“Oh?” Earth-Snake blinked. “You can even do that?”

“By luck,” Qi Xia said. “You can speak freely. If I feel something is inappropriate, I’ll naturally speak up to stop you.”

Earth-Snake nodded dubiously after hearing this, then said, “In that case, I’ll risk my life to accompany you gentlemen. After all, I’m in a good mood right now, so I can tell you a bit more.”

“I’m listening,” Qi Xia said.

Earth-Snake didn’t speak immediately. Instead, he raised his head and slightly elevated his voice, saying, “I’m about to explain ‘Zodiacs Never Echo’!”

The space above remained utterly silent, without a single sound.

“God damn it… you stinking brat really got it right,” Earth-Snake said. “This sky is as if it’s gone mute. Can’t he hear anymore?”

“He can’t hear, but I can,” Qi Xia said. “What exactly is the relationship between ‘Zodiac’ and ‘Echo’?”

Earth-Snake pondered for a moment before answering, “As far as I know, there are currently only two methods for a ‘Zodiac’ to obtain an ‘Echo’.”

With each sentence he spoke, he would look up with a hint of wariness, as if still harboring some apprehension toward “Qinglong.”

“First, if this person obtained an ‘Echo’ before putting on the mask,” Earth-Snake said, “then their identity undergoes a reversal the moment they don the mask, transforming from a ‘Participant’ into a ‘Zodiac.’ And because ‘Zodiacs Never Echo,’ they become unable to perform any actions related to ‘Echo.’ In other words, they become unable to either obtain an ‘Echo’ or rid themselves of it, thus becoming a ‘Permanent Echoer.’ However, this method has a major drawback—they absolutely cannot be discovered by any administrator. Otherwise, the next meeting will be as ‘Ants.'”

“That’s you, isn’t it?” Qi Xia said. “Having become a ‘Zodiac’ while carrying a strange power brought you numerous inconveniences, which shaped your terrible personality. This way, not many people would interact with you, and even fewer would touch you. And to avoid being discovered by more people, you created the extremely bizarre-sounding ‘Mutual Aid Society.’ This way, even if people emerge from your venue in tears, you can naturally use the pretense of the ‘Mutual Aid Society’ for sharing life’s sufferings to deflect suspicion.

“Looking at it this way, everything makes sense. Rather than saying you ‘do as you please,’ it’s more accurate to say these have been your ‘self-preservation methods’ all along.”

After hearing this, Earth-Snake paused for a moment, then slowly revealed a slight smile, saying, “I don’t understand. The person I just spoke of wasn’t me. I’m just an ordinary ‘Zodiac.’ As I’ve told you, my ‘Mutual Aid Society’ is purely a means to mock the participants. This helps me perform my work better. And when they leave my venue, each one carries a tearful voice precisely because when they share their miserable experiences here, their emotions are affected, so everyone feels somewhat sad.”

“Fine, then I’ll consider that your tacit admission,” Qi Xia nodded. “What about the second situation?”

Earth-Snake suddenly raised his voice when speaking, as if saying it for someone else to hear.

But Qi Xia clearly sensed something off about his expression, as if it carried a trace of fear.

“How great my teacher is!” Earth-Snake continued raising his voice. “He changed the landscape of this place through his own power alone! This all comes from ‘Heavenly-Snake’s knowledge.’ If only I could reach half of my teacher’s greatness!”

The four of them exchanged glances, naturally knowing there was more to this story.

After pondering for a long time, Qin Dingdong said, “You mean that crazy ‘Heavenly-Snake’ is your teacher? You’re calling him ‘great’?”

“Of course!” Earth-Snake answered with a trembling voice. “Besides Heavenly-Snake, who’s in charge of ‘Scientific Research,’ who else would be second only to the gods here?”

Qiao Jiajin frowned and whispered to Qi Xia beside him, “I suspect this white-skinned snake has already had his guts scared out by that person. I’ve seen this kind of underling with many big bosses before.”

Qi Xia nodded and asked, “Since he’s in charge of ‘Scientific Research,’ what are you in charge of?”

“Me…?” Earth-Snake blinked after hearing this, then slowly sighed. “Each of us ‘Earth-Snakes’ has different responsibilities… Some provide ‘test subjects’ for the teacher, some provide various financial support for the teacher, and some have nothing to offer… like me.”

“What happens if you have nothing to offer?” Qi Xia asked again.

After hearing this, Earth-Snake slowly forced out a smile, then reached out to unfasten his suit buttons and tossed the suit aside.

As everyone looked on in confusion, he also unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his pure white skin.

This was the first time everyone had seen a “Zodiac’s” body. They truly appeared to be in a half-human, half-beast state. Although their heads were beast and their bodies human, the bodies seemed to possess many animal characteristics as well. The Earth-Snake before them had a pure white body with quite a few snake scales on his ribs and shoulders.

He didn’t speak, only smiled bitterly as he slowly turned around, showing the four people his horrifying back.

Seeing this scene, all four gasped in shock, goosebumps rising all over their bodies.

That scarred back was actually covered with dozens of eyes.

What made it curious was that almost all the dozens of eyes were injured or directly blinded. Dried black blood covered the entire back. Some eyes seemed to be healing, but had already lost their vision.

At this moment, only one intact eye was still moving. This eye was below Earth-Snake’s neck, between his shoulders, growing right on his spine.

It darted around wildly, as if it hadn’t seen light in a long time, its gaze extremely terrified.

Besides this, Earth-Snake’s back bore countless horrifying scars. Apart from burns, knife wounds, and lacerations, there were even bite marks and gunshot wounds.

“You stinking brats,” Earth-Snake said in a low voice with his back turned. “Those like us who can’t provide anything and have leverage held by the teacher can only become one of his test subjects. Isn’t that lucky?”

Chen Junnan slowly swallowed and said, “You call that lucky?”

Earth-Snake still didn’t turn around, as if he himself had become somewhat sorrowful.

“The teacher told me that I’m a stepping stone on the path to godhood for the people here,” Earth-Snake answered. “He conducts various experiments on me, seeking to find the best ‘Path to Godhood’ for the upper echelons here.”