All the “Zodiacs” in the room fell silent at this moment, each taking a seat at the dining table by pulling up a chair.
After all, everyone had their own reasons for being here, and no one wanted to ruin such a golden opportunity.
Earth Ox cleared his throat and addressed the group: “First, I need to make something clear. Although we’ve pieced together the full plan, we’re still missing the most crucial piece of information.”
“What is it?” Black Sheep asked.
“**Time**,” Earth Ox replied. “I don’t know the exact moment this plan will be set in motion. I can’t even say for sure which day, let alone the precise hour or minute.”
“**No idea about the ‘time’…?**” Earth Rat, sitting in the corner, stroked his whiskers repeatedly. “Leader… are you serious?”
“Yes,” Earth Ox nodded. “We know the plan, but not the execution time.”
“Then… about the ‘time’…” Earth Rat pondered for a moment before asking, “Did Brother Sheep give any hints?”
Earth Chicken took a step forward and answered, “He said everything will happen when it’s meant to happen.”
“**When it’s meant to happen…?**”
“That’s right,” Earth Ox nodded again. “But I believe… now is about the time.”
Hearing this, everyone slowly straightened their postures, waiting for Earth Ox to continue.
“With me and Earth Chicken included, there are nine ‘Zodiacs’ in this room,” Earth Ox said. “I’ve never known anyone on the ‘Train,’ aside from Tianlong and Qinglong, who could rally nine ‘Earth-level’ members to fight for the same cause. And with Brother Sheep coordinating from the outside, the situation is escalating—clearly reaching a tipping point.”
“That’s true…” Earth Tiger nodded.
“Right now, apart from ‘Dragon,’ ‘Snake,’ and ‘Monkey,’ our room has gathered every type of ‘Zodiac,’” Earth Ox scanned the group and added, “What a strange coincidence. Each of us once emerged from an ‘interview room’ of nine people long ago. Now, we’ll use this room as our starting point, forming a team of nine to carry out the next phase of the plan.”
After speaking, she glanced at Earth Chicken, who seamlessly picked up the thread: “First, I’ll explain the situation and countermeasures outside the ‘Train.’ Later, Earth Ox will cover the events on the ‘Train.’”
Seeing everyone’s serious expressions, Earth Chicken continued, “On a certain day in a certain cycle, the giant clocks and display screens near the city will suddenly be destroyed.”
“**What?**”
Gasps erupted among the Zodiacs—they hadn’t expected Earth Chicken’s first statement to be so shocking.
“I don’t know why these devices will be destroyed, nor do I know who will destroy them,” Earth Chicken said. “But the moment they collapse will be our signal to act.”
Earth Rat frowned slightly after a moment of thought. “Leader Chicken, if I recall correctly… there are four sets of giant clocks and displays in total. Which one are you referring to?”
“**All of them**,” Earth Chicken replied.
“**All…?**”
“Exactly,” Earth Chicken confirmed. “According to White Sheep, all four sets will be destroyed simultaneously. Our first task is to rendezvous with the ‘destroyers.’”
The word “rendezvous” cast a brief silence over the room.
After all, everyone present was a “Zodiac.” The moment they left their “territory,” Zhuque would sense it and descend from the sky. How, then, could they possibly “rendezvous” with anyone?
Moreover, if Earth Chicken claimed the destruction would happen simultaneously, it clearly wasn’t something a mere hundred people could pull off. Just how many “destroyers” would they need to receive?
“Don’t worry,” Earth Chicken, seemingly reading their concerns, explained, “None of us are alone in this. White Sheep is out there covering for us. You won’t even need to seek out the ‘destroyers’—they’ll come to you.”
“**Come to us…?**” Earth Rat seemed to grasp the implication. “So we just… wait for them?”
“Yes, but there’s one part of the plan I don’t fully understand…” Earth Chicken hesitated. “White Sheep said the ‘destroyers’ would know the locations of eight ‘Zodiacs’ and would overcome all obstacles to reach them. But right now, there are nine of us here…”
Black Sheep, seated nearby, stiffened slightly before realizing something. “It probably doesn’t include me.”
“**Not you…?**” Earth Chicken stared at him. “How do you know?”
“Because…” Black Sheep paused, then said, “Brother Sheep is a ‘Sheep,’ and so am I. When he designed this plan, he likely didn’t account for another ‘Sheep.’”
“**What kind of logic is that…?**” Earth Chicken frowned. “It sounds plausible at first, but the more you think about it, the shakier it gets.”
“Wait… hold on…” Earth Tiger rubbed his large head, deep in thought. “Eight ‘Zodiac’ locations…? Why does that sound so familiar?”
At the mention of “eight Zodiacs,” Earth Rat’s expression shifted as he glanced at Earth Tiger.
A sudden realization struck them both—what if the eight “Zodiacs” White Sheep mentioned… referred to the **map**?
The more Earth Tiger thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Qi Xia had once shown him a “map” with exactly eight people marked on it.
But the problem was, some of the Zodiacs on that map—namely “Dragon,” “Snake,” and “Monkey”—hadn’t joined their rebellion squad.
“**Dammit…**” Earth Tiger muttered under his breath. “Did we recruit the wrong people…? But no… this was all random. How could Brother Sheep have predicted who we’d approach?”
“What did you say?” Earth Chicken frowned again, eyeing Earth Tiger, Black Sheep, and Earth Rat, who all seemed hesitant to speak.
“Nothing… just thinking out loud…” Earth Tiger shook his head.
“That’s normal,” Earth Chicken said. “You all know White Sheep—he wouldn’t entrust the entire plan to just me. Those familiar with him likely have their own parts to play. My and Earth Ox’s role is simply to connect the dots.”
“Right,” Earth Tiger nodded. “Go on…”
“Regardless of how many of us there are, only eight ‘Zodiacs’ will receive the ‘destroyers,’ and we must protect them at all costs,” Earth Chicken continued. “By sunset, we’ll escort them onto the ‘Train,’ concluding the first phase of the plan.”
Though the plan sounded unbelievable, the actual execution didn’t seem too difficult. After a few seconds of consideration, everyone nodded in agreement.
“But I have to warn you…” Earth Chicken’s expression darkened. “No matter which eight ‘Zodiacs’ are chosen to receive the ‘destroyers’… one of them **will die**.”
“**Huh…?**”
The group was stunned.
Earth Chicken sighed. “In other words… seven of the portals are ‘gates of life,’ and one is a ‘gate of death.’”
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