“Soft-foot…!” The ground rooster’s sharp beak twitched slightly, barely able to make a sound.
“Without you, the ‘Train’ would be much quieter, right?” The ground horse said, clutching their completely broken right hand.
“Tie them up… kill…!”
The ground rooster slowly knelt, then collapsed face-first onto the ground, their sharp beak sinking into the dirt—completely motionless.
With the dust settled, the ground horse lifted their head and looked at the rooster’s students. “What do you say?”
“We…”
“Don’t make trouble,” the ground horse said. “We’re doing something to liberate the entire ‘Train.’ Now go tell all the ‘Human-class’ that if they do nothing, they’ll be waiting for their freedom.”
The ‘Human-class’ in front of them clearly felt something was off. One of them, a human tiger, stammered, “Do nothing… but what if the higher-ups blame us…?”
“The higher-ups won’t blame those who ‘do nothing,'” the ground horse replied. “Little human tiger, even if they blame anyone, it’ll be us. What does it have to do with ordinary ‘Human-class’ like you?”
“This…”
The human tiger thought the ground horse made sense. Right now, ‘doing nothing’ was the safest option. After all, being a ‘rebel’ meant death, and fighting these ‘rebels’ could also get them killed. What better choice was there than doing nothing?
“Spread this message to more people,” the ground horse said. “We’re not asking for anything—just don’t throw your lives away for no reason. Understood?”
The ‘Human-class’ nodded one after another, then scattered.
“Is this really okay…?” the ground pig muttered. “What if one day they rise again… and come for revenge for their teacher’s death?”
“That day won’t come,” the ground horse shook their head. “Right now, everyone’s afraid. None of the ‘Human-class’ fully understand what’s happening—they’re divided, while we’re united. We might not even live to see tomorrow, let alone worry about them ‘rising again.'”
“We… ‘united’…?” The ground pig lowered their head again, feeling like the biggest burden in the group.
“Go rest,” the ground horse said. “Just don’t die.”
“Where are you going?”
“To kill the sky horse,” the ground horse took a deep breath. “‘Counter-kill’—wasn’t that the plan we agreed on?”
“But your attacks…” The ground pig pointed at their hand. “Using them means you’ll run out, right…?”
“Yes,” the ground horse said grimly. “My teacher stored 200 ‘Earth-class’ attacks in me. I’ve saved 100 for the sky horse.”
“But your hand…”
The ground pig pointed—the ground horse’s left hand was pierced by a dagger, their right completely shattered, and their legs injured. It seemed they had no means of attack left.
“Even if I have to headbutt them, it doesn’t matter,” the ground horse shook their head. “As long as I can get my hands on the sky horse, I’ll make sure they die.”
“Compared to you all…” The ground pig sighed. “Right now, I’m really…”
“Your memory is long, right?” the ground horse suddenly changed the subject.
“What?”
“My teacher told me that if there was ever a full-scale rebellion, at least one person with a long memory had to stay on the ‘Train,'” the ground horse said. “Now, it seems everything’s falling into place—that person has to be you. You must remember all of us.”
The ground pig frowned at them. “What do you mean…? What are you saying? My long memory… what does that have to do with me staying here?”
“I don’t know,” the ground horse shook their head. “I’m not smart. I often don’t understand my teacher’s words, but I trust her completely. She told me the one with the longest memory must survive.”
“This…”
“I’m leaving,” the ground horse waved and turned away.
“Then be careful…” the ground pig called after them.
“I will.”
“…Stay safe.”
—
More and more ‘Zodiacs’ were gathering in the corridors. The situation had truly become a dilemma—they could see ‘Zodiacs’ fighting each other, but what was really happening?
In the distance, a ground tiger and a ground dragon were locked in fierce combat, their ‘Human-class’ subordinates also clashing.
Meanwhile, the corridors were packed with ‘participants’ on both sides, plunging the scene into chaos.
Further ahead, other ‘Zodiacs’ seemed to be fighting too, and ‘Zodiac’ corpses were beginning to litter the ground.
Who had shouted “Rebellion!” earlier?
Who were they rebelling against? And who was the enemy?
Combined with the cry of “Sky-class, come out and die!”—if the ‘rebels’ only wanted to kill the ‘Sky-class,’ why should anyone stop them?
Which ‘Earth-class’ here didn’t want the ‘Sky-class’ dead?
Many ‘Earth-class’ stepped out and stood together, exchanging glances. Those with long memories—if they hadn’t gone mad—knew this rebellion was nothing but beneficial for them.
Other ‘Earth-class’ were risking their lives to fight the ‘Sky-class’—why not just watch from the sidelines? Wasn’t that the best outcome?
As long as the Azure Dragon and the ‘Sky-class’ stayed silent, there was no need to act.
So far, the rebellion had been underway for a while. Nearly every ‘Earth-class’ who stepped out saw ‘participants,’ yet very few made a move to kill them.
A massive, plump rabbit sprinted ahead with Aunt Tong, growing more uneasy with every step.
A crowd of ‘Zodiacs’ was watching the chaos—so why was no one paying attention to them?
As they ran, a door ahead opened, and a female ground ox stepped out with a group of ‘Extremists.’
She pushed past the ‘participants’ and also began sprinting down the corridor.
“Hey!” the ground rabbit called from behind. “Hey hey! You there!”
The ground ox ignored them, speeding ahead with Old Deng and the others.
“Hey hey!” the ground rabbit shouted again. “Sis Ox! It’s me!”
Still, the ground ox didn’t turn around.
“Oh my!” Aunt Tong panted as she ran. “Kid, where are your manners? Calling someone ‘hey hey’—such a big guy calling her ‘sis,’ huh?”
“But I don’t know how to address her…” the ground rabbit muttered.
“Kid, you don’t have a partner, do you?” Aunt Tong teased. “No idea how to talk to girls, eh?”
“Just focus on running, Auntie,” the ground rabbit grumbled.
The ground rabbit caught up in a few strides, panting. “Ox sis, it’s me.”
The ground ox glanced at them. “Oh, it’s you.”
“What a coincidence, huh?” the ground rabbit said. “The corridor’s really lively today!”
The ground ox frowned slightly. The corridor *was* lively, but something felt off—they were moving too smoothly.
All these ‘Zodiacs’ lining the halls were just watching. No one stopped them.
In the blink of an eye, both groups arrived before the black ram—unhindered.
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