Chapter 864: Erudition

Fortunately, Aries’ game area wasn’t too far from where I first appeared—just about a forty-minute walk.

Every day, I went to see Aries. At first, my emotions were incredibly complicated—I didn’t even know how to categorize him.

Was he a partner? A teammate? A teacher?

He was a unique presence, someone I could learn a lot from, but he definitely wasn’t my friend.

After some thought, maybe I was more like a “subordinate.”

A subordinate who followed orders and reported to his superior every day.

I’ve actually wondered… could Aries and I ever become “friends”?

Aries had changed so much. Since I’d met him many times in the “interview room,” I could clearly sense the difference now.

He had grown cold, obsessive… and even a little ruthless.

The only problem was, no one else could see it. I never saw Zhang Qiang, Sheep, or Bulldog again—it was as if they had vanished from the world.

Every time I arrived at his game area, without fail, Aries was lost in thought.

Whenever he looked up at me, it seemed to take him a few seconds to remember who I was.

“Brother Sheep… are you really okay?” I called out. “You seem so different from five years ago…”

“Let’s set some ground rules,” Aries said coldly. “From now on, don’t mention anything that happened five years ago—not to anyone, including me. Just remember that I only became a ‘Zodiac’ starting now.”

“What…?” I was confused. “Can you tell me why…?”

“No,” Aries replied. “I don’t think I owe you an explanation for everything I do.”

Standing in front of him, I quickly ran out of words.

I missed Jiang Ruoxue.

If she were here… she’d probably find a way to get along with Aries right away.

Though I’d become a little more outgoing over the past five years, I still didn’t know how to deal with someone like Aries.

He spoke even less than I did, and his words carried a random aggression.

But I knew I couldn’t just let things stay like this. I needed something from Aries—I needed him to help me grow stronger. Maybe sometimes, I should learn from Jiang Ruoxue…

“What are you thinking about?” I walked over and sat beside Aries, breaking the silence.

“What…?” Aries seemed caught off guard by my initiative, his gaze briefly flickering with surprise.

“You’re always lost in thought… What’s going on in your mind?”

Aries slowly lowered his head, his expression almost resembling a bitter smile.

“Yeah… What *am* I thinking about?” he echoed back at me.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, shaking my head. “Would you share what’s on your mind?”

“Yan Zhichun…” Aries asked, “What do you think is the *motive* behind everyone wandering here, trying to escape?”

“Motive?” I pondered the question—it was an interesting one. “I don’t quite get the phrasing. We were all taken from the real world and thrown into this place. Escaping a hellhole like this… does that really require a *specific* motive? No one would willingly stay here, right?”

“That’s too absolute,” Aries sighed. “There *are* people who don’t want to leave… but they don’t matter. I just want to know… if someone *must* escape, what kind of motive would keep them pushing forward?”

I thought for a moment. “‘Seeking advantage and avoiding harm.’ As *Memorial to General Liang Shang* says, *All creatures instinctively flee danger and seek survival—this is universal.* Everyone wants to escape a dangerous place. It doesn’t need a deeper reason.”

“That makes sense…” Aries nodded, then shook his head. “But ‘seeking advantage and avoiding harm’ is just the initial motivation. What happens when they realize, after a long time, that escape is impossible?”

I began to understand his question. He wasn’t asking about ordinary people’s motives—he was asking about the strong.

“Brother Sheep, for most, the goal is to collect 3,600 ‘Dao’ to escape,” I said. “But they don’t know the ‘truth.’ Even if they gather enough, their memories will be wiped, and they’ll start over. The rulers here keep feeding them the same motive—it traps them, and it traps this place.”

Aries nodded. “I almost forgot you’re clever. Talking to you is enlightening.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Yes,” Aries confirmed. “Yan Zhichun, let’s explore another hypothetical. Suppose someone retains their memories indefinitely, knows everything about this place, and yet still can’t escape. Would they still follow the instinct of ‘seeking advantage and avoiding harm’?”

“Probably not,” I said. “People are strong first because they ‘seek advantage and avoid harm,’ and second because they have strong ‘adaptability.’ If escape is impossible, they’ll adapt and settle here—just like how people live in the coldest and hottest places on Earth.”

“So they’d need a ‘motive,’” Aries said. “What kind of ‘motive’ could make them resist all external pressures and remain determined to escape?”

“Even if they knew escape was impossible… they’d still want to leave?”

“Exactly…” Aries murmured.

“But you’re much smarter than me,” I said, puzzled. “Shouldn’t *you* have a better answer?”

“That’s precisely why I’m asking someone whose life differs from mine,” Aries replied. “Sometimes, solutions don’t just come from intelligence—they come from experience.”

I nodded, but I really had no good answer.

For me, the reason I kept moving forward was simply to “grow stronger.” Whether I could escape wasn’t my top priority.

Even if I *did* escape, I had to make sure my time in the “Land of Finality” wasn’t wasted—that every day, I became stronger than the day before.

So for me… a “motive to escape no matter what” was a little abstract. Maybe I needed time to think about it.

“I might need to mull it over… Maybe I’ll have an answer for you later.”

“Fine. That *Memorial to General Liang Shang* you mentioned reminded me of something else,” Aries said. “Yan Zhichun, I recall you’re quite knowledgeable.”

“I wouldn’t call myself that,” I shook my head. “I’m not naturally brilliant—I just compensate with acquired knowledge, barely keeping up with some of the ‘monsters’ here.”

“Interesting,” Aries said. “From now on, bring me a book every day.”

“A book?”

“Right. There’s a bookstore near the path you take to see me. It should still have some undamaged books. Grab one for me on your way—just one a day.”

“But why not take several at once?” I asked. “Wouldn’t that be more convenient?”

“I need to finish one per day,” Aries replied. “If I have two books at once, I’ll subconsciously think, *I still have two days*, and slack off.”