I know I’ve done my best to find Aries in the shortest time possible.
From the moment I noticed his disappearance from the venue until I found him, it took almost five hours.
Yet, I still feel like I was too late.
When we arrived at Aries’ new game venue, the first thing we saw was his completely transformed appearance.
His mask was gone, replaced by the cold face of a ram.
His suit was now spotless, and just standing there, he exuded an intimidating presence.
However, it seemed he was in trouble—several “participants” were standing before him, shouting something.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?” a woman asked. “What exactly is your game?”
The “participants” kept questioning Aries, but he remained silent, his eyes slightly closed.
Suddenly, I remembered what White Snake had told us—”Aries designed a game full of loopholes, and he could violate the rules at any time.” Was he deliberately stalling?
“What’s wrong with this Earth Ram?” the people in front muttered among themselves. “Can’t he hear us?”
“Hey…” one of them spoke up again. “Don’t just stay silent. ‘Rams’ are already rare… We finally found an ‘Earth Ram.’ At least let us see what you’ve got?”
Aries kept his eyes closed for a moment, then opened them and said, “Apologies, but the game has already been reserved by a ‘VIP.’ I can only accommodate players in batches. Until the reserved players arrive, you cannot participate.”
Only then did I notice how strange Aries’ eyes looked—grayish-white like a real ram’s, with long, rectangular black pupils.
And… his voice seemed different too.
Was it because a ram’s vocal structure differs from a human’s?
“Reserved…?” someone asked, confused. “Your game requires a ‘reservation’?”
“Yes, this will be a game unlike any you’ve seen before,” Aries replied. “I prioritize serving ‘VIPs,’ not ordinary people.”
After speaking, Aries slightly turned his head, his gaze passing through the crowd until it landed on me and Jiang Ruoxue.
“They’re here,” he said, sounding somewhat relieved. “Now, please wait. You may participate in the next batch.”
Jiang Ruoxue and I quickly made our way through the crowd to Aries. He gave us a slight nod, then turned and opened the door to the building.
Once inside, we realized the place resembled a spacious bank. The central area had been cleared, leaving an empty plaza.
At the center of the plaza stood twelve wooden animal statues arranged from left to right, each with a table in front of it.
The tables were divided into three sections by two vertical lines, labeled “Win,” “Lose,” and “Kill.”
“Win” and “Lose” took up the most space, while “Kill” was the smallest.
The statues were arranged in the order of the Chinese zodiac—from Rat to Pig—covering all twelve signs.
At the base of each statue were three lights: red, white, and green.
Further ahead, above the bank counter, hung a display screen. It loomed like an eagle circling overhead, watching over the twelve zodiac statues.
“Aries…” I snapped out of my thoughts and called out, “Did we make it in time?”
“At least you’re not late,” Aries replied. “If you hadn’t shown up, I would’ve been taken away by ‘Vermilion Bird’ today. After all, I set up my game at the busiest crossroads.”
“I don’t really get it…” Jiang Ruoxue stretched lazily. “You’re so smart. Why not just design a stable ‘Earth-level game’? Why take the risk waiting for the two of us?”
“Fortune favors the bold,” Aries said. “High risk brings high reward. Most ‘Earth-level’ games rely on either intricate mechanisms or direct ‘Zodiac’ participation. The first method is safer but slow. The second speeds things up but puts the creator in danger. Since I’m pressed for time, I couldn’t choose either.”
“So you went with ‘Causality’?” Jiang Ruoxue glanced at the twelve statues. “Are you planning to imbue these statues with ‘Causality’?”
“That’s not entirely accurate,” Aries said. “I only need the simplest logical connections.”
“What kind of logic?” Jiang Ruoxue asked.
Aries walked up to the Rat statue and said, “I’ll explain the logic to you now. Then you can decide how to apply ‘Causality.'”
“Alright.”
“This statue represents the nearest ‘Earth Rat,'” Aries began. “I need this prop to fulfill the following conditions: once the ‘Earth Rat’s’ game begins, the white light at the base of the statue turns on. If the ‘Earth Rat’ wins, the red light alone activates. If the ‘participants’ win, the green light alone activates. All twelve statues follow this logic.”
“Huh…?” Both Jiang Ruoxue and I were slightly stunned. “That’s it?”
“That’s the standard scenario,” Aries said. “There’s also an exception.”
“Go on,” Jiang Ruoxue urged.
“If a ‘Zodiac’ dies, all three lights will blink rapidly,” Aries explained. “The blinking will last for over five minutes.”
Jiang Ruoxue nodded, then stepped forward to examine the lights.
“Are these lights… already wired?” she asked. “I can manipulate ‘Causality,’ but I can’t perform supernatural feats. Without electricity, these lights won’t turn on.”
“Of course,” Aries said. “All the lights are properly wired. The display behind me is also functional.”
“What’s the display for, then?” I asked.
“That’s the second part of the game,” Aries replied. “First, let’s apply ‘Causality’ to these statues.”
“Fine, that’s simple enough.” Jiang Ruoxue nodded, scanning the wooden statues before her.
The statues were quite detailed. Though carved from wood, each animal was lifelike, down to the finest hairs.
Jiang Ruoxue moved from left to right, murmuring a few words to each statue. Soon, some of the lights began flickering on.
At that moment, I realized this bank wasn’t just a game venue—it felt more like a giant chessboard.
Aries could stand in this space every day and monitor the status of the twelve nearest “Zodiacs.”
Moreover, based on this logic, even if the nearest “Zodiac” was defeated in a gamble, the second-nearest would automatically become the “nearest,” ensuring the game’s continuous operation.
Considering the tables placed before the “Zodiacs,” I guessed Aries’ game was likely a “casino.”
It was a somewhat novel idea, but not flawless.
Though I wasn’t sure how it could be improved, if it was Aries we were talking about… surely he could design something even better?
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