“You could say that.” The dark, lean man nodded. “If the plan succeeds, then it’s a coordinated attack from within and without. But if it doesn’t succeed…”

“I understand.” Zhang Shan nodded. “If it doesn’t succeed… at least this city will have tried its best.”

“Haha…” The man gave a dry laugh. “Dashan, if you really make it to the end, what do you want to do?”

“What to do… I…” Zhang Shan had just received this news and naturally hadn’t thought about what to do when the time came.

“We’re soldiers.” The man said again. “How about trying the ‘capture the king before his troops’ tactic? Find a way to snipe the other side’s leader.”

After hearing this, Zhang Shan thought for a moment. The leaders here… weren’t they Heavenly-Dragon and Qinglong?

“Get some rest early.” The man suddenly changed the subject. “Now that you know the lie I told, remember to keep it secret for me.”

After hearing this, Zhang Shan took a deep breath and looked down at the corpses beneath his feet.

Corpses were indeed very diverse things. Their appearances varied in every way—some were still soft, some had already stiffened; some looked lifelike, while others had already rotted and festered.

But regardless of which state they were in, when piled together here, anyone who saw them would only call them by the same name—corpses.

If they couldn’t be revived, whether rotted and festering or lifelike, or even torn to pieces and unrecognizable, they would ultimately be regarded as the same kind of rotting flesh.

They couldn’t walk away or escape. They came from all corners of the world, but now they were casually gathered together, until they rotted the same way and became the same white bones.

“Old Nie… damn it, fuck.” Zhang Shan cursed through gritted teeth. “So annoying… shit…”

“Still can’t break that bad habit of cursing?” The man asked with a smile.

“Old Nie, let me ask you—when I leave… will you notify me in advance?” Zhang Shan asked.

“At least…” Zhang Shan was silent for a moment. “Damn it, at least let me be mentally prepared, right?”

“You’ve been discharged from the military too.” The man reached out and patted Zhang Shan’s shoulder. “The principle is about the same. Comrades who fight side by side together every day will one day be scattered across the world, perhaps never to see each other again in this life. In this situation, us men can’t cry, and if we do cry, it’s best to cry secretly under the covers.”

“Damn…” Zhang Shan bit his teeth. “I…”

The man thought Zhang Shan would say something reluctant to part, but unexpectedly, after holding it in for a long time, Zhang Shan said flatly, “Old Nie, I’m afraid I won’t have a chance to say this later—I lied too.”

“Oh?” The man thought for a moment. “What kind of lie could a rough guy like you tell?”

Zhang Shan reached up and touched his crew cut hairstyle, which was similar to the other’s, and answered, “I said I’m used to this hairstyle because I spent too long in the military…”

“Yeah.” The man looked at him.

“But actually, I also spent a long time in prison.” Zhang Shan gave a bitter laugh. “Before I came here, I wasn’t ‘just discharged’—I’d just been released from prison a few months earlier.”

“Haha, damn…” After hearing this lie, the man couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “I thought it was such a big deal… Been to prison? So what?”

Zhang Shan blinked, thinking he hadn’t made himself clear. “Are you deaf? I fucking committed a crime…”

“You committed a crime in the past—you don’t enjoy committing crimes.” The man waved his hand. “We’ve fought side by side for so many years. Do I really need to use your past experiences to re-judge whether you’re a good person?”

“Aren’t you going to ask why I committed the crime?” Zhang Shan said with a frown.

“If you wanted to say it, you would have said it already.” The man shook his head. “Is there anyone in this world who’s never made a mistake?”

After hearing this, Zhang Shan gave a light laugh with slightly complicated feelings.

“Dashan, I’ve already turned that page on you. You should turn that page in your heart early too.”

The man slowly leaned his body backward, finally lying down on the corpse mountain.

He opened his eyes slightly to look at the sky, but on that night in “Eddy City,” he still couldn’t see the stars.

The warriors barely clinging to survival throughout the entire city were also like stars, flickering with light that simply couldn’t be seen.

But stars whose light no one could see… could they still be called stars?

Zhang Shan’s gaze flickered for a moment. He felt his body beginning to rise and travel through time from “Eddy City” several years ago.

He passed through dark rooms, walked through dilapidated streets, went to killing hells, and saw schools at sunset.

When he opened his eyes again, before him was already a long corridor.

On both sides, many “Zodiacs” stood there watching him with indifference.

“Zhang Shan.” Chu Tianqiu called from behind. “Are you alright?”

Zhang Shan turned his head and looked at Chu Tianqiu’s face with slight hesitation. After a long time, he asked tentatively, “Chu… Tianqiu?”

Hearing these three words, Chu Tianqiu slowly frowned and said, “That way of calling me… sounds like you’ve forgotten my name.”

Zhang Shan felt that many memories had indeed squeezed into his mind. Although those memories flashed by in an instant, it was as if he had actually lived through many years.

Seeing Chu Tianqiu at this time, he had almost forgotten his name.

This dazed feeling… would it happen to every “Participant” on the “train” as time went on?

“I remember it all now…” Zhang Shan said with a somewhat wooden expression. “Someone has been pushing all of this forward…”

Zhang Shan vigorously shook his head, feeling his brain was still somewhat chaotic. Eight or nine-tenths of his memories had already surfaced in his mind, but there were still some scattered memories that he didn’t know which year to insert them into.

“What are you referring to…?” Chu Tianqiu asked.

“Everything we’re experiencing now… is the result of countless people’s joint efforts…” Zhang Shan said. “Under the noses of Qinglong and Heavenly-Dragon, someone secretly united all the people of ‘Taoyuan.'”

Chu Tianqiu narrowed his eyes, feeling he had already figured out who this person was.

“That Baiyang…” Zhang Shan turned his head to look at Earth-Mouse. “Among the ‘Zodiacs,’ there’s a Baiyang… where is he?”

“Boss…” Earth-Mouse said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Your memories have returned, but your reaction is still half a beat slow… Where is there any Baiyang now?”

“Huh…?”

Chu Tianqiu also shook his head on the side. “It used to be Baiyang, now it’s Qi Xia.”

“Qi Xia…” Zhang Shan felt like he was beginning to gradually connect the whole matter together.

“So… do you remember what you’re supposed to do here?” Chu Tianqiu asked again.