Chapter 784: Key Training
Upon hearing this, the Groundhog furrowed his brow slightly and said, "Leader, what do you think this place is? A restaurant?"
"Isn't it?" Chen Junnan laughed. "Last time you treated us to fruit, and I want some again this time."
"Leader, last time was because of the 'Pegasus Moment,'" the Groundhog said. "At that time, the Pegasus Moment had just ended, and the number of people able to participate in the games had sharply decreased. If I hadn't used up the fruit, there would have been problems."
"Isn't it the same this time?" Chen Junnan scratched his head. "The effects of the 'Pegasus Moment' haven't faded yet. I doubt many people will be participating in your game."
"Leader, you flatter me," the Groundhog shook his head. "It's still early morning. If I used up the fruit now, the rest of the day would be tough for me. If you folks are hungry, you'd better go eat some corpses."
Chen Junnan stepped forward, coming face to face with the Groundhog, and said, "Big rat, do you really not understand, or are you pretending? We not only want to 'eat fruit,' but also want to 'listen to music.'"
The Groundhog's expression shifted. He looked at the three people before him, then finally nodded and said, "'Listening to music' is fine, but 'eating fruit' is out of the question."
He turned and walked into the house on his own, then pushed open the door to the "Rat Room."
Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan followed him in, with Qin Dingdong close behind. Though she had no idea what the two were up to, she felt they had a deep connection with this rat.
The four of them entered the cramped "Rat Room." The Groundhog waved his hand dismissively, indicating they could make themselves at home, and then turned to fiddle with something.
"What's your relationship with this rat?" Qin Dingdong whispered from the side.
"I don't know either," Qiao Jiajin said. "Seems like cooperation?"
"Shh!" Chen Junnan said. "Lao Qiao, watch your words."
"Oh..." Qiao Jiajin nodded.
When the Groundhog turned on the radio and the grating heavy metal music began to fill the room, Chen Junnan immediately stood up and grabbed the Groundhog.
"Oh! Leader, go easy. That's very rude."
"I've got too many questions. That cheating big fat monkey you mentioned—you said he's one of the 'Celestial Dragon's' people... are you bulls-heading me?!"
"Oh?" The Groundhog expressed doubt. "How could that be nonsense? He really is one of the Celestial Dragon's people."
"He's Old Qi's man!" Chen Junnan said. "What are you playing at? Is Old Qi the Celestial Dragon or what?"
The Groundhog narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. "Old Qi?"
"Old Qi is Qi Xia," Chen Junnan said. "Are you going to play dumb with me now? Old Qi said the Earth Monkey was once his teammate. That's completely different from what you're saying!"
Chen Junnan's words clearly confused the Groundhog. He stared at Chen Junnan for a long time without speaking.
"You're telling me there are seven more like him?" Chen Junnan grew more puzzled. "Are all eight people on your list Old Qi's former teammates? What's your angle?"
"They were Qi Xia's original teammates...?" The Groundhog thought hard but found no answer. "What's going on here?"
"I suggest you stop playing dumb," Chen Junnan said. "What do you know? Where did you get this list of eight people? You want us to kill Qi Xia's former teammates? What's your goal?"
Chen Junnan spat out all his doubts in one breath, but the Groundhog didn't answer them one by one.
His brownish-gray rat face, though lacking human expression, clearly showed confusion, as if even he didn't know the answer.
"Chen Junnan..." the Groundhog said. "Whether you believe it or not, these people are all being 'key-trained' by the Celestial Dragon."
"Key training?" Chen Junnan was taken aback. "What kind of 'training'?"
"From what I know, they not only have faster promotion rates than other 'Zodiacs,' but they even get advice from the Celestial Dragon himself," the Groundhog said.
"So that makes them the Celestial Dragon's confidants?" Chen Junnan felt the Groundhog was being a bit hasty. "And you dared to have us kill them just because of your own guess?"
"Chen Junnan..." the Groundhog narrowed his eyes. "Among all the 'Earth-level' Zodiacs I know, only these eight have that honor... Isn't that enough? Receiving guidance from the Celestial Dragon in dreams proves they're stronger than everyone else. And then there's that paper..."
"What paper?" Chen Junnan asked.
Hearing this, the Groundhog lowered his head and thought for a while amidst the loud music, as if weighing whether to reveal this information.
Finally, he raised his head and said, "In short, I once saw a list. That list clearly recorded these eight people. They are all the Celestial Dragon's key targets for support."
"Who else knows about this?" Chen Junnan pressed. "Do all the Earth-level Zodiacs know?"
"No..." the Groundhog shook his head. "Probably only I know... but that's enough. I've said it before—I want to board Brother Sheep's ship, so I'll do my best to clear obstacles for him."
"Damn..." Chen Junnan wasn't an ordinary person either. He quickly caught the inconsistency in this story. "You might have been played, you know..."
"What?"
"Could it be that someone used you as a gun?" Chen Junnan thought for a moment. "If the Celestial Dragon really wanted to train these eight people, why would he list them separately? There are only eight people—can't he remember them? That list was obviously made for others to see... The purpose is probably to mislead Old Qi, to make him and them kill each other."
Upon hearing this, the Groundhog stroked his whiskers, realizing that the core contradiction of the matter remained unresolved.
"What do you mean by 'kill each other'?" the Groundhog said. "Those eight are Zodiacs. They and Brother Sheep are not in the same camp. To be honest, even if I hadn't said anything, it's possible they'd end up killing each other."
"That might all be part of Old Qi's plan," Chen Junnan replied. "But... Old Qi's plan seems to have been seen through by the Celestial Dragon."
"What do you mean...?" the Groundhog asked.
Chen Junnan organized his thoughts and said, "Stop hiding things. Just tell me who those eight people are. I suspect not only Old Qi, but you've also been played by the Celestial Dragon."
The Groundhog thought for a moment, and with Qin Dingdong and Qiao Jiajin as witnesses, he finally recited the list he had seen.
The eight Zodiacs were: Earth Ox, Earth Rabbit, Earth Dragon, Earth Snake, Earth Dog, Earth Monkey, Earth Rooster, and Earth Pig.
Exactly the same as the Zodiacs marked on Qi Xia's map.
What made the Groundhog even more uneasy was that four of these eight had already joined the Earth Tiger's rebellion.
"Folks, to be honest, I'd rather kill the innocent than let the guilty slip away," the Groundhog said. "I cannot afford any mistakes. I must get on that ship."