Chapter 870: Future Detection

The days passed by, and Brother Sheep and I met on time every day.

Every morning, I would go see him, chat for a while, and then begin my daily activities.

After all, I didn’t need to participate in the games—I just had to expand the influence of the “Ultimate Path.” It wasn’t difficult for me, especially with Jiang Ruoxue’s “Causality” aiding me.

I had to admit, everything was going smoother than I expected. My communication with Brother Sheep was becoming more fluent, though he still seemed odd—his gaze was distant. And for a long time now, he hadn’t asked me anything about the “Ultimate Path,” as if he had completely handed over decision-making authority to me.

Eventually, I realized that recruiting people on the streets willing to join the “Ultimate Path” was no longer feasible. Most strong individuals now preferred to enter the games to hone their abilities.

So, to strengthen the “Ultimate Path,” I began participating in games again. I had to admit… the “Earth-level” games seemed different now.

Ever since two years ago, the games here had grown more difficult.

But I had two reasons for joining: to befriend strong players and to train myself. So, “Earth-level” games were a must. After all, I had stable “Echoes,” meaning I’d always be safe as long as I didn’t gamble my life.

I remained cautious, disguising myself well. To this day, no one had ever seen my “Echoes.”

Once I started playing again, I began hearing rumors about the various factions here.

Apparently, after the leader of a once-powerful organization disappeared years ago, the second and third-in-command took over. Unfortunately, neither of them was a strategic leader—they relied purely on brute force in games, leading to repeated failures. Now, the organization had all but collapsed.

There were even rumors that the two leaders had fought in the streets before going their separate ways.

Some said they had established new factions on opposite sides of the city, while others claimed they had turned into natives and vanished.

The streets were rife with gossip, but no one knew what was true. All I knew was that after those two disappeared, new leaders took over.

Where there are people, there will always be power struggles. Even in this small corner of the world, factions rose and fell, playing out their own games of power.

In that sense, the “Ultimate Path” was remarkably stable. Every strong player I recruited had no idea who the leader was—so even if they wanted to usurp power, they couldn’t.

About two years passed, which meant it had been five years in total now.

I remembered walking down the street when I noticed the sky seemed to shift. The next thing I knew, I was sitting in an unfamiliar building with a strange man.

Had I spaced out again? It had been a while since that last happened.

I stared at the man for a long moment, unsure whether to speak.

“Hey, sis… you good?” the man asked.

He looked to be in his late thirties, with a kind face and a thick Northeastern accent.

His sudden question left me at a loss—I didn’t recognize him, nor did I remember why I was here. My mind went blank, thoughts grinding to a halt.

When I didn’t respond, he frowned. “You just gonna stand there spacing out? Didn’t you wanna talk to me about somethin’, sis?”

Within seconds, fragments of memory drifted back. I remembered who he was.

“You’re… Old Sun?” I asked.

“Yeah, that’s me… we just played an Earth Pig game together, remember?” He gave me a puzzled look. “You okay, girl? You feelin’ sick or somethin’?”

“N-No.” I shook my head, but a question gnawed at me—

*Was I going insane too?*

“Just spit it out already,” Old Sun pressed. “You’re drivin’ me nuts.”

“I…” I rubbed my temples. If I wasn’t losing my mind, then I was suffering from memory loss.

Either way, I had to hurry. It seemed every long-term memory holder eventually faced a mental crisis—even someone as strong-willed as me wasn’t exempt.

If I didn’t expand the faction quickly, I’d be completely lost.

“Old Sun… I called you here because I have something to tell you.”

I lifted my head and repeated the words I’d said countless times before.

“Wait, what…?” Old Sun blinked. “You’re with the ‘Ultimate Path,’ sis?”

That was a first. I raised an eyebrow. “You’ve heard of it?”

“Course I have!” He exaggeratedly raised his brows. “Lotta people been tellin’ me how this place is gonna go to hell and how we gotta protect it… Seems like your group’s pretty big, huh?”

“Oh…?”

Only then did I realize—our people were already everywhere, spreading the word and recruiting for the “Ultimate Path.”

When had the faction grown so large?

I persuaded one person a day. Even accounting for those who didn’t believe my “future predictions,” that was still five or six hundred people over two years.

Now those five or six hundred were scattered, mobilizing others in turn. And if we excluded those who didn’t retain their memories long-term…

Were there even a hundred left?

“Thing is, I never believed ’em!” Old Sun chuckled. “But somethin’ about you, sis—I kinda buy it now…”

Of course he did. Because this was the truth under “Causality.”

“Old Sun, I’m not lying to you,” I said. “This place really needs the ‘Ultimate Path’ to protect it. We have to safeguard not just the ‘Participants,’ but the ‘Zodiacs’ too.”

“Alright, sis, but what’re we s’posed to do?” He scratched his head, troubled. “I don’t mind joinin’, but how long’s this gonna take? When do we stop protectin’ this place?”

“Hmm…”

This was the perfect opportunity for a “future prediction.”

“Old Sun, we’ll keep protecting it until someone arrives who can change everything.”

“Wait, what? Someone like that?” He blinked. “So what are we now? The ‘vanguard’? Or the ‘imperial guards’?”

“Either works,” I said. “Do you believe me?”

“Sure do.” He nodded. “The stuff the ‘Ultimate Path’ does lines up with what you’re sayin’. ‘Vanguard’ or ‘imperial guards’ makes perfect sense.”

Perfect. He truly believed.

That meant our faction’s role aligned with my vision—we’d play a crucial part for the future ruler.

“But who’s this person who’s gonna change things?” Old Sun asked. “If I join, will I get to meet ’em?”

After a moment’s thought, I made a bold decision and answered:

“Of course. In fact, you might even become friends.”

“Oh, good.” He nodded, satisfied.