Chapter 601: Suspicion
"Entertainment...?"
Xu Liunian and Earth Tiger both fell silent.
In the "Land of Endings," some people exhaust all their strength just to find a way to survive, while others treat life like weeds, casually snuffing it out for their own amusement.
"But Qi Xia..." Earth Tiger was still confused. "The 'enemy' you mentioned..."
"These are the targets 'Azure Dragon' told me to eliminate," Qi Xia said. "The lives of these eight people are bound together with my teammates' fates. For each one of them who survives this cycle, one of my teammates will lose their sanity and become a 'native.'"
"Ah...?"
Earth Tiger froze, his big eyes blinking rapidly as if trying to understand Qi Xia's position.
"Qi... Qi Xia... you..." He gestured with his hands, finally realizing how serious the situation was. "Isn't this screwed either way? Between the people rebelling with me... and your teammates... half have to die no matter what?"
"That's about right." Qi Xia nodded.
"But why?!" Earth Tiger slammed the table, his face filled with confusion. "Which side is 'Azure Dragon' on? Is he helping you or harming you?"
"It's hard to say. I'm tired today. Starting tomorrow, I'll visit them one by one according to the information marked on the list."
Xu Liunian also looked at Qi Xia with confusion at this point.
"Does that include... the ones who came into my room?" Earth Tiger asked uncertainly.
"Not for now." Qi Xia replied.
"But doesn't that put you in an impossible position, Qi Xia..." Earth Tiger's brow was deeply furrowed, his expression particularly grim. "If you don't kill them... then your teammates will lose their sanity... I keep feeling like 'Azure Dragon' is acting strange. Is this something he should be involved in? Isn't his duty to guard 'Heavenly Dragon'?"
"'Azure Dragon' dragged himself into this. Whatever he's planning to do, I just hope he won't regret it."
Qi Xia stood up and slowly stretched. Although he hadn't fully participated in the "Pegasus Hour," he had still been running through the streets for a full hour.
This fatigue, produced under the dual pressure of death and exhaustion, was no less than participating in multiple "Earth-grade" games in a single day.
Now that the fatigue was settling in, he felt somewhat drowsy.
"By the way." Qi Xia suddenly thought of something and turned to ask Earth Tiger, "You said... among those three—Rabbit, Dog, Pig—was anyone... acting strange?"
"Strange?" Earth Tiger frowned, recalling the three's behavior from last night. "All three were strange. Not a single normal one among them."
"Not that kind of 'strange.'" Qi Xia shook his head. "'Azure Dragon' told me that everyone on the list is one of 'Heavenly Dragon's' people. What do you think?"
"Wha—"
Earth Tiger's eyes shot wide open. His mouth trembled slightly, as if he wanted to speak but held back.
After a long moment, he finally asked, "Qi Xia, are you saying that 'Heavenly Dragon's' people have already infiltrated my team...?"
"It's hard to say." Qi Xia didn't answer directly. "After all, 'Azure Dragon' could be lying. I just want to know—from your 'Zodiac' perspective—did these three seem unusual in any way?"
Hearing this, Earth Tiger replayed their behavior in his mind and quickly noticed a problem.
"Even when you put it that way, these three are still a bit strange..." Earth Tiger said. "As expected of you, Qi Xia. You've opened up a new line of thinking for me."
"Tell me about it."
"First, let's talk about Earth Dog..." Earth Tiger squinted as he thought carefully. "Although there's nothing particularly strange about him personally, his superior is 'Heavenly Dog.' 'Heavenly Dog,' like 'Azure Dragon,' is an ear of the 'Land of Endings,' and those two don't get along. That means Earth Dog could very well be one of 'Heavenly Dog's' people... He's opposed to 'Azure Dragon.'"
"Oh...?" Qi Xia nodded slightly. "Was there anything unusual about his behavior last night?"
"He..." Earth Tiger shook his head after listening. "He rarely spoke. Most of the time, he just listened to us talk. And he inexplicably brought along a corporate slave rat—those two didn't even seem to know each other... I'm getting more suspicious of him now..."
"No need." Qi Xia said. "We're just casually sharing thoughts. You don't have to fully believe 'Azure Dragon.' Even if Earth Dog's superior is 'Heavenly Dog,' he could still have plenty of reasons to want to kill his superior and take his place."
"That's true." Earth Tiger nodded with a hesitant expression. "But that big rabbit... is even stranger."
"Strange how?"
"Never mind the fact that he came in covered in injuries. Just looking at his motives, I can't understand him." Earth Tiger said. "He had no reason to join us at all. Yesterday, he never once stated his position clearly. It was like he had nothing to do with any of it—he just stood there watching. If you look at it that way, what else could he be but a spy?"
"A spy...?" Qi Xia shook his head. "No. If I remember correctly, the people who went to participate in Earth Rabbit's game weren't exactly pushovers either. That rabbit was likely already completely baffled by Chen Junnan."
"Baffled?"
"Mm." Qi Xia confirmed. "Never mind that you don't know his motives—I suspect he himself doesn't know what he's doing. I'll need to see him in person to say more. Can't jump to conclusions now."
After Qi Xia finished speaking, Earth Tiger fell into silence.
"What's wrong? What about Earth Pig?"
"Although Little Pig is strange too, he probably isn't one of them." Earth Tiger gave a simple, honest laugh.
Qi Xia furrowed his brow, feeling something was off. "Why do you say that?"
"He's still a kid." Earth Tiger scratched his cheek. "A kid can't be that bad, right?"
"Oh...?" Qi Xia felt like he might have found 'Heavenly Dragon's' needle.
Could it be that 'Heavenly Dragon' knew Earth Tiger would be especially lenient toward children, so he arranged for Earth Pig to join his team?
Did that mean 'Heavenly Dragon' already knew about the 'rebellion'?
After thinking for a few seconds, Qi Xia ultimately shook his head.
If 'Heavenly Dragon' knew about the rebellion but never made a move, that logic simply didn't hold.
Ever since his 'Endless Cycle' ability appeared, 'Heavenly Dragon' had felt an unprecedented sense of crisis. If someone were to rebel now, he would definitely make an example of them.
Besides, if solid evidence could be found that one of these eight people was 'Heavenly Dragon's' spy, that would be enough to prove that all seven others were spies too.
But that probability was far too slim.
So 'Azure Dragon' was most likely lying. Having him meet these eight zodiacs must serve some other purpose.
"Qi Xia... when you go quiet like that, it makes me nervous..." Earth Tiger said. "Does Little Pig have a problem too?"
"Like I said, it's hard to say." Qi Xia shook his head. "In any case, you don't need to suspect anyone. Just leave this matter to me."