“Uh…” The Earth Tiger covered his face, stammering and unable to get a word out.
The vividly feathered Earth Chicken in front of them looked furious, and no one dared to provoke her.
“Well, well…” The Black Sheep sneered from the side. “Big spender Tiger, where’s that temper of yours? Where’s that ‘take responsibility like a real man’ energy now?”
“What the hell do you know, you damn old Black?” the Earth Tiger muttered. “No wonder you’ve never had a partner… serves you right…”
The Black Sheep froze for a moment, then wordlessly stood up and marched toward the short knife on the ground. The Slacker Dog quickly stepped in to stop him.
“Hey, hey… let it go, let it go…” The Slacker Dog clung tightly to the Black Sheep, only to find him unusually hard to restrain this time.
“I’m gonna kill him… I swear I’m gonna kill him…”
The Workaholic Rat and the Chuunibyou Pig had no choice but to step in and help. Clearly, the Earth Tiger’s words had struck a particularly deep nerve this time.
“Enough already?” the Earth Chicken snapped, hands on her hips, smiling while veins bulged on her forehead. “Have I been too lenient with you? How many days has it been? Are you all seriously not afraid of getting caught?”
“Don’t be mad…” the Earth Tiger said with an ingratiating smile. “Little Quail, we were just—”
“Who the hell are you calling ‘Quail’?!” the Earth Chicken shrieked.
“No, no, Little Earth Chicken, just hear us out,” the Earth Tiger quickly corrected, stepping forward to guide her to a seat. “We just ran an experiment and realized the odds of us getting exposed are actually really low…”
The Earth Chicken angrily shoved his hand away. “I’m not sitting! Don’t push your luck. Every night, all you do here is fight and argue—how is that ‘low risk’?”
“It’s true!” The Earth Tiger quickly summarized the “experiment” he’d just conducted.
“Fine… fine…” the Earth Chicken nodded slowly. “So the Azure Dragon can’t hear us? His ‘Spiritual Hearing’ doesn’t work here, huh?”
“Exactly!” The Earth Tiger actually looked a little pleased.
“Then how come *I* heard it?” The Earth Chicken’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “You realize a dozen rooms down this hallway probably heard you scream ‘Azure Dragon, screw your grandpa,’ right?”
“Uh…”
“Just because the Azure Dragon didn’t hear it, does that mean you’re not dead?” the Earth Chicken pressed. “All it takes is one person walking up to him and saying a few words, and your death timer starts ticking.”
“Y-yeah… that makes sense.” The Earth Tiger scratched his head.
“And the worst part is…” The Earth Chicken sighed again. “I had a friend visiting today. I was planning to say a few nice things about you all in front of her… and what do you do? Embarrass me. How am I supposed to introduce you to her now?”
“A… friend?” The Earth Tiger blinked, then glanced back at the Black Sheep and the Earth Rat—the so-called “brains” of the group—only to find them equally confused.
“Chicken Leader…” The Earth Rat stepped forward with an apologetic smile. “You’re introducing us to a friend? What kind of friend?”
“You’ve got some nerve asking…” The Earth Chicken frowned. “Obviously, someone on the ‘same path’ as us. But what does she see? Her future teammates not only cursing the Azure Dragon next door but also brawling and bickering like a bunch of suicidal idiots.”
“Hey!” The Earth Rat took a few more steps forward. “Chicken Leader, that’s not fair! Our heated arguments just prove how dynamic this team is! We’re full of energy, ready to take on the world!”
The Earth Chicken pondered this for a moment before slowly standing up and addressing the room. “So the Azure Dragon really can’t hear us?”
“Well, I’m not dead yet,” the Earth Tiger replied.
After another pause, the Earth Chicken turned toward the door and called out, “In that case, come in… let’s talk.”
A faint rustling came from outside, followed by the slow approach of a figure.
Everyone turned to look. The newcomer was a female Earth Ox—lean, not wearing a suit, just a lazily buttoned shirt with the lower few buttons undone, revealing abs that put every man in the room to shame.
The Earth Rabbit and Earth Tiger instinctively tightened their suit jackets over their stomachs.
Frankly, the only one in the room who could compete was the Slacker Dog, who wore his suit jacket over a bare torso.
“Nice to meet you all,” the Earth Ox said.
The group nodded perfunctorily.
“Little Quail, who is she…?” the Earth Tiger asked.
“White Tiger… call me ‘Quail’ one more time, and I’ll slap you three thousand times.”
“Ah! Sorry, sorry! Little Earth Chicken, who is she…?”
“She’s the only person I’ve been able to trust all these years,” the Earth Chicken said. “The details aren’t important. Just know she’s more trustworthy than any of you.”
“Wh—”
The Earth Ox took a deep breath and turned to the Earth Chicken. “Are these people really reliable?”
“Relax.” The Earth Chicken patted her shoulder. “This White Tiger and that Black Sheep are students of Brother Goat. The others also have ties to him.”
“‘Brother Goat’?” The Earth Ox blinked.
“Brother Goat is… *him*,” the Earth Chicken clarified.
“Alright, in that case…” The Earth Ox nodded, closed the door behind her, and addressed the group. “I’m not sure how this team came together, but we probably share the same goal: to carry out Qi—no, Brother Goat’s plan.”
“Exactly!” The group nodded in unison.
“And for safety, he split the plan into two phases, told separately to me and Earth Chicken across a long span of time,” the Earth Ox continued. “When he was still a ‘Participant,’ he shared part of the plan with me. After becoming a ‘Zodiac,’ he gave the other part to Earth Chicken. Later, he must’ve pulled some strings to get us to meet on the ‘Train,’ where we pieced together the full plan. Now, it’s time to share it with you.”
The room fell into stunned silence.
As absurd as it sounded, this was exactly the kind of thing only Qi Xia—or the White Goat—would do.
Before the Earth Chicken and Earth Ox connected, even the “Celestial Serpent” couldn’t have deciphered the complete plan.
“But let me be clear: once I reveal this plan, there’s no turning back,” the Earth Ox warned. “If the ‘Celestial Serpent’ catches even a glimpse of it, we’re all in danger. So if anyone isn’t ready, leave now. Don’t drag the rest down.”
The group’s eyes instinctively turned to the Workaholic Rat, who’d always claimed to be a “fence-sitter.” Yet, to everyone’s surprise, he sat more firmly than anyone else.
“Good… then I’ll take it you’re all willing to follow this plan and fight for it,” the Earth Ox said.
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