“Zhu Que…” Chen Junnan scratched his head after hearing this. “Damn… that’s a fair point…”
“All of us here have survived long enough in this place,” Jiang Ruoxue said, crossing her arms. “We’ve seen these ‘Divine Beasts’ multiple times, right? Zhu Que wasn’t even wearing shoes—whether he has extra ‘eyes’ on his body is obvious at a glance. Does he seem ‘implanted’ to you?”
Though Chen Junnan hadn’t seen Zhu Que many times, he remembered the man being completely naked, flipping through the air like a bird.
“Tsk…” Zhou Liu pondered for a few seconds before speaking. “Could it be that he only has one ‘Echo’?”
“That’s impossible,” Chen Junnan retorted. “That exhibitionist has at least two ‘Echoes.’ He always appears out of nowhere and hovers mid-air, which means he definitely has ‘Teleportation’ and ‘Levitation.’ As for the rest… it’s hard to say.”
“Tsk, then where are his ‘eyes’?” Zhou Liu pressed. “What I mean is… how do we kill him?”
Chen Junnan lowered his head, twisting the hair on his forehead as if seriously considering the question.
“Hiss…” He took a slow breath. “That bastard… could he really only have two ‘Echoes’…?”
“Only two ‘Echoes’…?” Jiang Ruoxue was stunned. “Are you sure? He’s a ‘Divine Beast,’ on par with ‘Qing Long’ and ‘Xuan Wu.’ No matter how you look at it, he shouldn’t only have two ‘Echoes,’ right?”
A few seconds later, Chen Junnan raised his head. “I’m not Lao Qi—I can’t think in circles like he does—but my gut says… this guy has two ‘Echoes,’ and he happens to have two ‘eyes.’ So maybe…”
“…?”
Zhou Liu and Jiang Ruoxue exchanged bewildered expressions.
After a pause, Jiang Ruoxue pointed a slender finger at her own eyes. “Confused Little Brother, are you saying… Zhu Que’s ‘Echoes’ are his literal eyes? One eye per ‘Echo,’ totaling two?”
“Isn’t that obvious…?” Chen Junnan asked.
Jiang Ruoxue held back for a moment before finally uttering, “Fine…”
“Come on…” Chen Junnan forced a dry laugh. “Don’t just say ‘fine’… Don’t you agree? That exhibitionist is completely bare, and we know he has two ‘Echoes’ and two ‘eyes’…”
“Fine. Fine.” Jiang Ruoxue said flatly. “I’ll go talk to Zhou Mo instead. Confused Little Brother, step aside.”
The two of them completely ignored Chen Junnan and started discussing among themselves.
After a few words, Zhou Liu let out a deep sigh. “Tsk, if this is true… none of us are sleeping tonight.”
She turned to Yun Shijiu, who, despite boasting about having seen “big scenes,” was now too shocked to speak.
“Shijiu… tsk, gather Fifth Brother and all the others for a meeting later,” Zhou Liu said. “We’ll have to treat this ‘genius’ idea as true for now when planning… The stakes are too high to ignore.”
“Got it…” Yun Shijiu nodded.
He never expected that walking into this room today would drag him into a matter concerning the entire future of “Cat.”
“Let me summarize again,” Jiang Ruoxue said. “Zhou Mo, tomorrow morning, we’ll gather all of ‘Extremity.’ Once everyone’s assembled, stay in contact with us, then return to ‘Cat’ for your mission.”
“Mm.” Zhou Liu nodded.
“We’ll operate on two fronts. I’ll find Zhichun immediately and have her lead the team for ‘Extremity’s’ mission. You act as the situation demands.”
“Understood.”
“Good work.” Jiang Ruoxue said. “I hope when this cycle ends… everyone gets a good outcome.”
Despite her encouraging words, neither Jiang Ruoxue nor Zhou Liu felt any joy.
Even if their plans succeeded by dawn… the cost had already been too great.
Everyone here had endured for decades—even if they won, how much happiness could they really feel?
A weight carried for decades doesn’t just vanish; no one’s back could straighten that easily.
If everything went perfectly… if “Tianlong,” “Qing Long,” the “Divine Beasts,” and “Heaven” all died…
What then? Would anything here truly change?
Jiang Ruoxue and Zhou Liu had to stop their thoughts there, or their resolve would crumble completely.
“Alright, let’s proceed with this plan,” Jiang Ruoxue said. “You brief Qian Wu. We’re heading back now.”
“Wait… hold on…” Chen Junnan blinked. “Why does it sound like I’m not part of this plan…?”
Jiang Ruoxue glanced at him. “You represent Qi Xia… shouldn’t you follow his lead?”
“Dammit… I don’t even know what Lao Qi’s planning. Am I just useless here?” Chen Junnan pressed.
“No…” Jiang Ruoxue shook her head. “Confused Little Brother, there’s something I need your help with. On a personal level, it’s a request from me. On a grander scale, it’s a plea for the entire ‘Land of the End.’”
“What is it? That serious?”
“Tomorrow, Zhichun will participate in the ‘Earth Dragon’ game. I need you to ensure she survives.” Jiang Ruoxue said. “If she dies… even if Qi Xia can fix it, I’m afraid the ‘plan’ will be compromised.”
“Got it… leave it to me.”
Seeing Jiang Ruoxue stand, Chen Junnan hurriedly followed. “Sister Jiang… you’re heading back in the dark?”
“Right.” Jiang Ruoxue said. “Confused Little Brother, I need to be with Zhichun. She overthinks when she’s alone.”
“Fair enough…” Chen Junnan nodded. “The bugs are off-duty tonight anyway. I should go back to Lao Qi too—though he’ll overthink with or without me.”
Zhou Liu stood and signaled to Yun Shijiu, who then withdrew the energy field enveloping the group.
“Zhou Jie, I’ll head back first,” Chen Junnan said. “I know you’re busy, but don’t forget to relay any messages to Lao Qi. Just in case he has something to say.”
“Tsk, I know.”
The three parted ways. Jiang Ruoxue and Chen Junnan vanished into the night toward “Paradise Entrance,” while “Cat” erupted into quiet chaos. Many, summoned by Qian Wu and Zhou Liu, moved toward the meeting hall with grim, silent resolve.
Tonight was clearly a sleepless one for “Cat.” A tense, smoldering silence blanketed the entire prison.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage