“Secure one, aim for two…” Zhang Shan frowned and said, “Take Tianlong’s life first, then figure out how to take yours?”
“Exactly!” Qinglong nodded. “No matter what, you won’t lose out on this deal, right? I guarantee Tianlong won’t wake up now. You can rush in and beat him to death.”
“Kill him, and then what?” Zhang Shan pressed.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Qinglong replied. “After you kill Tianlong, in theory, I’d have to avenge him, so we’d fight, and I’d wipe you out. The outcome? I suppress the rebellion, but unfortunately, Tianlong dies in battle. ‘Paradise’ will mourn him. To better manage ‘Paradise,’ I’ll select a new batch of ‘Celestials’ to lead everyone toward a better world.”
Zhang Shan let out a helpless chuckle. “And what if you fail to kill us?”
Qinglong nodded. “Since you’re being straightforward, I won’t hide it either. If I don’t kill you, it means I failed to suppress the rebellion. Tianlong and I both die in battle, and everyone here will be trapped forever.”
Zhang Shan furrowed his brows, clearly hesitating. From Qinglong’s tone alone, it seemed he wasn’t afraid of failure.
“I just want Tianlong dead,” Qinglong added. “My own fate can be decided later, but his must be settled now. What do you think?”
With that, he clasped his hands behind his back and stood at the center of the room, smiling at the two of them as if giving them ample time to think.
Zhang Shan lowered his head, pondering Qinglong’s proposal. He sensed that Qinglong was the most rebellious of them all—perhaps even involved in this uprising. But why wasn’t he afraid of failure?
His goal was Tianlong’s death. Maybe they could play along, kill Tianlong first, and then turn on Qinglong.
As Qinglong had said, no matter the final outcome, they’d at least take down one ruler of the “Land of the End.”
“Hey… tattoo kid… what do you think?” Zhang Shan turned to Qiao Jiajin to discuss the situation.
But Qiao Jiajin had already walked to the door and shut it.
The gesture darkened Qinglong’s expression.
“I don’t really get it…” Qiao Jiajin said, still closing the door. “Scammy told me to come here and kill Qinglong. He didn’t say much about Tianlong. I’m not smart enough to change plans on the fly, so I’ll stick to what he said.”
“Ha…” Zhang Shan laughed. “Kid, you’ve got a clear head.”
“Big guy, don’t get me wrong,” Qiao Jiajin turned and grinned. “This is just my personal plan. You don’t have to follow it. So from now on, I’ll fight Qinglong, and you fight Tianlong. We split up.”
“Hell yeah, hahaha!” Zhang Shan burst out laughing. “That’s a great idea. Why didn’t I think of it?”
He turned back to Qinglong. “Alright, that’s the plan. I’ll go kill Tianlong, and you deal with the tattoo kid. Sound good?”
Qinglong’s expression darkened again. “No… That’s not how this works. Either you kill Tianlong now, or leave this room, and I’ll finish you outside.”
“Nah, nah, little green guy,” Qiao Jiajin shook his head. “This isn’t up to you anymore.”
“What…?”
“We’re enemies from the start,” Qiao Jiajin stretched lazily. “So whatever the enemy wants, I have to stop. Either we fight one-on-one now, or we gang up on you here. Little green guy, pick your poison.”
“I pick…?” Qinglong’s icy eyes narrowed. “Two ants who’ve accidentally taken human form, now fussing over the sugar humans dropped. You want to crawl into the honey and haul the sugar back to your nest? Nothing comes that easy.”
“‘Ants,’ huh?” Zhang Shan snorted. “Qinglong, I remember Chu Tianqiu once said that if Tianlong dies, you die too, right?”
“In theory, yes.”
“So you found a way to survive his death,” Zhang Shan mused. “But it drains your focus, leaving you unable to fight properly.”
“Dang it…” Qiao Jiajin’s eyes widened. “Big guy’s got a big brain.”
“What brain?” Zhang Shan laughed. “Any soldier worth their salt analyzes the enemy’s weaknesses.”
Qinglong shook his head. “You’re digging your own graves.”
The two men began limbering up. Qiao Jiajin pulled off his shirt and tossed it aside.
For a moment, he considered stripping further—this fight deserved full commitment—but the absurdity of the image made him reconsider.
“What, you always strip before a fight?”
“Yeah, big guy. Your build makes my clothes feel all wrong.” Qiao Jiajin stretched his arms.
“Got a strategy?” Zhang Shan asked.
“Yep.” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “The strategy is to figure out how to kill him.”
“Good. How?”
“Haven’t thought that far yet.”
Zhang Shan paused. “Fair. Same as my plan.”
Qiao Jiajin added, “But… big guy, this little green dude’s dead set on killing the little red dude. So our job is to make sure he doesn’t die. Opposing the enemy’s plan is our advantage.”
“Hey, you’re full of ideas.”
“Of course.” Qiao Jiajin grinned. “If you can’t call in more backup, you gotta shake the enemy’s.”
“Solid.” Zhang Shan nodded. “Then I’ll take the first hit.”
With that, Zhang Shan shot forward like a bullet, cracking the white floor beneath him.
Qinglong coldly watched, raising his hands to block. The collision was thunderous, sending both men staggering back.
Qinglong was stunned by the sheer force, while Zhang Shan rubbed his elbow, realizing something odd.
Qinglong had precisely blocked his strike’s focal point—no ordinary fighter could do that.
“So that’s it…” Zhang Shan nodded. “You’re different from the others. You’ve been fighting on the front lines all along.”
“Indeed.” Qinglong brushed his sleeves. “I’ve battled the people here for decades, dealt with countless unruly ‘Zodiacs.’ Even the least skilled fighter would become elite after all that.”
“Decades of battle?” Qiao Jiajin’s eyes lit up. “Little green guy, what’s the most ‘Zodiacs’ you’ve fought at once?”
“What?”
“If you’re that seasoned, let’s test your skills.”
Qiao Jiajin blurred past Zhang Shan, charging straight at Qinglong.
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