“Is that so…” Earth Serpent nodded thoughtfully.
“Exactly. Everyone running around here isn’t striving for ‘living’—they’re fighting for ‘survival’,” Qi Xia said. “They live each day under the crushing weight of life-and-death anxiety. How could they possibly find peace in a comfortable environment? Would someone who could die at any moment care about the culinary techniques of the food they ate that day?”
“Indeed… Some ‘Zodiacs’ have even more to worry about than just life and death,” Earth Serpent let out a bitter laugh. “After all, there are hardly any ‘Heavenly’ beings here who are normal.”
Qi Xia continued, “Besides… in your experience, how many ‘Zodiacs’ have joyfully embraced this supposedly excellent atmosphere? How many of them have ever smiled while silently eating in their rooms?”
“You’re right. No one would be happy because of these things. But as I said, the sorrow in everyone’s heart here is too great—even for the ‘Zodiacs’,” Earth Serpent said seriously. “Even if all the ‘Zodiacs’ here have grown accustomed to these so-called blessings, if you try to destroy them, many will oppose you.”
“I expected as much,” Qi Xia replied. “Even if I make it perfectly clear that I’m here to save them, many will still resist. When faced with countless paths ahead, people usually choose the safest and most practical one. They won’t be willing to gamble everything they have now for an uncertain future.”
“So… how many ‘Zodiacs’ do you think you can rally at most?” Earth Serpent asked. “There are nearly thirty ‘Earth-level’ and ten ‘Heaven-level’ members now. Out of roughly forty people, how many do you think will be on our side?”
After a moment of thought, Qi Xia answered, “At least eleven.”
“At least eleven…?” Earth Serpent paused. “And at most?”
“At most—’Endless Life’.”
“‘Endless Life’…?” Earth Serpent blinked. “What does that mean? What is ‘Endless Life’?”
“It’s a belief,” Qi Xia said. “Only those who are completely mad could possibly understand it.”
“Do you really mean that?”
Qi Xia stared into Earth Serpent’s eyes for a moment before replying calmly, “I do.”
Earth Serpent gave a slight nod, as if recalling something else. “Then what role do you plan to play in this group?”
Qi Xia pointed lightly at Earth Serpent’s back and said softly, “I… serve the same purpose as that surviving ‘eye’ of yours.”
“My ‘eye’…?”
“‘Heavenly Serpent’ realized you were on the verge of complete collapse, so he left you one surviving eye,” Qi Xia explained. “That eye gave you hope—and your last shred of sanity. Not only do you not resent ‘Heavenly Serpent’ for the scars covering your body, you might even feel grateful for the appearance of that ‘eye’.”
“You’re saying all of us are ‘dead’, and you’re the only surviving eye,” Earth Serpent nodded. “Are you planning to take the remaining eyes to search for hope?”
“No, I won’t favor any single ‘eye’,” Qi Xia said, patting Earth Serpent’s shoulder. “I intend to take ‘you’—the very land where all these ‘eyes’ exist—and search for hope together.”
“Ah…?”
Qi Xia’s words not only stunned Earth Serpent but also left Chen Junan and the other two utterly bewildered.
“So no matter how many ‘Zodiacs’ stand in my way, I won’t back down,” Qi Xia declared. “Let’s move forward with this body of ours.”
“Qi Xia,” Earth Serpent called out. “I was never as clever as you, so I can’t guess your plans. But I’ll do my part.”
“Good,” Qi Xia nodded.
“Brat, if you ever manage to lead us out of here, promise me you’ll strip this skin off me,” Earth Serpent said. “Even if peeling it off kills me, I refuse to return wearing this stinking serpent’s hide.”
“Don’t worry,” Qi Xia replied. “I’ll strip everyone’s skin off.”
Earth Serpent chuckled at that and sat back down in his chair.
“In that case, I’ll await your signal,” Earth Serpent said.
“No need to wait for me,” Qi Xia countered. “Whenever you feel the time is right, you can strike at ‘Heavenly Serpent’.”
“Is that so?”
“Even if I don’t initiate the plan, it’s fine,” Qi Xia said. “You could become the new ‘Heaven’, and all the administrators on that train would serve you.”
“Killing ‘Heavenly Serpent’ is one thing,” Earth Serpent said, “but I could never become the new ‘Heaven’.”
“How so?”
“Because no ‘Zodiac’ dares to kill another ‘Zodiac’, especially a ‘Heavenly’ one,” Earth Serpent explained. “Even if I succeeded, I wouldn’t survive.”
“What are you afraid of?” Qi Xia pressed. “Tell me, and I’ll help you resolve it.”
“Ha…” Earth Serpent laughed. “Qi Xia, as much as I trust you, this is something you can’t fix. The two people responsible for this are beyond your reach.”
“How do you know if you don’t tell me?” Qi Xia challenged.
Earth Serpent sighed. “I’ve told you how crucial ‘Heavenly Serpent’ is to the entire train. He ensures its smooth operation and provides ‘Heavenly Dragon’ with countless research results. If ‘Heavenly Serpent’ were threatened with death, ‘Heavenly Dragon’ wouldn’t stand idly by.”
“Relax,” Qi Xia reassured him. “If you kill ‘Heavenly Serpent’, you’ll become the one with the most knowledge of his research—after all, he’s conducted the most ‘experiments’ on you. You’ve always presented yourself as diligent and dutiful. Even though you know it’s all an act, ‘Heavenly Dragon’ might not.”
“You’re saying…”
“Exactly,” Qi Xia nodded. “If you kill ‘Heavenly Serpent’ and ‘Heavenly Dragon’ kills you in turn, this place would lose all its ‘researchers’. He’d be losing two key figures at once, so he likely wouldn’t go that far—he’d probably just punish you.”
Earth Serpent frowned slightly, considering Qi Xia’s reasoning.
“It’s a simple matter of management logic,” Qi Xia added. “Even in the workplace, the person who drives someone else to quit isn’t blamed by the boss. Everyone thinks they’re indispensable, but those at the top don’t see it that way. So you can safely kill ‘Heavenly Serpent’ and assure ‘Heavenly Dragon’ that you’ll handle all his former duties—even better than he did. That way, you’ll be perfectly safe. From every angle, ‘Heavenly Dragon’ won’t kill you—he might punish you at worst. And since he still needs you to continue the research, the ‘punishment’ will be light.”
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