Chapter 1203: Former Residence
Qi Xia, Chen Junnan, Qiao Jiajin, Lawyer Zhang, Tiantian, Yun Yao and the others entered the teleportation portal of "Paradise Money House."
When they emerged from the other side, they found themselves in a room with a faint fragrance.
The room was spacious, not only with a bed but also a dining table, making it look like somewhere an important figure had once lived.
However, the decoration style and furniture layout appeared very minimalist—only the size of the room seemed fitting for someone of stature.
Everyone turned around and found that they had actually walked out of a peculiar wardrobe, which sat quietly in the corner of the room. If the door hadn't been opened, no one would have imagined there was a hidden world inside.
"Where the hell did this dump us?" Chen Junnan, after confirming the room was empty, swaggered forward. "Shouldn't it have sent us to the corridor?"
"I see..." Qi Xia nodded. "Thoughtful indeed."
Chen Junnan walked over to the desk and noticed it was meticulously tidy, not even a single strand of hair in sight.
The next second, a strange photograph on the desk caught his attention.
It was an old Polaroid picture. In the image, a man was holding the camera toward himself, looking into the lens. Not far behind him stood a woman in a convenience store uniform, seemingly discussing something with others. None of them noticed the man taking the photo. Each person was looking in a different direction, forming a seemingly odd yet somewhat warm group portrait.
However, everyone's face in the photo had been rubbed off, making their features unrecognizable. The picture seemed to have been placed there for quite some time, covered in specks of dust.
"I feel like I've seen those clothes somewhere before..." Chen Junnan scratched his head and turned to look at Qi Xia. "Old Qi, who used to live here?"
"A golden monkey," Qi Xia replied.
"A golden monkey...?" Chen Junnan scratched his head again. "Almost forgot this is a zoo."
Everyone entered the room, which felt both empty and cozy. Though sparse in furniture, it gave off a faint sense of security.
"So where did that golden monkey go?" Yun Yao also looked around the room and asked. "Is she your friend?"
"Not exactly a friend," Qi Xia said. "Just a comrade fighting for the same cause. She's no longer here."
Qi Xia walked to the center of the room, realizing it was the first time in his memory he had ever entered this space.
"What a clever 'Energy Storage'... You even managed to steal a 'gate' into your own home." Qi Xia gave a faint smile.
Outside, there was some commotion now, suggesting the unrest had already begun.
Everyone knew that no matter what, they couldn't leave the room at this moment, otherwise they might very well get caught up in it.
Even if chaos had erupted outside, it would likely be a clash between scattered "Zodiacs" and "Participants." Neither side had a clear leader, so victory or defeat could only be decided by fate.
"Still not going to help, Conman?" Qiao Jiajin walked up beside Qi Xia and asked.
"That's right," Qi Xia nodded. "Everyone has their own fate. Those destined to die, we can't save; those destined to live, we can't kill either."
Qiao Jiajin walked to the door and noticed an arrow pointing to the right drawn on the doorframe.
He pressed his ear to the door and listened. There were a lot of footsteps—hard to tell if it was the "Zodiacs" getting off work or the "Participants" rebelling.
Driven by curiosity, he quietly cracked the door open a sliver and happened to catch a glimpse of several "Participants" passing by.
"Hey... dammit... that's our own people?" Qiao Jiajin pulled the door open a bit wider.
Qi Xia and Chen Junnan also peeked through the gap, and in the next second, Xiao Ran's face flashed past from right to left.
All three of them saw that face at almost the same time. Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin's expressions began to sour.
"No way... buddy, I think I just saw some ghost go by," Chen Junnan said. "I hope I'm just blind."
"Jun Nan Zi, you're not blind," Qiao Jiajin blinked and said. "I think I'm the one who's really blind."
"Ha..." Qi Xia’s lips curled slightly. "Arrived earlier than I expected..."
"What the hell?!" Chen Junnan was stunned. "Old Qi, you summoned that ghost? Are you Zhong Kui or what?"
"Zhong Kui? Hardly. I'm just good at using people," Qi Xia said. "One move 'Diverting the Calamity' might make Qinglong suffer a loss, but that depends on whether she has the luck to swagger all the way there."
"'Diverting the Calamity'...?"
"'Regaining favor after losing it'—that kind of bizarre 'opportunity'—I can only help you halfway. The rest is up to you." After saying this, Qi Xia turned to the others. "Now we just wait here quietly."
"Wait for what?" Qiao Jiajin turned back to ask.
"Wait for the signal of 'revolt,'" Qi Xia said. "Once the revolt begins, you're free to act. Same as before—follow your heart, do whatever you want."
Hearing this, Chen Junnan slumped boredly into the chair by the desk. He thought about rifling through the stuff here, but the room's owner seemed to have some kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder, leaving nothing visible behind.
His restless hands groped under the table. A few seconds later, his brow furrowed.
There was something like a book stuck to the underside of the desktop.
"Hey... dammit..." Chen Junnan bent down slowly and looked under the table. "I'm supposed to be rebelling, and I've turned it into a treasure hunt."
"What's up, Jun Nan Zi?" Qiao Jiajin perked up at the word "treasure hunt."
"Old Qiao... hurry... there's a notebook under here. Since we've got nothing better to do, let's try to pry it off and see what it is."
...
Xiao Ran hurried forward, quickly distancing herself from the crowd, while scanning for any "Zodiacs" in sight.
Whether it was good luck or bad, she had walked this far without seeing a single Zodiac.
Why couldn't one just appear?
Why couldn't a particularly tough-looking Zodiac show up to hear her informant's report?
With such important information, wouldn't they get promoted for reporting it?
"Tsk, missing such a golden opportunity..."
Just as she muttered this, a tall, lean "Zodiac" appeared not far ahead. It had its back to her, apparently waiting for someone.
Just from the person's aura, Xiao Ran could tell it was someone formidable—not only someone she could latch onto but also her best chance to squeal.
With that thought, she excitedly quickened her pace, ran up behind the Zodiac, and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Bro!"
The Zodiac turned around.
It was a black sheep with an expressionless face.
"Bro! Sorry to bother you, but I have something really important to tell you." Xiao Ran forced a sweet smile at him.
The black sheep looked down at the woman before him, his face utterly indifferent.