Chapter 976: The Real Herd
After listening to Saturday, Yun Shijiu finally understood why she had been so conflicted all along.
The source of her dilemma wasn't the awkwardness of being caught between two factions, but the fear that both factions she knew so well could end up completely wiped out.
But at this moment, Yun Shijiu was even more unsettled.
If Qian Wu had always known Saturday's true identity, didn't that mean he approved of what she was doing?
Approved of having an "Extremist" in his own team?
"I... I don't understand," Yun Shijiu said. "Since Fifth Brother knew... and he tacitly allowed it... doesn't that mean..."
"Tsk, Nineteenth," Saturday called out. "Believe it or not, Fifth Brother's thinking goes far deeper than yours."
"But... our faction after all..."
"The herd effect," Saturday said. "Tsk, Nineteenth. Once someone starts lying, everyone else becomes a lying sheep."
"A lying... sheep?"
Jiang Ruoxue nodded as well. "Little Brother, our leader is a 'sheep,' and everyone else will follow the lies he tells. When necessary, we'll lie too. That's how your Fifth Brother operates. This is what we call the 'herd effect.'"
"But that can't be right, can it...?" Yun Shijiu looked at Saturday hesitantly. "Everyone who joins the 'Cat' is a villain who doesn't want to leave. No matter what the big shots in this place need to do, we 'Cats' should remain neutral..."
"Tsk..." Saturday sighed and continued, "Nineteenth, that's why I said Fifth Brother's thinking is far more profound than yours."
"What do you mean...?"
"Tsk, you know as well that the reason none of the 'Cats' want to leave is because we've all committed grave sins," Saturday went on. "Fifth Brother agreed to cooperate with the various factions from the start, not for any other reason, but to ensure that not all 'Cats' would be lurking in the shadows. He wants all of us to walk out into the light, standing proudly in the sun."
Yun Shijiu was momentarily stunned, then said incredulously, "Are you kidding me, Sixth Sister...? Even in the real world, you yourself have blood on your hands. How do you think we can stand in the sunlight with our heads held high...?"
"Fifth Brother has a way," Saturday said gravely. "Nineteenth... tsk, Fifth Brother said he would find a way to cleanse each of our sins, so that all 'Cats' can step out of the shadows and return to a perfect, sinless real world."
"That's insane..." Yun Shijiu's heart wavered. "That's insane... It's even more absurd than the lies of the 'Celestial Dragon'..."
"Tsk, but I believe in Fifth Brother. That's the true meaning of the 'Cat's' existence," Saturday said. "Do you really want to stay 'neutral' here for eternity?"
Yun Shijiu knew that remaining in the "neutral reincarnation" here forever was certainly not the best choice. If they could wash away their sins and return to reality, who would want to stay here?
But how could such a difficult thing ever be achieved?
"So neither 'Long Live the Extremists' nor 'Staying Neutral' is our final mission code," Jiang Ruoxue interjected at this point. "'The Herd Effect' is."
Yun Shijiu fell silent again for a few seconds, then turned to look at Saturday. "Sixth Sister... Can we really... return to a 'sinless' world?"
"Three outcomes," Saturday said, holding up three fingers. "We take advantage of this opportunity to pull off something big. Either we all get out, or we all disappear. As for the third option... that's to maintain the status quo. I don't even need to ask Fifth Brother to know what he would choose."
Yun Shijiu thought it over and finally nodded. "Alright... I understand..."
Chen Junnan, who had been silent for a long time, chimed in at this point. "Hey hey! Bro! Since you know what the 'Extremists' plan to do, why don't you tell us now so everyone's plans are clear?"
"Fair enough..." Yun Shijiu nodded. "But I heard this plan has two parts. I only know the first part. So, I'll just..."
"Wait." Saturday and Jiang Ruoxue practically shouted at Yun Shijiu at the same time.
"Huh...?"
"Don't say it now," Jiang Ruoxue said. "Since your 'Cat' also has someone in the know, let's discuss it when the mission is about to start tomorrow. Otherwise, it's a long night, and who knows what might happen. If we run into the 'Heavenly Snake,' it'll be trouble."
Saturday nodded. "I agree."
"Alright..." Yun Shijiu nodded as well.
"What are you 'Cats' planning to do?" Jiang Ruoxue then looked at Saturday.
"Tsk, we..." Saturday said, "plan to kill the 'Divine Beasts.'"
After saying this, she gave Chen Junnan a meaningful look and added, "The 'Cat's' purpose from the very beginning has been to kill the 'Divine Beasts.' It's never changed. Tsk, I don't know which blasted genius came up with that goal. Damn brilliant."
"Ahem..." Chen Junnan cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject. "Sister Mo, didn't Qian Duoduo lead us guys in an attempt before...? That 'Xuanwu' thing can't be killed."
"That was an attempt," Saturday said. "Fifth Brother knew long ago that Xuanwu carried 'Indestructible.' The failure last time wasn't just to test Xuanwu's abilities, but also to make the 'Divine Beasts' let their guard down."
"Damn... a plan within a plan?" Chen Junnan was taken aback.
"Fifth Brother said that when the time was ripe, someone would come to the 'Cat' and personally reveal the method to break 'Indestructible' on Xuanwu."
"Holy shit..." Chen Junnan seemed to realize something. "Sister Mo... don't tell me... no, really, don't tell me... This time, it looks like I came here for this very reason... Damn it... Did Old Qi use me as a pawn again?"
"You came here for this...?" Saturday didn't understand. "Aren't you here as a representative of Qi Xia's faction to discuss plans with us?"
"I don't know a damn thing about the plan!" Chen Junnan felt wronged. "Do you know what that bastard Old Qi told me? He said, 'Go see if it's a dead cat or a live cat, and then have Saturday contact me.'"
"...And then?" Saturday asked.
"That's it!" Chen Junnan said aggrievedly. "I thought that was my purpose for coming here today, but it turns out Old Qi had already planned everything out... He just couldn't speak about it in 'Heaven's Gate'..."
Saturday was silent for a moment, then asked, "So you know Xuanwu's weakness...?"
"Fuck..." Chen Junnan cursed. "Not just Xuanwu's weakness. We ran into a white-scaled snake, and that big brother blurted out a whole bunch of stuff. We know the weaknesses of all the 'Divine Beasts' now!"
With that, Chen Junnan leaned forward and pointed at his own eyes. "'The eyes' are the weakness!"