“You’re right…” Earth Goat nodded. “The reason humans have been able to develop continuously is because of the inheritance of memory.”
“So…” Human Snake patted Earth Tiger on the back. “Even if he is Brother Goat, without memory…”
“Damn it! Wait, no!!” Earth Tiger suddenly roared, the sheer force of his voice knocking Human Snake to the ground. He quickly turned to help him up, scrutinizing him. “Sorry… Dead Snake, you alive?”
“You really trying to kill me, huh…?”
“No, no, no, no…” Earth Tiger shook his head vigorously. “I feel like you guys are wrong! I almost got led astray by you!”
Earth Goat froze. “What do you mean?”
“He… he remembers me!!” Earth Tiger gestured wildly with his hands. “I—I last saw Brother Goat ten days ago! And after ten days, he still remembers me!!”
Earth Tiger thought he had made himself clear, that this proved Qi Xia could destroy this place. But to his surprise, Earth Goat and Human Snake’s expressions darkened.
“What’s wrong with you two?” Earth Tiger said. “Isn’t this a good thing?!”
“You dumb tiger…” Human Snake sighed and shook his head. “If that guy remembers you… doesn’t that directly prove he’s definitely not Brother Goat?”
“Uh…” Earth Tiger realized his logic was flawed.
Back when the white Earth Goat became a “Zodiac,” he was famously known as the “One Who Never Echoes.” How could he possibly remember him now?
“Could it be… could Brother Goat have used some trick…?” Earth Tiger pondered briefly before arriving at an answer. “Maybe Brother Goat knew he couldn’t become a ‘Celestial’ and would instead become a ‘Participant,’ so he devised a plan that allowed him to ‘echo’?”
Human Snake and Earth Goat exchanged glances, finding the reasoning far too forced.
“Why are you so convinced that guy is Brother Goat?” Earth Goat shook his head. “Even if they’re similar… the most direct evidence proves they’re not the same person. If he could make himself ‘echo,’ he should’ve done it before becoming a ‘Goat.'”
“But… but they’re just too alike.” Earth Tiger glared. “They have to be the same person… I… I have this weird feeling… When I talk to him, I keep remembering the first time I met Brother Goat…”
“Stop being foolish.” Earth Goat sighed. “We should accept that Brother Goat is gone. He’s no longer in the ‘Land of Finality.’ Can we stop chasing shadows?”
“You damn black goat… you don’t believe me? I really feel like he never became a ‘Celestial Goat.'” Earth Tiger looked up, uneasy. “You know what, old black? Brother Goat promised me things he never fulfilled. That’s not normal. If ‘Celestials’ can really come and go freely, no matter what, he would’ve…”
“Have you ever considered…” Earth Goat cut in sharply, “just how much you mattered to Brother Goat? Why should he have kept those promises to you?”
“I… but…” Earth Tiger kept shaking his head, his expression growing more and more aggrieved. “Brother Goat always kept his promises to me before… except this one time…”
“That’s why I said, stop being foolish.” Earth Goat snapped coldly. “Instead of obsessing over this, why not focus on killing enough to become a ‘Celestial’? As for whether that man Qi Xia is Brother Goat… I remain unconvinced.”
“What?” Human Snake stiffened. “What did you just say his name was?!”
The two Earth-level Zodiacs were too heated to notice Human Snake’s reaction.
“Damn black goat… you think I’m like you? The moment Brother Goat left, you scrambled to climb up.” Earth Tiger gritted his teeth and shot back. “So cold-blooded. Now you’re comfortable, huh… the only Earth Goat left in the entire ‘Land of Finality,’ right?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Earth Goat slowly turned around. “You can’t find Brother Goat, so you’re taking it out on me?”
“I just can’t stand you.” Earth Tiger said. “Back when Brother Goat was around, I couldn’t do anything to you. Then you became an ‘Earth-level’ and outranked me. But now… we’re equals.”
“So?”
“So, how about a fight?” Earth Tiger grinned angrily. “Let’s settle all our old grudges.”
“Are you insane?” Earth Goat’s black fur bristled as he frowned. “What the hell is wrong with you? You want to fight me here?”
“What? Scared?” Earth Tiger took a step forward. “We’re both ‘Earth-level.’ Think you can take me?”
“Cut it out. Move aside.” Earth Goat suppressed his rage. “If we fight, one of us is definitely dying.”
“Then one of us dies. Won’t be me.”
Human Snake, sensing the tension was too high, quickly stepped between them.
“Hey, enough already…” He placed a hand on each of their shoulders, sensing disaster.
If these two really fought here, it would be an “Earth-level war”—he’d be caught in the crossfire with no chance of survival.
After so many years of camaraderie, killing each other would be the worst outcome.
“Do me a favor…” Human Snake said quietly. “I don’t care who dies, but if you fight, I’m definitely dead.”
“Dead Snake, step aside.” Earth Tiger said. “This doesn’t concern you. Today, I’m tearing this usurping black goat apart.”
“Usurping?!” Earth Goat, who had been holding back his fury, exploded. “You dare call me a usurper?! You think you’re the only one who gave a damn about Brother Goat?!”
“Tiger… old goat… just calm down for a sec…” Human Snake kept patting their shoulders. “I have an idea… you wanna hear it?”
“No. Today, I’m killing him.” Earth Tiger said. “Dead Snake, run. If you stay, I can’t fight properly.”
“Yeah.” Earth Goat nodded. “Leave. You can’t handle this.”
“At least give me thirty seconds to speak.” Human Snake said. “After I’m done, fight all you want. I won’t care if you die.”
Suppressing their rage, the two turned to him.
“That Qi Xia… I’ve met him too.” Human Snake said. “You remember I’m an ‘Assistor’ now, right?”
“Get to the point.” Earth Tiger snapped.
“Fine.” Human Snake nodded. “Originally, I was supposed to pull the lever and help the person who passed the interview in my room survive. But on a whim, I asked them some questions… and I found that Qi Xia could answer every single one of Brother Goat’s riddles correctly…”
“What does that prove?” Earth Goat asked.
“If you’re willing to wait… next time, I have a foolproof way to test whether Qi Xia is Brother Goat…”
He pulled out his treasured notebook, which still had ninety-six unsolved riddles inside.
“If he can answer all of them in one go… then he must be Brother Goat.”
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