Chapter 873: Thump

“Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore.”

Jiang Ruoxue smirked. “Honestly, even I didn’t expect you to use ‘Causality’ like this. Truly, the way a rational person and a free spirit wield ‘Echoes’ can produce entirely different effects. If only this ‘Echoes’ were yours.”

“If it really were mine… I’d probably obsess over the most logical ‘Causality’ and never reach your level.”

“Is that so?” Jiang Ruoxue nodded, then added, “By the way, haven’t you already figured it out? Why do you still need my advice?”

“I just can’t wrap my head around it…” I said. “If White Sheep isn’t a ‘Zodiac’ in the future… what will he be?”

“What’s so hard to understand?” Jiang Ruoxue raised an eyebrow. “Just list out the types of people in this place.”

“‘List’…?”

“Yeah.” She nodded, then extended her fingers one by one. “Besides ‘Zodiacs,’ the remaining possibilities are ‘Ants,’ ‘Natives,’ ‘Divine Beasts,’ and ‘Participants.'”

I froze for a moment, feeling like my thoughts had suddenly cleared.

Jiang Ruoxue held up four fingers, then lowered two. “‘Ants’ and ‘Natives’ can’t communicate or think, so Old Sun wouldn’t have any connection with them. That means White Sheep might become either a ‘Divine Beast’ or a ‘Participant.'”

“Right… that makes sense.” I nodded. I really wasn’t the sharpest—my mind had gone blank from the sudden shock earlier. But now that I’d calmed down, things were much clearer.

Thinking about it this way…

“White Sheep will most likely become a ‘Divine Beast,'” I said gravely. “He mentioned wanting to become something beyond human… So logically, he’d move toward being a ‘Divine Beast.’ He wouldn’t just be a ‘Participant,’ right?”

“What? He’s giving up on being human?” Jiang Ruoxue sounded shocked. “What kind of strange ambition is that?”

“Those were his exact words,” I replied.

I recounted White Sheep’s theories to Jiang Ruoxue word for word. She was my best friend—I’d never hidden anything from her, not even the meaning of ‘YNA.’

“He really is something else…” Jiang Ruoxue murmured. “Solving problems at their root… Why don’t I think like that?”

“What, you think he’s impressive too?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “It’s like everyone else in the world is figuring out how to make money, but he just robbed the bank instead…”

She paused, then frowned. “Actually, that might not be the best analogy, but you get the idea.”

“Do you want to meet White Sheep?” I asked.

“Take me to see him?” Jiang Ruoxue raised an eyebrow. “Is that appropriate? You, the socially anxious one, are suddenly organizing a meetup?”

“It’s not a ‘meetup’…” I laughed awkwardly. “It’s just that White Sheep once asked me a really profound question, and I helped him based on my own understanding… but I feel like something’s missing.”

“A profound question?” Jiang Ruoxue looked surprised. “What kind of deep topic could you and White Sheep possibly discuss? The origin of the universe?”

“Well… not quite that deep,” I shook my head. “He asked me what ‘love’ is. But Ruoxue, you know me… I—”

“Lifelong single,” she said bluntly.

“Uh… yeah.”

“Good grief…” She sighed deeply. “Are you two for real? Two lifelong singles with such sharp minds, sitting around discussing ‘love’? Couldn’t you use those brains for something else?”

“I… well…” I awkwardly smoothed my hair. “White Sheep has taught me a lot, and this was the first time he ever asked me for advice. Even though I’ve never been in love, I’ve at least watched some dramas.”

“But why would he suddenly ask that?” Jiang Ruoxue’s tone shifted. “Does he have feelings for you?”

I thought carefully before answering. “Honestly, I don’t feel any hint of that… To him, I might just be a smart dog.”

I also told her about White Sheep’s comments on ‘hypnosis,’ and at that, Jiang Ruoxue fell into deep thought.

“Wait… love… hypnosis… and a powerful motive?” She seemed to piece something together and tugged at my sleeve. “This isn’t good, Zhichun. When was the last time you talked to him about this?”

“Uh… about two years ago.”

“Two years… That might be trouble.” Jiang Ruoxue frowned. “Not sure if there’s still time. Take me to him now!”

“I can, but what exactly is the problem?” I asked.

“I’m worried the ‘love’ you described to him in theory was too perfect,” she said. “Nothing in this world that’s too perfect can hold up.”

At her insistence, that afternoon, I took Jiang Ruoxue to White Sheep’s game site.

Truthfully, it was my first time looking for him in the afternoon. When we arrived, we noticed bloodstains splattered at the entrance of his game site—as if someone had died there.

But… do ‘Human-Level Games’ even result in deaths?

White Sheep was standing by the door of his game site, his feet planted in the bloodstains as he stared blankly into a mirror.

He wasn’t acting like before. In the morning, he’d been muttering to himself in the mirror, but now, it seemed like he was lost in thought.

“Is that him?” Jiang Ruoxue asked.

“Yeah… but something feels off,” I said.

White Sheep hadn’t blinked for a long time—it was like he’d fallen asleep with his eyes open.

“Hey!” Jiang Ruoxue walked up and called out.

No reaction. He kept staring at the mirror.

“What’s… going on?” She turned to me, puzzled.

“I… don’t know,” I admitted.

“Hello?” she tried again. “Are you asleep? Hey?”

Still nothing.

I had to admit, Jiang Ruoxue’s approach was completely different from mine. If it were me, I’d have backed off long ago, not wanting to push my luck.

But she strode right up, waving a hand in front of his face. When that got no response, she rapped sharply on the door behind him.

*Bang bang bang!*

*Bang bang bang!*

The sudden noise seemed to startle White Sheep. He snapped out of it and turned to us, as if he’d been in some kind of deep self-hypnosis.

The moment he saw us, he reflexively asked, “Who’s there?”

“So the White Sheep *is* on duty!” Jiang Ruoxue grinned. “I called so many times—I thought you’d clocked out!”