But should he break this news to Han Yimo now?

No, telling him the truth right now wasn’t wise. The hardest thing for humans to manage is their own {thoughts}. Han Yimo seemed emotionally stable at the moment, and if Qi Xia revealed the truth, it could easily unsettle him.

"Are you scared, Han Yimo?" Qi [N O V E L I G H T] Xia asked cautiously.

"Not really," Han Yimo replied calmly, shaking his head. "The lights are bright here, and it doesn’t feel like there’s any danger nearby."

"Tha—That’s good to hear..."

Officer Li noticed that Qi Xia seemed slightly flustered.

"But no one knows what will come first—an accident or tomorrow..." Han Yimo gazed up at the sky with a faint sense of longing. "Qi Xia, do you think we’ll be stuck in this place for—"

"Stop!" Qi Xia stepped forward, covering Han Yimo’s mouth. A bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead. "Han Yimo, stay calm. We’ll definitely get out of here."

Han Yimo gave a small nod, and Qi Xia slowly withdrew his hand.

"I can’t explain it, but Qi Xia, I trust you completely." Han Yimo remarked. "You remind me of a character I once wrote—near the end of the story, he overcame an obstacle that seemed impossible."

"It’s good you think that way..." Qi Xia forced a faint smile. "As long as I’m here, you don’t need to worry."

Qi Xia’s expression seemed to spark something in Officer Li’s mind. Could {Beckoned Calamity} be the same as {Jinxed Mouth}?

"Right... Han Yimo, don’t overthink things..." Officer Li said belatedly. "Qi Xia and I will get everyone out of here."

Han Yimo noticed their odd behavior. "What’s with you two?"

"I..." Officer Li and Qi Xia exchanged a glance, and the words stuck in their throats. "It—It’s nothing."

The immediate priority was figuring out how to shut down Han Yimo’s {Reverberation}. Otherwise, with his wild imagination, the train might end up on the sports field, or a meteor shower could suddenly rain down from the sky.

"You two are really strange..." Han Yimo sighed. "You call me out to the field in the middle of the night, but then neither of you explains anything properly."

Qi Xia felt his mind growing increasingly chaotic. The known {Reverberatees} didn’t seem like common {superpowers} at all. They lacked the usual abilities like flight or teleportation, instead veering in far stranger directions.

Han Yimo could summon calamity, Jiang Ruoxue could forcibly link unrelated things, and Officer Li could conjure objects that didn’t exist. Then there was Xiao Xiao. When she killed Qiao Jiajin and Tian Tian, she hadn’t moved at all—she simply ate a bowl of meat, and everyone collapsed unconscious.

Qi Xia recalled that her {Reverberation} was called {Adversity Shift}.

From this, one could reasonably speculate that Xiao Xiao had indeed poisoned them—but she didn’t need to tamper with anyone else’s food; she only had to poison her own. At that moment, she would shift the poison inside herself with her {Adversity Shift}, and the murder would be complete.

Qi Xia let out a wry smile. In the real world, anyone who suggested such a theory would be deemed insane. But in {End Point}, this deduction felt disturbingly plausible.

"I’m a bit tired," Han Yimo yawned. "Aren’t you two going to sleep?"

"We’ll have another cigarette. You go first," Officer Li replied.

"Alright then." Han Yimo nodded. "I’m heading back. You two should rest soon too."

With that, he turned and walked toward the brightly lit school building. On the way, he ran into Zhang Shan, and the two chatted as they disappeared into the distance.

Now that only Qi Xia and Officer Li remained, there was no need for pretense.

Qi Xia turned to him directly and asked, "Officer Li, do you remember your {Reverberation}?"

"My... {Reverberation}?" Officer Li furrowed his brow, as if searching his memory. "Did I trigger it last time? All I recall is smoking a cigarette, and then everything went blank."

"The problem lies with that cigarette," Qi Xia said. "You pulled a clean, brand new {DCXC} from an old cigarette pack. Do you remember?"

Qi Xia knew this might be difficult for Officer Li, considering his condition at the time—he had been badly wounded, in terrible pain, and barely conscious.

"I have a faint recollection..." Officer Li nodded slowly. "{DCXC} is a specialty from our Inner Mongolia, a pack costs around a hundred yuan. I vaguely recall smoking one before I... died, but I had no idea how it ended up with me."

"What about the lighter?" Qi Xia patted his pocket, only to find it gone. He gestured with his hand instead. "An old Zippo, the common kind, but clearly well used."

Officer Li froze. "How do you know about that lighter? That was a gift from Xuanxuan, bought with her New Year’s money... I always carry it with me."

Qi Xia nodded thoughtfully. "Then it makes sense. Officer Li, I believe your {Reverberation} is extremely powerful—it allows you to materialize anything you desire."

"What?!" Officer Li’s eyes widened instantly. "Are you saying I not only triggered my {Reverberation}, but even conjured the lighter Xuanxuan gave me?"

"Yes. I, Lin Qin, and Lawyer Zhang personally witnessed it. But now, apart from me, there’s no one left to confirm it."

Officer Li lowered his gaze, his expression deeply conflicted.

"What’s wrong?" Qi Xia asked.

"Qi Xia, are {Reverberatees} the only ones who retain their memories?"

"I’ve heard that’s how it works," Qi Xia replied.

"And I... would hear my {Reverberation} when I’m on the brink of death?"

"Yes," Qi Xia nodded again.

Officer Li slowly raised his head. "Qi Xia, I think I’ve found a way to escape this place..."

"What?" Qi Xia turned sharply to him. "What way?"

"Find a way to make me die," Officer Li said, his voice steady. "Bring me to the edge of death."

Qi Xia frowned. "Are you insane?" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"No, I’m not." Officer Li’s eyes flickered as he weighed his plan. After a long pause, he continued, "When I’m on the brink of death, I’ll find a way to pull out three thousand six hundred {Dào}. That way, you can all leave! I don’t know exactly how this ability works, but I’m certain I’ll have awareness when I’m near death!"

His expression was sharp and resolute, with no trace of humor.

"A {Dào} is about the size of a walnut. How could a normal person possibly carry three thousand six hundred of them?" Qi Xia objected. "It’s too unreliable. We should consider other options."

"If the first try doesn’t work, we’ll try again. And if that fails, we’ll push for a third," Officer Li declared with fierce determination. "I will make sure everyone gets out alive."