An old tungsten lamp hung from a black wire in the center of the room, flickering with a dim light. The quiet atmosphere was like a drop of ink in clear water, staining and spreading throughout the room. As the clock on the table pointed to "twelve," a low bell chime vibrated from a faraway place.
The ten people at the table startled awake, one after another, looking at the bizarre scene. Qi Xia's eyes widened. He stared at this familiar sight, his mind racing like ten thousand stampeding horses, unable to calm down.
He was back. Everyone was back. The Goat-Head Man still stood beside them, exuding his unique scent of rot and musk.
Although he had long expected to return, as Qi Xia once again sat at the round table, he felt nothing but despair.
"Good morning, you nine," the Goat-Head Man's familiar voice sounded again.
"I am very pleased to meet you here. You have been slumbering before me for twelve hours."
Qi Xia took this opportunity to discreetly size up the familiar faces, discovering that they were behaving just as they had when he first met them. Qiao Jiajin stared blankly at the Goat-Head Man and asked, "Who... are you?" At this question, Qi Xia frowned.
What was going on? Could it be that no one else remembered what had happened before? If that was the case, why did he still remember?
"Since you all have this question, then allow me to introduce myself to the nine of you..."
Just as the Goat-Head Man was about to wave his hands and begin his grand speech, Lawyer Zhang spoke up, "There's no need to introduce yourself to us. I advise you to stop what you're doing at once. I suspect you have detained us for more than twenty-four hours, which constitutes the 'crime of unlawful imprisonment'.
Every word you say now will be recorded by me and will become testimony against you." Qi Xia looked at Lawyer Zhang in a daze, then turned to Doctor Zhao. It was his turn to raise a question.
Sure enough, Doctor Zhao spoke up: "Wait, we all just woke up. How do you know we've been imprisoned for 'twenty-four hours'?"
"What on earth is going on..."
Qi Xia's lips moved slightly. These people were acting as if they didn't know each other, saying the same things and making the same movements as last time. It was as if nothing had changed, just that it was all starting over.
Lawyer Zhang, with her head held high, explained herself to Doctor Zhao, drawing the attention of the others. Yes, in Qi Xia's memory, Lawyer Zhang's initial performance had been very suspicious. She was using every opportunity to proclaim her strength, which was likely a protective front for her outwardly calm demeanor.
After she finished her explanation, the group fell into silence. The silence lasted for more than ten seconds. Qi Xia felt something was strange.
Last time, it seemed someone had said something at this moment, but this time they didn't, so the subsequent series of events did not occur. This sense of disconnect between reality and memory left Qi Xia deeply puzzled.
"You all may have noticed, there are clearly ten people in this room, yet I address you as 'you nine'."
"You bastard... I don't care how many people are here, I'm telling you to wise up!"
Qiao Jiajin said viciously.
"You probably don't know the consequences of messing with me. I will seriously take your life!"
Qi Xia suddenly thought of something and turned his head to look at the young man to his right. It was a face both familiar and strange. It was also the face of the tenth person in the room, whom Qi Xia had only seen once.
He still wore a strange smile as he looked at everyone. Having been through this once already, Qi Xia began to understand. Almost all those who wore such smiles were "natives".
Could it be that this tenth person was just someone the Goat-Head Man had found to make up the numbers? The Goat-Head Man walked over to the young man and placed a hand on the back of his head. Qi Xia was startled and quickly turned his face away without drawing attention.
Last time, this young man's brain matter had splattered onto his face. He had no desire to experience that warm sensation ever again. With a dull "thud," the young man's head blossomed on the tabletop.
At that exact moment, a bell chime sounded from the distance. And it was this very bell chime that made Qi Xia suddenly realize something. This man who had just died was perhaps not a "native," but an "Echo User"!
But why was his performance so dull? Why were his actions so absurd?
"The reason I prepared ten people was to use one of them to make you all quiet down," the Goat-Head Man said, shaking the blood from his hand.
Lin Qin instantly let out a scream, perfectly timed with the last occasion. Qi Xia should have realized it sooner. The moment they woke up, they heard a bell chime, which meant at least one person had obtained an "echo."
When the young man died, the bell chimed again, and the "echo" ended. If it happened only once, it could be considered a coincidence, but the bell had chimed both times the young man died. He was definitely an "Echo User."
As Lin Qin's scream died down, the Goat-Head Man let out a few strange laughs.
"Very good, you nine. It seems you have all quieted down. Now, please allow me to introduce myself. I am the 'Goat-Head Man,' and you are the 'participants'."
"The reason I've gathered you here is to participate in a 'game' to ultimately create a 'God'."
This time, Qi Xia wasn't startled by the death, so all his attention was focused on the Goat-Head Man's explanation. But at this moment, the crowd fell silent again. Qi Xia had somewhat forgotten who had spoken at that time; he only remembered someone asking the Goat-Head Man, "create what kind of god"?
But why wasn't anyone speaking up?
"Aren't you curious about what kind of 'God' we are going to create?" the Goat-Head Man looked at the crowd, stunned.
"Say it if you want, don't if you don't!"
Qiao Jiajin gritted his teeth and snorted coldly.
"You think I'll submit just because you killed someone in front of me?"
"Forget it..." the Goat-Head Man shook his head and said, "We are going to create a god like 'Nuwa,' one who can realize all our thoughts! A great task awaits this 'God'!"
Looking at the silent crowd, the Goat-Head Man sighed helplessly.
"You're all so boring. Don't you have any questions?"
The few women were clearly terrified. Qi Xia looked at the remaining men. Officer Li stared grimly at the Goat-Head Man, no different from last time.
Doctor Zhao and Han Yimo were also trembling after seeing the dead man, their faces showing a few traces of fear. Qiao Jiajin, however, had a look of disdain, revealing his own unique expression. Seeing that no one was speaking, Qiao Jiajin's temper flared.
The others might be afraid of the Goat-Head Man, but he wasn't. "You bastard, is this some kind of 'Investiture of the Gods'? If we win your game, you'll make us gods? What if we can't win?"
"If you can't win..."
The Goat-Head Man looked at the fresh blood on his hands, his tone somewhat dejected as he said, "If you can't win, it would be such a pity..."
"A pity for whom?"
Qi Xia suddenly asked. The Goat-Head Man turned back to look at Qi Xia, his eyes bone-chillingly cold.
"A pity for this World."
"For this World?"
Qi Xia was taken aback. He seemed to understand something, yet more questions filled his mind. In other words, if a "God" could not be created, the one to suffer the greatest loss would be the "Land of Endings"?
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