After about ten minutes or so, the group continuously traversed the roads.

Whether the ‘Human-level Zodiacs’ here had heard of ‘Cat,’ or these people were truly not to be trifled with, despite passing countless game venues, not a single person came forward to solicit this ‘business.’

Another ten minutes passed before everyone finally saw that ‘Mouse.’ He was facing a mirror, arranging his hairstyle.

To be precise, the few sparse long hairs on his mouse head.

It must be said, the ‘Mouse’ truly looked quite unsettling.

Atop his head sat a huge rodent skull, with massive front teeth protruding from his mouth, making anyone who looked at him feel uncomfortable all over.

He turned his face around and just happened to see this strange squad. Soon he straightened his head and acted as if he had seen nothing.

“Tch!” Zhou Liu called out impatiently. “Hey, hey, hey! Pretending you didn’t see us?”

“Alas…” Earth-Mouse helplessly shook his head. “Leaders, what can I do for you?”

“Tch, play a game.” Zhou Liu said. “Let’s start directly.”

“What…?” After hearing this, Earth-Mouse felt somewhat unable to understand. “Leaders, aren’t you all ‘Cat’? Although I’m ‘Mouse,’ we’ve kept to ourselves all these years… What’s the meaning of this today?”

“Kept to ourselves…” After hearing this, Luo Shiyi sneered. “But if the ‘river’ has problems, the water in your ‘well’ can’t be protected either.”

Hearing this sentence, Earth-Mouse slowly put away the mirror in his hand and said with furrowed brows, “Speaking of which, leaders… you love the work you do. Even if you ‘Cat’ members disband, it has nothing to do with me, right? If you come participate in my game and die miserably here, won’t your leader Qian Wu come to retaliate against me next cycle?”

“He won’t.” Qi Xia interjected. “You can treat us as ordinary participants.”

Earth-Mouse sized up Qi Xia. “This leader, I don’t think I’ve seen you before. Are you also ‘Cat’?”

“I’m neither a leader nor ‘Cat.’ I’m just an ordinary participant.” Qi Xia said. “I just want to participate in your game.”

“The times have really changed…” Earth-Mouse reached up to fix his sideburns. “Did you all follow the wrong leader? Even ‘Cat’ has to participate in games now…? A group of cats… coming to deal with me, this ‘Mouse.'”

“Tch, what does it have to do with you anyway?” Zhou Liu said. “If Fifth Brother wanted to kill you, ‘Xuanwu’ wouldn’t let it slide either. What exactly are you afraid of?”

“Being careful keeps you safe for ten thousand years. There’s nothing wrong with me being cautious, right?” Earth-Mouse asked back. “Leaders, among you ‘Participants,’ the people who can’t be provoked can be counted on one hand. Qian Wu counts as one.”

“That’s why I said you don’t need to worry.” Qi Xia said. “This time I’m the leader. If problems occur, it will only be my responsibility.”

Only after hearing this sentence did Earth-Mouse size up the person before him again.

“You’re the leader…?” He revealed an expression of disbelief. “You’re leading these four people?”

“Is there anything improper?” Qi Xia asked.

“Ha…” Earth-Mouse tried hard to hold back his laughter. “A new official taking office—I’m afraid you’ll have difficulty shouldering such a heavy responsibility.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Qi Xia shook his head. “You can directly give us ‘Hell difficulty.’ I have no objections.”

“This leader, what kind of rude request is that?” Earth-Mouse laughed. “Our games can’t be modified after they’re set up. I have leaders above me too…”

“Oh…? So ‘Zodiacs’ can’t modify their own game difficulty midway?” Qi Xia asked.

“Pfft…” Earth-Mouse looked at Qi Xia as if looking at a novice, then said to the dead people behind Qi Xia, “Are you all okay? You found such a muddle-headed person to be your ‘leader.’ Did your workplace experience lead you to make this kind of decision?”

Qi Xia had originally thought the people behind him would kick him while he was down, but unexpectedly Zhou Liu was the first to raise objections.

“Tch, whether our ‘leader’ is muddle-headed or not is our own business. Who the fuck do you think you are?”

Luo Shiyi also said coldly, “Hey, Mouse Head, even if he’s a shitty ‘leader,’ it should be us doing the scolding. What qualifications do you have to speak?”

The seemingly very unreliable Wang Ba and the furious-looking Qiu Shiliu also echoed repeatedly from the side.

“That’s right, does ‘Cat’s’ leader need you to scold him?”

Qi Xia completely hadn’t expected this situation. His heart actually felt somewhat reassured.

Even if these people seemed unreliable, ‘Cat’ was still ‘Cat.’ Since they could survive until now, the members among them must all be elite experts picked from a hundred.

“Alright, alright, alright…” Earth-Mouse helplessly waved his hand. “Just now you said to treat you as ordinary participants, but now you’re giving me a strong ‘Cat’ vibe.”

After speaking, he looked at Qi Xia again. “Hey!”

“What?”

“Even if I don’t adjust the difficulty, can you guarantee you’ll one hundred percent survive in my game?” Earth-Mouse laughed. “I’ll give you advance notice—I will personally participate in this game.”

Hearing this sentence, Qi Xia slowly frowned.

In ‘Earth-level games,’ situations where ‘Zodiacs’ personally participated should be extremely rare.

To be able to participate together with participants meant either this person had completely gone mad, or he had extreme confidence he could win in the game.

So which type was the Earth-Mouse before him?

“Which means… this game won’t be too simple.”

The corners of Qi Xia’s mouth slowly lifted. Difficulty was good.

This game needed to be difficult to be worthwhile.

“What does your game involve?” Qi Xia asked.

“It’s as if it were tailor-made for you all.” Earth-Mouse said with a mysterious expression. “It’s the intense and exciting ‘Cat and Mouse Game.'”

“‘Cat and Mouse Game’…?” After hearing this, Qi Xia raised his eyebrows. “We’re the ‘cats,’ and you’re the ‘mouse’?”

“Of course not…” Earth-Mouse bared his two large front teeth in a smile. “Identity swap—you ‘cats’ will play ‘mice,’ while I, this ‘Earth-Mouse,’ will play the ‘cat.'”

Qi Xia nodded slightly. “Is it a ‘chase’ type game?”

“Too crude…” Earth-Mouse smiled, then reached up to ruffle the hair on top of his head. “If it were simple chasing, what difference would there be between me and those crude oxen and horses?”

“Oh…?” Qi Xia looked at him with furrowed brows. “If it’s not ‘chasing,’ then what’s the point of ‘cat and mouse’?”

“Cats and mice are not stupid animals…” Earth-Mouse pointed his finger at his own forehead. “In many regions, if mice don’t steal food they’ll starve to death, and if cats can’t catch mice they lose their purpose. So only by wracking their brains can they determine victory or defeat in this life-and-death struggle that plays out every day in the real world.”

“Wrack our brains?” Qi Xia nodded. “That suits me perfectly.”