“I…” Goat was taken aback, then turned to Dog. “Don’t talk nonsense. What other plans could I possibly have?”
Tiger found this statement somewhat odd as well.
“Old Black… what are you scheming?” He stepped closer to Goat one step at a time. “Even though I often think about killing you, I know you don’t have ill intentions… but now… what’s on your mind?”
“I…” Goat was completely at a loss for words. He hadn’t anticipated this turn of events before entering the room and hadn’t prepared any excuses.
“Are you trying to sell me out?” Tiger asked.
“Don’t spout bullshit,” Goat snapped. “If I wanted you dead, I’d fight you fair and square. What good would snitching or betraying you do?”
“Then I’m really confused…” Tiger stared at Goat like he was a criminal, making Goat deeply uncomfortable. “What’s so secret you can’t tell me? What do you mean by ‘you can’t leave, nor can you rebel’?”
“I can’t say,” Goat replied. “There are hidden circumstances. I really can’t.”
“So you really are keeping something from me…” Tiger frowned, his massive face inching closer to Goat. “Is it related to Brother Goat?”
Goat’s expression darkened as he said gravely, “Money-Losing Tiger, if you truly care about Brother Goat, you can’t cause trouble now.”
“What…?”
“Brother Goat has his own arrangements. Use that sponge-like brain of yours and think—who’s more reliable, you or Brother Goat’s plan?”
“Stop spouting nonsense…” Tiger’s whiskers twitched slightly. “Do you even believe what you’re saying? If Brother Goat really is ‘Heaven,’ how would you know his plans? And if he isn’t, how could he arrange anything for himself?”
“All I know is that I just do,” Goat answered earnestly. “If you two are really planning to rebel, I’d rather fight you right now.”
Tiger knew Goat’s temperament. If Goat dared say this, he was almost certainly dead serious.
Seeing Tiger fall silent, Goat turned to Dog. “Dog, are you really siding with Money-Losing Tiger?”
“I don’t care who I side with…” Dog lifted his eyes. “My goal is simpler than Tiger’s. If we can create a vacancy in ‘Heaven’… wouldn’t I have to be promoted?”
At these words, both Tiger and Goat froze.
“Your target is ‘Heavenly Dog’…?” Tiger asked.
“Obviously,” Dog replied, his expression growing lazy. “Isn’t your so-called ‘rebellion’ just killing your immediate superior? That way, we’d have a high chance of becoming ‘Heaven.’ If anyone gets in the way, we’ll just kill the others too…”
Goat cut in, “Hey, if ‘Zodiac infighting’ isn’t handled properly, we’ll have more than just other ‘Zodiacs’ to deal with… What if you alert ‘White Tiger’?”
“Hah…” Dog suddenly smirked meaningfully. “That’s right. ‘Black Tortoise’ maintains ‘justice,’ ‘Vermilion Bird’ ‘judges the Zodiacs,’ and ‘White Tiger’ ‘mediates infighting’… But have you noticed something strange?”
“What?” The other two turned to him.
“Is ‘White Tiger’… even on this train?”
“Huh?” Tiger was momentarily stunned. “What do you mean? ‘White Tiger’… didn’t board?”
“Has anyone here ever seen the legendary ‘White Tiger’?” Dog asked. “What does he look like? Which carriage is he in now?”
The other two wanted to refute him, but upon reflection, it did seem odd.
When it came to ‘justice’—whether participants killed for ‘Tao’ or triggered life-or-death gambles with Zodiacs—Black Tortoise would descend from the heavens to ensure fairness.
When it came to ‘rule-breaking’—whether Zodiacs or participants violated rules in human-level games to kill human-level Zodiacs—Vermilion Bird would appear to enforce judgment.
But regarding ‘Zodiac infighting,’ perhaps because Zodiacs valued their lives more than any participant, the most serious incident on this train so far had been mere ‘brawls.’
This meant ‘White Tiger’ hadn’t shown up for a long time.
But then again… if ‘White Tiger’ wasn’t on the train, wouldn’t the Zodiacs be in grave danger?
“You’ve been infected by Money-Losing Tiger’s nonsense…” Goat said. “Just because you haven’t seen him doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist. You know that even if you luck out and clash with a ‘Heavenly’ Zodiac, you can’t touch a ‘Divine Beast.’ Even a one percent chance of provoking ‘White Tiger’ isn’t a risk I’d take.”
“True…” Tiger nodded. “If we’re really going to defy a ‘Divine Beast’… the three of us alone wouldn’t stand a chance. We’d need stronger allies…”
“Hey! What do you mean ‘the three of us’? When did I agree to join you?” Goat snapped. “Didn’t you hear what I said earlier? Brother Goat has arrangements. Don’t act on your own!”
Tiger blinked, then looked up at Goat.
“Why are you staring at me?”
Tiger bared a fang and suddenly laughed. “Old Black, I just thought of something hilarious.”
“What?”
“You keep saying ‘Brother Goat has arrangements,’ so theoretically, he must’ve told you something before becoming ‘Heavenly Goat,’ right?”
“Yes,” Goat admitted.
“You and I both know what Brother Goat is like… and I don’t think I’m any worse than you…” Tiger said.
“What’s your point?” Goat retorted.
“What I mean is… if it’s really as you say, and everything now is part of Brother Goat’s plan, but he deliberately didn’t tell me, then maybe… my ‘rebellion’ is also part of his plan?”
At this, both Goat and Dog’s eyes widened.
Yes—manipulating people’s hearts like puppets on strings was exactly the kind of thing he would do.
“Because Brother Goat knew my impulsive nature, he knew that once I realized he hadn’t become ‘Heavenly Goat,’ I’d definitely go confront ‘Heavenly Dragon.’ And if I pushed hard enough, I might even throw the entire train into chaos…” Tiger looked at Goat seriously. “He knew you and I are sworn enemies. The more you try to stop me, the more rebellious I’d become. That’s why… he only told you.”
“Ridiculous…” Goat murmured.
Though he denied it aloud, deep down, he felt this was exactly Brother Goat’s true plan.
“Isn’t this the perfect opportunity?” Tiger grinned. “I don’t care what Brother Goat told you… I’m going ahead with my own plan.”
“So you’re going to kill your immediate superior, ‘Heavenly Tiger’?” Dog interjected.
“Not necessarily…” Tiger’s gaze turned icy. “My ultimate target isn’t my immediate superior… but my superior’s superior…”
“You mean ‘Heavenly’—” Dog cut himself off, swallowing hard before whispering, “Are you insane? Your ‘rebellion’ is targeting the ‘Dragon’?!”
“Otherwise, why call it a ‘rebellion’?” Tiger smirked.
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