Chapter 770: Unqualified Pawn
Earth Dog was stunned for a few seconds, then spoke: "But I haven't finished explaining the rules yet..."
"The known conditions are enough," Qi Xia said. "The 'Four Seasons' all need to do what their season requires, and everyone's 'lots' will constantly change according to the attributes of the 'Four Seasons.' Otherwise, the 'Four Seasons' you designed would be meaningless. The ones who fight against the 'Nian Beast' could just be four 'Warriors' holding firecrackers, not the 'Four Seasons.'"
Earth Dog swallowed nervously upon hearing this. "Brother Sheep... you..."
"So I roughly understand the framework of the game, and the countermeasure naturally follows," Qi Xia nodded. "'Winter' is the only season in the year that can oppose the 'Nian Beast.' You should have placed all your major 'calamities' in 'Winter.'"
Earth Dog blinked. "But Brother Sheep, you just said... that only one smart person is enough. My game is a pure 'cooperative type.' How could one smart person possibly be enough?"
"Don't you believe me?" Qi Xia said.
"Yes, it's hard for me to believe," Earth Dog replied. "If you were to participate in the game... which season would you choose? 'Winter'?"
"'Spring,'" Qi Xia said. "You yourself said there's a decision point called 'Passing On.' The first season can pass their 'lot' unchanged to the second season."
"That's right."
"Meaning that as long as 'Spring' can control the overall situation, they can pass their thoughts on to everyone else," Qi Xia said.
"But that's impossible," Earth Dog said. "In this game, there's absolutely no way to communicate. The soundproofing in each room is excellent. The only reason we can talk freely here is because of that."
"Actually, all you need is a pen," Qi Xia continued. "Once you have a pen, you can make everyone know your strategy using just a 'regular lot.' Even without a pen, you could use blood, a carving knife. As long as I can leave words on the lot, everyone will see them."
"You..." Only now did Earth Dog feel that the man before him must be White Sheep. "You not only figured out how to crack the game, but also thought about how to pass that solution on to the other three."
Qi Xia nodded. "Your game is not bad. Although the difficulty isn't high, it still causes steady casualties among the 'participants.' There are also quite a few strategic parts. If I were a 'participant,' I could guarantee a ninety percent win rate, but if I were a 'referee,' I could guarantee a one hundred percent win rate."
Earth Dog fell silent after hearing this. He was amazed not only that this man had thought up a strategy in just a few seconds, but also by his claim of a "one hundred percent win rate."
"So do you believe my identity now?" Qi Xia asked.
"Yes..."
"Then the question I asked you earlier..." Qi Xia continued, "Who were your former teammates?"
"Brother Sheep, promise me one thing. Even if you find out who my teammates are, don't ask them about my name. Otherwise, it would violate the 'Zodiac' rules, and I could be in danger of death."
"Don't worry," Qi Xia nodded. "Asking about your background is not to find out your name."
"Alright." Earth Dog seemed relieved and said cautiously, "Brother Sheep, there aren't many people in my room. I heard there are only four left now. Their names are Jiang Ruoxue, Zhou Mo, Su Shan, and Fang Zichen. I've heard these people are still active in the 'Land of the End.' You might have run into them."
Hearing this, Qi Xia narrowed his eyes slowly.
Perhaps it was fate—he had met all four of them.
"With you, that's five people," Qi Xia said. "Were there only these people in your room?"
"It's been the five of us for as long as I can remember," Earth Dog replied. "Later, I left the room and became a 'Zodiac,' but that was many years ago."
"How long ago was that?" Qi Xia asked again.
"You mean when I became a 'Zodiac'?" Earth Dog thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "About thirteen years?"
"Thirteen years...?"
Qi Xia frowned and thought. Although he had recovered some of his memories, he was still puzzled by this time point.
"You became a 'Zodiac' thirteen years ago?" Qi Xia confirmed.
"Yes..." Earth Dog shook his head helplessly. "Brother Sheep, I know what you want to say. You cleared all the trials in just seven years. I've walked less than half the path in thirteen years. But people really are different..."
"No, that's not the issue," Qi Xia interrupted. "You mean you were already in that room thirteen years ago, and there were only five people?"
"That's right," Earth Dog nodded. "Is there a problem...?"
Based on Qi Xia's own inferences and scattered memories, he had reorganized the room about twelve to eleven years ago and acted with the group for about a year or so. It was also around then that he gradually got familiar with Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan.
In other words, if he wanted his former teammates to all become 'Zodiacs,' it could only have been before twelve years ago.
But what was the identity of this Earth Dog, who had been in the same room as Su Shan thirteen years ago? Why had he been drawn into this torrent?
"There's still fog," Qi Xia muttered quietly. "The most important memories haven't returned yet..."
"What 'memories'?" Earth Dog asked in confusion.
Qi Xia shook his head, but to be safe, he asked, "Earth Dog, were you a 'Resonator' before you became a 'Zodiac'?"
"No," Earth Dog replied decisively. "I was an 'Unfortunate.' That's exactly why I became a 'Zodiac.'"
This answer cleared some of the fog in Qi Xia's mind.
He felt that things were somewhat different from what he had imagined.
If the eight 'Zodiacs' drawn on the map were all his teammates, then it was impossible for an 'Unfortunate' to exist in that team.
Because he would inevitably have discovered the principle of 'Resonance.' As long as the right 'opportunity' was found, there could be no true 'Unfortunates' in this land.
Moreover, he absolutely would not let an 'Unfortunate' become a 'Zodiac.' If he couldn't spend a long time building feelings and trust, this teammate wouldn't be a qualified 'pawn.'
In summary, an 'Unfortunate' was definitely not one of his people.
This made Earth Dog's identity even more enigmatic.
Could it be, as 'Qinglong' said, that he was 'Tianlong's' confidant?
Qi Xia and Earth Dog stood in the narrow glass room, staring at each other, both seemingly burdened with many thoughts.
If he really was one of 'Tianlong's' people, shouldn't he be killing him here?