Chapter 344: The Lonely Hero

Qi Xia held the small emerald green stones in his hands, examining them carefully over and over, still finding them a bit strange.

Their shape and size strongly resembled teeth. These emerald green stones varied in size and had edges, yet they were completely transparent, emitting a faint green glow, and based on their texture, they were clearly pieces of jade.

"Yu?"

Qi Xia paused and asked, "So, you're saying you need to collect three thousand six hundred of this thing called 'Yu'?"

"Three thousand six hundred...?" Zheng Yingxiong heard this and his tough expression softened slightly, replaced by a bitter smile that didn't seem fitting for a child. "If it were really that few... how could everyone have fallen into despair?"

Qi Xia clearly hadn't expected that not only were the items they needed to collect different between the two cities, but even the required quantities were different.

"Then, for this thing you call 'Yu'... how many do you need to collect?"

"For us common folk, the judge in our room told us that to escape, we must collect fifty-seven thousand six hundred pieces of this 'Yu'."

"How many...?"

Qi Xia was stunned, feeling as if he had misheard.

What was this strange number with all the zeros and round figures?

It didn't seem made up, but why would they need so many?

"We've all given up hope." Zheng Yingxiong said, "I know my city has lost any chance of escape. To find a way out, after waking up this time, I found a bicycle and started heading toward the city edge. It took a lot of effort to get here."

Zheng Yingxiong looked out through the small prison window, his eyes filled with a mix of melancholy and distraction.

"This city is so different from where I was before. Here, you actually have display screens that show the power of the awakeners, and what we called 'Qing Xiang' ability, you call 'Hui Xiang'."

"You, wait a minute." Qi Xia felt his thoughts getting blocked again. "Did I hear that right? You're saying the display screen is only here?"

"I don't know about other cities." Zheng Yingxiong said, "All I know is I've never seen one in my city."

"So that means you never know if you have 'Hui Xiang' or not..." Qi Xia slowly narrowed his eyes.

If he guessed right, that was the reason his city had fallen.

"Yes..." Zheng Yingxiong slowly lowered his head. "As I said, as the 'hero' of a city... I'm powerless."

Qi Xia stroked his chin and thought for a moment, feeling like he had pieced together some clues.

This "Ju Zhong" and "Xian Shi Ping" weren't special products of the "Zhong Yan Zhi Di" at all. They had jumped to conclusions because they saw the "Ju Zhong" and "Xian Shi Ping" right upon entering, assuming these things came with the "Zhong Yan Zhi Di".

Since the setting here doesn't change and only the people do, was it possible that the "Ju Zhong" and "Xian Shi Ping" were built by some "participant"?

The purpose of building them was simple: to show everyone the existence of "Hui Xiang". As long as this supernatural ability could be captured, the people here would gradually find the survival rules of the "Zhong Yan Zhi Di".

The participants would also discover through repeated deaths that as long as they gained "Hui Xiang", they could retain their memories.

The "Ju Zhong" and "Xian Shi Ping" would be their best references.

Though the guess was bold, the direction seemed correct.

If he was right, the person who built the "Ju Zhong" and "Xian Shi Ping" had a "Hui Xiang" called "Ling Wen".

The "Ju Zhong" and "Xian Shi Ping" were just manifestations and amplifications of that "Ling Wen" ability holder's power, making it visible to everyone in the city.

Qi Xia slowly furrowed his brow, feeling a deep respect for that person.

Without them thinking of this method and maximizing their ability, this city couldn't have survived until now.

Due to the special nature of the "Zhong Yan Zhi Di", those without "Hui Xiang" couldn't retain memories. But this crucial "Hui Xiang" was an invisible, intangible mystery in Zheng Yingxiong's city.

Even if someone got lucky and retained their memories after death, they'd have a hard time figuring out why, let alone deduce their special ability from the name "Hui Xiang".

That was probably why Zheng Yingxiong was called a "hero".

From this perspective, he indeed held an important position in the neighboring city. He could tell if someone had "Hui Xiang" and judge if they could retain memories. Over time, he developed the habit of always stating others' abilities.

But if his city was similar to Qi Xia's, with around ten thousand people each, how could everyone rely on just Zheng Yingxiong?

Qi Xia knew this boy probably wasn't lying. He was likely the "leader" of that other city... or, more pessimistically, just their "mascot".

People revered him as a "hero" not because he was powerful, but because he could sense "Hui Xiang".

Zheng Yingxiong glanced at Qi Xia and said,

"Though being a hero is tough, I'll protect you all, common folk."

Qi Xia nodded thoughtfully and didn't press Zheng Yingxiong further.

This child's "Hui Xiang" seemed very easy to trigger. He'd retained too many memories and no longer acted like a child—instead, he was like an immature madman.

Unfortunately, he'd gone through all this when his mind wasn't fully developed. Now, to make him normal again, the only way was to make him lose his memories.

"The day is still young, so rest for a bit."

Qi Xia stood up from the bed, walked to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"You can sleep on the bed. I'll just sit here."

Qi Xia waved at Zheng Yingxiong, who looked over and sat on the bed without hesitation.

"Alright, common folk, then I'll take a nap first."

Zheng Yingxiong carefully removed the bedsheet cloak from his back, folded it neatly several times, and placed it at the head of the bed as a pillow.

Then he took off his newspaper crown and newspaper sword, setting them on the table.

Qi Xia sighed and leaned back in the chair.

He had to admit, the prison structure was more suitable for living than the classroom, though getting out of each room here required a long walk.

Tomorrow, after dawn, he needed to use Nineteen’s ability to have a good talk with Qian Wu.

But Qi Xia felt he was being a bit too reckless.

With his current abilities and situation, could he really meet Tian Long on the tenth day of this cycle?

Qi Xia felt his direction was unclear again, as there were still so many things he hadn't figured out.

But aside from Tian Long, who else could answer questions about Yu Nian'an?