“Never to be promoted?”
Zhang Qiang’s mouth fell open in shock.
“What do you mean…?” he asked, disbelief creeping into his voice. “If a ‘Zodiac’ can never be promoted… then why would anyone choose to become one? What kind of logic is that…? What’s the point?”
Aries pondered for a moment before answering. “For ‘absolute safety.’ As long as they don’t break the rules, no matter how many times they die inside the interview room, they’ll always revive. That’s ‘safety.'”
“That’s… absurd…” Zhang Qiang frowned slightly. “Isn’t that putting the cart before the horse? That’s not ‘absolute safety’ at all. It’s more like hiding in a corner… If you’re stuck in that room forever… then…”
“Listen to me,” Aries said, glancing at the clock out of the corner of his eye. “This entire city is one big scam. Everyone says that ‘Zodiacs’ can leave once they become ‘Heaven,’ but the truth is, no one can ever become ‘Heaven.'”
Before Zhang Qiang or I could respond, the Sheep behind him froze in shock.
“What kind of joke is this… Aries…?” Sheep’s voice trembled. “Are you lying to us right now?”
“Not this time,” Aries replied. “And everything I say from now on will be the truth.”
“What are you saying…?” Sheep’s eyes flickered uncertainly. “If you’re not lying, does that mean the highest we can go is ‘Earth-level’?”
“Yes,” Aries nodded.
Sheep was silent for a long moment before grabbing Aries’ arm. “You left a way out for these two… but what about me? I don’t want to be ‘Earth-level’ for the rest of my life.”
“I have plans for you,” Aries said. “Once these two ‘participants’ disappear, you’ll naturally rise to ‘Earth-level.’ Then you can wait for me in that position. If you can survive until that day, I’ll take you down a different path.”
Sheep didn’t seem convinced. “Wait a minute… Aries, what do you mean ‘wait for me’…? Once these two are gone, won’t you become ‘Earth-level’ too?”
“No, not now,” Aries shook his head. “There’s still too much I haven’t dealt with, so I can’t become ‘Earth-level’ yet.”
“I don’t get it…” Sheep swallowed hard. “You’re the ‘interviewer’ now. After everyone in the room disappears… you can still choose *not* to become ‘Earth-level’?”
“Don’t ask about that,” Aries sighed. “I have a lot to handle, and I’m pressed for time. If you all agree, this might be the last time we meet here.”
“You… hold on…” Sheep’s expression grew uneasy. “You’re not planning to betray me, are you? We just killed Human-Dog together, and now you’re going to disappear on me?”
“No, Sheep, listen,” Aries placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke quietly. “Here’s my first piece of advice—once you become ‘Earth-level,’ set up your game arena in the most remote, abandoned place possible. Never try to kill anyone. Just stall for time.”
“Stall for time…?”
Aries nodded. “If I’m right, this city won’t have any intelligent leaders for a long time. Even if someone unexpectedly forms a new group, they won’t know the truth of this world. I don’t know what they’ll do, but they might start hunting ‘Zodiacs’ like in other cities. If that happens, you’ll be in danger. You know how it is here—even if the ‘leader’ goes mad, the rest will follow blindly.”
“*The Minnow Effect*…” I muttered before I could stop myself.
“What?” Aries turned to me.
“I… I said it’s ‘The Minnow Effect,'” I explained quietly. “It’s a principle I read about a long time ago.”
Aries considered this. “Interesting. Can you explain it?”
“Uh…” I was surprised someone like Aries didn’t know this, but I obliged. “‘The Minnow Effect’ describes how minnows, being weak individually, tend to school together, following the strongest among them. But if you cripple the leader, it loses self-control and starts acting erratically. The others, however, will still follow blindly, mimicking its chaos.”
Aries fell silent, then murmured to himself, “Yes… this is perfect… Naming the effect makes it easier to recall than memorizing the full explanation…”
“What…?” I didn’t quite follow.
“Nothing,” Aries said, locking eyes with me. “Yan—”
“Zhi Chun,” I corrected.
“Yan Zhi Chun. Where did you learn all these principles?”
“Uh…” I racked my brain. “Mostly scattered across books—economics, management, psychology, logic, game theory…”
“Good. I see.” Aries nodded, as if filing this away for later.
Somehow, that made him seem even more terrifying.
I had forced myself to read two books a week, absorbing every useful piece of knowledge just to keep up with stronger minds. All those principles had shaped my thinking.
But if Aries had never read those books… it meant he wasn’t like me, someone who relied on learned knowledge as a weapon. His mind was naturally that of a true powerhouse.
It was a lesson I learned late in life—some people study others’ methods to build cars, while others can truly *invent the wheel on their own*.
Sheep, meanwhile, seemed lost in his own thoughts, scratching at his mask. He wore the same stunned expression as when I’d last seen him.
“Aries… how do you know all these secrets about this place?” he asked.
“Don’t ask,” Aries cut him off. “Just know this—whether it’s the ‘Zodiac’s’ final task of ‘killing 3,600 people’ or the ‘participant’s’ final task of ‘collecting 3,600 Dao,’ neither can be completed. Trying will get you killed.”
“We can’t even collect ‘Dao’…?” I asked.
“No,” Aries confirmed. “Explaining it properly would take too long, so I’ll keep it brief.”
What he said next once again defied all my expectations.
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