He said that after ‘Zodiacs’ kill 3,600 people, they might be ‘eradicated’—completely disappearing from this world.

The reason was that he heard every ‘Earth-level’ was striving to kill people, and there were even strong individuals who succeeded in advancing. However, those so-called successfully advanced ‘Zodiacs’ never appeared again. Some said they escaped.

But since there was no evidence to prove they escaped, one could only conclude they disappeared.

He also said that after ‘Participants’ collect a full 3,600 ‘Dao,’ they would undergo a major reshuffle, at which point everyone would lose their memories and start over.

The number of years this place has existed is probably longer than we imagine. We didn’t arrive here in batches either—from the very beginning, we all appeared here completely and neatly, right up until now.

Interestingly, all the ‘interview rooms’ here are like individual incubators, constantly hatching ‘good eggs’ and ‘bad eggs.’

Our room had been a completely rotten egg for a very long time. No matter how much it was incubated, there was no reaction whatsoever.

The only ones who could walk out of our room and stand in the corridor at the last moment after opening the door had always been ‘Zodiacs’ alone. Who knows how many rooms like ours exist throughout the entire corridor?

After all, we had no way to obtain ‘Echo’ and no way to preserve our memories, so every time we would make exactly the same choices and die here. If there were no external intervention, we would never hatch life.

And Baiyang was our ‘external force.’

At this very moment, he was like a teacher, telling us about a world completely different from what we had imagined.

Whether it was what we’d heard these past few days, what we’d seen, or what we’d imagined—he overturned it all with just a few words.

I admit I’m not as calm as Baiyang. Upon hearing that this world was built upon a massive lie, I truly had no way to steady my mind.

This meant we absolutely had no possibility of escaping. Everything we did was without hope.

“I apologize,” Baiyang said to us. “These are the results I’ve obtained after investigating for many years. Having you completely digest and absorb them within an hour is indeed somewhat difficult. There’s still a bit of time now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.”

For instance, if this city is inescapable, what are we doing here?

In a place that doesn’t allow anyone to escape, why are there so many ways to escape?

Who built this place?

What’s the reason for bringing us here?

My god… I felt like my brain was about to explode.

This was completely different from the scenarios I’d envisioned before. It was as if life had suddenly lost all direction.

If in the real world my daily direction of effort was ‘becoming strong,’ then my reason for being willing to cooperate with anyone here was ‘being able to escape.’

But if we can’t escape… in what direction should I strive?

‘Surviving’?

I turned to look at Zhang Qiang. He clearly also had many questions he wanted to ask, but several times he tried to open his mouth, yet couldn’t speak.

The room fell into silence. Only the table clock in the center could be heard ticking.

“Um…” Zhang Qiang finally spoke, but he didn’t ask the doubts in my heart. Instead, he said something only he could say.

“Go ahead,” Baiyang said.

“What’s the benefit of cooperating with you?”

“Benefits…” Baiyang nodded. “This is indeed a question that needs explanation.”

“Yes…” Zhang Qiang said nervously. “It sounds like if we cooperate with you, you might become the ‘Ruler’ here… but what about for us?”

“I’ve already mentioned the first benefit just now. I’ll make you ‘absolutely safe.’ Although there’s no time to explain, you must believe that these five words are absolutely the most precious guarantee in ‘Taoyuan.'” Baiyang sighed slightly and said, “As for the second ‘benefit,’ after I become the Ruler, I’ll find a way to change how this place looks. At that time, as founding-level figures who created this place together with me, you’ll naturally receive preferential treatment.”

“What…” Zhang Qiang was slightly stunned. “Change how it looks…?”

“Yes.” Baiyang nodded. “But I can only make verbal guarantees. I don’t have anything substantial to give you, so whether or not you believe my words mainly depends on your decision now.”

After hearing this, the two of us hesitated once again. All we could say was that the time left for us to think this time was truly too short.

If I wasn’t mistaken, the Baiyang before us should have spent several years or even over ten years collecting this intelligence, yet he had to pour it all into our minds within an hour.

This was truly too difficult to accept.

“How long will it take you to become the ‘Ruler’?” Zhang Qiang asked again.

“Hard to say,” Baiyang answered. “Three to five years, ten to eight years, several decades, a hundred years.”

“What…” Zhang Qiang swallowed. “A hundred years…? Are you really not deceiving us?”

“I really can’t say for certain.” Baiyang’s eyes also dimmed slightly. “To be honest, clearing this room can only be considered the first step of the entire plan. There are still many links ahead, spanning several years and involving over a hundred people. I don’t dare guarantee that every link will succeed, nor do I dare guarantee that I can accomplish everything I’ve said. If I succeed, then every word I’ve said up to now is the truth. If I fail, then I’ve told you a tremendous lie.”

“This…” Zhang Qiang lowered his head, rapidly contemplating the pros and cons of this matter.

“You need not be nervous,” Baiyang said to us both, as if seeing through something. “Even if you refuse me, there’s absolutely no possibility of being ‘silenced.’ In the time ahead, the sheep will serve as your ‘interviewer’ long-term. Just as I said, only one ‘Zodiac’ in this room is enough. I’ll leave of my own accord. For you, nothing will change. I’ll find a way to have the sheep host three games alone.”

“You mean…” I blinked. “You want to tell us this isn’t a ‘threat’?”

“Correct.” Baiyang cast an approving look at me. “I’m very afraid you might be forced to choose cooperation because of my threats. In that case, I would recruit inferior teammates, and you wouldn’t be able to display your true abilities. So now I must first declare that you’re safe. No one will act against you because of your choice. At the same time, you must ensure that all your following choices completely follow your own hearts.”

I always felt that although Baiyang didn’t know those effect theories, he understood psychology and conversational techniques very well. He hoped we would make our choice after relaxing our guard.

“Um…” I raised my head to look at him and asked with a serious expression, “What does ‘absolutely safe Participant’ mean?”