Chapter 606: Eight People
Chen Junnan had no intention of baring his soul to the Rat, and the Rat naturally reciprocated the same attitude.
He only told Chen Junnan that there were eight of the "Tianlong's confidants" and pointed out the location of one of them.
A "Monkey."
The Rat told Chen Junnan that whether he would reveal the information about the remaining seven people depended entirely on Chen Junnan's attitude toward this "Monkey."
With that, he turned off the radio, intentionally ending the conversation.
Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin naturally understood that this place had its own "ears," so they fell silent as well. After the three of them sat in silence for ten minutes, Chen Junnan stood up.
He reached out, picked a bright red peach from the table, and handed it to Qiao Jiajin. Then he grabbed a handful of kumquats for himself.
"Big Rat, thanks for the tunes," he said calmly, tossing a kumquat, skin and all, into his mouth. After chewing it a few times, he added, "If there's nothing else, my buddy and I will be on our way."
"You two leaders aren't staying longer?" the Rat asked, putting his fake smile back on. "I've got plenty of fruit here."
"Nope, we're leaving."
Their faces grim, the two pushed open the door and left the room.
Walking down the road, they felt completely lost as to where to go next.
The black lines outside were retreating in large numbers, leaving only bloody remnants of dismembered bodies scattered everywhere.
They not only didn't know where to go now, but also didn't know where to go in the future.
"Jun Nan, are you going to look for that 'Monkey'?"
"I want to check it out first," Chen Junnan said. "I feel like there's something strange about this whole thing that I can't quite put my finger on."
"Where?"
"The number." Chen Junnan said decisively. He thought for a few seconds, avoiding some key words, then said to Qiao Jiajin, "Why does it have to be eight of these 'Zodiacs'?"
"What's wrong with eight?"
Chen Junnan paused and said, "I just have a wild idea. It might be totally impractical, but it's something I've always been curious about..."
"Go on, tell me."
"Suppose we're the ones who were rebuilt..." Chen Junnan stopped walking, turned back to look at the Rat's room, "Then where did the eight people originally around Old Qi go?"
"What...?" Qiao Jiajin frowned instantly. "Bloody hell... Jun Nan, that thought of yours is way too sharp... Are you saying these eight..."
"So I want to go see." Chen Junnan sighed. "Actually, I'd rather go find Old Qi, but I have no idea where he is. For now, I can only head over to the Earth Monkey's place. Not to 'bet my life' with him, just to see if I can make a friend."
"Got it." Qiao Jiajin nodded.
With their direction decided, the two of them wolfed down the sweet fruit in their hands as they set off toward the Earth Monkey's game venue.
...
Tiantian hugged her knees and squatted in the corner, gently resting her cheek on her knees as she watched the boy bandaging her wounds.
This boy named Xiao Cheng was indeed a bit strange. He was clearly more seriously injured himself, but when Tiantian arrived, she found that he had already bandaged Zheng Yingxiong. Now he was only beginning to deal with the horrifying wound on his own palm.
Fortunately, there were some scraps of cloth and bandages in this small hideout, barely enough to stop the bleeding for both of them.
Zheng Yingxiong took out a strangely shaped flatbread from his bag, broke it in half from the middle, and handed it to Tiantian.
"Sister, eat."
"Thank you, little brother." Tiantian smiled at him, took the flatbread, and took a gentle bite.
The texture of the flatbread was very strange. The grain particles inside were huge, and chewing it felt like biting into large, hard peanuts.
After eating a few bites with a pained expression, Tiantian seemed to think of something. She turned her head and asked Zheng Yingxiong, "Little brother, you mentioned before that my ability is called 'Clever Objects.' Do you understand this ability?"
"I don't understand." Zheng Yingxiong shook his head. "I only know its name, not its specific function."
Tiantian noticed that Zheng Yingxiong was acting a bit strange. He kept holding the other half of the broken flatbread in his hand, neither eating it nor putting it away.
"Little brother, is your ability to distinguish other people's 'Echoes'?" Tiantian said. "Isn't that just like the display screens outside?"
"Yes." Zheng Yingxiong nodded. "Everyone's 'fragrance' name is fixed. Whether it's a sound or a scent, the name is the same."
Tiantian nodded, seeming to understand but not quite.
By this time, Xiao Cheng had finished bandaging his own palm. He seemed to have taken quite a while, and now his face was pale from excessive blood loss.
Zheng Yingxiong looked up at Xiao Cheng, then handed him the remaining half of the flatbread in his hand.
"Brother, eat."
Hearing this, Xiao Cheng and Tiantian both paused, feeling a bit puzzled.
Xiao Cheng didn't take the flatbread. Instead, he came over and crouched down beside Zheng Yingxiong, asking, "Little brother, aren't you eating? Were you holding onto that piece of flatbread all this time just waiting for me?"
"Yeah." Zheng Yingxiong nodded. "You two can eat. I'm a 'Hero'; I don't need to eat."
"What kind of nonsense is that?" Tiantian said, both annoyed and amused. "Who told you a 'Hero' doesn't need to eat?"
"My citizens." Zheng Yingxiong turned his face and answered very seriously. "Since I am a 'Hero' who can save everyone, I must share the food with everyone. As long as I can save people, it's okay if I starve to death, because I'll be reborn with my memories the next time."
"Nonsense." Tiantian frowned and scolded him softly. "I think all your citizens are idiots. If you're a 'Hero,' they should be giving you good food, not the other way around."
"Really?" Zheng Yingxiong asked uncertainly.
"Yes, absolutely."
Tiantian smiled and nodded, then broke her own piece of flatbread into two even smaller pieces and handed one to Xiao Cheng. "See, now we both have something to eat. You can eat that piece of yours yourself."
"How can this be...?" Zheng Yingxiong looked a bit anxious. "My piece is so big, and yours are so small. That means..."
"Don't pull a Kong Rong on us now." Tiantian smiled like a little teacher and patted Zheng Yingxiong's head. "Your stomach is growling with hunger. You obviously want to eat more than anyone else. You don't need to give it up this time. Big brother and sister will forgive you this once. Now hurry up and eat."
Zheng Yingxiong was startled for a moment, then lowered his head to look at the flatbread in his hand. He nodded as if he had just received a treasure.
Xiao Cheng also found it a bit off. He quietly asked Tiantian, "Sis, can you really manage with just that little bit?"
Tiantian stuck out her tongue and whispered back, "Xiao Cheng, this flatbread is really not very good. Help me eat some, okay?"