“What are you drawing here?” Earth Tiger stared blankly at Qi Xia. “Did something happen?”
“Earth Tiger, if I’m not mistaken, one more person will come tonight,” Qi Xia said.
“What?”
“All you need to do is wait,” Qi Xia replied. “At the earliest, that person will come looking for you tonight.”
Earth Tiger still felt like he didn’t quite understand Qi Xia’s words, but the feeling was oddly familiar to him.
This was exactly Brother Goat’s way of doing things.
He didn’t need to ask anything—just follow instructions and wait.
“Qi Xia, there’s one more thing,” Earth Tiger added.
“What?”
“Like I said…” Earth Tiger shook his head. “None of us are fit to be the ‘captain.’ Who should we follow? Is it the last person you mentioned?”
Qi Xia pondered for a moment, feeling uncertain about the answer.
After all, even someone as formidable as White Goat had no choice in who that “hidden needle” would be.
It could only be him.
But whether he had the qualities to be a captain was entirely unknown.
“I’ll be the captain,” Qi Xia said.
“What?!” Earth Tiger was stunned.
“In critical moments, you’ll follow my orders,” Qi Xia said solemnly. “After all, the organizer of this isn’t you—it’s me. Only I can command everyone’s respect.”
“Well…” Earth Tiger scratched his head, feeling that the suggestion was both reasonable and unreasonable. “We only gather at night, mostly on the ‘train,’ but you… Qi Xia, you’re not on the train.”
“That’s why I said ‘in critical moments,’ you listen to me.”
“And what about non-critical moments…?”
Qi Xia sighed. “In non-critical moments, it’s even simpler. Each of you can act independently. All seven of you can be captains—do whatever comes to mind and adapt as needed.”
“Will that work?”
“The situation is already like a collapsing building—beyond control,” Qi Xia said, patting Earth Tiger’s shoulder. “At this point, no matter what chaos breaks out, it doesn’t matter. Even if the building starts exploding from the ground up, it’s still going to fall.”
“Oh…” Earth Tiger nodded, not fully understanding.
“But don’t worry. By then, your team will have taken shape… all eight of you.”
When he mentioned “eight people,” Qi Xia frowned slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Earth Tiger asked.
Qi Xia paused, then pulled out the map that “Azure Dragon” had given him from his pocket.
“Earth Tiger, I need your help with something,” Qi Xia said, spreading the map in front of him. “Aside from checking on your progress, I have a small problem I’d like you to be involved in.”
“You need my help?” Earth Tiger grinned broadly. “No need to be so formal! Just tell me what you need.”
Qi Xia unfolded the map before Earth Tiger, revealing a detailed layout of the area.
“What’s this?”
Earth Tiger took the map and examined it closely. Though hand-drawn, it was remarkably detailed—even the shapes of key buildings were sketched, with labels like “Zi,” “Chou,” “Yin,” and “Mao” marked near some structures.
“Earth Tiger, the red text here represents certain ‘Earth-level’ figures. Do you know who they are?”
“Oh!!” Earth Tiger finally grasped the map’s meaning. “Let me see!”
He stretched out his thick fingers, pointing at the red text one by one and reading aloud: “Chou, Mao, Chen, Si, Xu, Shen, You, Hai…”
After reading them, he counted on his fingers. “Chou Ox… Mao is what? Rabbit? And Chen…”
Qi Xia waited silently until Earth Tiger looked up thoughtfully, his expression complicated.
“What is it?” Qi Xia asked.
“It’s a bit strange…” Earth Tiger scratched his head. “What are these eight red ‘Earth-level’ figures doing?”
“It’s…”
Qi Xia frowned, finding it hard to explain—especially since he might soon be facing these eight as enemies.
But he had seen these characters before, and they didn’t match the team Earth Tiger had described—at the very least, “Yin Tiger” and “Wei Goat” weren’t among them. The only red-labeled location he had visited so far was “Hai”—that arrogant, unpleasant Earth Pig.
So the situation wouldn’t spiral out of control. As long as his “needle” remained, they could freely weave through the other “threads.” Even if the other six died, it wouldn’t matter.
“You don’t have to explain,” Earth Tiger said, shaking his head. “It’s just a strange coincidence… Three of these eight red characters came to my room yesterday.”
“Oh?”
“Look…” Earth Tiger lifted the map and pointed. “Mao Rabbit, Xu Dog, Hai Pig… These three spots are clearly their game venues.”
Qi Xia had visited Hai Pig’s venue, so he knew where it was. But he wasn’t familiar with the locations of Earth Rabbit and Earth Dog’s venues. Now it seemed his earlier suspicions were correct—there was indeed some connection between these events.
“Three out of eight have joined the team, meaning the real enemies are five…?” Qi Xia murmured.
“What ‘enemies’?” Earth Tiger asked.
Qi Xia didn’t answer. Instead, he said, “Remember the locations of the remaining five red characters. If I’m right, one of them will knock on your door tonight.”
Earth Tiger felt as if Qi Xia were some kind of prophet. He had casually pulled out a map, marked a few red characters, and now claimed one of those Earth-level figures would join them.
Who else but the former White Goat would dare say something like that?
Even Xu Liunian, standing nearby, was baffled. She had been present during the conversation with Azure Dragon and had heard White Tiger recount the previous night’s events—yet she had no idea what Qi Xia was thinking.
“Qi Xia… why would any of them join?” Xu Liunian asked. “Is there some inevitable connection between these two things?”
“Yes, because this arrangement fits Azure Dragon’s personality,” Qi Xia said, looking up as if speaking to Xu Liunian—or perhaps to Azure Dragon himself. “Four ‘rebels,’ four ‘enemies,’ and these four enemies will trade for the lives of four of my ‘teammates.’ Four in each category, leaving me to choose… He wants to see who I’ll keep and who I’ll abandon. For someone who knows everything about the ‘Endgame,’ this is the perfect setup.”
“What…?” Xu Liunian’s eyes widened. “But what’s Azure Dragon’s purpose in doing this?”
“Most likely just for amusement,” Qi Xia said. “He doesn’t need a complex reason. He won’t help me, nor will he kill me. He’s just looking for something interesting to keep himself entertained.”
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