“Hello, is the leader here?”
Xiao Ran hadn’t expected the man before her to look so young. Unable to immediately confirm his identity, she could only try to strike up a conversation.
But the man didn’t seem interested in engaging.
Qinglong let out an impatient sigh, his eyes half-lidded as he pressed slender fingers firmly against his temples. *These reckless ‘Zodiacs’ on the ‘train’ are getting more and more audacious,* he thought.
*Knowing I’m here, yet someone dares to barge in shouting like this.*
*Whether he’s ‘Human-Level’ or ‘Earth-Level,’ anyone who makes such a foolish mistake—along with every ‘Zodiac’ connected to him—will die today.*
But when he lifted his gaze to the figure before him, his thoughts stuttered.
The person who had pushed open the door and shouted wasn’t a ‘Zodiac’ at all—but a mere ‘participant,’ without even a mask.
The gap in their ranks was so vast that Qinglong, for a moment, didn’t know how to react. He could only glare at Xiao Ran with bloodshot eyes.
“Why aren’t you speaking?” Xiao Ran asked. “Are you… Tianlong?”
As she spoke, her gaze was drawn to a dark object on the table—something resembling a football, but pitch-black, its true nature obscured from this angle.
“Or… Qinglong?” She studied the shadowy mass on the table.
Qinglong rubbed his temples, silent, before glancing at the door behind Xiao Ran. It sounded chaotic outside.
Usually, only the ‘Human-Level’ areas were this disorderly—their ‘human scent’ was the strongest.
Once promoted to ‘Earth-Level,’ ‘Zodiacs’ became far more restrained. After enduring the trials he had meticulously designed, they rarely showed excitement or sorrow.
But he was so far removed from the ‘Human-Level’ now—why was it still so noisy?
“Why’s it so dark in here?” Xiao Ran frowned, taking a step forward. “Are you in charge?”
The black sheep had once described Qinglong as refined and approachable, yet this man hadn’t uttered a word since she entered. He clearly didn’t fit that description. If he wasn’t Tianlong, then he was likely just a secretary or assistant.
Qinglong watched her, slowly tilting his head to rest on one hand.
*Have I been too lenient with this place…?*
*Have I not killed enough people?*
Now, a mere ‘participant’ had the gall to stride in and order him around. His mind grew increasingly disordered, the urge to kill barely restrained.
The corridor outside was packed with ‘Zodiacs,’ flanked by numerous ‘Heaven-Level’ figures—yet no one had stopped her. How absurd was that?
But this woman… Why did she seem vaguely familiar?
“Hey, hey, hey…” Xiao Ran rapped her knuckles against the table. “You look sharp, but you’re just sitting there dumbstruck? Is there someone in charge here?”
Her eyes flicked to another wooden door across the room—far more ornate than the one she’d entered through. If there was a leader, they’d be in there.
“Whatever.” Xiao Ran’s faint smile vanished as she turned away, heading straight for the ‘locomotive’s’ door. “If you won’t talk, fine. I’ll report your attitude to the boss when I see them.”
Watching her approach the final room, Qinglong’s expression darkened. “Who told you to come find me?”
It was the first time he’d spoken, his bizarre voice freezing Xiao Ran mid-step.
It sounded like two voices—one male, one female—emerging simultaneously from his throat, identical in tone and inflection. For a moment, she wondered if she’d misheard.
She turned slowly, hesitantly, before even meeting Qinglong’s gaze, her eyes locked on the object at the center of the table.
That wasn’t a black football—it was a freshly severed head.
Dark red blood stained the table and clung to the corpse’s face. In the dim light, it could’ve been mistaken for spilled drink—had she not seen the full horror from this angle.
Her voice died in her throat.
Beside the gruesome head, the man resting his chin on his hand stared at her impassively.
“You… you…” Even Xiao Ran, slow as she was, now grasped that this man wasn’t ordinary. Her voice faltered. “You’re Qinglong…?”
“Who told you where to find me?” he repeated.
Xiao Ran’s eyes remained fixed on the head. Her skin crawled, her blood running cold.
“Q-Qing— No, I…” she stammered. “I didn’t mean to intrude… but I have something urgent to report. That’s why I went through so much trouble to reach the ‘locomotive’… I mean no harm!”
Qinglong’s gaze drifted back to the table. “Clean it.”
“Clean… it?” She stared at the head, baffled.
“Where you knocked.”
“Ah…? Oh…” Though confused, she moved to the spot she’d tapped, wiping her hand over the surface. She couldn’t see any stain but kept rubbing the table.
After a while, she forced a smile. “Is… this okay?”
Qinglong’s expression darkened further. “Why do you think… I deemed it unclean?”
“I…” Her mind blanked.
“You, a mere ‘insect’… how dare you strike my table?” His tone was eerily calm, as if speaking to the dead.
Xiao Ran paled. She rushed closer, pleading, “But I have critical news! I’m trying to help you! And—I was once a ‘Zodiac’ too! I lost my mask due to a misunderstanding… We’re on the same side!”
Qinglong exhaled sharply, her frantic excuses grating on his nerves.
Just as he raised a hand to pierce her chest, Xiao Ran shrieked:
“Qi Xia is leading a rebellion among the ‘participants’! I came to warn you—you have to believe me!”
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