“Call for help…?” The look in Baiyang’s eyes beneath his mask moved slightly. “Interesting.”

At this moment, the Sheep was in a difficult position. He stepped forward and reached out his hand, but instead grabbed the Shar-Pei Dog.

“Man-Dog, shouldn’t you wait a moment…” the Sheep said. “At least hear what he has to say, right?”

“No…” The Shar-Pei Dog said with eyes full of panic. “Before he says it out loud… everything can still be salvaged. Once he tells us his ‘rebellion plan,’ we’ll be stuck between a rock and a hard place. No matter what, we’ll be silenced!”

“But Baiyang ‘violated the rules’ and survived,” the Sheep said in a calm tone. “Man-Dog, Baiyang violated the contract, but no one came to punish him. He’s still standing here.”

“What does that prove…?” The Shar-Pei Dog said somewhat anxiously, shaking his masked face. “Sheep… you’re really confused! He has connections!”

“Connections…?”

The Shar-Pei Dog nodded. “He has backing, but we’re different! Just because he can survive doesn’t mean we can survive! How can you be so confused…?”

Hearing the Shar-Pei Dog’s words, the Sheep didn’t know what he was thinking and just nodded slightly.

Seeing the Sheep remain silent, the Shar-Pei Dog continued, “Baiyang could enter the interview room the day after becoming a ‘Zodiac’—doesn’t that seem suspicious when you think about it? The ‘Contract’ requires the teacher to apply to ‘Heavenly-Dragon,’ but is ‘Heavenly-Dragon’ someone who has that much free time…? Would he constantly be on standby to issue ‘Contracts’?”

“Oh, is that so…” the Sheep said.

“If someone wants to become an interviewer the day after joining the ‘Zodiacs’… it can only mean his teacher had been preparing long ago!” The Shar-Pei Dog grabbed the Sheep’s collar. “What status do the two of us have… to rebel with him?! Are you crazy?!”

“I…” The Sheep slowly lowered his head, his expression troubled. “You’re right… People like us with no ability and no backing… are actually the same no matter where we go…”

“Good that you understand,” the Shar-Pei Dog said. “Let’s just do what we’re supposed to do and not take any risks.”

The next second, the situation on the scene took a sharp turn. Zhang Qiang and I were so shocked our mouths couldn’t close.

“What?” The Shar-Pei Dog looked at the Sheep and asked irritably. “Why are you sighing?”

“It’s precisely because we have no ability and no backing that we need to quickly find some backing… Man-Dog, turn around and look,” the Sheep said in a deep voice.

The Shar-Pei Dog paused at first, then as if realizing something, turned around incredulously, only to discover a pitch-black gun barrel pointing directly at his face.

“What…?”

Baiyang pressed the gun against the Shar-Pei Dog’s forehead and said coldly, “My time is limited—I can’t delay any longer. If I can convince you, I’ll convince you. If I can’t convince you, I can only send you away. After all, you’re the only one left in this room who still opposes me.”

The Shar-Pei Dog swallowed and carefully thought about the current situation before saying, “You… you and the Sheep were on the same side all along?”

Baiyang didn’t answer, giving the Shar-Pei Dog an ambiguous look.

“That’s impossible…” The eyes beneath the Shar-Pei Dog’s mask trembled slightly. “You die first every time… The Sheep dies last… How could you communicate with him without me knowing?”

“Oh…?” Baiyang made a puzzled sound. “Is the brain I’m about to blow through really that dim?”

“You…!” The Shar-Pei Dog instantly became furious.

“Man-Dog,” the Sheep said, standing behind the Shar-Pei Dog. “You did overlook one thing. Both you and Baiyang will die during this game, but I won’t. Our game room has no ‘Assistant,’ so I’ll descend to the next level, responsible for opening the door and bringing the ‘Participants’ out.”

“What…” The Shar-Pei Dog was slightly stunned, feeling that he had indeed been played.

After hearing this, the Sheep continued, “In some rooms, all the ‘Zodiacs’ die when the game ends, so they need the special position of ‘Assistant’ to open the door for ‘Participants.’ But our room just happens not to need one.”

After hearing this, the Shar-Pei Dog turned his head to look at the Sheep, let out a bitter laugh, and nodded. “So you can return to the ‘Train’ every time… quietly waiting for the ‘Participants’ to come back again.”

“Exactly,” the Sheep nodded. “I won’t die here. I have plenty of time to communicate with anyone.”

After hearing this, the Shar-Pei Dog frowned once again and turned to look at Baiyang.

“This still doesn’t make sense…” The Shar-Pei Dog said with trembling lips. “Even if the Sheep can return to the ‘Train’… what about you…? You die here every time… How do you contact others?”

“I… died?” Baiyang continued in his cold tone. “‘Baiyang’ died, but did ‘I’ die?”

“What… what do you mean…?”

Baiyang paused and said, “You’ve been here too long. You probably don’t know much about what’s happening outside. I heard there’s a ‘Participant’ outside who has a lot of influence now. Do you know who it is?”

After he finished speaking, he once again glanced at the clock on the table with his eyes.

The Shar-Pei Dog’s expression became increasingly ugly. I couldn’t read his thoughts at all—I only knew he fell into a long silence.

“Man-Dog, if you have no more questions, I’ll send you off now,” Baiyang said. “At least you’ll die with understanding.”

“You…” After hearing this, the Shar-Pei Dog took a deep breath and said, “It doesn’t matter… Since ‘death from violation’ can still result in revival… even if you kill me, it’s useless. Next time I’ll make you pay.”

“There’s a misunderstanding,” Baiyang said. “I lied to you about ‘death from violation’ still allowing revival.”

“What…”

The Shar-Pei Dog’s eyes widened instantly. Zhang Qiang and I kept our heads lowered, carefully listening to the conversation among the several people.

If my feeling was correct, something big was really about to happen.

“Sorry, you can only believe half of what I say. What’s written on that contract is all true. If you’re killed, you’re dead—you can’t possibly come back to life.”

After Baiyang finished speaking, without waiting for any reaction from the other party, he decisively pulled the trigger, using the only bullet in the pistol to pierce through the Shar-Pei Dog’s head.

The Sheep watched Man-Dog fall to the ground with an unchanged expression, then also glanced at the time on the table.

“Baiyang, if you’re in a hurry, go ahead and leave first,” the Sheep said.

“Unfortunately, I can’t leave,” Baiyang said. “There’s only one bullet in the pistol. Now that it’s been wasted on Man-Dog, I’ll have to take a risk this time.”

“Then will you wait until the ‘Harpoon’ descends?” the Sheep said. “Or should I kill you right now?”

“I’m afraid my bones are tough—you won’t be able to kill me,” Baiyang casually tossed the gun in his hand to the ground, then looked toward Zhang Qiang and me.

“Since I can’t leave now, let me tell you about the plan going forward.”