Qinglong gently tapped the table with his fingers, feeling an inexplicable unease in the air.
Nothing had happened… yet why did he have this foreboding sense of dread?
Having walked the “Peach Blossom Spring” for so long, he had never felt like this before.
It was as if he were waiting for death.
His chaotic thoughts and restless mood left him unable to sit still.
Turning his head, he spotted Tianshe and Tiangou seated at the same round table, and irritation flared up inside him.
“Everyone else is busy with their own tasks… Are the two of you just idling around?” Qinglong said coldly.
“Huh?” Tianshe looked up, about to speak, but the moment his eyes met Qinglong’s, he flinched and lowered his head. “B-But there are no ongoing ‘research projects’ right now—”
“None?” Qinglong frowned. “Has the Great Bell been rebuilt? Have we found a replacement for Xuanwu?”
“W-Well…” Tianshe stammered nervously. “It’s already quite late today… I was planning to start tomorrow at dawn—”
“Tomorrow is the tenth day,” Qinglong interrupted. “Tianlong will awaken soon. Do you think you’ll still have time for research then?”
Tianshe had nearly forgotten. He scrambled to his feet. “Right… My apologies… I’ll go find suitable candidates immediately…”
Once Tianshe had left, Qinglong turned his gaze to Tiangou.
Tiangou remained silent, unsure what Qinglong wanted to say.
“You should leave too. Let me be alone for a while,” Qinglong said. “If there’s any news, come find me in this room.”
“I… Understood.” Tiangou nodded, then heaved his heavy body up. Just as he reached the door, Qinglong called out to him again.
“Is there really nothing unusual happening below?” Qinglong asked.
“Unusual… No,” Tiangou shook his head. “Someone broke the rules earlier, and Zhuque dealt with it. It’s already been resolved.”
Qinglong stared into Tiangou’s eyes for a long moment before finally flashing a sinister smile. “Tiangou… if you’re lying to me… you know what will happen.”
Tiangou shuddered, then glanced at the severed head in the center of the table.
Tianzhu’s head had been sitting there all night, the dried blood still clinging to his skin.
“Y-Yes…” Tiangou gritted his teeth and nodded. “Everything I said is true…”
After Tiangou also left the room, Qinglong leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
What exactly was going on…?
Ever since he left the “Cangjie Chess” game, something had felt off.
What had truly happened during that match?
……
“Brother!” Lao Sun waved at Dihu from the corridor of the “Train.” “Now that we’re up here, I should head off first! I can’t trouble my brother any further today!”
“Come on, are you disrespecting me?” Dihu grabbed Lao Sun’s arm. “You’re already here—come sit with me for a bit!”
“Really, no, brother! I came empty-handed!” Lao Sun waved his hands frantically. “Who visits someone for the first time without a gift?”
“You treating me like a stranger, huh?!”
Renhou, watching the two argue, stepped forward and whispered, “Teacher, your voices are too loud. You’ll attract other ‘Zodiacs.'”
“Ah…?” Dihu paused, then lowered his voice. “Brother, do me this favor—come sit with me. I’ve got alcohol. Let’s share a few drinks.”
“Even if you have alcohol, I shouldn’t—” Lao Sun hesitated. “Wait… you have alcohol…?”
“Lao Sun…” One of the “Jidao” members couldn’t take it anymore. “We still have a mission.”
“Oh! Right!” Lao Sun turned back to Dihu. “Brother, serious business—where’s the ‘cargo hold’?”
“Cargo hold…?”
“Black Sheep, then!” Lao Sun said. “Is there a Black Sheep here?”
……
Dizhu led the “Cat” team members through the door behind them, then glanced around. The corridor was empty for now—the only figure visible was at least a hundred meters away.
“This is way too damn exciting…” Luo Shiyi muttered. “We actually made it up here…?”
“Be careful,” Dizhu warned. “Every step we take now carries the risk of death. I’ll get you hidden in my room as quickly as possible, without alerting anyone.”
“So, how’s your reputation around here?” Luo Shiyi asked. “If we run into other ‘Zodiacs’… will they turn a blind eye?”
“My reputation…” Dizhu hesitated. “Is terrible.”
“Huh?”
Dizhu knew his usual arrogance had left many “Zodiacs” wishing for his downfall.
Normally, his ruthless nature kept others at bay. But now, stripped of his “brute strength,” he was just an ordinary man leading a group of “participants” through enemy territory—extremely dangerous.
“Hot-tempered woman,” Dizhu turned to Zhou Mo. “You’re the ‘Voice Transmitter,’ right? Can you check what’s happening elsewhere?”
“Mm.” Zhou Mo nodded, then closed her eyes.
She had never tried transmitting on the “Train” before, and her nerves made it difficult.
But after several attempts, she realized something was wrong.
No matter what message she sent, it was like tossing a stone into a bottomless well—no echo returned.
“Tch, weird… My ‘Echo’ seems…”
She glanced at Qian Wu, Bai Jiu, and Luo Shiyi.
“Can any of you control your ‘Echoes’?”
The three of them focused inward, but it was as if their “Echoes” were separated by an impassable river—utterly unreachable.
“Don’t worry,” Dizhu reassured them. “This happens at first.”
“Right,” Zhou Mo sighed. “Tch, you have an ‘Echo’ too. How’d you manage it?”
“I don’t know,” Dizhu admitted. “I thought I hadn’t brought my ‘Echo’ onto the ‘Train,’ so I ignored it for a long time. Then one day, when I’d almost forgotten about it, it suddenly reappeared.”
His answer only deepened their confusion.
“Tch, but we don’t have time for this,” Zhou Mo said. “Isn’t there a simpler way? If I can’t use my ‘Echo’… things could get worse than we imagine.”
Bai Jiu pondered for a moment, then tugged at her ponytail. “Forgetting… makes it appear?”
“Xiao Jiu, got any ideas?” Zhou Mo asked.
“Not yet…” Bai Jiu murmured. “Maybe I’ll think of something later.”
“Let’s move,” Dizhu urged. “Hopefully, we won’t run into any ‘Zodiacs.’ My room is far—over a hundred and fifty doors from here.”
They had only taken a few cautious steps when footsteps suddenly echoed behind them.
Turning, they saw a group of unfamiliar “participants” emerging from the same door they had just exited.
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