“What do you mean…?” Both Sister Siwei and I were taken aback.
“Hero, Siwei…” Brother Gu Yu sighed deeply. “You should be able to guess—if one team is close to collecting enough jade pieces, the others won’t be far behind.”
After hearing his words, the two of us understood what he meant and lowered our heads in silence.
“Even though I drove them away this time, what about next time? Or the time after that? If every time someone is about to collect all the jade pieces, they get stolen, no matter what ‘house rules’ we enforce, this home won’t last.”
“Then… then Brother Gu Yu, you…” I asked nervously.
“Next cycle, I’m leaving,” he said. “This time… I won’t be coming back.”
Though I had suspected this might be the answer, hearing Brother Gu Yu say it out loud made my heart skip a beat.
“Leave…?” Sister Siwei was stunned. “Gu Yu, where are you going? Did you find a way to escape?”
“No,” Brother Gu Yu shook his head. “But after all these years… you must have seen it too—this city has no hope left.”
“Are you going to another city? But no matter where you go… you’ll still return after ten days…”
“Yes, usually that’s the case, but there’s a way to avoid it.” Brother Gu Yu stood up, walked to the corner of the room, rummaged for a while, and pulled out a box.
Sister Siwei and I looked at him, confused, with no idea what he was planning.
He brought the box to me, gently patted my head, and said softly, “Little Hero, all these years I’ve treated you like a hero. Today, I want to treat you like an ordinary child.”
I blinked, saying nothing, but I felt like crying.
“How about we play a game?” Brother Gu Yu, carrying a scent of sorrow, placed the box in front of me and then tossed a small handful of jade pieces inside.
“Wh-what game?”
“There are thirty jade pieces in here… We’ll take turns taking them out, as many as we want,” he said with a bitter smile. “Whoever takes the last piece wins. How about it?”
I had never played this game before, but I went along with Brother Gu Yu. We played twice, and both times I lost.
“Gu Yu…” Sister Siwei called out. “What exactly are you trying to do?”
“This is a ‘game’ I designed,” Brother Gu Yu said, staring somberly at the box in his hands. “I want to become a ‘Zodiac.'”
Hearing this, Sister Siwei and I shot to our feet in shock.
“Become a ‘Zodiac’?!” Sister Siwei was stunned. “What do you mean?! Gu Yu, what are you planning?”
“I never told you both, but as long as you wear a ‘Zodiac’ mask, you can become one—it’s just that the path is incredibly dangerous.” Brother Gu Yu shook his head with a bitter smile. “So I’ve decided to become a ‘Zodiac’ and walk that path.”
“That’s absurd!” Sister Siwei exclaimed. “Aren’t the ‘Zodiacs’ supposed to be the enemies of ‘participants’? Are you joining the enemy?”
“Don’t be naive, Siwei,” Brother Gu Yu shook his head. “All the ‘Zodiacs’ here were once participants. They just woke up sooner and walked further than we have.”
“So you…” Sister Siwei seemed agitated, her voice trembling as she pointed at the box in Brother Gu Yu’s hands. “You’re using this childish game—taking turns pulling jade pieces from a box—to climb the ranks? Aren’t you afraid someone will ‘bet their life’ against you?!”
“I have a trump card,” Brother Gu Yu said with a bitter smile. “Remember? I used to be a magician.”
“What does being a magician have to do with it?”
He reached into the box and picked up a jade piece, but I clearly saw two missing from the box.
He turned his hand to show us—another piece was hidden in his palm.
“This is called the ‘palm concealment,’ a basic technique in close-up magic. I can ‘cheat’…” His hand trembled slightly before he continued, “Every ‘Zodiac’ has a trait… Like the Dog can ‘provoke,’ the Rabbit can ‘destroy,’ the Snake can ‘show favoritism,’ and the Sheep can ‘lie.’ The Monkey… can ‘cheat.’ I’ll become the ‘Human Monkey.'”
Though he patiently explained the magic and the principles of the ‘Zodiacs,’ the scent of sorrow around him was overwhelming.
I thought… if Brother Gu Yu had chosen this path, he must have had no other choice.
“You’ve studied the ‘Zodiacs’ so thoroughly…” Sister Siwei was stunned. “You’ve been planning this for a while?”
“Yes,” Brother Gu Yu nodded. “Siwei, to be honest, four years ago before I returned, I struggled with two choices—either come back to ‘Jade City’ and try to change it, or become a ‘Zodiac.’ I even gambled against a Human Monkey to the death and hid his mask, just in case I ever decided to take this path. But I knew if I didn’t return to ‘Jade City’ and try to change things, I might regret it years later.”
Hearing his words, Sister Siwei and I fell silent.
“You’ve seen it too… Over these four years, ‘Jade City’ has only gotten worse. Even with the three of us giving everything, this ‘beast’ has started biting back.” He shook his head and stood, facing Sister Siwei. “Siwei… I’ve tried my best within my limits. I know I seem like a soldier deserting the battlefield, but I have to think of myself. I can’t stay here waiting for the inevitable.”
“I… I understand,” Sister Siwei said. “You’re making the right choice… I support you.”
Though I caught a whiff of sorrow from her, she kept smiling.
She sniffled and added, “But if you become a ‘Zodiac’ here, no one might join your game… So…”
“I won’t stay in ‘Jade City,'” Brother Gu Yu said. “People here love ‘Human-level’ games, but they never touch ‘Earth-level’ ones—except for the ‘Executioner.’ Once I advance to ‘Earth,’ I’d be trapped. ‘Vortex City’ is too dangerous—I might face dozens of life-or-death gambles in a single day. So…”
“You’re going to become a Human Monkey in ‘Path City’…?” Sister Siwei nodded. “But isn’t that place full of clever people…? How will your game—”
“I’ll have to take the risk. I’ll refine the game—maybe use two boxes or more tokens. But my decision is made,” Gu Yu said. “With only these three cities left, I have no other options. Honestly, becoming a ‘Zodiac’ in ‘Path City’ might be safer than staying here.”
Seeing Sister Siwei’s silence, Brother Gu Yu asked, “Siwei, don’t you want to become a Rabbit who can ‘escape’?”
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