“What the hell are you talking about…”
Groundhog was about to retort, but suddenly frowned.
The argument was incredibly sharp, but upon closer thought, it was surprisingly hard to refute.
“Trickster has been changing all along…” Jow Ga Kin explained. “From an outsider’s perspective, he’s always been transforming himself, becoming entirely different from before—whether it’s his ‘mind,’ his ‘wife,’ or his identity as a ‘liar.’ But from his own point of view, he’s just getting better with each step. He has to keep changing himself to ensure the plans he set in motion keep moving forward.”
“No… That sounds way too difficult…” Groundhog still couldn’t believe it. “If that’s the case, what should’ve been a stable plan would be riddled with countless ‘variables’ on his end! One wrong move, and everything would fail… No… That’s too far-fetched. I still…”
“So his ‘changes’ are what keep you guys ‘stable,'” Jow Ga Kin blinked. “Isn’t that the logical connection? Is it really that hard to understand?”
Hearing this, Groundhog froze slightly again.
“Young man…” He looked at Jow Ga Kin and blinked. “Your assumption is built entirely on faith in Qi Xia’s abilities, but I…”
“I *do* believe in him,” Jow Ga Kin replied. “I live simply—I don’t overthink things like you. So to me, this makes perfect sense. Once Trickster set his plan in motion, he started acting. And everything he’s done since has been in service of that plan.”
“But…” Groundhog slowly lowered his head.
How he wished everything Jow Ga Kin said was true.
Yes. If the “Azure Dragon” hadn’t shown up back then, he too would’ve believed in Qi Xia as firmly as this young man before him.
After a long pause, he let out a deep sigh, as if decades of hidden grievances were exhaled along with that breath.
“Fine…” Groundhog said. “At this point, I don’t even know who to believe anymore. Let things take their course…”
Chen Junnan perked up at this. “Hey! Monkey bro! Don’t just leave it to fate! We’ve been listening all this time—why not share this grand plan with us? As the saying goes, ‘Many hands make light work.’ Maybe we can help brainstorm!”
“‘Grand plan’… Hah…” Groundhog shook his head helplessly. “This plan involves a lot of people, and I’m just one piece. All I know is my own role. Qi Xia told me to live quietly, become a proper ‘Zodiac,’ and wait for a ‘crack.'”
“Wait for a ‘crack’?”
“Right.”
“What kind of ‘crack’?” Chen Junnan asked.
“According to him, it’s a crack that should *never* appear in theory. Even if someone had the guts of a god, they wouldn’t dare create it.” Groundhog sighed. “So, see? I’m no different from you guys.”
The others exchanged glances. Even Tian Tian spoke up. “How so?”
“We’re all part of the setup,” Groundhog said. “Each of us is just a chess piece. Right now, all we can do is play our roles.”
“You’re saying we’re part of Qi Xia’s plan too?” Chen Junnan pondered, then nodded. “That makes sense, except everything we’ve done was voluntary. Old Qi never gave us any direct orders.”
Groundhog chuckled softly. “You said it yourself at the table earlier… He doesn’t *need* your consent to drag you into the game. Remember?”
That single sentence plunged everyone into silence.
Right. If Qi Xia could pull off such schemes on the fly during a high-stakes gamble, how could he *not* apply the same to his grander designs?
Chen Junnan’s thoughts expanded further. If Groundhog was right, then he himself had been *personally chosen* by Qi Xia.
Not just him—everyone who’d woken up in that interview room must’ve been Qi Xia’s selections.
He’d intentionally gathered them all, forming a seemingly flawed yet strangely functional group.
But *how* had Qi Xia done it? And what was his endgame?
At this point, it wasn’t just the others who were lost—even Qi Xia himself no longer knew the original plan.
All he could do was keep guessing what his past self had orchestrated, then work alongside that past self and the pieces he’d laid out.
What kind of terrifying scheme was this?
Even with Qi Xia’s intellect, the plan had to span decades. If *he* had pushed himself this far and still hadn’t succeeded, could an ordinary person ever escape this place?
Chen Junnan’s expression darkened as he glanced at Jow Ga Kin and Tian Tian. Both wore pensive looks, seemingly struggling to process the overwhelming information.
Groundhog gestured dismissively. “Whatever Qi Xia’s doing, let him do it. I’ll wait patiently. You can stay here till he wakes up or just carry him off. But don’t bother me anymore. I’ve got nothing else to say.”
With that, he walked behind the counter, sat down, leaned back, propped a leg on the table, and closed his eyes.
Jow Ga Kin scratched his head. “Hey, Handsome, d’you think Dream Boy actually fixed Trickster?”
“Uh…” Chen Junnan hesitated. “Not sure. Gotta admit, Old Qi looks way better—more color in his face, less pain. But that kid still died… So I dunno if he sacrificed himself or succeeded first.”
“Let’s wait and see…” Tian Tian said timidly. “Either way, Xiao Cheng helped us once…”
“Yeah, kid pulled through at the end. Next time—”
Chen Junnan nodded, about to continue, when he noticed Zheng Yingxiong walking toward Groundhog.
Come to think of it, the boy had been staring at Groundhog the whole time, as if intensely curious.
He reached the counter, stretched out his bloodstained little hand, and patted Groundhog’s thigh.
“Uncle, uncle.”
Groundhog lazily opened one eye and glared at the blood-crusted child. “What?”
“Uncle, how do you know about ‘Jade City’?”
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