Chapter 1071: The Broken Snake
One sentence from Qi Xia nearly made Snake lose his seat.
"This afternoon," "how many Human-levels to rally," "take off our masks together."
Each of these three phrases alone would have shocked Snake immensely, but now they were strung together into one sentence.
"Wait... I have too many questions..." Snake said, calming himself down. "Is time really that tight? We're going to act this very afternoon?"
"It might not even wait until afternoon." Qi Xia looked at the "door" he had come through. "The more people involved in a plan, the more variables arise."
Snake rapidly thought about the current situation. Everything seemed to be happening too fast.
Just last night, he was in his room studying the puzzle book when suddenly a letter was slipped through the crack in his door. Then he came here to become a "Referee." Before he could even confirm whether he would survive this game, he had immediately learned Qi Xia's identity.
Before all of that could even be digested in his mind, he had been dragged into another even greater mystery.
"This afternoon... rousing those 'Zodiacs'..." Snake scratched at the foul-smelling mask on his face. "I do have some friends, but the timing is too tight. I'm not sure if they'll agree to do this."
"They will." Qi Xia said. "This isn't a difficult task. When the time comes, someone will be responsible for a life-and-death struggle against 'Vermilion Bird.' All you have to do is keep taking off your masks to shake Vermilion Bird's conviction."
"Hold on... shake his conviction?" Snake was taken aback. "We only need to shake his conviction...?"
"Exactly." Qi Xia nodded. "It sounds hard to understand, but that's how it is. Whenever a 'Zodiac' breaks the rules, Vermilion Bird senses it immediately and goes to handle it. Otherwise, he'll be punished by Azure Dragon and Heavenly Dragon. That's the logic, isn't it?"
"Yes..." Snake agreed.
"If, while Vermilion Bird is in a life-or-death fight, people keep 'breaking the rules' in the distance, he'll inevitably get distracted. After all, if he doesn't deal with it immediately, he'll face his own doom." Qi Xia continued. "Though it seems like negligible help, it's crucial in a battle between humans and a demigod like him."
"I see..." Snake seemed to understand everything. "No wonder you said we've been drawn into the torrent of killing Vermilion Bird, and that we are the assistants..."
"The signal will be the destruction of the giant bell this afternoon." Qi Xia thought for a moment and added, "Azure Dragon is currently in 'Cangjie Chess' right now, so he can't hear our conversation. This is my only chance to tell you this."
"But... there are two problems." Snake said. "First, I might die in this game and never make it to this afternoon... Second, 'Azure Dragon' isn't the only set of ears out there. How can I bypass all eyes and ears to deliver this message...?"
"Then solve them one by one," Qi Xia said.
"Solve them..."
"Did Azure Dragon promise you anything?" Qi Xia asked. "How many people do you need to kill to survive this game?"
"Just one..." Snake said in a low voice. "If I kill one person, I'll not only survive, but I can also be promoted to 'Earth-level.'"
"Kill one person to become an Earth-level..." Qi Xia squinted his eyes. "Do you believe that?"
"I..." Snake let out a bitter laugh again. "Believe or not...? I honestly don't know what to do. Qi Xia, did you know? Brother Sheep once said that if I could solve all one hundred puzzles in this book, he would come back and help me become Earth-level."
"I know."
Snake reached out and patted the book on the table. "I haven't solved those one hundred puzzles, but I've read them countless times. I read them like Brother Sheep's diary. I never thought about the answers."
Qi Xia said nothing, staring intently into Snake's eyes.
"After reading them countless times, an opportunity to become 'Earth-level' was set before me. Then I saw you." Snake's expression grew complicated. "For a moment just now, I was delighted... thinking Brother Sheep had really returned, that he remembered the promise he made to me. Even though I hadn't solved those puzzles, because I'd read them countless times, he came back to help me become 'Earth-level,' and we would eat at the same table again. But soon, I fell into sorrow again, because he is him, and you are you."
Qi Xia hadn't expected such deep conflict within Snake. For a moment, he didn't know where to begin to console him.
"I'm very glad Brother Sheep wasn't in danger. He didn't return here just for a scumbag like me." Snake choked up before continuing. "But tell me... has Brother Sheep disappeared from this world? Will I never see him again?"
The room fell silent, as if the entire space had sunk into the deep sea. Neither of them spoke.
After a moment, Qi Xia nodded. "Yes. You won't see him again."
"So what do you say—should I believe it or not...?"
Snake picked up the book from the table, as if about to say something more, but his fingers suddenly lost their strength, and the book dropped back onto the table.
"Brother Sheep promised to help me become 'Earth-level.' I believed him. But Brother Sheep will never come back." Snake continued. "Now Azure Dragon promises to make me 'Earth-level.' Should I believe him or not?"
Hearing this, Qi Xia reached up and lightly touched his forehead.
Perhaps, for Earth Tiger and Earth Sheep, Snake was the most sentimental of the three.
His feelings were more delicate than those of Earth Tiger and Earth Sheep, and his bond with White Sheep was purer. This so-called purity was so deep that even when the target was replaced by Qi Xia, it could not be erased.
He only recognized White Sheep as his teacher.
He agreed with the notion that Qi Xia was not White Sheep, and White Sheep was not Qi Xia—a thought that perfectly matched White Sheep's own belief.
That was why, before leaving, White Sheep had personally told him this sentence.
Images flashed through Qi Xia's mind—scenes from that dim, stifling train ride, when Earth Tiger and Earth Sheep would quarrel endlessly, and Snake would always joke around and mediate between them.
He not only made Human Rat laugh but also navigated between everyone, maintaining the fragile bond of their small family.
Now, without Snake to mediate between Earth Sheep and Earth Tiger, they were probably already quarreling every day, constantly threatening each other with "I'll kill you," right?
For Snake now, White Sheep was dead, Human Rat was dead, everyone was scattered. The entire family, along with Snake's own heart, was shattered.
As the only "Human-level" among the three, no matter how much strength he had in his heart, he had no way to use it.
In this extreme sorrow, Azure Dragon extended the olive branch of "Earth-level."
Qi Xia quickly pieced together the clues. For Snake, he had no choice but to believe in this offer. Only by killing one person here and getting promoted to "Earth-level" would everything become better.
Then he could stand proudly beside Earth Tiger and Earth Sheep and become a true family.