Chapter 721: A Complete Farewell
“What do you mean…?” Both Siwei and I were taken aback.
“Hero, Siwei…” Brother Gu Yu let out a deep sigh. “You two should be able to figure it out too. Since one team is about to collect enough ‘jade,’ the other teams won’t be far behind.”
After hearing this, we understood what he meant and silently lowered our heads.
“I managed to drive them off this time, but what about next time? And the time after that? If every time someone is about to collect all the ‘jade,’ it gets stolen, then no matter what kind of ‘family rules’ we come up with, this home won’t be safe anymore.”
“Then… then Brother Gu Yu, you…” I asked hesitantly.
“In the next cycle, I plan to leave,” he said. “This time… I’m not coming back.”
Even though I’d guessed that this might be the answer, when Brother Gu Yu said it out loud, my heart still gave a sudden lurch.
“Leave…?” Sister Siwei was also stunned. “Gu Yu, where are you going? Did you find a way out?”
“No,” Brother Gu Yu shook his head. “But after all these years… I think you two must have seen it too. This city has no hope left.”
“Are you going to move to another city? But no matter which city you go to… you’ll still come back after ten days…”
“Yes, normally that’s the case, but there’s a way to avoid it.” Brother Gu Yu stood up, walked to the corner of the room, rummaged around for a bit, and pulled out a box.
Sister Siwei and I looked at him blankly, having no idea what he was planning.
He brought the box over to me, reached out and patted my head, then said softly, “Brother Hero, all these years I’ve treated you like a hero. Today, I want to treat you like an ordinary kid.”
I blinked, didn’t say anything, but felt like crying.
“How about we play a game?” Brother Gu Yu, radiating a sadness that clung to him like a scent, placed the box in front of me, then pulled out a small handful of “jade” and tossed them in.
“Wh… what game?”
“There are thirty pieces of ‘jade’ in here… We’ll take turns taking some out. You can take as many as you want,” he said with a bitter smile. “Whoever takes the last piece wins. How about it?”
I’d never played this game before, but I played along with Brother Gu Yu twice, and I lost both times.
“Gu Yu…” Sister Siwei called out. “What exactly are you trying to do?”
“This is the ‘game’ I designed.” Brother Gu Yu looked at the box in his hand, his expression dark. “I want to become a ‘Zodiac.’”
Hearing that, Sister Siwei and I shot up from our seats, completely stunned.
“Become a ‘Zodiac’?!” Sister Siwei froze. “What do you mean?! Gu Yu, what are you planning?”
“I never told you two before, but as long as you put on the mask of a ‘Zodiac,’ you can become one. After all, this path is far too dangerous.” Brother Gu Yu kept shaking his head with a bitter smile. “So I’m going to become a ‘Zodiac’ and walk the path that belongs to the ‘Zodiac.’”
“That’s absurd!” Sister Siwei said. “Aren’t the so-called ‘Zodiacs’ the enemies of the ‘participants’? Are you going to join the enemy?”
“Don’t be naive, Siwei.” Brother Gu Yu shook his head. “Every ‘Zodiac’ in this place was once a participant. They just woke up earlier than we did and have gone further down this road.”
“So you…” Sister Siwei seemed anxious, her voice trembling. She pointed at the box in Brother Gu Yu’s hand. “You’re going to use this childish game… taking ‘jade’ out of the box in turns, and climbing up that way? Aren’t you afraid someone will ‘bet their life’ against you?!”
“I have a trump card.” Brother Gu Yu smiled bitterly. “Have you forgotten? I used to be a magician.”
“So what if you’re a magician?”
Just then, Brother Gu Yu reached his hand into the box and picked up a piece of “jade,” but I clearly saw that two pieces had disappeared from the box.
He turned his hand over to show us, and there was another piece hidden in the middle of his palm.
“This is called ‘Palm Concealment,’ the most common technique in close-up magic. I can ‘cheat’…” His hand was trembling slightly. He paused, then continued, “Every ‘Zodiac’ has a trait… just like the Dog can ‘stir up trouble,’ the Rabbit can ‘destroy,’ the Snake can ‘bend the rules,’ the Sheep can ‘lie,’ the Monkey… can ‘cheat.’ I’m going to become the ‘Human Monkey.’”
Although he was patiently explaining the principles of magic and the ‘Zodiacs’ to us, the scent of sadness around him was truly overwhelming.
I thought… choosing this path meant Brother Gu Yu had no other choice left, right?
“You’ve actually gained such a deep understanding of the ‘Zodiacs’…” Sister Siwei was stunned. “You’ve been planning this for a long time?”
“That’s right.” Brother Gu Yu nodded. “Siwei, to be honest, before I came back four years ago, I had some inner struggles. Back then, there were two paths in front of me: one was to return to ‘Jade City’ and change this place; the other was to become a ‘Zodiac.’ I even bet against a Human Monkey in advance and hid his mask, just so I could become one one day. But I knew that if I didn’t come back to ‘Jade City’ and try to change things, I might regret it many years later.”
Hearing his words, Sister Siwei and I fell silent.
“You’ve seen it too… over the past four years, the situation in ‘Jade City’ has only gotten worse. Even with all three of us giving our best efforts, this ‘beast’ has started to bite.” He shook his head, stood up, and faced Sister Siwei. “Siwei… I have tried my best within the limits of my ability. I know I look like a soldier fleeing the battlefield, but I have to think about myself. I can’t keep waiting here to die after knowing the outcome.”
“I… I understand…” Sister Siwei said. “Your choice is the right one… I support you.”
I could clearly smell a hint of sadness in Sister Siwei’s scent, yet she still kept a smile on her face.
She sniffled, then forced a laugh. “But if you become a ‘Zodiac’ here, probably no one will participate in your game… so…”
“I won’t choose ‘Jade City,’” Brother Gu Yu said. “Although the people of ‘Jade City’ are keen on participating in ‘Human-level’ games, they never step foot into ‘Earth-level’ games except for the ‘Executioner.’ Once I advance to the ‘Earth’ level, I’ll be trapped. And ‘Wocheng’ is no good either; it’s too dangerous there. I might have to face dozens of ‘participants’ betting their lives with me every day. So…”
“So you’re going to become a Human Monkey in ‘Daocheng’…?” Sister Siwei nodded. “But aren’t there a lot of smart people there… with this game of yours…”
“I have to take a gamble. I’ll also refine the game over the next while. Maybe I’ll use two boxes or more chips. In any case, I’ve made up my mind.” Gu Yu said. “Now there are only three cities left. I have no other road to walk. If I have to say it, becoming a Zodiac in ‘Daocheng’ might be safer than staying here.”
Seeing Sister Siwei remain silent, Brother Gu Yu asked again, “Siwei, don’t you want to become the Rabbit that can ‘escape’?”