The Name on the Coaster

One of the wooden supports behind Mo'er was broken.

"Pull him up!"

A Hui ran down the stone steps, and Makino grabbed the old thread around his waist that was still untied.

"It's still moving down there."

"Open!"

"If you go there, the Echo Line will entangle you."

"He fell!"

"I didn't fall."

Mo'er's voice came from beneath the Black Cup.

"The wooden frame on the left is still holding it up."

A Hui braced herself against the stone wall, her feet only three steps away from Mo'er's.

Give me your hand.

"Can't reach it."

"Lift it up."

"I can't lift it."

"You were able to tap the cup just now."

That finger has lost its strength.

"Mo'er, if you dare fall, I'll take back that 'I'm sorry'."

The Echo we've received cannot be returned.

"I don't care."

Lin Qi leaned over the entrance, his gaze passing over A Hui's shoulder.

Mo'er was suspended from the bottom of the cup by several Black Line, his waist below the ground submerged in the darkness of the well. With each sway of the wooden frame, a stroke disappeared from the name on the Coaster.

"The words on the Coaster are falling off."

Robin has already discovered the same problem.

"After the Total Echo left, Mo'er's records as Maintainer were being taken away."

Void Seven unfolded the pages inside his body.

"I can complete the registration, but I need the original identification document."

"The Foosha Village has records of Mo'er's life."

Makino brought the old scores to the table.

"The money for the drinks, the wages, the prescriptions, the Tavern transfer Receipt —it's all here."

"These only prove that he lived in the Foosha Village; his status Maintainer is still missing."

"Where's the Iron Plate?"

Lin Qi rummaged around the door.

"The first block contains the Echo Node and the first Gatekeeper; the second block contains an underground structure."

"The Gatekeeper is A Hui."

Where is Mo'er's identification?

A Hui called out from the stone steps, "Inside his clothes!"

"No."

Mo'er replied.

"How do I know it doesn't exist if you don't let me look for it?"

It's rotten already.

"Let me touch it."

"Don't touch me."

A Hui's hand froze in mid-air.

"Why?"

"The wooden frame is assigned to Maintainer; if a second person encounters it, it will be replaced with a double-person support."

How long will it last?

"Let the next Maintainer take over."

"No one's taking it on?"

"Just stay here."

"I've been working here for so many years, a change of scenery won't hurt."

I'm bad.

Mo'er turned his head, half of his face pressed against the wooden frame.

I don't want you to stay here anymore.

A Hui squatted on the stone steps, her hand still outstretched.

"Then tell me where the receipt is."

"That's all."

You lied to me again.

"Not this time."

Lin Qi looked down at the Coaster.

Beneath Mo'er's name is a more recent engraving, the wood grain pointing in the opposite direction to the other records.

He moved the Coaster under the oil lamp, and the engravings gradually formed several words.

"Mo'er, my name is on this."

There was no response from underground.

"Didn't you say Coasters record people calling for help?"

"Also, records of those who heard it."

When was my name added to the list?

"When you touched the metal box."

I hadn't started live streaming yet.

The cup heard you first.

Lin Qi flipped the Coaster over; his name was followed by a section of his identity that had been scratched off.

What was originally written here?

"Terminal Takeover Operator."

Who shaved you?

"I."

How do you scrape it from below?

"The Coaster connects to the Inverted Cup."

Why scrape?

"The receiver must give Total Echo to the custodian of the Throne."

A Hui turned his head from the stone steps.

"He helped you remove your takeover identity."

"So what am I now?"

"The Hearer."

Can the Hearer prove the Maintainer's identity?

Robin examines the coaster along the Coaster.

"This provides cross-evidence: Mo'er retains Lin Qi's name, Lin Qi confirms the Coaster came from Mo'er, and both records support each other."

A new entry space has appeared on page Void Seven of the book.

"This still needs confirmation from Mo'er himself."

Lin Qi called down towards the entrance, "Mo'er, can you hear me?"

"Hear."

What's your name?

"Mo'er."

What have you done?

"Repair the Tavern, sell wine, and hide a place for help."

Are you the Echo Node Maintainer?

"It used to be."

"And now?"

I resigned.

"Who approved it?"

"Myself."

"Okay, I'll write it down."

Void Seven wrote this answer into the notebook.

Two of the Echo Lines on Mo'er's body loosened, while the remaining wooden frame sank to the bottom of the well.

Vegapunk looked at the data that was transmitted back.

"The identity has been restored, but the burden hasn't been shifted yet."

"The Total Echo has already gone out, what else is there for it to bear?"

A sound still lingered on the Coaster.

Everyone looked at A Hui.

A Hui patted his chest.

His Echo is with me.

"Not Mo'er."

