many things.

So it was true, as Lin Qin said—the “bell sound” could be controlled by oneself?

“You know the structure of the bell, right?”

“Of course I do.” Qi Xia said.

“As long as you’ve looked up from beneath the giant bell, you’d definitely know why those people can avoid triggering the bell sound.”

Qi Xia thought for a moment, then looked up and asked: “You mean, as long as the Echo activates quickly enough, the clapper inside the giant bell won’t have time to touch the bell wall, so the giant bell won’t ring?”

“That’s exactly it.” Zheng Yingxiong nodded vigorously.

Although Qi Xia already understood Zheng Yingxiong’s meaning, another question arose in his mind.

If that was the case, the giant bell’s existence had obvious flaws. So why did the “Land of the End” build this bell?

If they could build the giant bell, why not make it more perfect?

“Civilian, the scent on you is very strange.” Zheng Yingxiong asked. “Aren’t you a ‘Fragrant One’?”

“Fragrant One…?”

“I-I mean ‘Echo User’…”

Qi Xia frowned: “What, is the scent on me different from others?”

“Under normal circumstances, ability users’ scent is a delicate fragrance, but the scent on you is very strange… It seems to be somewhere between a ‘Zodiac’ and an ‘Echo User.'”

“Is that so?”

Qi Xia lifted his arm, brought it to his face and gently sniffed, finding that he didn’t seem to have any scent.

After all, only Yingxiong could smell this scent.

“Yingxiong, how did you join ‘Heaven’s Mouth’?” Qi Xia changed the subject and asked.

“Me?” Zheng Yingxiong pulled out the newspaper short sword at his waist, held it before his eyes and carefully wiped it, then turned to Qi Xia and said: “A very strong civilian invited me in.”

“So this is your first time joining ‘Heaven’s Mouth’?”

“Yes, I didn’t even know this place was called ‘Heaven’s Mouth.'”

“I’m somewhat curious.” Qi Xia asked. “Where have you been before? Did you retain your memories?”

After hearing this, Zheng Yingxiong inserted the newspaper short sword back into his waist, then said: “To be honest, civilian, I come from another city.”

“Another city?”

“That’s right. Our city is already sick, fallen.” Zheng Yingxiong looked up at Qi Xia with a bewildered expression. “I didn’t expect you to have so many active people here.”

Qi Xia recalled riding in Xu Liunian’s taxi to the edge of the city, where he saw towering buildings and roads extending in all directions.

Unfortunately, even the small city before his eyes had already worn him down and made him anxious.

Just how big was this place? What was outside the city? Where exactly was the city’s edge?

Where were the Zodiacs distributed? And just how many Participants were there?

“Fallen…?” Qi Xia looked at this child somewhat puzzled, always feeling his identity wasn’t so simple.

“Although I’m a ‘Hero,’ I couldn’t organize the entire city’s people. Everyone could only continuously cycle between life and death.”

Zheng Yingxiong kept showing expressions of disappointment, making Qi Xia feel like he might be a leader of a city.

“But it’s very strange…” Zheng Yingxiong blinked and said. “You mentioned collecting ‘Daos’ before. What are ‘Daos’?”

This question stumped Qi Xia. He felt like someone had asked this question before, but that person clearly had no connection to Zheng Yingxiong.

After all, that person was Baihu. That strange, withered old man had also once asked before Qi Xia with a puzzled expression—what were “Daos”?

“Yingxiong, in the city you’re in, do people not need to collect ‘Daos’?”

“I’m not sure if we’re talking about the same thing. This ‘Dao’ you mention—what’s it used for?”

Qi Xia thought for a while and said: “It’s the stake for participating in games.”

After hearing this, Zheng Yingxiong thought briefly, then pulled out a small handful of emerald green stones from his pocket.

He placed this pile of small stones flat on his palm, then extended it forward, presenting them before Qi Xia’s eyes.

“We use these to participate in games.” Zheng Yingxiong asked with a puzzled expression. “Don’t you use ‘Jade’?”