Chapter 914: Transmission

Yes, I know I’ve let Aries down terribly… but I really had no choice.

“Did he threaten you?” Aries asked.

“Yes… Not only did he try to threaten me, but he also wanted to recruit me. I refused.” I sighed. “But to save myself, I had to give him the map… Otherwise, I wouldn’t even have the chance to come here and talk to you. I’d have become a ‘Native.’”

“So afraid of death?” Aries pressed. “How can your life outweigh everyone else’s?”

Like a child who’d done something wrong, I lowered my head deeply in front of Aries.

“Yan Zhichun, did you even reveal my plans?” Aries demanded sharply.

“I—” I was about to say no, but something suddenly felt off.

Wait… *Plans*?

Aries’ voice echoed in my mind: *“Yan Zhichun, after today, I will never mention the plans again. Keep them as secrets buried in your heart.”*

Why would he suddenly bring up the *plans* now…? Because I messed up?

I lifted my head to look at Aries. Just as I expected, though his voice was stern, his face remained completely expressionless.

How could Aries *not* have thought of this?

He deliberately called *Silence* to conceal this information, meaning he knew someone was eavesdropping from above. For someone constantly under surveillance, abruptly cutting off monitoring would inevitably raise suspicion.

Brother Goat once said that if this secret leaked to a third person, the entire plan could collapse. But Qinglong isn’t human—not even he considers himself one.

So if the one who knows the plan isn’t human, the plan isn’t ruined yet!

Or… was *everything* part of the plan?

God, I’m nervous… I think I’m starting to follow Aries’ line of thought.

Now that Qinglong has appeared, Aries deliberately brought up his plans—contradicting what he said under *Silence*.

So, which do I believe? His words under *Silence*, or his words under surveillance?

The answer is obvious.

I’ll place my bet now. I’ll prove to Aries through my actions that his choice has always been right.

I’m worthy of this *Heaven-sent Wisdom*.

“Brother Goat… You have to believe me… I really didn’t say anything…” I pleaded. “Can’t you see how loyal I am to you? How could I ever betray your plans…?”

A barely perceptible smirk curled at the corner of Aries’ lips.

I knew I’d bet right.

He slowly stood, walked to the office bar, poured a glass of water, and handed it to me. Then he patted my shoulder, motioning for me to sit, before saying coldly, “Get lost, Yan Zhichun. You’re useless now.”

Hearing this, the weight in my chest finally lifted.

I sank into the chair, gulping down the water to steady my nerves.

So Brother Goat knew everything… Thank goodness…

“Brother Goat, even if I’ve done nothing useful, at least I’ve worked hard, right?” I took a deep breath and continued. “Qinglong told me you’ve been toying with my life all along, and now you’re just throwing me away. How heartless… How could I ever have followed someone like you?!”

I set the empty glass on the table. Aries refilled it halfway, then gestured toward a half-eaten bag of peanuts nearby. I waved him off—no thanks.

“*I* toyed with your life?” Aries scoffed. “Your intelligence is thanks to me. So what if I *did* play with your life?”

“But that’s wrong!” I argued. “Qinglong has immense power too, yet he never thought to manipulate me like this!”

That came out a little too heated—I almost coughed.

“Quibbling!” Aries grabbed a handful of peanuts himself. “Yan Zhichun, out of respect for your service, I’m sparing your life. If you don’t get lost now, I *will* gamble with you—and you won’t win my game. You won’t even leave with a whole corpse.”

God, those peanuts are clearly moldy… How is he eating them?

“Gamble with my life… Brother Goat, is this really how you treat me?” I said. “This is obviously Qinglong’s trick to drive a wedge between us… You should see that!”

“Drive a wedge?” Aries slammed the table, sending peanut fragments flying, before roaring expressionlessly, “If you hadn’t agreed to work for Qinglong, would you even be standing here now? Would he have let you go?”

Brother Goat, *please* stop eating those peanuts. They’re moldy…

“Brother Goat… If you truly don’t trust me, then I have no reason to live.” I took another sip of water. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll expose all your plans?”

Qinglong wants to watch insects tear at each other—so we’ll give him a show.

Imagine crouching down to watch two ants fight over food, only to realize their single and compound eyes are *all* fixed on you… What would you do?

“You—” Aries stared at me with approval. “Yan Zhichun, are you *threatening* me?”

“Exactly.” I nodded. “I’m fighting for my survival. If I could live under Qinglong’s gaze, I can survive under yours too.”

“Bold.” Aries smirked. “You’ve bought yourself another day, but I’ll never fully trust you again.”

“Fine. I can’t fully trust you either.” I stood up. “You’ve turned my life upside down—this is what you deserve. I’ll carry out the plan on the map for *myself*, and then we’ll go our separate ways.”

After speaking, I raised an eyebrow at Aries—unsure if this conversation was meant to end now.

Aries stroked his chin in thought, then gave me a slight nod.

“Then this is it.” Aries said. “For now, let’s bind ourselves by mutual benefit. But I *will* kill you the moment it suits me.”

“And I’ll betray you the moment it suits *me*.”

Aries shrugged, nodding again. I mirrored the gesture and left his room.

This time, I truly relaxed, slumping against the wall as my legs gave out beneath me.

I actually managed to navigate between Aries and Qinglong… Thank goodness I barely kept up.

I wonder if anyone else in this *Land of Finality* has ever played games with two monsters in a single day.

But then again, the task Aries gave me was by far the easiest among everyone.

*He* had to deal with Qinglong directly, and this *map* was just a means to pass it through me.

His use of *Silence* had two purposes: First, to genuinely confide the plan in me, letting me memorize and prepare for it slowly. Second, to lure out Qinglong.

Aries knew I’d *never* reveal the plan—only the map.

But why did Aries want the map delivered to Qinglong?

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