Vegapunk enlarged the bottom layer of the Coaster.

"There's another one, hidden beneath Lin Qi's name."

Lin Qi followed the newer carvings to the edge of the wood chip.

There was a groove there that was sealed with wax.

How do I open it?

Mo'er replied, "Don't open it."

How many times have you said goodbye today?

"Listen to me this time."

Who's inside?

"Nobody's here."

"Void Seven just reinstated your identity, and you're already in a hurry to revert to your old habits?"

A Hui said from the stone steps, "Open."

"A Hui!"

"You hide under my door, I hide under Coaster, that's fair."

Lin Qi pried open the old wax outside the groove.

There was no name inside, only a date engraved on it.

Makino picked up the Tavern Receipt and compared it.

This was the day before Lin Qi bought the Tavern.

I hadn't even arrived at the Foosha Village the day before.

Lin Qi continued reading; there was a sentence after the date.

Tomorrow, someone who remembers the future will come.

The computer is off, the Sky Screen is gone, only this line of words left many years ago remains pasted under the lamp.

Dragon spoke first.

Who wrote it?

"Echo Cup."

"That's what Mo'er said."

Can a cup Future Sight?

"Cannot."

"How did it know Lin Qi would come?"

"Someone sent a message back from the future."

The Coaster in Lin Qi's hand tilted slightly.

"Who?"

"I didn't hear the name clearly."

"What did you say?"

"Let Mo'er guard the node, waiting for someone who knows the future."

A Hui answered for him, and the old man at the bottom of the stone steps did not deny it.

Lin Qi squatted by the entrance.

"If you knew I was coming, why didn't you just come to me?"

"That statement could also be bait for the Throne."

What happens after I start live streaming?

"More like bait."

So you were hiding down there watching me mess around?

"I can't get out."

You can tap a cup.

"A Hui can't hear you, you certainly can't."

The metal box is under the table.

"You used it to prop up the table leg, and then threw the paper back."

The Old Carpenter coughed.

Lin Qi turned his head.

"Laugh if you want to."

"Save lives first."

"Yes, save lives first."

The date on the Coaster extends downwards, a new line connecting Lin Qi's name to the wooden shelf behind Mo'er.

Vegapunk immediately reminded him.

"Don't touch it, that's a transfer of power."

Lin Qi withdrew his hand.

"I'm not taking it."

The Black Line did not fade.

It bypassed Lin Qi and landed on the Tavern's old ledger.

Makino pressed down on the ledger page.

It's looking for a new platform.

"Tavern?"

Robin looked at the underground structure diagram.

"Mo'er initially used the Tavern as a cover; his life record was more secure than his Throne status."

"Could the Tavern catch the wooden frame?"

The house does not reflect the owner's wishes.

The Village Chief stood up, leaning on his cane.

"There are no houses, but the villagers do."

The Old Carpenter gripped the rope on the beam tightly.

"I repaired the tables in this Tavern, replaced the beams, and installed the door."

Genzo patted the exterior wall of the basement.

"The stones were moved by the villagers."

Makino laid out the old accounts of the Tavern.

"Every page has been visited; the Tavern keeps Mo'er around, not because of his status as the Throne's Maintainer."

Lin Qi looked at Mo'er.

Would you be willing to hand over the wooden frame to the Tavern?

"After I pay, am I still the boss?"

"No, it isn't anymore."

"Can I still pay for my previous drinks?"

Garp immediately looked away.

Makino turned to the page of debts.

"Yes, I can accept it."

"Then pay."

The old ledger turned the pages on its own, revealing records of years of expenses for alcohol, meals, medicine, and repairs.

The wooden frame behind Mo'er stopped sinking.

The Black Line slipped from his waist and disappeared into the Tavern's wall beam.

A Hui immediately stepped down the last three steps and grabbed Mo'er's collar.

"Gotcha."

"Be gentle, this garment isn't ruined yet."

"The person is practically rotting away, why are you still concerned about their clothes?"

Clothes can be mended.

A Hui pulled Mo'er up from the bottom of the cup, while Makino and Lin Qi pulled on the old thread around their waists.

As the old man left the wooden frame, a clinking sound came from the bottom of the well.

Just once.

Mo'er looked up at the Coaster.

"That Future Echo is still below."

Lin Qi tucked the Coaster into his pocket.

"Come up first, then we'll talk."

"It said a second sentence."

"What?"

Mo'er was dragged up the first stone step, his arm draped over A Hui's shoulder.

"It said, 'Once Lin Qi opens the Total Echo, whatever you do, don't let him answer the first question.'"

Lin Qi stopped at the entrance.

What's the problem?

The Black Cup at the bottom of the well flipped over on its own.

A voice exactly like his came from below.

"Lin Qi, do you remember why you came here?"