Chapter 1311: Thorn in the Eye
"What...?"
"I originally planned to wait for you to realize something was wrong and take off your own eyes, then kill you easily," Earth Dog continued. "But I didn't expect you to accept Qi Xia's task at this critical moment, which put me in a real dilemma. After all, Teacher's dying wish was to ensure Qi Xia's mission could proceed to the end, so I have no choice but to go along with all your subsequent proposals."
Zheng Yingxiong looked at Earth Dog and found that the scent of "lies" on him had completely vanished, replaced instead by a scent called "hatred."
"Revenge... Hold on..."
Heaven Dog finally understood where the strangeness of this situation lay.
He had already removed all the eyeballs of the "Heaven-level." Even if Qi Xia, Azure Dragon, and Heaven Dragon didn't make a move against him now, he might not necessarily gain the upper hand against an ordinary "Earth-level."
Qi Xia had deceived him... but not completely.
"Heaven Dog, did you wipe your shoes before stepping on the 'sun'?" Earth Dog stepped forward slowly, his murderous intent surging.
"Wipe my shoes... what do you mean—"
"I searched for her for a long time," Earth Dog said with a bitter smile. "An 'Earth-level' who broke the rules. For a long time, I thought she had become an 'ant.'"
Hearing this, Heaven Dog's whole body trembled. He felt that the sun under his feet had already grown scorching hot.
Zheng Yingxiong covered his mouth and nose. Besides the thick stench of "Scent Tracking," he sensed an endless wave of "sorrow" beginning to spread.
The entire eyeball seemed to have become infinitely sorrowful at that moment.
She had thoughts, feelings—she was a living person.
"I pulled a lot of strings to find her, but every investigation told me she wasn't an 'ant,' so I thought she was dead," Earth Dog said, his lazy expression fading into one of cruelty. "So at that time, I made a decision: to make the informant pay the price."
Heaven Dog swallowed nervously, his pudgy hands fidgeting left and right. "No... you can't possibly pin this on me, can you? Even though I was the one who snitched, I never personally punished her. Calm down first..."
"Later, I did calm down," Earth Dog said. "I figured Teacher was already dead anyway, and she had indeed made a mistake. Carrying 'Scent Tracking' and becoming a 'Zodiac' was a major taboo in itself. So it wasn't a specific person who killed her—it was the world itself. After that, I thought... revenge... if I had the chance, I'd take it. If not, so be it."
"Then—"
"But now I really can't calm down..." Earth Dog slowly crouched down, reaching out to touch the dry, slightly springy ground. "Heaven Dog, tell me, wouldn't it have been better if she had died?"
Seeing Earth Dog's demeanor, Heaven Dog took a step back.
"If she had died... she wouldn't have had to suffer so much," Earth Dog said. "The hatred I let go of wouldn't have needed to be picked up again, and I could have kept slacking off. But she didn't die—instead, she's been hanging in the sky, staring straight at me."
"Let's talk this over first!" Heaven Dog exclaimed. "You can see for yourself—we've reached this point... even if you kill me, it won't help! What about Azure Dragon? He's your real enemy, isn't he..."
"Azure Dragon? I'm an utterly useless man," Earth Dog said with a smile. "I know I can't kill Azure Dragon, so I have to settle for the next best thing. I'll kill you right under Teacher's 'eyelids.' That way, she can rest in peace—after all, she's been watching me the whole time, and you've been the thorn in her eye."
Even though the scent of Earth Dog's impending violence was already spreading, Heaven Dog still showed no will to fight.
With both of them possessing body enhancement, Heaven Dog's obese frame might not be a match for the Earth Dog before him. Besides, he couldn't rely on his "Spiritual Hearing" to save his life.
"Kid." Earth Dog turned to look at Zheng Yingxiong. "Go back inside the door."
"Huh...?"
"Everyone inside is about to lose their minds. If there's anyone you want to see, say a few words to them now," Earth Dog said. "Maybe in the next second, they won't even recognize you."
Zheng Yingxiong's eyes widened slightly. The memory of parting with Sister Sissi flashed through his mind.
To say goodbye forever without even a single word—what a cruel punishment?
Now, he was even more worried about Tian Tian.
"A fight is about to break out here. Staying won't help," Earth Dog said, jerking his thumb toward the door. "Go back."
Zheng Yingxiong nodded, not hesitating, and sprinted toward the door. Though he couldn't see the invisible threads, he could always clearly smell the thick scent of "Heart-Stealing" emanating from them.
He dodged a few spots where the scent was strongest at the entrance, then dashed madly through the door.
Heaven Dog also tried to escape through the door, but Earth Dog blocked his path.
"Hey..." Earth Dog said. "Whether Qi Xia is Brother Yang or not, he still makes mistakes. You won't survive today."
---
**"The Car Head"** — a room packed with "ants."
Countless "ants" were pressed against the wall by an enormous hand.
The hand's area nearly filled the entire room, and several giant fingers were twisted from the pressure. Panicked screams kept echoing from within.
"Azure Dragon...!! Azure Dragon, open the door!!" Xiao Ran's voice was hoarse as she shouted. "I can't move now... You have to help me...!!"
The giant hand pinned the "ants" on one side, while on the other, it trapped Xiao Ran in the deepest part of the room, unable to move an inch. She couldn't even turn around now, only able to keep pounding on the inner door with her other hand.
"Why is my hand like this again... This is terrifying..." Xiao Ran cried, tears streaming down her face. "Azure Dragon, come out and take a look...! It's total chaos out here..."
Xiao Ran kept slapping the door, but she felt the surface was strangely odd.
When her hand hit it, there was no "thud" sound—it was like hitting a wall.
"What's going on...?"
Xiao Ran's eyes widened. She increased the force of her slaps. Soon, her other hand also began to grow larger, its strength multiplying.
*Bam!*
*Bam!*
After a few loud crashes, the door actually cracked under Xiao Ran's giant palm.
She paused, then said, "Azure Dragon... You won't open the door... I have no choice... I'll break it down... Please save me..."
*Bam!*
*Bam!*
Xiao Ran kept hitting the crack in the door, then dug her huge fingers into the gap and pried the door open with all her strength.
But the scene that followed nearly made Xiao Ran's eyes pop out of their sockets.
There was no room at all on the other side of the door.
After the door panels shattered, only a bare wall was exposed.