Chapter 899: Try Everything Once

“Yes.” Jiang Ruoxue answered before I could. “He and Zhichun are friends.”

I looked at Jiang Ruoxue and then smiled helplessly. I was still worrying about whether she would be angry if she heard about Bai Yang, but here she was, speaking well of him in front of others.

“Are you kidding me…?” Gu Yu wore an expression of disbelief. “You’re saying a ‘Zodiac’ is a friend?”

“No wonder you don’t believe it,” Jiang Ruoxue said. “You’re from ‘Jade City’ and spent a long time in ‘Whirlpool City.’ It’s natural you wouldn’t believe someone could be friends with a ‘Zodiac.’ Weren’t you always wanting to ask me about the ‘Zodiacs’? I can tell you.”

What Jiang Ruoxue said next shocked Gu Yu countless times.

She told him about the emergence of the ‘Zodiacs’ and some of the promotion rules.

Yes, it was such a simple logic, yet he had never realized it. No one could accept this reality easily.

“Just wearing a mask turns you into a ‘Zodiac’…” Gu Yu’s lips trembled slightly. “No assessment or training…? No higher-ups selecting you…? No interviewers…?”

“Exactly,” Jiang Ruoxue said. “Earlier, Zhichun told you to stay here… Do you not understand what ‘stay here’ means?”

“What…?” Gu Yu froze. “‘Stay here’ means… becoming a…?”

“What else?” Jiang Ruoxue replied. “The room you’re in can’t change its occupant, so if you want to stay, you have to take a different path. That’s what Zhichun meant.”

Wait… Ruoxue seems unaware…

In my memory, I changed rooms once.

I’ve fallen into habitual thinking again—because I swapped rooms, I assumed it wasn’t difficult for others to do the same…

But now, some cities have already been destroyed. I boldly speculate that only 80-90% of those who died in the life-and-death gamble actually perished. The rest, unable to leave their rooms, would be trapped there forever.

This would mean no ‘living people’ could be seen on the streets, and all the ‘Zodiacs’ could withdraw from the city.

Only the wandering ‘natives’ would remain, going about their activities based on their memories, making the city seem almost real at a glance.

But this city has no food. Eventually, all the ‘natives’ would starve and be killed by their own subconscious.

If room swapping were truly possible… then there would be a solution.

Other cities should have sent large numbers of ‘refugees’ to ‘Dao City,’ but that hasn’t happened.

People in ‘Dao City’ have always stayed in ‘Dao City.’ I’ve never heard of anyone changing rooms by crossing cities.

So then… why am I… in this room now?

My interview rooms changed from ‘Sheep,’ ‘Dog,’ ‘Sheep’ to ‘Tiger,’ ‘Rabbit,’ ‘Snake.’ Could this be Bai Yang’s doing again?

Could he even swap my room…?

No, among all the ‘Earth-level Zodiacs’ I know, none could have such authority. Whoever changed my room must be higher up.

Thinking about it, Bai Yang must have made some deal with them… to finally free me.

That’s the only explanation. The only difference between me and other ‘participants’ is that I met Bai Yang and agreed to work for him.

I don’t know how Bai Yang did it, but it suddenly reminds me of something unrelated.

I once said my memories were altered, but the attempt failed.

Whoever did it didn’t understand me, so they fabricated an implausible life, which made the tampering obvious to me instantly.

Now, my life has been altered again…

But this time, it’s not my ‘real-world’ life—it’s my endlessly looping life in the ‘Land of the End.’

Thinking this, a bold idea suddenly strikes me… Are these memories real?

Did I really meet Bai Yang, Mian Yang, Shar-Pei, and Zhang Qiang in that room?

Even if Zhang Qiang stayed in the interview room and Shar-Pei died, Mian Yang should still be in the city. I should’ve had a chance to hear about or see him.

But Bai Yang told me he’s dead too.

How eerie. From my perspective… aside from Bai Yang, everyone else seems to have vanished.

From the day I parted with Bai Yang, I’ve never seen any of them again.

“Become a ‘Zodiac’… You’ve got to be kidding me…” Gu Yu murmured, snapping out of his thoughts. “Almost everyone who disappeared around us died at the hands of ‘Zodiacs’… How could I become one…?”

“You’re wrong,” Jiang Ruoxue said. “The people around you were never killed by ‘Zodiacs.’ They were killed by the man you call Wan Cai.”

Gu Yu slowly lowered his head. He knew Wan Cai was the root of all evil, but in that city, few people hated him.

Hating the leader of a city in isolation—those few would become outcasts. So, they could only passively redirect their hatred toward the ‘Zodiacs.’

“Even in ‘Whirlpool City,'” Jiang Ruoxue continued, “no matter how unreasonable it sounds, the ones who slaughtered the city weren’t ‘Zodiacs’—it was Nie Bei.”

Gu Yu stood up, his face filled with despair as he looked at me and Jiang Ruoxue. “So… the only way I can leave ‘Jade City’ is by becoming a ‘Zodiac’?”

After much deliberation, I swallowed the fact that I had changed rooms.

I don’t know Gu Yu well, but I know Bai Yang wouldn’t help him unconditionally.

“Theoretically, yes,” I said. “I have the safest method to make you a ‘Zodiac’ without risk. But whether you’ll face danger afterward… that’s beyond my control.”

“What method…?”

“Go back to ‘Whirlpool City.’ There should be a vast number of abandoned masks there,” I said. “Choose one you can handle and become the corresponding ‘Zodiac.'”

Gu Yu looked up at me, hesitating slightly. “But I can’t become a ‘Zodiac’ in ‘Whirlpool City’… It’s too dangerous there… Can I take a mask to ‘Dao City’?”

I shook my head. “None of us have ever become ‘Zodiacs,’ so we can’t be sure. But in theory, it should work. Once you wear the mask, the nearest building will become your ‘game site,’ and you’ll need to quickly fill in the game’s details.”

“I see…” Gu Yu’s eyes hardened with resolve. He nodded and said, “Sister Ruoxue, Sister Zhichun, you’ve given me two paths—’go back’ or ‘become a Zodiac.’ I’ll try both. Only then will I have no regrets.”