Chapter 914: Passing It On
Yes, I know I let Aries down terribly… But I really had no choice.
"Did he threaten you?" Aries asked.
"Yes… He not only threatened me but also tried to recruit me, but I refused." I sighed. "However, to protect myself, I had to give him the map… Otherwise, I wouldn't even have had the chance to come here and speak with you. I would have become an 'Aborigine.'"
"Are you that afraid of death?" Aries asked again. "How can one person's life be worth more than everyone else's?"
Like a child who had done something wrong, I hung my head low before Aries.
"Yan Zhichun, did you even reveal my plan to him?" Aries asked sharply.
"I…" I was about to say no, but then I suddenly felt something was off.
Wait… Plan?
Aries' voice suddenly swirled in my mind: "Yan Zhichun, after today, I will never mention any of the plans again. Let them become secrets in the depths of your heart."
Why was he suddenly bringing up the 'plan' now…? Because I messed things up?
I looked up at Aries. Just as I had imagined, though his voice was very stern, his expression was completely blank.
How could Aries not have thought of this?
He had specifically summoned 'Silence' to hide that information, which meant he knew someone was listening from above. For someone who had been in a monitored environment for a long time, abruptly cutting off the surveillance would inevitably draw attention.
Brother Yang had said that once this secret was leaked to a third person, the entire plan could fail completely. Too bad Qing Long wasn't human—he didn't even consider himself human.
So the one who knew the plan wasn't human. The plan hasn't failed yet!
Or perhaps… it's all part of the plan?
God, I was a little nervous… I seemed to be vaguely following Aries' train of thought.
Now that Qing Long had revealed himself, Aries was voluntarily bringing up his own plan, which contradicted what he had said inside 'Silence.'
If that was the case, should I believe the words spoken within 'Silence,' or the words spoken under 'surveillance'?
The answer was already obvious.
Now I would 'place my bet.' I would show Aries through my actions that his choice had always been right.
That I was worthy of this 'Bestowed Wisdom.'
"Brother Yang… you have to believe me… I really didn't say anything…" I began to defend myself. "I am so loyal to you. Can't you see that? How could I possibly reveal your plan…?"
Hearing my words, the corner of Aries' mouth twitched up, almost imperceptibly.
I knew I had bet correctly.
He slowly stood up, walked to the office bar to pour a glass of water, then turned and handed it to me. He patted my shoulder, signaling for me to sit down, and then said, "Get out, Yan Zhichun. You're useless now."
Hearing those words, the stone in my heart finally settled.
I sat in the chair and took a big gulp of water, calming my flustered nerves.
So Brother Yang knew everything all along… Thank God…
"Brother Yang, even if I don't have merits, I have my efforts, don't I?" I took a deep breath and continued. "Qing Long told me you've been toying with my life the whole time. And now you want to abandon me. What a ruthless heart… How did I end up following someone like you?!"
I placed the empty cup on the table. Aries refilled it halfway, then pointed to a half-eaten bag of peanuts, offering me some. I waved my hand to decline.
"Toying with your life?" Aries sneered. "You owe your wisdom to me. Even if I did toy with your life, so what?"
"But it's wrong!" I said. "Qing Long also has immense power, but he never thought to toy with me like this!"
That sentence seemed a bit too rushed emotionally. I felt a cough coming on.
"Rubbish!" Aries grabbed a few peanuts himself and said, "Yan Zhichun, considering you've worked for me for so long, I'll spare your life. If you don't get out now, I will definitely bet my life against yours. You won't win my game. When I'm done, there won't even be a corpse left."
God, those peanuts Aries grabbed were clearly moldy… How could he eat them?
"Bet our lives… Brother Yang, are you really going to do this to me?" I said. "This is obviously a divisive scheme from Qing Long… Can't you see that?"
"Divisive scheme?" Aries slammed the table with his hand, sending peanut fragments flying everywhere. Then, expressionless, he roared, "If you hadn't agreed to work for Qing Long… would you be back here now? Would he have let you go?"
Brother Yang, please stop eating that bag of peanuts. They're moldy…
"Brother Yang… if you truly don't believe me… then I really have no motivation to live anymore." I took another sip of water. "Aren't you afraid I'll spill all your plans?"
Qing Long wanted to watch the insects tear each other apart, so we would put on a show for him.
When you one day squat down to watch ants fight over food, only to suddenly realize that these two pretending-to-fight ants have their compound eyes and simple eyes all fixed on you… what would you do?
"You…" Aries stared at me with an approving gaze. "Yan Zhichun, are you threatening me?"
"That's right." I nodded. "I need to fight for my chance to live. Since I could survive in front of Qing Long, I can definitely survive in front of you too."
"You've got guts." Aries said. "You've indeed saved your own life, but I won't fully trust you anymore."
"Whatever. I can't fully trust you either." I said. "You've made my life a complete mess… This is what you deserve. I will execute the plan on the map for my own sake. After that, we'll go our separate ways."
After saying this, I stood up and raised an eyebrow at Aries, unsure if this conversation was meant to end now.
Aries stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then nodded at me.
"Then let's leave it at that." Aries said. "For now, we'll be bound together by mutual interest. But I will kill you at any time."
"And I will betray you at any time."
Upon hearing this, Aries shrugged, nodded at me again. I nodded back, and withdrew from Aries' room.
Finally, I completely relaxed. Leaning against the wall, I slowly slid down to sit on the floor. I felt my legs go weak…
I had actually managed to maneuver between Aries and Qing Long… Thankfully, I could just barely keep up.
I wonder if there's anyone else in this 'Land of Finality' who, like me, has played a game of chess with two monsters in a single day.
But then again, the task Aries assigned me was indeed the easiest among everyone's.
He had to deal with Qing Long himself, and this 'map' was meant to be passed to Qing Long through my hands.
The 'Silence' he summoned had two meanings. The first was that Aries genuinely intended to tell me the plan, which I would then memorize and slowly begin to prepare. The second meaning was to lure Qing Long out.
Aries knew I would absolutely never reveal the plan, so the only thing I could give the other party was the map.
But what was the significance of Aries wanting to transfer the map to Qing Long?