Chapter 963: The Gate of Death Appears Again
All the "Chinese Zodiacs" in the room fell silent at that moment. One by one, they went to the dining table, picked up a chair, and sat down.
After all, everyone had come here with their own goals, and no one wanted to let such a good opportunity slip away.
Earth Ox cleared her throat and said to the group, "First, let me clarify something. Although we've pieced together the complete plan, we're still missing one crucial piece of information."
"What is it?" Black Sheep asked.
"It's the 'time,'" Earth Ox replied. "I don't know the exact time this plan is supposed to be set in motion. I can't even pinpoint the day, let alone the hour and minute."
"Don't know the 'time'..." Earth Rat sat in the corner, stroking his whiskers. "Leader... are you being serious?"
"Yes," Earth Ox nodded. "We only know the content of the plan, not when it will be implemented."
"Then... regarding the 'time'..." Earth Rat thought for a moment and asked again, "Did Brother Sheep give any hints?"
Earth Chicken stepped forward at this point and replied, "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 feel... now is about the right time."
Hearing this, everyone slowly sat up straighter, listening for Earth Ox to continue.
"Now, including myself and Earth Chicken, there are nine 'Chinese Zodiacs' in this room," Earth Ox said. "I don't recall anyone on the 'Train' aside from Heavenly Dragon and Azure Dragon ever organizing nine 'Earth-level' members to fight for the same cause. Add to that Brother Sheep outside working in coordination with us, and the situation is escalating rapidly. It's clearly reached a critical point."
"That's true..." Earth Tiger nodded.
"Right now, apart from 'Dragon,' 'Snake,' and 'Monkey,' our room has gathered every type of 'Chinese Zodiac,'" Earth Ox scanned the group and continued. "What a remarkable coincidence. Each of us came out of a nine-person 'interview room' long ago, and now we're using this room as a starting point, a team of nine, to continue carrying out the plan ahead."
After she finished speaking, she glanced at Earth Chicken, who understood and took over: "First, let me talk about what will happen outside the 'Train' and our response strategy. Earth Ox will cover the matters on the 'Train' later."
Seeing everyone's serious expressions, Earth Chicken continued, "On a certain day in some cycle, the giant clocks and display screens near the city will suddenly be destroyed."
"Ah?"
Many of the 'Chinese Zodiacs' exclaimed in surprise. They hadn't expected Earth Chicken's first words to be so startling.
"I don't know why these devices will be destroyed, nor who exactly will destroy them. But the moment the giant clocks and display screens are destroyed will be our signal to act," Earth Chicken told the group.
Earth Rat thought for a moment, then frowned slightly. "Chicken Leader, if I remember correctly... there are four sets of giant clocks and display screens. Which specific set are you referring to as being destroyed?"
"All of them," Earth Chicken replied.
"All...?"
"That's right." Earth Chicken continued, "According to White Sheep, all four sets of giant clocks and display screens will be destroyed at the same time. Our primary task is to rendezvous with those 'destroyers.'"
The group fell silent at the word "rendezvous."
After all, everyone present was a 'Chinese Zodiac.' The moment they left their 'territory,' Vermilion Bird would sense them and descend from the sky. How could they possibly 'rendezvous' with anyone?
Moreover, Earth Chicken said that all these devices would be destroyed simultaneously. It clearly wasn't something a few hundred people could accomplish. How many people would they need to rendezvous with?
"Don't worry." Earth Chicken seemed to read their concerns and explained further, "None of us are alone. White Sheep is out there protecting us. You don't need to go looking for those 'destroyers'—they will come to you of their own accord."
"Come to us...?" Earth Rat seemed to understand. "We just need to wait for them here...?"
"Yes, but there's one part of this plan I don't quite understand..." Earth Chicken said. "White Sheep said those 'destroyers' would have the positions of eight 'Chinese Zodiacs' and would overcome all obstacles to reach those eight. But now there are nine of us..."
Black Sheep, sitting nearby, paused and immediately understood. "It should be without me."
"Without you...?" Earth Chicken stared at Black Sheep for a moment. "How do you know?"
"I..." Black Sheep hesitated for a moment, then said, "Because Brother Sheep is a 'Sheep,' and I'm a 'Sheep' too. When he formulated this plan, he probably didn't include 'Sheep' in the count, right?"
"What kind of strange reason is that...?" Earth Chicken found it hard to comprehend. "It sounds reasonable on the surface, but when you think about it, it's full of holes."
"Wait... wait..." Earth Tiger rubbed his massive tiger head, deep in thought. "The positions of eight 'Chinese Zodiacs'...? Why does that sound so familiar?"
When "eight Chinese Zodiacs" was mentioned, Earth Rat suddenly thought of something. His expression turned complicated as he looked at the Broke Tiger.
A thought crossed both their minds: could the eight 'Chinese Zodiacs' White Sheep referred to be... the 'Map'?
The more Earth Tiger thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Qi Xia had once shown him a 'Map,' and there were exactly eight people on it.
But the problem was that the 'Chinese Zodiacs' on the map didn't all join this rebellion team. The missing ones were 'Dragon,' 'Snake,' and 'Monkey.'
"Damn it..." Earth Tiger cursed under his breath. "Did we pick the wrong people...? But that can't be right. This was all random behavior. How could Brother Sheep have predicted who we would choose in advance?"
"What did you say?" Earth Chicken frowned again, looking at Earth Tiger, Black Sheep, and Earth Rat. She noticed they all seemed to have something to say but held back.
"Nothing... nothing..." Earth Tiger shook his head. "There's something I haven't figured out yet..."
"That's normal." Earth Chicken continued, "You should know White Sheep. He doesn't just give plans to me alone. Those who know him well should have received their own parts of the plan. So Earth Ox and my task is just to connect everyone's plans together."
"That makes sense." Earth Tiger nodded. "Go on..."
"Regardless of how many of us there are, only eight 'Chinese Zodiacs' will receive the 'destroyers.' We need to do our utmost to protect them," Earth Chicken continued. "At sunset, escort these 'destroyers' to board the 'Train' collectively. That will conclude the first phase of the plan."
Although the plan Earth Chicken laid out seemed extraordinary to everyone, it didn't sound particularly difficult. After a few seconds of thought, they all nodded.
"But I have to pour some cold water on you..." Earth Chicken raised her head slowly, her expression extremely serious. "No matter which eight 'Chinese Zodiacs' are responsible for receiving them... one of them will die."
"Huh...?"
Everyone was baffled by this statement.
Earth Chicken sighed and continued, "In other words... seven of the teleportation gates are 'Gates of Life,' and one gate is the 'Gate of Death.'"