Jin Yuanxun stretched his muscles and bones, then jumped past Li Xiangling to look at Chu Tianqiu behind her.
Chu Tianqiu’s eyes met Jin Yuanxun’s and he smiled. “I won’t give up. Be careful—she’s more difficult to deal with than you imagine.”
Jin Yuanxun thought for a moment, looked at Chen Junnan’s corpse on the ground, then raised his head and asked, “Brother, even if I die, you’ll save me, right?”
After hearing this, Chu Tianqiu was silent for a long while, then grinned. “Jin Yuanxun, you can’t rely on me for everything. You need to depend on yourself.”
Jin Yuanxun’s expression darkened slightly, then he nodded. “I understand, Brother.”
Just as he was about to step forward, Old Lu couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Wait, wait a moment…” Old Lu scratched his fat head and asked, “What are you doing? Two grown men preparing to grab a little girl?”
“Get lost.” Jin Yuanxun said. “Brother Chu wants her to stay.”
“What, what do you mean ‘get lost’?” Old Lu was obviously somewhat angry. “You little punk look only fifteen or sixteen years old, right? Is this how you talk to your elders?”
Auntie Tong, listening from the side, said softly, “Old Lu, let’s not get involved…”
“That won’t do!” Old Lu said righteously. “Don’t let my usual low-key behavior fool you—at critical moments, I can still distinguish right from wrong!”
“Uncle, I appreciate your kind intentions.” Li Xiangling stared intently at Jin Yuanxun, then said seriously, “This person’s ability is very special. You’d better not participate—be careful of getting hurt.”
“Little girl, don’t be stubborn!” Old Lu rolled up his sleeves and walked forward several steps. Although he looked full of momentum, his voice was trembling. “Today I’d like to see if this young man can actually kill us all!”
Jin Yuanxun smiled contemptuously, then closed both eyes and disappeared from his spot again.
The next second, he appeared on a table beside Old Lu, extending his foot to kick toward Old Lu’s head.
Old Lu’s corpulent body couldn’t dodge in time. With a wail, he was kicked directly to the ground.
But this instant gave Li Xiangling an opportunity to strike.
Her reaction was extremely swift—she immediately executed a whip kick sideways toward the table. As the table was kicked over, Jin Yuanxun jumped into the air, then disappeared in midair before appearing on another table.
Li Xiangling decisively abandoned defense and chased after him to counterattack.
Normally, human lower limbs are more powerful than upper limbs. Jin Yuanxun clearly knew that Li Xiangling wasn’t easy to deal with, so he kept using kicking techniques against her.
Li Xiangling was even more agile than everyone imagined. She didn’t block any of Jin Yuanxun’s kicks directly, but instead dodged them and then kicked toward his tables.
In indoor combat, few people would jump to high positions. After all, once a foothold was attacked, it was extremely easy to lose balance. But Jin Yuanxun didn’t care about this problem at all—he could always disappear instantly just before a table was about to topple.
The two fought for more than three minutes. Li Xiangling was already somewhat exhausted, but Jin Yuanxun seemed unaffected. After all, he had been moving around in the air the entire time, while Li Xiangling had been constantly running.
“That’s about enough.” Chu Tianqiu said softly. “Take her down.”
Upon hearing this, Jin Yuanxun flashed and instantly appeared on the table closest to Li Xiangling. Taking advantage of Li Xiangling’s gasping breath, just as he was about to extend his foot to kick her, he felt the surface beneath him shake. The table that no one had touched suddenly had one of its legs break.
He immediately closed both eyes tightly, and his entire person abruptly appeared on another table. Before he could steady his footing, the table beneath his feet broke again.
This time Jin Yuanxun couldn’t dodge. His entire body fell to the ground together with the shattered table, letting out a muffled groan.
The entire room fell silent, leaving only Li Xiangling’s panting. She was somewhat bewildered—Jin Yuanxun, who had been jumping around like a monkey, had actually taken a fall because the table collapsed?
