Chapter 1239: Checkmate
Xiao Ran stood up and began to survey the people around her who didn't move at all.
She discovered that these people seemed to be a kind of furniture within this enormous room.
Some of them had wires wrapped around their bodies, holding light bulbs in their hands, as if they had been turned into floor lamps. Others had their hands spread apart, a towel hanging from one hand and clothes draped over the other.
If these people weren't blinking, Xiao Ran might have thought they were already dead.
"Servants, right?" Xiao Ran asked, staring at one person.
That person seemed deaf and blind, neither looking at Xiao Ran nor speaking to her.
"Don't you dare hold any grudges." Xiao Ran said, crossing her arms over her chest. "The fact that I can lead you from my very first day here is my own skill. As long as you all follow my wishes from now on, I promise I won't make things difficult for you. Understood?"
Those 'pieces of furniture' remained silent, just staring straight ahead.
Xiao Ran snorted coldly and began to patrol the room again. She noticed a person with their hands spread out in front of them, holding quite a few books, clearly serving as a bookshelf.
Xiao Ran casually picked up the top book and looked at it. The title read "Game Theory."
"Disgusting." Xiao Ran chuckled lightly. "Does reading more books make you powerful?"
She casually flipped open a page, extended her fingernail, and dug into it, tearing a long gash across the page.
"I don't like reading, and yet here I am, able to boss around 'Celestial Ranks.' What does that tell you?" She closed the damaged book and put it back in its place. "Instead of wasting time reading, you should learn from me and expand your network. What others need to do is work hard to improve themselves; what I need to do is work hard to get to know them."
Watching her impassioned speech fail to stir any commotion in the room, Xiao Ran felt a bit bored. She sighed casually, putting on a look of 'disappointment at someone failing to live up to expectations,' and then stopped talking to the numerous pieces of furniture in the room. She returned to her chair and lounged lazily.
...
As soon as he left the room, Sky Snake immediately knocked on the door across from his. He truly had too many questions.
In no time at all, Sky Dog slowly pulled the door open a crack, peering out cautiously. When he saw that it was Sky Snake, he averted his gaze, looking at the floor.
"Don't come to me." Sky Dog said. "I heard what you said. I'll contact the 'Earth Ranks' in a bit."
"Are you playing dumb with me... Sky Dog... you really need to help me." Sky Snake said. "There's a situation I can't figure out... I feel like I'm teetering on the edge of angering the Azure Dragon."
"Then why come to me?" Sky Dog said. "You can go back and think it through carefully."
"Exactly because I can't figure it out that I need someone to ask!" Sky Snake whispered, lowering his voice. "I can't exactly go ask the Azure Dragon... You know how strangely he treated us today... Earlier, Sky Rat couldn't even finish his sentence before he was beaten until he coughed up blood. If I..."
As he spoke, he adjusted his angle, trying to catch Sky Dog's gaze.
But after Sky Dog noticed Sky Snake's movements, he quietly took a step back, letting his gaze sink into the shadows inside the room.
"No... Sky Dog... why are you avoiding me?" Sky Snake was even more frightened by Sky Dog's behavior. "What did you hear? Let me see..."
"I really can't this time..." Sky Dog said in a low voice from the darkness. "This situation is too special... I can't give you any advice."
"So... so the situation is serious, right?" Sky Snake kept confirming to Sky Dog. "Serious in what specific way... can you give me a hint?"
"I really can't say..." Sky Dog said. "I feel like everything has been orchestrated by someone... Right now, I have a deep sense of powerlessness, I just want to protect myself."
"But..." Sky Snake reached his hand into the crack of the door, trying to grab Sky Dog's arm, but Sky Dog dodged him again. "Sky Dog, aren't we friends? We've been looking out for each other for all these years..."
Upon hearing this, Sky Dog sighed from the shadows. "Sky Snake, don't fool yourself. No matter how we get along day to day, you know yourself that once trouble hits, we'll always look out for number one first. We definitely won't take risks for each other."
"So..." Sky Snake seemed to grasp the key point from Sky Dog's words. "This time... it's lethal? Because of that woman...?"
"She has already 'Echoed'." Sky Dog said in a low voice. "Strictly speaking, I shouldn't give you any advice, but you're right... over these years, while we haven't exactly been bosom friends, we have more or less shared hardships a time or two... Regarding that woman, I can give you one piece of advice."
"What...?"
"Kill her." Sky Dog said. "Never mind the 'new Xuanwu,' don't listen to her sweet talk. The moment you get back to your room, kill her. Maybe there's still a chance to be saved, and maybe..."
Sky Dog hesitated to state the next outcome, leaving Sky Snake's heart pounding the whole time.
"What exactly is going on..." Sky Snake asked. "What kind of thing is that woman...?"
"She's just a pawn." Sky Dog said. "But the problem isn't with her at all... Can you understand that feeling? You thought a pawn had advanced to threaten the 'General,' but when you look closely... the opponent's chariots, horses, and cannons are all aimed at the 'General,' and even the chessboard is tilted. This is a checkmate with all killing moves deployed. We're about to be checkmated."
Sky Snake felt more confused the more he listened. "What exactly is happening? Isn't it just some 'Participants' getting on the train...? No matter how many of them there are, they can't do anything to the 'Train'... especially with all these 'Earth Ranks' here..."
"I really envy you..." Sky Dog murmured. "If someone doesn't stand before you and meet your gaze, you can never hear their thoughts. But I know far too many things..."
"So many that you can't even look me in the eye?" Sky Snake asked again.
"Yes..." Sky Dog agreed. "I need to ensure my own survival... What you need to do now is go back and kill that woman, so her disgusting 'Echo' stops ringing in my ears."
After saying this, Sky Dog closed the door again, retreating into that pitch-black room.
Sky Snake stood in front of the door for a long time, dazed. Although he didn't know how to deal with the strange woman in his own room, he understood that the top priority now was to inform the other 'Celestial Ranks' to resist.
No matter how that woman was ultimately dealt with, the Azure Dragon's orders had to be carried out immediately.