Chapter 1244: Rearguard

The Earth Monkey saw that almost all the “Zodiacs” nearby had scattered like birds and beasts, yet he found himself frozen in place.

To be precise, he was stuck among the many “Participants.”

He was still hesitating when someone had already directly engaged in combat with a “Celestial.”

Occasionally, the “Train” would have reckless defiers who dared to challenge authority, but no one had ever truly fought a “Celestial” before.

The current situation was closer to final victory than ever.

“A colorful… quail…?”

The Earth Monkey frowned, carefully pondering this description. Was it someone’s bizarre pet?

Or perhaps a totem, a symbol, or some kind of code?

Unfortunately, there was no way to ask the Earth Tiger now. The open door echoed with the sounds of fierce combat—this was a battle involving a “Celestial,” something any sane person would stay far away from.

“Right…”

The Earth Monkey glanced around and realized that the white snake that had appeared alongside him earlier had also vanished without a trace. He was now the only one standing here, utterly clueless.

He knew he had a lead—he had seen the crack and confirmed his teammates—but he had no idea what each of them was doing. He only barely understood his own objective.

“Brother Ding, since you love gambling, let’s make a bet.” A cold voice echoed in his mind. “I bet that the crack will appear. If I win, you’ll do something for me.”

“What?”

“I want you to destroy the ‘door’ to the ‘Celestial’s’ room.”

The Earth Monkey’s memory abruptly cut off. He raised his head and surveyed the corridor. Strangely enough, the “Participants” were still queuing to board the train. Once aboard, they split into two streams—one heading left toward the “front of the train,” the other moving right toward the “exit,” as if they were just here for sightseeing.

But the scattered corpses in the distance made it clear that this “sightseeing” was extremely dangerous. They had to find a way to secure an “Echo” here.

The Earth Monkey sighed and looked in the direction where the Monkey Man had disappeared.

The Earth Tiger’s Monkey Man student was so sharp-witted that it reminded him of his own.

But something seemed off. It was long past the “Zodiacs'” shift end, yet the kid still hadn’t come to report in.

With all the chaos outside today… had he gotten caught up in it?

It was just a simple game of drawing “Tao” from a box. The kid even had magic tricks up his sleeve—how could he not make it back?

Shaking off his thoughts, the Earth Monkey headed toward the front of the train. Passing the room where the Earth Tiger was fighting, he glanced inside, hoping to ask a few more questions. But the white-furred tiger was gone.

All that remained was a red-furred tiger and a blood-soaked child.

Now wasn’t the time to ask about the quail. The only thing to hope for was that the Earth Tiger survived the next few minutes—otherwise, the teammate he’d just reunited with would vanish.

…

The Black Sheep led the “Extremists” past the Azure Dragon’s room and turned toward the cargo hold.

Theoretically, the “Train” was a long, segmented space composed of carriages and countless “doors.” But only at the end of the corridor did it fork into a “T” shape.

The right path led to all the “Celestials'” rooms or offices, while the left led to the “cargo hold.”

A few dozen meters past the “cargo hold” door stood another lone “door,” its purpose unknown.

The “Extremists” had braced for countless obstacles, but to their surprise, no one stopped them. Even the few “Earth-level” Zodiacs who spotted their large group made no move to interfere.

“Zhichun… what’s going on?” Jiang Ruoxue whispered nervously, scanning the corridor. “This is too smooth. Isn’t it?”

Even without her saying it, Yan Zhichun felt the same. It was as though some unseen force was acting on the “Train,” shaping this bizarre situation from all sides.

The “Celestials” hadn’t shown themselves, the “Earth-levels” refused to intervene, and now even the “Human-levels” were trying to remove their masks.

“This can only mean one thing…” Jiang Ruoxue murmured. “The ‘Train’ has been set on its course. Everything is proceeding as planned. They can stop us—but they can’t stop the ‘Train.'”

The Black Sheep pushed open the door before them—a grayish-brown iron door, over two meters tall, its surface rusted and worn, unlike any other room.

Beyond it stretched a descending staircase, leading into darkness like an underground cellar, vanishing into an abyss.

“Zhou Mo…” Yan Zhichun called. “Any word from Xiaoxiao?”

“Tsk, weird…” Zhou Mo frowned. “I know my voice reached her, but she hasn’t said a word.”

“What about the others?” Yan Zhichun pressed. “Lin Qin, Zheng Yingxiong—can you reach them?”

“Ridiculous.” Zhou Mo shook her head. “I didn’t expect this, so I didn’t touch them beforehand.”

“Fine. It’s alright.” Yan Zhichun said decisively. “At least we know Xiaoxiao’s alive. That’s some comfort.”

“But…” Zhou Mo hesitated, sensing this wasn’t the time.

If Xiaoxiao was alive yet silent… didn’t that mean things were worse than if she’d died?

What was she doing? Who was with her?

Was she… still an “Extremist”?

“Listen up.” The Black Sheep turned, cutting through their thoughts. “Time’s short. Everyone enters in line. I’ll go last.”

“You’re last…?” Old Sun frowned. “Hold on—isn’t there a ‘Celestial’ down there? You’re not going first? You’re sending us in ahead?”

“I’ll enter. But it has to be last.” The Black Sheep’s voice was icy. “The first to the cargo hold will have the highest chance of dying. If you’re scared, step back. If you want to run, do it now.”

Old Sun felt this reasoning was flawed—not only would it crush morale, but it also heightened everyone’s sense of danger. He spoke up:

“This isn’t about fear… You’re making it sound like we’re bait. None of us fear death, but we won’t be used as disposable pawns.”

“What’s coming is worse than being bait.” The Black Sheep’s expression darkened. “You might be the gun, the shield, or the living target. If you’re not prepared for that, leave now.”