“You’re right…”
The slacker dog shook his head, still unable to grasp the meaning behind the White Sheep Plan.
“Let’s call it a night for now…” Mole said again. “Dog Leader, please don’t repeat what I’ve told you… After all, we still need reckless fools.”
“Understood.” The slacker dog nodded, stood up, opened the door, and left.
……
“Big Guy!”
Pig pulled the towering Rabbit into his room, exclaiming excitedly, “You’re really **Farspread**?!”
Rabbit narrowed his eyes and looked at Pig, then gave a bitter smile. “What **Farspread**…? I don’t quite get it. You’re…?”
“It’s me!” Pig looked overjoyed, though something seemed to weigh on him. After a long pause, he gestured and said, “I’m… **Soultouch**! Though not anymore…”
“Wha—?!”
Rabbit froze, his crimson eyes flickering as if recalling something. He quickly turned to shut the door, then pulled Pig into a corner of the room.
“You damn kid…” Rabbit said, his voice trembling. “It’s really you… You’ve been a **Zodiac** all this time…?”
“Haha!” Pig burst into laughter, but tears soon followed. “This is great… so great…”
“What the hell is going on?!” Rabbit demanded. “Back then, you were the first to vanish from the room—no one knew where you went. We all thought you’d become a **Native**!”
“I…” Pig’s smile faded as he lowered his head. “Big Guy… I can’t talk about this.”
“After all this time?!” Rabbit growled. “What could possibly still be off-limits now?”
Pig hesitated for a few seconds before stammering out:
“Big Guy… I was the first one Xia sent to explore the **Path of the Zodiac**, so I left the room years before any of you.”
“Wait… Exploring the **Path of the Zodiac**?”
“Yeah. That was my deal with Xia.”
Rabbit scratched his head, feeling like many things were starting to make sense.
But why would Qi Xia have chosen the youngest among them—Pig—to explore the **Path of the Zodiac** back then?
“For the longest time… I never saw any of you,” Pig muttered, his voice heavy. “I thought Xia had betrayed me. But a few days ago, I finally saw him again… I was furious… said some harsh things.”
“Don’t overthink it…” Rabbit’s voice softened. He understood Pig’s feelings all too well—he, too, had once felt utterly alone.
After a brief silence, Pig spoke again: “Big Guy… Are all eight of us **Zodiacs** now…?”
Rabbit studied Pig for a moment before replying, “To be honest… Aside from you, the rest of us were given instructions. He prepared seven rooms for us… Mine had a rabbit mask and a message.”
“What did it say…?”
“He told me to put on the mask after activating my **Echo**, and to hide my identity as much as possible.” Rabbit sighed. “I didn’t understand the point, but since it was Qi Xia’s plan, I followed it.”
Pig’s eyes lit up. “Big Guy! What about the others?”
“I don’t know… I don’t know if their rooms had the same thing. I don’t even know if they all became **Zodiacs**. Even if they did… the city is huge, the **Trains** are endless, and we can’t reveal our names or our **Echoes**. Everyone has to go through **Human-Level**, **Interview Rooms**, and **Earth-Level** stages… How could we ever recognize each other?”
“Then…” The hope in Pig’s eyes dimmed. “Has no **Zodiac** ever tried to find their teammates?”
“There was one,” Rabbit said. “The only one I confirmed was a **Zodiac**, and she outed herself—but she’s dead now.”
Pig stiffened. “Dead…? Who?”
“Sister Zhuang,” Rabbit replied. “The one who loved smoking in our room.”
“Auntie Zhuang…?”
“She was a former **Earth Dog**,” Rabbit said. “After three years as an **Earth-Level**, **Isolation** drove her mad.”
Pig fell silent.
Rabbit sighed. “She was the one who always preached **Unity** in our room, yet she ended up experiencing total fragmentation firsthand. After enduring alone for so long… it’s no wonder she lost it.”
“This can’t be real… Auntie Zhuang not only became a **Zodiac**, but even rose to **Earth Dog**, and I never knew…” Pig’s voice wavered in disbelief. “You said she went mad…?”
“Yeah. And thanks to her screaming in the hallway that day, exposing herself…” Rabbit exhaled deeply. “I saw firsthand what happens when someone **can’t hold on anymore**. I didn’t reveal myself to her, but she helped me—woke me up.”
“So what is she now…?” Pig asked quietly.
Neither of them could bring themselves to say it.
Their once most trusted teammate had become a **Vermin**, living like livestock, released and forgotten each day.
“Pig,” Rabbit called out. “I’m going mad too…”
“You?”
“Don’t you think today’s **Earth Rooster** and **Earth Ox** looked familiar…?” Rabbit murmured. “I almost revealed my ability to test them…”
“No!” Pig grabbed Rabbit’s arm. “Big Guy, we just found each other—don’t risk exposing yourself! Though… those two…”
He trailed off, realizing their figures did resemble two people from their past.
“I’ll test them for you,” Rabbit said. “I suspect Ox’s plan today was a ruse—her real goal was to make us recognize each other.”
“What…?”
“Because Qi Xia once said we must never expose ourselves, yet Ox urged everyone to reveal their **Echoes** today…” Rabbit mused. “Not many know about this. And aside from you, the seven of us likely became **Zodiacs** carrying our **Echoes**…”
“But what if…” Pig hesitated. “What if more of us are dead than you think? What if… Xia’s team is just the two of us now?”
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