Chapter 1244: Rearguard
The Earth Monkey watched as nearly all the nearby "Zodiacs" scattered like birds and beasts, yet he himself stood frozen in place.
To be precise, he was standing frozen in the midst of the many "Participants."
He was still hesitating, but someone had already started a direct fight with a "Heavenly Level."
Occasionally on the "Train," there would be rebels who did not fear death, but no one had ever truly been able to fight a "Heavenly Level" head-on.
Now, the situation was closer to a final victory than ever before.
"A colorful... quail...?"
The Earth Monkey frowned, pondering this statement carefully. What kind of strange pet had someone raised?
Or was it a totem, emblem, or secret signal?
Unfortunately, there was no way to ask the Earth Tiger about it now. The sound of fighting kept coming from that open door, sounding fierce.
This was a battle involving a "Heavenly Level." Any normal person would stay far away.
"Oh, right..."
The Earth Monkey glanced around at the nearby people and noticed that the White Serpent, who had appeared with him earlier, had also left at some point, leaving him alone, standing there without a clue.
He knew that although he had obtained a lead, seen the crack, and confirmed his teammates, he really had no idea what each person was doing; he only barely knew his own objective.
"Brother Ding, since you like to gamble, I'll make a bet with you," that clear, cool voice echoed in his mind. "I bet you that the crack will definitely appear. If I win, you'll do something for me."
"What?"
"I want you to destroy the 'Door' of the 'Heavenly Level's' room."
The Earth Monkey's memory stopped abruptly. He looked up to survey the corridor. The "Participants" were still lining up to board the train. After boarding, they split into two streams—some heading toward the "front" and some toward the "exit," as if they were just sightseeing.
Unfortunately, the scattered corpses in the distance made these people feel that this sightseeing trip was extremely dangerous, and they needed to find a way to obtain "Reverberations" here as best they could.
The Earth Monkey sighed and looked again in the direction the Human Monkey had left.
The Earth Tiger's Human Monkey student was so quick-witted that it reminded him of his own Human Monkey student.
But something seemed to have gone wrong. It was long past the time for the "Zodiacs" to clock out, and that kid still hadn't come to report to him.
It was so chaotic out there today... Could it have involved him?
A simple game of drawing "Paths" from boxes—that kid even had sleight-of-hand skills—how could he not have come back...?
The Earth Monkey quickly collected his thoughts and set off toward the front of the train. Passing by the room where the Earth Tiger was fighting, he turned his head to look. He wanted to find a chance to ask a couple more questions, but there was no longer any big white-haired tiger in that room.
There was only a red-furred tiger and a child covered in blood.
Now, forget about asking about the quail—the only thing he could hope for was that the Earth Tiger wouldn't die within the next few minutes, or else his newly recognized teammate would disappear.
...
The Black Sheep led the "Jidao" members past the Azure Dragon's room, then turned toward the cargo hold.
Theoretically, the "Train" was a long strip of space composed of carriages and countless "Doors," but only at the end of the corridor was there a T-junction.
Here, it split into two diverging paths. The right one led to all the "Heavenly Level" rooms or offices, while the left one led to the "Cargo Hold."
A few dozen meters past the "Cargo Hold" door, there seemed to be another solitary "Door." No one knew what it was for.
The hearts of the "Jidao" members were in their throats. They had expected a difficult journey, but the reality was that almost no one blocked them. Even the few "Earth Level" Zodiacs who saw the imposing group of dozens did not take any action.
"Zhichun... what's going on?" Jiang Ruoxue looked back at the corridor with lingering fear. "Aren't we being too smooth?"
Even if Jiang Ruoxue hadn't said it, Yan Zhichun felt the same way. It seemed that many external forces were acting on the "Train," creating this strange situation from all directions.
The "Heavenly Level" hadn't shown up, the "Earth Level" didn't want to interfere, and now even the "Human Level" were trying to take off their masks.
"This can only mean..." Jiang Ruoxue replied, "this 'Train' has been set on the tracks, and everything is progressing according to plan. They can stop us, but they can't stop the 'Train.'"
The Black Sheep pushed open the door in front of him. It was an iron door, different from the others, about two meters tall, grayish-brown, and covered in rust.
Inside the door was a staircase descending downward, appearing like a basement. The stairs gradually darkened, extending into invisible nothingness.
"Zhoumo..." Yan Zhichun called out, "What did Xiaoxiao say?"
"Tsk, strange..." Zhoumo frowned. "I feel like I clearly sent my voice to Xiaoxiao, but she hasn't said a word so far."
"What about the others?" Yan Zhichun asked again. "Lin Qin, Zheng Yingxiong—can you contact them?"
"That's ridiculous." Zhoumo shook his head. "I didn't expect this situation, so I didn't touch Lin Qin and Zheng Yingxiong in advance."
"Alright, it's fine." Yan Zhichun said decisively. "At least this shows that Xiaoxiao is still alive. That's some relief."
"But..." Zhoumo wanted to say more, but felt it wasn't the right time.
Xiaoxiao was clearly alive, yet she remained silent... Doesn't that mean the problem is worse than 'death'?
What was she doing? Who was with her?
Was she... still a teammate of "Jidao"?
"Let me make this clear first." The Black Sheep turned around, interrupting their thoughts, and said to them, "We have limited time. Everyone line up and enter. I'll be last."
"You'll be last...?" Old Sun hesitated. "Wait... Isn't there a 'Heavenly Level' down there? Shouldn't you go in first, not us?"
"I will go in, but I must be last," the Black Sheep said again. "The first to reach the 'Cargo Hold' will indeed have a higher chance of death. Those who fear death can stand at the back. If anyone wants to escape directly, that's fine too."
Old Sun felt that this statement was problematic. It would not only greatly shake the morale of "Jidao" but also heighten everyone's sense of crisis, so he had to speak up:
"This isn't about 'fearing death'... The way you're saying it makes it sound like you're sending us to 'our deaths.' Our people aren't afraid to die, but we can't be used as bait either."
"The situation ahead will be worse than 'bait,'" the Black Sheep said coldly. "You might be guns, shields, or live targets. If you can't mentally prepare for this, you'd better leave now."