Chapter 773: The Desperate Man
"Brother Goat, your appearance today has almost cut off all my paths."
Ground Dog said, "Earlier, Losing Tiger also told me this place couldn't be left, or that it was simply impossible to become a 'Heaven.' But I never believed him."
"So do you believe me now?"
"Yes." Ground Dog nodded. "Your words are different from Losing Tiger's. They carry a power that convinces me."
"Then has your stance changed?" Qi Xia looked at him with a hint of pity. "Like a frog being boiled in warm water, you're ready to wait here and die."
"What else can I do?" Ground Dog said. "Over the years... I might be the most conflicted of all the 'Zodiacs.'"
"How so?"
"I didn't want to become an 'Earth,' yet I gained the favor of the 'Teacher' and inherited her game ground. Among all her 'disciples,' I became the one with the highest expectations." Ground Dog shook his head with a bitter smile. "Later, I wanted to just slack off for the rest of my life, but I accidentally took in a large group of diligent 'disciples.' So every day I'm torn between slacking off, repaying kindness, getting out, or staying alive. I feel like I'm splitting apart."
"Do you believe you became an 'Earth-level' because of your strength?" Qi Xia changed the subject.
"No." Ground Dog answered decisively. "I could have been promoted for any reason, but definitely not because I'm strong."
"Then that's right." Qi Xia said. "Use your brain and tell me: why did your 'Teacher' choose you out of so many disciples?"
"What...?" Ground Dog was taken aback, feeling as if Qi Xia had raised a question he'd never considered before.
"Seeking benefit and avoiding harm is human nature." Qi Xia frowned. "Normally, when making a choice, a person will try to be as advantageous to themselves as possible. If your abilities aren't outstanding, yet you were still chosen by the 'Teacher,' then you should think about why she abandoned the others and picked you."
"Speaking of that..." Ground Dog felt this was a rather sad question. "Brother Goat, to be honest, I've never had any outstanding qualities since I was young. I'm no different from millions of people in this world."
"It doesn't have to be a 'quality.'" Qi Xia shook his head. "Maybe it's just a trait that appeared in you but not in others."
When Ground Dog heard this, he felt his mind opening up a bit.
"Damn..." He froze. "Now that you mention it, I really do remember... The 'Teacher' used to say that I was the laziest of all her students..."
"Lazy..."
After hearing this, Qi Xia rubbed his chin. The answer was already obvious.
"I see..." Qi Xia said. "Your 'Teacher' knew that if she passed this position to you, you would always slack off and never become a 'Heaven.'"
"Ah...?"
"So she also told you, 'You must become a Heaven.'" Qi Xia nodded. "That way, you'd have a bit of motivation, but you'd still choose to slack off, achieving a delicate balance."
"Brother Goat, I still don't quite understand." Ground Dog said, "'Slacking off'—is that really the reason the 'Teacher' chose me? Isn't that reason a bit too cruel..."
"No." Qi Xia interrupted. "Maybe you don't realize how lucky you were to choose to become a 'Dog.'"
"What's good about being a 'Dog'?"
"In the 'Land of the End,' the game of 'Dog' is very special because it represents 'cooperation.'" Qi Xia explained. "In this damned place, even people in the same interview room can't fully trust each other. So how can they win a life-or-death game that requires cooperation? Thus, the kill rate in 'Dog' type games is very stable, even surpassing that of 'Goat.' Often, a simple rule can make a group of people who are already suspicious of each other turn on each other."
Ground Dog suddenly understood something. "Brother Goat... I think I get it."
"That's right." Qi Xia agreed. "Your 'Teacher' passed this position to you because only by giving it to you would it not advance too quickly."
Ground Dog's thoughts became clear in an instant, but he felt this wasn't really a good thing.
"Because you don't like to work." Qi Xia continued. "The coin in your pocket is polished shiny. From my shallow understanding of you, even if four 'Participants' actually show up, you'd most likely propose tossing a coin with them first. If they accept, you can just give them a 'Dao' and send them away, right?"
"Y-You know that too..." Ground Dog rubbed his head sheepishly. "I do that a lot..."
"So you're very special among the Earth-level 'Zodiacs.' Because you slack off, you often refuse to kill people. That should be the answer your 'Teacher' settled on after much deliberation." Qi Xia looked at Ground Dog with his gray eyes. "She knew that if you advanced too quickly, you'd likely be eliminated—just like herself. So she had to leave someone here to wait for me."
The countless doubts swirling in Ground Dog's mind were slowly unraveling in front of Qi Xia.
What was even more terrifying was that Qi Xia didn't even seem to remember who his teacher was, nor what had happened between them. Yet he managed to extract the truth of the whole matter from the clues.
"So the reason the 'Teacher' chose me... is because I'm the most useless among all the disciples." Ground Dog gave a bitter smile, then shook his head as if he had come to terms with something.
"No." Qi Xia let out a light laugh as well. "Don't sell yourself short. There are plenty of useless people in this world. If she just wanted a useless one, it might not have been you."
"Huh?"
"Your nature is to be silent for a long time, then amaze everyone with a single effort." Qi Xia said. "I understand your 'Teacher's' thinking more and more. Although you slack off on a daily basis, once you get serious, you're extremely capable. You're simply the perfect choice."
Ground Dog fell silent, pondering for a long time before finally speaking. "So whether it's you or the 'Teacher'... it's all the same. You're both in a hopeless situation, yet you still try to change this place..."
"You're wrong." Qi Xia said. "There is no hopeless situation in this world. There are only people who are hopeless toward their situation."
"What...?"
"Think it over yourself." Qi Xia pushed open the door. "If your mind changes, you don't need to tell me. Just tell the Earth Tiger."
Qi Xia didn't wait for Ground Dog's reply and walked straight out the door, leaving the stunned Ground Dog behind.
Qi Xia knew that this slacker Ground Dog had already been recruited into his ranks.
After taking three steps, Qi Xia stopped and turned back to look at Ground Dog.
"What...?" Ground Dog was puzzled.
"The small cake and the fruit," Qi Xia said. "Can I take them with me?"
"Ah?" Ground Dog quickly walked out of the glass room. "Yes, yes... I already brought them over yesterday, since I didn't know when you'd arrive. Wait a moment, I'll get them for you."
"Okay."
(Guys, I'm really not doing well. The fever hasn't gone away, and I'm feeling groggy. I'll take a day off tomorrow. Sorry.)