Chapter 1258: The Enraged
Chu Tianqiu felt that Earth Rooster indeed seemed to have been greatly affected, but what did killing a "Heavenly-level" have to do with appearance?
"No... what does that even mean?" Earth Monkey asked. "Why did you call me into this room? I need to find something."
Earth Rooster remained silent, and the few people nearby also fell quiet.
Earth Monkey helplessly pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it himself, then after exhaling a smoke ring, he muttered, "I'm exhausted. Searching for something with no beginning or end is really troublesome."
"Um..." Earth Pig pointed at Earth Monkey, then at the carpet laid out in the room. "Please don't smoke in here."
"Oh, how annoying." Earth Monkey impatiently tossed the cigarette butt out of the room, then spat a wad of phlegm outside.
Seeing this, the others all quieted down. Chu Tianqiu looked at Earth Rooster with a hint of sympathy.
"Forget it..."
After a moment, Earth Rooster seemed to have reasoned with herself and put on a resigned expression. "If it's a fat Earth Monkey, then so be it... After all, that guy's a blockhead. If it were arranged like this, I'll accept it. If it were anyone else, I'd definitely lose my temper..."
She turned back, picked up her coffee cup, and took a sip, trying to suppress her emotions, as if drinking some potion of forgetfulness.
"What the hell, what are you accepting..." Earth Monkey looked at her in confusion, then said to Qiao Jiajin and Chu Tianqiu, "By the way, have you seen a colorful quail?"
*Crack.*
Earth Rooster's anger, which had just subsided, flared up again. The coffee cup in her hand was crushed.
"Huh...?" Earth Monkey looked at Earth Rooster, still puzzled. "What's wrong with Earth Rooster?"
Earth Rooster gently placed the fragments in her hand on the table, turned around to face Earth Monkey, still smiling, though the veins bulging on her forehead were even more pronounced than before.
Earth Monkey actually sensed a hint of danger from that face, yet the aura felt strangely familiar.
He widened his eyes, which glowed faintly as he looked at her, and suddenly understood everything.
"Excuse me." Earth Rooster said with a smile. "I am that colorful quail. May I ask what you want, you old, fat, dirty monkey?"
Earth Pig was shaking violently on the side, on the verge of bursting into laughter.
"Huh?" Earth Monkey's eyes widened like brass bells. "Wait... aren't you Earth Rooster? How did you become a quail?"
"How the hell should I know?!" Earth Rooster snapped. "Every single one of you calls me a quail. I was fine before I met you all!"
"Oh man... I really didn't know." Earth Monkey quickly stepped forward and grabbed Earth Rooster's hand to explain. "Fuck, girl, when they told me, they just said 'quail'... Don't take it to heart."
Seeing Earth Monkey grab her, Earth Rooster nervously pushed his hand away.
"It's hard for me not to take it to heart." Earth Rooster said as she regained her composure. "I should have realized earlier that the 'thing' you kept saying you were looking for was me. I should have slapped you a few times earlier."
"Hey, that's a bit harsh, isn't it? I said I didn't know the situation." Earth Monkey, now a little angry, responded. "You just called me 'old, fat, dirty monkey,' and I didn't say anything, did I?"
"Wasn't that because you called me a quail first?"
The two were at odds in no time, and it seemed they might come to blows right there before even meeting Heaven Rooster and Heaven Monkey.
"Hey, no, no, no!" Qiao Jiajin quickly stepped forward and pulled Earth Rooster away. "We're all good 'Zodiacs' here. If we're gonna talk, let's just talk—no fighting, okay?"
Seeing Qiao Jiajin touch her, Earth Rooster's eyes tensed up again. She quickly pushed his hand away once more, about to say something, but seemed to be in the throes of anger and eventually swallowed her words.
"Let me make this clear!" Earth Rooster pointed at Earth Monkey's nose. "In this plan, the two of us are going to kill Heaven Rooster and Heaven Monkey. You'd better not provoke me for the rest of the time!"
"I'll say the same to you!" Earth Monkey shouted back angrily. "You think I want to go kill those two? I have my own things to do!"
"Who cares?!" Earth Rooster yelled. "Get ready, turn around, and leave. Wait for me outside!"
"Fine, I'm leaving."
Earth Monkey shoved the door open and strode out of the room.
Earth Rooster took a few deep breaths, walked over to Qiao Jiajin, the veins on her face gradually fading. She asked softly, "You okay, A-Jin?"
Chu Tianqiu and Zhang Shan, hearing Earth Rooster's tone, turned to look at Qiao Jiajin and noticed something strange about his state.
At that moment, Qiao Jiajin's fists were clenched, his brows furrowed tightly, as if he were very angry.
"I..." Qiao Jiajin didn't know why he was suddenly so angry. He paused and asked, "You know me too?"
"Relax, take a deep breath." Earth Rooster didn't dare touch him, only guiding his emotions. "Of course I know you. In fact, you once died at my hands."
"Huh...?"
"But there was no other way back then. I was just following Qi Xia's decision." Earth Rooster said. "Don't worry. Even if you died in my game, we're still on the same side."
Qiao Jiajin nodded, half-understanding. By now, he felt his anger gradually dissipating.
"What just happened to me?"
"Oh, it's my 'Enragement.' Best not to touch me." Earth Rooster said nonchalantly, startling Earth Pig again.
Earth Monkey lit another cigarette and, standing outside the door, glanced at Earth Rooster without expression, then continued blowing smoke rings as if nothing had happened.
"Well, I'm off." Earth Rooster waved at the three men. "Rest here for a while. Once the commotion outside dies down, you can leave."
With that, she walked out the door, gave Earth Monkey a cold snort, and strode ahead.
Earth Monkey also gave the three men in the room a meaningful look, said "See you later," and left the spot.
In the hallway, Earth Monkey and Earth Rooster kept a very distant, unfriendly gap between them. Earth Monkey asked, "Is it really okay to just say that?"
"What?" Earth Rooster asked.
"Your 'Enragement.'" Earth Monkey said. "Are you that close to that Earth Pig? Close enough to casually reveal your 'Resonance'?"
"Who cares about her?" Earth Rooster laughed. "I don't even know her. This is the first time I've met her. I just made up some random gossip. Even if she tries to report me, she wouldn't know who I am. Besides..."
"Besides, no one can report us anymore." Earth Monkey interrupted. "Look."
Earth Rooster followed Earth Monkey's gaze and saw two 'Heavenly-level Zodiacs' stopping an 'Earthly-level' one in the distance.
"Die before the mission even begins." Earth Rooster gave a bitter smile. "Now we have to walk past those two and tell them we're going to kill Heaven Rooster and Heaven Monkey?"