When the Black Sheep dragged his exhausted body to the exit, he found the place already in complete chaos.
Bloodstains littered the ground, and the air was filled with incessant wails. A Human Pig was using his body to block the door while an “Earth-level” figure relentlessly attacked his back.
The Human Pig trembled all over, his gaze nearly vacant, yet he couldn’t fight back. His hands clung to the doorframe as he took the Earth Monkey’s blows with his back, the agony in his eyes barely concealed behind his mask.
It took the Black Sheep about three seconds to assess the situation.
The two froze when they saw the Black Sheep emerge, and the Earth Monkey’s assault halted.
After all, the Black Sheep looked like he had just survived a brutal fight—blood dripped from his sleeves. Neither could understand why a “Zodiac” would engage in a life-or-death struggle in the “cargo hold.”
“Move,” the Black Sheep said.
The Human Pig, clinging to his last shred of strength, quickly weighed the situation. He had no idea how the battle below had unfolded, nor whether the Black Sheep was friend or foe. But since the man had emerged from the door, perhaps…
He didn’t want to let go, but his limbs had already gone numb. Using his “Hardening” ability to endure nearly all of the Earth-level opponent’s attacks felt like being pummeled in steel armor—no visible wounds, but his organs screamed in pain.
Seizing the moment of distraction, the Black Sheep stepped forward and shoved him aside. The sight of countless corpses then filled the Black Sheep’s vision.
The students of the Losing Tiger lay strewn across the ground, their necks twisted—clearly the work of an “Earth-level.”
Only a lone Human Monkey remained, swaying unsteadily on her feet. She clutched two pens as makeshift weapons, her mask torn. Hearing movement behind her, she turned to face the Black Sheep.
Her eyes flashed with a mix of emotions—hope at seeing a lifeline, then fear of dragging him into danger. She swallowed the words “Teacher Black Sheep” before they could escape her lips, forcing herself to feign unfamiliarity despite her terror.
She knew he might be her only chance at survival, yet she’d rather he save her teacher. Maybe she still had a one-percent shot at living, but her teacher didn’t even have that.
Not far from them stood a wounded Earth Rat, his eyes injured, his face panicked as a “Human-level” supported him. He was completely out of the fight.
The Earth Monkey stared blankly at the Black Sheep—after all, there was only one Earth Sheep left on the entire “train,” making suspicion inevitable. “Wait… who are you?”
The Black Sheep didn’t answer, simply stepping past the gathered Zodiacs and walking forward.
“Hey—” The Earth Monkey grabbed the Black Sheep’s shoulder. “What’s going on down there? Which side are you on?”
Frowning, the Black Sheep twisted around, seized the Earth Monkey’s arm, and pinned it behind his back before pressing a shard of metal to his throat.
“You—”
Though restrained, the Earth Monkey still looked bewildered.
The Black Sheep was covered in wounds—shouldn’t he be trying to survive right now?
“Are you… a ‘rebel’?” the Earth Monkey asked uncertainly. “You’re trying to save this ‘Human-level’…?”
“Their lives mean nothing to me,” the Black Sheep growled. “Tell me where the Sky Tiger is.”
“Sky Tiger…?” The Earth Monkey hesitated, recalling the scene he’d witnessed in the corridor earlier—
The Sky Tiger had tangled with an Earth Tiger, the two locked in a brutal fight so savage that none of the surrounding Zodiacs dared intervene.
Seeing the Earth Monkey stall, the Black Sheep knew he was hiding something. Without warning, he flipped the shard in his grip and stabbed a bloody hole into the Earth Monkey’s shoulder before pressing the blade back to his throat.
“Ah—!”
The Earth Monkey hadn’t expected the Black Sheep to attack without hesitation. The pain wrenched a scream from his throat as he clutched his shoulder, blood seeping through his fingers.
“I’m out of time…” The Black Sheep’s voice was weak behind him. “Every ten seconds, I’ll put another hole in you until you take me to the Sky Tiger.”
The Earth Monkey tried to shift, but the Black Sheep maintained a vice-like grip on his wrist—escaping would mean sacrificing a hand.
“Are—are you insane?!” the Earth Monkey hissed through gritted teeth. “We’ve never even met! Why make an enemy of me? My teacher’s the Sky Monkey—if you do this—”
Without another word, the Black Sheep stabbed another hole into his shoulder, drawing another scream.
“I’m in a hurry,” the Black Sheep said, forcing himself to stay alert. “Take me to the Sky Tiger.”
Seeing the man’s deranged determination, the Earth Monkey could only nod in surrender. His earlier calm had vanished—he was only here under Qinglong’s orders for backup. No one wanted to die for no reason.
The Black Sheep cast one last glance at the Human Monkey before expressionlessly dragging the Earth Monkey away.
—
“Tch, what did you say?” Weekend stared blankly at the “King of Ants,” still confused. “You’ve seen Qi Xia?”
The King of Ants gripped Weekend’s hand, pouring his thoughts directly into her mind.
“You said the ‘Dragon’… wants to ‘escape’?” Weekend struggled to grasp his meaning, but since his words were for her alone, she had to clarify. “Tch, what dragon? Where’s he escaping to?”
The King of Ants remained silent, still clutching her hand. After a moment, Weekend nodded repeatedly.
“Fine… damn it, I get it…”
“What’s going on?” Yan Zhichun sensed something off, frowning at Weekend.
“Tch, you bitches… things might’ve taken a turn,” Weekend said seriously, turning to Jiang Ruoxue and Yan Zhichun. “Let me think how to explain…”
“Get to the point,” Yan Zhichun pressed. “Did something happen to Qi Xia?”
“No… it’s Tianlong…” Weekend shook her head. “This ‘ant’ says Tianlong foresaw Qi Xia’s rebellion and secretly encouraged it—because he wants to use this chaos to escape the ‘Land of the End’ and trap Qinglong here. This guy found out Tianlong’s secret, so he got demoted from ‘Earth-level’ to ‘ant.'”
Yan Zhichun’s eyes widened slightly before she focused on another detail. “Wait… he said he already told Qi Xia this?”
“Right. He wrote ‘escape’ and ‘dragon’ in Qi Xia’s palm but ran out of time to explain more.”
Yan Zhichun lowered her head, lost in thought. This “rebellion” seemed to have multiple players pulling strings behind the scenes.
On the surface, it was a revolt by “participants,” but Tianlong had nudged it along, Qinglong had secretly orchestrated parts of it, and Qi Xia had turned their schemes into his own momentum to lead the charge… In a game between monsters like these, could ordinary “participants” even get what they wanted?
“So… what do we do now?” Jiang Ruoxue asked, equally puzzled.
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