Yun Yao, Attorney Zhang, Tian Tian, and Zheng Yingxiong stood silently on the street, their faces all etched with lingering fear.
“Did those black dots… all shatter?” Yun Yao asked.
Tian Tian wiped the sweat from her face and nodded. “Seems like it…”
Everyone turned to look at Attorney Zhang with disbelief.
When the black dots had fallen earlier, countless questions had erupted among them, and all those questions had landed squarely on Attorney Zhang, who appeared the most composed. She had calmly steadied everyone and answered, “I don’t know what these things are, but they might kill us.”
A few seconds later, she added, “These beads react to each person’s questions. If you answer wrong, you probably die.”
After all, Zhang Chenze had personally witnessed a death eerily similar to this and clearly remembered the consequences of a wrong answer.
At that time, the Sky Serpent had swiftly killed Qin Dingdong right in front of her, citing “ignorance” as the reason. Only she had managed to navigate the situation. Combined with the earlier characteristics of the “Pegasus Moment,” this was clearly a “Celestial Moment.” And since it was around nine or ten o’clock, it was likely the “Sky Serpent Moment,” where life and death were determined by questions and answers.
Once she had pieced it all together, she guided the group through several rounds of back-and-forth questioning. All the black beads shattered in front of Attorney Zhang, while Yun Yao helped her deal with her own bead.
“That was close…” Yun Yao exhaled in relief and looked at Attorney Zhang. “Sister Zhang… thank goodness you were here.”
Hearing the address, Attorney Zhang’s expression faltered slightly before she shook her head helplessly. “It’s been so long since anyone called me that… it feels like another lifetime.”
“Another lifetime?” Yun Yao smiled. “Did a lot of people call you that in the real world?”
“Not many…” Attorney Zhang said quietly. “But they were important.”
“Don’t lose heart.” Yun Yao beamed, linking her arm with Attorney Zhang’s. “Aren’t we on our way to get Wen Qiaoyun now? With her, plus Qi Xia and Chu Tianqiu, maybe there’s strength in numbers—maybe we really can come up with a way to free everyone… Then you can go back to those important people.”
“Back to the real world…?”
Attorney Zhang and Tian Tian both let out bitter chuckles, their expressions eerily calm, as if they had seen every atrocity the world had to offer and could no longer be shaken.
“Things will get better,” Yun Yao said, still holding onto Attorney Zhang while glancing at Tian Tian. “As long as we’re alive, things will get better.”
“Let’s hope so,” Attorney Zhang murmured.
Tian Tian said nothing, instead turning to Zheng Yingxiong, who had been silently staring into the depths of an alley with a pensive expression.
“Little Hero, what’s wrong?” Tian Tian asked softly.
Compared to the question of “whether we can escape,” she found the people around her far more worthy of attention.
Strange, wasn’t it? In the materially abundant real world, she had encountered nothing but cold, lifeless souls. Yet in this foul-smelling “Land of the End,” she had collided with so many burning hearts.
“Sister…” Zheng Yingxiong said, still staring into the alley. “I want to go check over there.”
“Check?” Tian Tian followed his gaze. “Is there something there?”
“I… I…” He hesitated. “I think I smell something familiar.”
Yun Yao also looked in that direction, feeling like she had walked that path before.
“Little brother,” she called out. “Is the person you’re looking for over there?”
“I’m not sure.” Zheng Yingxiong replied. “His scent has changed… it’s not the same as before.”
“I’ve been there with Qi Xia,” Yun Yao said, her expression darkening. “There’s a ‘Human Monkey’ who’s always there—probably not the person you’re looking for.”
“No…” Zheng Yingxiong’s voice wavered slightly. “If it’s the ‘Human Monkey’… then he is the one I’m looking for.”
With that, he strode straight toward the alley.
The girls exchanged glances before quickly following. Yun Yao never imagined that the person Zheng Yingxiong had traveled so far to find would be one of the “Zodiacs” she despised the most.
She had lost count of how many teammates had died at the hands of these “Zodiacs.”
They walked through the alley in silence for several dozen meters before spotting the Zodiac standing stiffly in the distance, his hands clasped behind his back, dressed in tattered formal wear.
Though called the “Human Monkey,” the mask he wore was that of a rotting baboon.
No one knew what his real face looked like, but the mask made him appear vicious and unapproachable.
The four of them stood before the baboon, meeting his lifeless gaze. No one spoke.
Zheng Yingxiong took a step forward, approaching the Human Monkey.
The Human Monkey lowered his head slightly, his hollow eyes peering through the mask, a faint glimmer suddenly flickering within them.
“Human Monkey…?” Zheng Yingxiong called out, his voice thick with emotion.
“Y-yes,” the Human Monkey’s voice also seemed to hitch. “D-do you… want to play my game?”
He struggled to control his voice, forcing the words out in one piece.
“What are your rules?” Zheng Yingxiong’s tears pooled in his eyes like water held back by a dam.
“We… take turns drawing ‘Dao’ from a box… The one who takes the last one wins… The winner takes all the ‘Dao.'”
The baboon’s voice grew increasingly strained, as though weighed down by endless suffering—something he could never voice, something no one would ever hear.
“And the admission fee…?” Zheng Yingxiong pressed.
“The fee is the ‘Dao in the box’…” the Human Monkey answered mechanically. “However many you bet… I’ll match or raise it.”
Tian Tian had no idea what was happening between these two. She crouched down and wrapped an arm around Zheng Yingxiong’s shoulders, only to find the boy trembling uncontrollably.
He was fighting back tears.
“Have you been… okay?” Zheng Yingxiong asked.
“Has she been okay?” the Human Monkey countered.
Neither answered the other. They simply hung their heads—one, a boy who usually seemed unshakably strong, and the other, a clever Human Monkey who had once matched wits with Qi Xia. Now, they were just two shattered souls, standing in silence.
How could anyone here be okay?
In this place, there was no “worst” situation—only worse ones.
No matter which path you chose, the outcome was the same.
Reunions after long separations were supposed to be happy occasions. But not here.
“Sisters…” Zheng Yingxiong said softly. “I want to play this game… Can you wait for me outside for a while?”
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