Chapter 912: A Dead End
My mind raced at lightning speed, considering countless countermeasures, devising dozens of strategies within just a few seconds.
Unfortunately, when dealing with someone of this caliber, my survival depended entirely on those "strategies," while all he needed to kill me was a single finger.
"I really don't know anything about 'Silence,'" I replied. "Since you know my name, you know who I am. In your memories, have I ever had any contact with 'Silence' before?"
I steadied my nerves and made a slight movement with my fingers. But whether my eyes were playing tricks on me or my 'Echo' had failed, the man before me didn't mimic the motion.
"We've already come this far..." The man stared at me, his eyes radiating an utterly insane expression. "For 'Silence' to appear *now*... doesn't that make you curious...? Yan Zhichun... this might be your last chance to confess."
"Last... chance?"
"For me to stoop down and speak to an ant... is a blessing you've earned through three lifetimes of cultivation." He let out a manic laugh. "How much time do you think I'm willing to waste on you?"
An ant... I really didn't like that analogy.
Everyone here desperately wanted to *live*. They experienced joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness here, and they died and were reborn here. No one here was an ant.
With that thought, I willed myself to take half a step back, but the man before me still didn't move.
I knew I had activated my 'Echo,' yet he completely ignored it.
Aries had clearly stated that none of the upper echelons here could 'immunize against Echoes.' So how was he doing it?
If the 'Longhorn Beetle' I was about to face was also like this... then I would surely lead 'Jidao' to our deaths aboard the train.
"Huh...?" The man blinked, then suddenly stared wide-eyed at me. "Yan Zhichun, do you know how to pierce through a wave with a toy water gun?"
"Pierce through a wave... with a toy water gun?"
He slowly took a step forward. The next second, my feet moved involuntarily, stepping forward as well.
It was 'Mind Control'...
My eyes shot wide open. Damn it...
"Ever since I discovered I could steal people's rationality, I've rarely used such a useless control method anymore..." He bared his teeth in a sinister grin. And yet, I found myself grinning along with him...
We stood less than three steps apart, both wearing the same crazed smile, but my entire body was trembling.
Though I could control others' movements, I had never been able to control their expressions.
"Yan Zhichun... this is the little trick you rely on to survive, isn't it?"
Seeing me shaking like a leaf, he laughed as if teasing an insect, then withdrew the 'Mind Control' that had been pressing down on me. Even though he had done nothing else, I had lost completely, utterly.
This was what it meant to try and break through a wave with a toy water gun. I was the toy gun, and he was the raging storm and tsunami.
I knew I was really going to die here. When I realized this, the fear inside me actually lessened somewhat. Since I was doomed either way, rather than beg for mercy, I'd rather provoke him and find some satisfaction.
Not everyone gets the chance to provoke a monster. I had to cherish it.
"Are you 'Azure Dragon'?" I asked.
"Oh?" The man looked at me with a flicker of interest. "Did Aries tell you about me?"
"I guessed," I said. "You don't seem like a 'Mortal' or an 'Immortal,' because you lack any animalistic traits, and you view people as ants—just like the 'upper echelons' Aries described. But it wouldn't make sense for 'Heavenly Dragon,' the supreme ruler, to appear before me personally. So you must be Azure Dragon."
"Interesting!" Azure Dragon laughed heartily. "A clever ant is the most interesting!"
I swallowed hard and continued, "You've got the wrong person. At most, I'm just an errand runner. I do what I'm told. If you have a grudge against Aries, coming after me is hardly impressive."
"A grudge... That's hardly the word for it." Azure Dragon shook his head. "We're inseparable partners... Isn't it natural for partners to share tactics? Tell me... what exactly did he say inside that 'Silence'?!"
Yes. After calming down, I had latched onto the key point.
Why 'Silence'?
"Azure Dragon... if you're so curious about Aries's tactics, you should have plenty of questions to ask. It can't just be what was said in 'Silence,' can it?"
"Hmm?"
"In other words, you can already know everything else," I said. "You can know everything except what was said in 'Silence.' Does that mean you can 'eavesdrop'?"
"Haha!" Azure Dragon looked at me with keen interest, then nodded emphatically. "That's right! I've been listening all along... So why did the plan suddenly stop?!"
If every word he said was true, it proved he had indeed collaborated with Aries on certain matters. But Azure Dragon couldn't figure out Aries's intentions. Asking him directly would make him seem incompetent, so he had turned his sights on me.
"I won't tell you," I replied.
"Fine. Three sentences." Azure Dragon raised three fingers. "I've given this ant plenty of time. I'll give you three sentences. If you don't satisfy me in those three sentences, I'll take your rationality and throw you out into the street, leaving your 'dear Brother Sheep' without support. The choice is yours."
"Even if I become an 'Original Resident,' I won't tell you..." I said quietly. "After all, I have my own goals. I'm nothing like you lunatics."
"That's the first sentence." Azure Dragon lowered one finger.
I knew Azure Dragon wasn't joking. After all, I wouldn't squat down to joke with an ant.
How could I ensure my survival?
Right now, I was the only one who knew Brother Sheep's plan. If I died, the consequences would be unpredictable. Though 'Jidao' would still exist, it would have lost its ultimate goal forever.
It would be difficult for Brother Sheep to find another suitable candidate and re-lay the plan within a year or two. Even if he did, that person couldn't command 'Jidao.' Only Jiang Ruoxue and I could do that, and Jiang Ruoxue would only follow my orders.
So I couldn't die. Otherwise, the Land of the End couldn't be liberated, 'Jidao' couldn't be freed, and the tens of thousands of rotting souls couldn't be set free.
"Azure Dragon, you've committed enough atrocities. The 'karma' and 'consequences' awaiting you will all lead to great evil. Even if you see human lives as mere ants, don't you want to think about yourself for once?"
Azure Dragon's expression shifted slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and lowered another finger.
"That's the second sentence."
If it were Brother Sheep, how would he survive within these three sentences?
Wait...
If it were Brother Sheep, why would he have let himself end up in a situation where he only had three sentences?
I was following his train of thought. I had already lost.
"Hurry up," Azure Dragon said. "Stalling won't help."
"I'm done," I replied. "Just two sentences."
I had my own way of thinking. So what if he was Azure Dragon?