Apart from Earth-Horse, almost all the “Zodiacs” in the room rushed forward in unison and pinned Earth-Tiger to the ground.

The table was overturned, food scattered all over the floor, and even two chairs were smashed to pieces.

All kinds of colorful palms from various animals tightly covered Earth-Tiger’s mouth, as if they wanted to suffocate him alive.

What Earth-Tiger had done was truly shocking—so shocking that everyone momentarily didn’t know what to do.

Now, should they escape… or should they directly report Earth-Tiger?

“Mmph…” Earth-Tiger couldn’t breathe, his hands flailing wildly, but none of the others paid any attention to him. They just stared blankly at the door.

Though it was an experiment… this experiment was far too bold.

If they truly angered Qinglong, everyone’s death would come almost instantly.

Based on everyone’s understanding of Qinglong, he wouldn’t even be interested in hearing any “pleas for mercy”—he would simply kill everyone in the room in the shortest time possible.

Inside the room, aside from Earth-Tiger’s muffled sounds, only the sound of everyone’s shocked heartbeats remained.

Qinglong possessed “Leap,” so if he truly heard those words… he would probably appear within a second.

The door here would be blown off its hinges, and all the “Zodiacs” would vanish into thin air.

But now several dozen seconds had already passed… why hadn’t he come?

Could he really not hear…?

“Are we… about to become ‘ants’?” Earth-Pig asked with a sorrowful expression. “Will the promises we made with our friends… never be fulfilled?”

Not only could they not sense the oppressive aura of Qinglong’s imminent arrival, even “Heavenly-Dog” hadn’t been dispatched.

After remaining silent for a while, everyone gradually released their hands from Earth-Tiger’s mouth.

“Hey! Why are you covering my mouth?” Earth-Tiger quickly pushed everyone away. “What did I tell you?! Their ears both point downward—now do you believe me?”

The “Zodiacs” stood up with skepticism. No matter how they thought about it, this matter seemed somewhat absurd.

Earlier, everyone had speculated that no one managed “Zodiac slaughter”… and now cursing Qinglong directly on the “train” also went unmanaged?

What was the purpose of the “train’s” existence then? Was it merely to provide a place for the numerous “Zodiacs” to live?

Earth-Tiger stood up and righted a chair from the floor to sit down. “What are you all nervous about… I was the one who said it, so if something happens, it’s me they’ll deal with.”

“Sigh…” Earth-Dog rubbed his temples. “After all, we’re all in this room. Do you think Qinglong has so much free time… that he’ll listen to us explain the whole story before executing us…?”

After speaking, he shook his head, feeling utterly exhausted.

Earth-Mouse stared at Earth-Dog for a moment, then turned to look at Earth-Tiger. “Tiger Leader, did you see that? Even Dog is shaking his head at your plan.”

“You… wait.” Earth-Dog frowned slightly after hearing this. “Who exactly are you insulting with that remark?”

“Rest assured, I’m not targeting anyone specifically, because I’m not insulting a person.” Earth-Mouse waved his hand and also righted a chair from the floor. “I only hope that our tiger-headed and tiger-brained Tiger Leader can be more prudent. You’ve scared even Wall Grass to the point of wilting.”

“Damn it, practice reveals truth!” Earth-Tiger said loudly. “If we just rely on guessing, can guessing reveal the truth? Do you all really think I’m Sheep Brother?”

“Who the hell dares to compare you to Sheep Brother?!” Black Sheep stood up with a fierce expression and asked, “Your own recklessness is one thing, but dragging us all into risking our lives—what’s the meaning of that?”

“Stop arguing… stop arguing… my ears are about to explode…” Earth-Dog quickly waved his hands. “Can’t you just sit down and talk properly… This is so exhausting. What evil possessed me to join you all…?”

Seeing the quarreling crowd, the tall Earth-Rabbit didn’t know what to do for a moment. He could only grab a handful of sunflower seeds from the floor and approach Earth-Horse, who hadn’t spoken much at all.

“Want some sunflower seeds…?” Earth-Rabbit extended his hand and asked tentatively.

Only when he got close did Earth-Rabbit realize that although Earth-Horse before him was female, her height was surprisingly similar to his own—both close to 1.9 meters.

Was this due to the influence of “Horse” characteristics, or was she naturally this tall?

Earth-Horse’s right foot was wrapped in thick bandages, but she didn’t choose to sit down. She merely stood by the wall.

“I won’t eat.” Earth-Horse said coldly. After speaking, she glanced at the bandages on Earth-Rabbit’s body, then turned her head away as if she hadn’t seen anything.

“Hey… it’s really lively here.” Earth-Rabbit tried to make conversation again.

“Mm.”

The two then fell silent, quietly watching the “Zodiacs” quarreling in the room.

Earth-Rabbit felt he seemed to possess a special ability—he could kill any conversation with anyone.

“Rotten Dog!” Earth-Pig called out with a displeased expression. “What kind of talk is that? What do you mean ‘possessed to join’?! We’re companions who’ve already established bonds. Saying such things is too much like ‘when the rabbit dies, the fox grieves’!”

“What the… Is that how you use ‘when the rabbit dies, the fox grieves’…?” Earth-Dog frowned. “Why don’t you spend the time being edgy reading more books instead?”

“Wait…” Earth-Rabbit said while cracking sunflower seeds, “I don’t understand. You’re just chatting—why did the ‘rabbit’ die?”

“Whether I read books or not, what’s it to you?!” Earth-Pig ignored Earth-Rabbit and instead turned to Earth-Dog and asked, “Are you looking for a beating? How dare you talk to me like that?”

After all, all the “Earth-level Zodiacs” were of equal rank. In the same room, no one could give orders to anyone else, so they quickly descended into chaos again.

Just as this quarrel was escalating, a weak and somewhat polite knock sounded on the door.

*Knock knock knock knock knock*.

The noisy crowd suddenly fell silent at this moment. The fear regarding Qinglong that had just been dispelled now surged back into their hearts.

*Knock knock knock knock knock*.

“Oh my goodness.” Earth-Tiger’s massive tiger head paused slightly. “So it’s not that they won’t punish me… there’s just a delay?”

Earth-Mouse and Black Sheep exchanged glances and swallowed hard…

Qinglong… was actually this polite?

“A hero takes responsibility for his actions!” Earth-Tiger bellowed and walked directly toward the door. “This team is the same with or without me anyway. I’m just eliminating one option for everyone!”

He shook off everyone’s attempts to stop him, came to the wooden door, and opened it. He held his head high with an expression of righteous resolve.

The next second, a barrage of slaps suddenly came flying in from outside the door, all landing on Earth-Tiger’s massive tiger head.

Though these slaps didn’t seem heavy, they sent Earth-Tiger staggering backward.

When everyone finally saw clearly who had entered from outside, they all fell silent.

“Didn’t I tell you all to keep it down?!”

A shrill female voice shouted at everyone in the room.