Seeing this, Chu Tianqiu frowned slightly. He looked around at everyone in the room, his lips moving slightly. “There’s an expert here…?”
Jin Yuanxun slowly got up from the ground and also cautiously looked at everyone in the room, then cast a puzzled look toward Chu Tianqiu.
Two consecutive table leg breaks—if this wasn’t caused by an “Echo,” it would be far too coincidental.
Chu Tianqiu knew most people’s “Echoes” present, so he quickly eliminated most targets, leaving only two suspicious individuals.
Xu Qian and Doctor Zhao.
The first girl he had never seen before, and they hadn’t talked deeply just now either. Could she have some strange “Echo”? But if she had such a domineering ability, would Chen Junnan, who participated in the game with her, have died so miserably?
So then…
Chu Tianqiu turned to look at Doctor Zhao.
That’s right—this was truly an interesting matter.
Among all the various materials collected before, they had never collected information about this person’s “Echo.” He had always assumed he was just an “Unfortunate.”
Doctor Zhao raised his head, and his eyes accidentally met Chu Tianqiu’s, but he immediately pretended to be nonchalant and looked elsewhere.
The corner of Chu Tianqiu’s mouth lifted. He stood up and walked toward Doctor Zhao, murmuring to himself, “This is indeed quite interesting… to actually be able to hide until now?”
Doctor Zhao swallowed, his eyes unconsciously darting around. Han Yimo beside him also felt the atmosphere wasn’t right and tactfully scooted to the side.
Doctor Zhao knew he couldn’t hide. With a bitter smile, he raised his head and asked, “What did you say?”
“This doctor…” Chu Tianqiu bent down, staring into Doctor Zhao’s eyes. “Your main profession is ‘repair,’ but your side job is ‘destruction’?”
“What are you talking about… I don’t understand…?”
“No need to understand.” Chu Tianqiu smiled. “I don’t think you’ve clearly seen the current situation, have you? Have you carefully counted how many of Qi Xia’s people are still left in the room from this morning until now?”
After hearing this, Doctor Zhao was slightly stunned, only to discover that things did indeed seem somewhat wrong.
Qi Xia, Qiao Jiajin, and Li Shangwu had left with “Cat.” Lin Qin, Zhang Chenze, Su Shan, and Qin Dingdong had gone to participate in games. A few minutes ago, Chen Junnan had also left.
Before long, Tiantian would also leave with Yun Yao. Among all of Qi Xia’s people in the entire room, only he and…
Han Yimo remained?
“What, what are you saying?” Doctor Zhao asked somewhat stammering. “They all just have temporary matters. They’ll be back tonight.”
“Is that so?” Chu Tianqiu placed one hand on Doctor Zhao’s shoulder. “But it’s already approaching dusk now. Why don’t you ask yourself—will any of them return tonight?”
Doctor Zhao lowered his head and thought for a moment.
Yes, uncertain.
Not a single person was certain to return.
Those people all seemed to have their own clear objectives. Not one of them would be willing to stay here.
“You two have been completely isolated. Qi Xia has abandoned you—don’t you understand?”
Hearing this, both their expressions changed slightly.
“This matter truly can’t be blamed on him. After all, abandoning incompetent teammates is part of the ‘survival of the fittest’ here.” Chu Tianqiu looked at Doctor Zhao’s expression and knew his words had already shaken him. “So think it over carefully. As long as you’re an ‘Echoer,’ ‘Heaven’s Mouth’ is willing to accept you.”
Before Doctor Zhao could respond, Han Yimo beside him slowly stood up, his expression extraordinarily terrified.
“What the fuck are you saying…?” Han Yimo’s pupils kept flickering, his entire person seeming on the edge of collapse. “You’re saying Qi Xia… he abandoned me?!”
Distant echoes resounded, and the sound of bells suddenly descended.
Chu Tianqiu frowned and looked at him.
“How can we do without Qi Xia…?” Han Yimo’s lips kept trembling, his voice becoming somewhat hoarse. “If there’s no Qi Xia… what should we people do?! What if we people die?!”