The mole slowly furrowed its brow upon hearing this and said, “Boss, what do you think this is? A restaurant?”
“Isn’t it?” Chen Junnan laughed. “Last time, you treated us to fruit. I’m here for more.”
“Boss, last time was because of the ‘Pegasus Hour,'” the mole replied. “Right after it ended, the number of people who could participate in the games dropped drastically. If I didn’t use up the fruit, there’d be problems.”
“Isn’t it the same now?” Chen Junnan scratched his head. “The effects of the ‘Pegasus Hour’ haven’t faded yet. I doubt many people will join your game.”
“Boss, you’re joking,” the mole shook its head. “It’s still early in the morning. If I use up the fruit now, the rest of the day will be tough. If you’re hungry, go eat some corpses instead.”
Chen Junnan took a step forward, standing face-to-face with the mole. “Big Rat, are you really this dense or just pretending? We’re not just here for the fruit—we want to ‘listen to music’ too.”
The mole’s expression shifted slightly. After sizing up the three of them, it finally nodded. “You can ‘listen to music,’ but no fruit.”
It turned and walked inside, pushing open the door to the “Rat Room.”
Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan followed, with Qin Dingdong close behind. Though she had no idea what the two were scheming, she could tell they had a strange relationship with this rat.
The four entered the cramped “Rat Room.” The mole lazily gestured for them to make themselves at home before turning away to fiddle with something.
“What’s your deal with this rat?” Qin Dingdong whispered.
“Dunno,” Qiao Jiajin replied. “Some kind of partnership, I guess?”
“Shh!” Chen Junnan cut in. “Old Qiao, watch your words.”
“Oh…” Qiao Jiajin nodded.
When the mole turned on the radio, the grating sound of heavy metal music filled the room. Chen Junnan immediately stood up and yanked the mole toward him.
“Hey, Boss, take it easy. That’s rude.”
“I’ve got too many damn questions,” Chen Junnan snapped. “You said that fat cheating monkey was one of ‘Tianlong’s’ people—were you just screwing with me?!”
“Huh?” The mole feigned confusion. “Why would I lie? He *is* one of Tianlong’s.”
“He’s Lao Qi’s man!” Chen Junnan shot back. “What’s your game? Is Lao Qi Tianlong now?”
The mole narrowed its eyes, thinking. “Lao Qi?”
“Lao Qi is Qi Xia,” Chen Junnan said coldly. “You playing dumb? Lao Qi said Earth Monkey was his former teammate. That’s the *opposite* of what you claimed!”
The mole fell silent, clearly bewildered. It stared at Chen Junnan for a long moment without speaking.
“And you told me there are seven more like him…?” Chen Junnan grew more agitated. “Are all eight on your list Lao Qi’s teammates? What’s your angle?”
“Qi Xia’s former teammates…?” The mole seemed genuinely lost. “How…?”
“Cut the act,” Chen Junnan hissed. “What do you *really* know? Where’d you get that list? Were you trying to use us to kill Qi Xia’s old allies? What’s your endgame?”
He hurled every question at once, but the mole didn’t answer any directly.
Though its brown-gray rat face lacked human expressions, confusion was evident. It seemed even *it* didn’t have the answers.
“Chen Junnan,” the mole finally said, “believe it or not, those eight were specially groomed by Tianlong.”
“Groomed?” Chen Junnan frowned. “For what?”
“From what I know, they rose through the ranks faster than any other ‘Zodiac,’ and Tianlong even gave them personal guidance,” the mole explained.
“And that makes them his inner circle?” Chen Junnan scoffed. “You’re willing to have us kill them based on a *guess*?”
“Chen Junnan,” the mole said, eyes narrowing, “out of all the ‘Earth-Level’ Zodiacs I know, *only* those eight received that honor. Isn’t that enough? Being personally mentored by Tianlong in dreams proves they’re above the rest. Not to mention that list—”
“What list?” Chen Junnan pressed.
The mole hesitated, its whiskers twitching as it weighed whether to reveal more.
Finally, it spoke. “I saw a list once. It clearly marked those eight as Tianlong’s chosen.”
“Who else knows about this?” Chen Junnan asked. “Do all the ‘Earth-Level’ Zodiacs know?”
“No…” The mole shook its head. “Probably just me. But that’s enough. I told you—I want a spot on Goat’s ship. I’ll do whatever it takes to clear his path.”
“Damn it…” Chen Junnan, sharp as ever, caught the flaw. “You’re being played, aren’t you?”
“What?”
“Someone’s using you as a pawn,” Chen Junnan mused. “If Tianlong *really* wanted to groom those eight, why make a list? Couldn’t he just remember them? That list was meant for *someone else*—to mislead Lao Qi into turning on his own people.”
The mole stroked its whiskers, realizing the contradiction.
“How is it ‘turning on his own’?” it argued. “Those eight *are* Zodiacs now. They’re not on Goat’s side. Even if I didn’t say anything, they’d still clash eventually.”
“Maybe Lao Qi planned it that way,” Chen Junnan countered. “But… it looks like Tianlong saw through it.”
“What do you mean…?” the mole asked.
Chen Junnan gathered his thoughts. “Stop hiding it. Just tell me who the eight are. I think *both* you and Lao Qi got played by Tianlong.”
After a pause, under the watchful eyes of Qin Dingdong and Qiao Jiajin, the mole revealed the names from the list:
Earth Ox, Earth Rabbit, Earth Dragon, Earth Snake, Earth Dog, Earth Monkey, Earth Rooster, Earth Pig.
An exact match to the Zodiacs marked on Qi Xia’s map.
What unsettled the mole more was that four of them had *already* joined Earth Tiger’s rebellion.
“Look,” the mole said grimly, “I’d rather kill the wrong people than let the right ones slip. I *can’t* afford mistakes. I *will* get on that ship.”
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