QIMscape

The famous photographer and cryptographer, PixelX, has recently uploaded a new grayscale photograph titled "Silent Echo". Rumors say that this photo isn't just any regular piece of art – it holds a secret message. Your task is to uncover the hidden message concealed within the image, but be warned – this is no ordinary steganography.

All you know is that PixelX used a method involving some kind of quantization, a technique often used in signal processing, to hide their message. You have no other information about how to retrieve it, but you've heard whispers in cryptographic circles about something called QIM.

The image file "embedded_image.png" has been provided. Can you uncover its secrets?