Chapter 971: The Human Heart Is Hard to Gauge
Earth Tiger was momentarily stunned, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
"You damn Blackie... are you okay?" he asked blankly. "Weren't you just saying you wouldn't go? Don't tell me those bruises on your face are from 'Heavenly Tiger' scratching you? You want to go get revenge on him?"
"This really puts me in a tough spot..." Black Sheep sighed. "In this plan, normal people only need to die once. But I might have to die twice."
"What are you talking about..." Earth Tiger chuckled foolishly. "Stop playing the hero here, you old Black. If you've got things to do, then go. That 'Heavenly Tiger' might be a bit of a problem for me, but I can still try to go head-to-head with him. The others can come help me after they've finished off their 'counterpart zodiacs'."
Upon hearing this, Black Sheep instantly stood up, grabbed Earth Tiger by the collar, and slammed him hard against the wall. He looked furious.
Earth Tiger hadn't expected this reaction from Black Sheep. He just stared wide-eyed, momentarily at a loss for what to do.
"Tiger, you idiot! Don't be stupid!" Black Sheep growled in a low voice. "Why don't you get it yet...? No one else is going to come help you except me!!"
"What... what do you mean?" Earth Tiger blinked. "This is something we're all working together on... What's wrong with helping each other out?"
"There's no such thing as working together!" Black Sheep refused to give up. He leaned closer to Earth Tiger and whispered, "Tiger, if you really want to live, then forget about that 'Heavenly Tiger'... Come with me when the time comes!"
"You..." Earth Tiger reached out and pushed Black Sheep away, his face displeased. "What are you doing? Is Brother Sheep's word no longer any good?"
Black Sheep paused for a moment. "Tiger... do you trust me or not?"
"I trust you!" Earth Tiger nodded.
"Then if you trust me, don't go!" Black Sheep said. "This plan wasn't even something Brother Sheep said. There are other people who want you dead... Damn it, don't you still have a daughter out there? Don't you want to see her?!"
"I..." Earth Tiger hesitated for a moment, then quickly caught onto the key point. "Wait, this plan wasn't from Brother Sheep...?"
"It was Earth Ox who adjusted the plan himself," Black Sheep said. "There never was any 'counterpart kill' from the beginning. It's all fake!"
Upon hearing this, Earth Tiger's eyes flickered slightly. It took him several seconds before he slowly said, "But what if it's real...?"
"What if... there's no damn 'what if'!" Black Sheep roared. "You're going to die! You're going to die, do you understand?!"
"Ah..." Hearing this, Earth Tiger actually smiled sheepishly. "Blackie... sit down first. Why are you so worked up?"
He pulled Black Sheep over, dragged two chairs over, and sat down first himself.
"Even if those words weren't from Brother Sheep..." Earth Tiger murmured, "I'll just ask you one question. If I go kill 'Heavenly Tiger,' would it be beneficial to Brother Sheep?"
"You..."
Black Sheep was stunned for a long moment, then reached out and slapped Earth Tiger hard across the face.
*Smack!*
"You damn hypocrite, calling me a hero!! What about yourself?!"
He looked even angrier than before. Earth Tiger had never seen Black Sheep like this. Usually, even when he said he was angry, a few soothing words would calm him down. This time, it really seemed he couldn't be appeased.
Earth Tiger rubbed his face after the slap but still pulled Black Sheep to sit down. "Blackie... Blackie, just hear me out first."
Black Sheep sat down with a dark face, his expression extremely stern.
"Blackie... I'm not that bright. Help me think this through."
Black Sheep still said nothing.
"Tell me, if it weren't for Brother Sheep... would either of us still be 'Earth Grade' right now?" Earth Tiger asked with a smile. "Or rather... would we still be 'Zodiacs'? So this life of ours..."
"Don't try to fool me with your twisted logic..." Black Sheep gritted his teeth. "What kind of touching drama are you putting on?"
"But that's just how it is..."
"Bullshit! Let me ask you... The reason Brother Sheep brought you this far, his ultimate goal was for you to live, wasn't it?" Black Sheep hit the nail on the head. "And now at the critical moment, you want to act all noble and righteous. Do you really think this self-indulgent martyrdom will make Brother Sheep satisfied?!"
"You..."
"Let me make this clear first," Black Sheep said. "If Brother Sheep himself tells me, 'Let Tiger die,' I won't hesitate for a second. I'd even do it with my own hands if I had to... But as long as he doesn't say it, you can't die."
Earth Tiger was starting to get anxious too. "You damn Blackie... what are you being so stubborn about? Can Brother Sheep plan for every tiny variable? This plan spans such a long time. One little thought from someone, one minor encounter, could change everything..."
"So what?"
"Then shouldn't we take the initiative to share some of the burden for Brother Sheep!" Earth Tiger said. "As Brother Sheep's students, the two of us know him better than anyone else. He also lets us decide certain things on our own at critical moments."
"This situation is completely different!" Black Sheep said. "This plan involves too many people. Not everyone is as selfless as you. Everyone has their own ideas, you know?! Do you know what the hardest thing to control in this world is?! It's damn 'people'!"
"It can't be that hard..." Earth Tiger said. "As long as we all work together, we can definitely..."
Black Sheep lunged forward and grabbed Earth Tiger's collar again. "Tiger... Do you know why people still praise Emperor Qin Shi Huang for 'standardizing weights and measures' and say he benefited the people?!"
"What...?"
"Simply unifying various units of measurement—that should have been something a single imperial decree could solve. So why has it been talked about for thousands of years?!"
"You... you know I'm not well-educated... I..."
"Because there are too many people! Too many people, do you understand?!" Black Sheep said with a fierce expression. "Even in a company with just ten people, there are always two or three who don't understand the boss's instructions. Even in a group chat with twenty people, there are always five or six who don't see the announcement... What happens when you scale that up to a hundred, a thousand?! Or tens of thousands?! How do you ensure that every single person understands a clear directive and executes it properly?! That's the terrifying thing about 'people'! Humans are the creatures most prone to thinking they're clever!"
Upon hearing this, Earth Tiger indeed fell silent.
He did know that the current rebel force could never be completely united. And Brother Sheep's plan involved far more people than just this one squad.
Within such a large scale, if even one person changed their mind or failed to understand Brother Sheep's plan, everything could fall apart.
"But... but that doesn't seem right either...?" Earth Tiger asked.
"Tiger, how much clearer do I need to make it...?"
"No... I'm not arguing with you," Earth Tiger said. "Blackie, the reason Brother Sheep is who he is, is precisely because he can control 'people.'"