“What…”

“I’ve been lying this whole time, young master here.” Chen Junnan’s expression seemed completely relieved. “Before, I could never figure this out and could only keep taking the blame myself, but ever since I heard you became a ‘Zodiac,’ everything became clear to me…”

“You mean… this was something I told you to do?”

“That’s right.” Chen Junnan nodded. “This was something you specifically instructed me to do before you disappeared. You told me, ‘Chen Junnan, if one day I fail at gambling my life with a Earth-level Zodiac, no matter what method you use, you must trap the people in the room. The longer, the better—ideally long enough for all the Zodiacs to be completely replaced.'”

Hearing this, Qi Xia reached up and stroked his chin.

Now things were getting rather interesting.

Wasn’t the plan… all connected now?

Qi Xia slowly raised his head, as if seeing his former self before his eyes.

He was just like himself, stroking his chin, eyes looking at the ground, silently contemplating something at this very moment.

“Thinking about it carefully… you really did so many things…” Qi Xia said to him.

Yu Nian’an, the “needle” among the “Zodiacs,” the “Cat” team, the room hidden for seven years, and… “Endless Life.”

“Just what is it you want me to do…?” Qi Xia furrowed his brow at the phantom before him. “What kind of desperate situation… would make you lay out such a long path? Did you discover that escaping in ten days was impossible… that even ten years wouldn’t be enough?”

“So…” Qian Wu looked at Qi Xia. “What exactly do you plan to do next? Take us to kill ‘Xuanwu’… or find a way to meet the ‘Earth-level’ Zodiacs?”

“First, we need to deal with the ‘Zodiac’ matter.” Qi Xia said. “I’ll move between various game venues and try to unite all the ‘Earth-levels.'”

“Will it go that smoothly?”

“It won’t be too difficult.” Qi Xia shook his head. “The ‘needle’ I planted should work together with me. From what I know, all the ‘Zodiacs’ might meet at night, so I’ll handle the daytime work while the ‘needle’ handles the nighttime work. This progress should be much faster than I imagined.”

“But you said it yourself—the ‘Earth-level Zodiacs’ are all cunning foxes. They’ve all killed people, their hands stained with blood. These people absolutely can’t be convinced by your few words.”

“Yes.” Qi Xia said in a deep voice. “But don’t forget—we are ‘Participants.’ We have our own methods.”

“You mean…?”

“I’ll gamble my life with them.” Qi Xia said. “As long as we trigger the ‘herd effect,’ once one person dies for ‘refusing to cooperate,’ the remaining ‘Zodiacs’ will avoid that path. When at least half of the Earth-level ‘Zodiacs’ have joined us, this high wall will collapse on its own.”

“Gamble your life…?”

After hearing this, Qian Wu slowly furrowed his brow.

This method wasn’t impossible, but it was too risky.

“Have you ever had experience gambling your life with an ‘Earth-level’?”

Qi Xia thought for a moment and said, “About half a time, I suppose. That time I initiated a life gamble, but the game didn’t determine a winner.”

“Then consider yourself lucky.” Qian Wu said.

“Luck…” Qi Xia nodded. “Perhaps.”

“You know what the consequences of ‘failing a life gamble’ are, right?”

“More or less.” Qi Xia nodded. “Your reason will be taken away.”

“Yes, the ruler here seems to want to give all those who think they’re clever a punishment…” Qian Wu said despondently. “In other words… the more formidable someone is at confronting ‘Zodiacs,’ the more likely they are to become a native resident.”

“But have you considered… that these so-called ‘formidable people’ lose because they aren’t actually that powerful?”

Qian Wu sighed helplessly and said, “Qi Xia, although I believe you have the ability to gamble an ‘Earth-level’ to death, have you considered… how fragile an army assembled through ‘threats’ is?”

“Oh?”

“You can threaten them… ‘Heavenly-Dragon’ can do the same…” Qian Wu’s expression grew increasingly grim. “If we fight alongside these unstable elements, I find it hard to imagine our outcome.”

“You’re overthinking it.” Qi Xia said. “Even The Art of War says: ‘Those who excel at using troops do not conscript twice, nor transport provisions thrice. They obtain equipment from home but rely on the enemy for provisions, thus the army’s food supply can be sufficient.'”

“I’m not well-read.” Qian Wu shook his head. “What does that mean?”

“It means there’s no need to constantly use your own country’s troops and provisions when fighting. Even if you win, it will continuously drain your nation’s strength. We can obtain troops and provisions from the enemy.”

Hearing this, Qian Wu finally felt that his thinking was indeed not on the same level as the man before him.

“So… you already consider this ‘war’? You plan to recruit troops from the enemy?”

“Yes.” Qi Xia said. “If the ‘Earth-level Zodiacs’ can truly go to war with ‘Heavenly-Dragon,’ what a wonderful thing that would be.”

Before Qian Wu could say anything more, Nineteen beside them suddenly furrowed his brow. He paused, then turned and said, “Fifth Brother, Sixth Sister sent a message. There’s a situation.”

Hearing this, Qian Wu nodded, then turned back to wave at everyone. This session of “Silence” ended, and everyone’s conversation came to an abrupt halt.

“What’s wrong…?”

“A ‘big shot’ has arrived.” Nineteen said.

“A ‘big shot’…?” After hearing this, Qian Wu nodded with a grave expression. “Heavenly-Horse and Heavenly-Tiger have come?”

“Doesn’t seem like it. It’s a man who came.” Nineteen said. “But we don’t know specifically who… In any case, not an ordinary person.”

“I’ll go take a look.” Qian Wu said.

“I’ll go too.” Qi Xia added.

He was just about to stand when Qian Wu reached out and pressed down on his shoulder. Instantly, Qian Wu’s form swelled dramatically, looking exactly like Qi Xia.

“Qi Xia… it might be a ‘Heavenly’ who’s coming.”

“I know, which is why I need to go.” Qi Xia nodded. “I’ve never had contact with a ‘Heavenly’ before. This is an excellent opportunity.”

Qian Wu’s hand remained on Qi Xia’s shoulder, feeling that something wasn’t quite right about this. “But Qi Xia… you’ve been a ‘Zodiac’ before. Aren’t you afraid they’ll recognize you?”

“If I can meet a ‘Heavenly’… I’m at least an ‘Earth’ level.” Qi Xia said. “But ‘Earth-level’ heads are animals. I don’t think a ‘Heavenly’ could know my true appearance.”

“But each ‘Heavenly’ has their own ability… You’re taking a huge risk.” Qian Wu said.

“Then let me go too.” Qiao Jiajin stood up and stretched. “You all keep talking about Heavenly this and Heavenly that every day. I want to see for myself—we’re all human, so where exactly is the gap between me and them?”

Qi Xia turned to look at Qiao Jiajin, then lowered his head to think for a moment.

If the “Divine Beasts'” ability was “Echo,” then what was the “Heavenly-level’s” ability?

If all their abilities were “Echo,” would “Breaking Ten Thousand Methods” be effective?

“Alright.” Qi Xia nodded. “Then Fists and I will go take a look. Chen Junnan, you know many people, so don’t show yourself for now to avoid unnecessary trouble. Officer Li, you all wait here too. After all, there’s some danger, and if something happens, there’ll still be a chance to maneuver.”