Chapter 1173: The Strategy of the Fence-Sitter
“The ‘Death Gate’…”
A bizarre thought began to swirl in Old Sun’s mind. He had considered many scenarios in advance, but he never imagined that this place would be completely empty of people.
What made him feel even more helpless was that, as the team leader, he had no way to contact any of the other leaders. He had to solve the problem in front of him alone.
“What the hell is this…”
Old Sun stepped forward to inspect the nearby buildings. Everything around was in ruins—there was simply no way a game venue could exist here.
But strangely, there were many footprints in the middle of the road, as if someone had been moving around here not too long ago.
Yet without a game venue, why would so many people be moving about in this area?
Old Sun walked forward slowly and noticed that all the footprints vanished at the center of the road.
This uncanny situation left him completely baffled, as if all these people had walked to the middle of the road, encountered a helicopter, and then flown away.
He had heard that the games of "Dragon" were absurd, but he never imagined they could be this absurd.
“This time, we’re really screwed.”
…
“Damn girl, say something! Why are you spacing out?” White Snake frowned. “You’re worrying me with that look.”
“I…” Yan Zhichun felt her mind in chaos.
The White Snake in front of her had no knowledge of the plan. Right now, the best news Yan Zhichun could think of was that she had chosen the "Death Gate."
She called it good news because everyone in the other seven gates would survive. As the "King of Jidao," it was only fitting that she should face the most difficult challenge.
But if she considered the worst-case scenario… what if none of the other "Zodiacs" knew about the plan either?
That would mean Aries’s plan had a flaw—none of the eight "Zodiacs" on the map were on their side.
At least she and White Snake had some rapport. There was still a certain chance she could pass through White Snake’s "Gate" to reach the "Train." But the others in "Jidao" wouldn’t be so lucky.
“No…” Yan Zhichun’s brow instantly furrowed as she sensed a breakthrough.
Because Zhou Mo hadn’t sent her a telepathic message, she couldn’t use Zhou Mo to contact the others.
But the breakthrough lay precisely in that.
If Zhou Mo hadn’t sent a message, it meant everything was normal on her end—she had successfully met one of their own among the "Zodiacs." From Zhou Mo’s perspective, the other teams should be fine as well, with no immediate need for help.
So most likely, only she had chosen the "Death Gate," and this "Death Gate" happened to be White Snake, with whom she had a prior connection. From this angle, everything couldn’t be better.
“Forget it. If you have something on your mind, just say it.” White Snake sat down as well. “Consider me utterly defeated by you, you damn girl. You always come to freeload—what can I do about you?”
“White Snake, I really do have something important to ask for your help.” Yan Zhichun nodded without hesitation. “I need to use your ‘Gate’ to enter the train.”
White Snake stared at Yan Zhichun expressionlessly for a long time after hearing this. He neither objected nor agreed—he just looked at her.
“I thought you’d give me some kind of reaction,” Yan Zhichun said. “Not just silence.”
“I always see the shadow of an old acquaintance in you,” White Snake said. “It throws me into a daze.”
“Is that so?”
“That feeling of saying something that catches people off guard… I miss it,” White Snake said. “So what’s your goal? You’re bringing these seven or eight people behind you, planning to raise hell on the ‘Train’?”
“Something like that, but the actual number is far more than this,” Yan Zhichun replied.
“Do you know that when you say something like that, you’re already not far from death?” White Snake lowered his head indifferently. “‘Peach Blossom Spring’s’ ears are still flying in the sky.”
“I’m betting that right now, the entire ‘End of Land’ is in chaos, and he can’t catch every single sound,” Yan Zhichun said. “Since you haven’t refused, I’ll take that as a sign of agreement.”
“I didn’t say anything,” White Snake said, picking up a book and pretending to be busy. “I didn’t hear what you just said. But we do have some history—you all can rest here for a while.”
At this, the people behind Yan Zhichun frowned at White Snake’s attitude. A young man stepped closer and whispered in Yan Zhichun’s ear, “He still seems unwilling… what should we…”
“No, he agreed,” Yan Zhichun said.
She knew White Snake couldn’t speak too plainly; he could only hint at it. Now all she could do was hope that the other "Jidao" teams would get through smoothly.
…
Old Sun stood there for a long time, unable to find any leads, so he decided to head elsewhere and consult with the "Jidao" members.
He led the group around, only to find a strange female human monkey standing behind them.
Old Sun’s expression tensed instantly, and the "Jidao" members quickly dispersed into a combat formation.
But after a few seconds of inspection, they realized that before them stood only a single "Zodiac," and at that, the least threatening "Human-level Zodiac."
“What do you want?” Old Sun asked with a frown.
“I…” The human monkey’s voice came out cold and clear, then she paused. “I’m not entirely sure… are you all the ones who want to board the train?”
The question was too blunt for Old Sun and the others to answer.
“I was sent here by a friend of my teacher’s to take a look. I didn’t expect to actually find anyone,” the human monkey said, scratching her head. “So… do you all want to board?”
“What are you babbling about?” Old Sun thought for a moment before asking, “Who’s your teacher? And who’s your teacher’s friend?”
“My teacher is a ‘Tiger,’ and his friend is a ‘Rat.’ The ‘Rat’ told me that you might run into trouble here and that I needed to hand you over to my teacher. He also said, ‘Sometimes a fence-sitter needs to fill in the gaps in the wall,’” the human monkey replied. “If you trust me, please follow me to my teacher’s place to continue the plan. Is that okay?”
Old Sun exchanged glances with the people around him. At such a crucial moment, how could they suddenly trust a strange "Zodiac"?
“But I don’t have any real credibility,” the human monkey said with an embarrassed smile. “So if you don’t believe me, that’s fine—just pretend I was never here.”
Old Sun pondered for a moment. He knew time was extremely tight. Dusk was about to fall, and if they couldn’t resolve the "Chen Dragon" issue soon, the entire "Jidao" plan would be affected.
On the surface, it was a question of “trust or not,” but in reality, Old Sun had very few options.
“I believe you,” Old Sun said. “Take us there.”
“Good. This way, please.” The human monkey nodded, turned around, and led them deep into the city.
They passed through a residential area and eventually arrived in front of a small building. At the entrance sat a large white-haired tiger.