Chapter 828: The Characteristics of Snakes
A loud crash followed, and the Earth Serpent lay on the ground, staring blankly at the ceiling.
The wounds all over his body, along with his healing eyes, were gradually splitting apart under the impact. Dark red blood began to paint a picture on his pure white skin.
"Impossible..." the Earth Serpent said, looking at the ceiling. "You're wrong... this doesn't make sense..."
"If you think it's unreasonable, you can refute me now." Qi Xia returned to his seat, his expression calm. "Earth Serpent, whether you admit it or not, you have lived a miserable life."
"Ha..." The Earth Serpent stared at the ceiling, slowly calming himself down, and said in a low voice, "You're just making inferences. You have no concrete evidence that those people actually brought their abilities with them and became 'Heaven'."
"Oh?" Qi Xia nodded. "Still not giving up."
"How could I possibly give up... Those experiments were done by me and my teacher, and those research results were what he told me..." the Earth Serpent said. "If what you say is true, then what are we even doing in this sunless hell? Is it really just to find suffering?"
"Then let me tell you my second doubt," Qi Xia said.
"What?"
"A few decades ago, Azure Dragon showed me a 'memory.' Back then, I was standing in front of him and Celestial Dragon, obtaining my 'Echo.' Azure Dragon clearly heard something," Qi Xia said. "Even if you're certain all the upper levels are 'blank slates,' I can guarantee that 'Azure Dragon' is not. Since one person can already have an 'Echo' and then obtain another 'Echo,' you can too."
Upon hearing this, the Earth Serpent's eyes flickered again, his expression still tinged with doubt.
"If I'm lying to you, may I be struck by five lightning bolts from the sky right now." Qi Xia said half-jokingly, looking toward the sky outside the glass window, as if challenging the thunderbolt.
The Earth Serpent frowned slightly at these words. "Struck by five lightning bolts from the sky" could be considered an oath anywhere, but in "Zhongyan Land," it simply didn't work. After all, there was no concept of "weather" here, and even the one who controlled the thunderbolts was a person.
He had his own joys, angers, sorrows, and pleasures, and he could even lie. The thunderbolts he controlled could also lie.
If this memory came from Azure Dragon, it meant that even if Qi Xia wasn't lying, he could still have been deceived.
"I have no way to trust 'Azure Dragon,' and even less reason to trust the thunderbolts in his hand." The Earth Serpent turned his head to look at Qi Xia. "Do you know who I trust the most?"
Qi Xia didn't answer the Earth Serpent; his eyes were filled with pity.
"All the 'Earth Grades' are waiting for the 'Heaven' above them to die, but I'm helping him achieve greater heights..." the Earth Serpent's voice gradually choked up. "Qi Xia... do you know why I'm doing this?"
"I..."
Faced with the Earth Serpent's question, Qi Xia was uncharacteristically at a loss for words.
"I hope that one day, when I see that brat again, I won't have let down the expectations he once had for me." The Earth Serpent laughed bitterly. "I know I can't kill 'Heaven,' and I can't become a 'Dragon,' so I'll take my 'achievements' to meet him. At least it might be of some help... right? Then I'll cover my clothes tightly and tell him all these things came from my mind. That way, even that arrogant brat will look at me with new respect."
The people nearby heard the Earth Serpent's words and turned to look at Qi Xia, whose gaze deepened at that moment.
"So I told you... I participated in this because I wanted to," the Earth Serpent said, murky tears sliding from the corner of his eye to his ear. "After all, we are 'Snakes.' Every 'Zodiac' has its own characteristics, and we 'Snakes' are no different..."
When Chen Junnan heard this, he was about to say something, but fragments of memories suddenly flashed through his mind.
In the memory, he entered an underground chamber where he saw an extremely shocking sight, but then the memory cut off right there.
"What the hell..." Chen Junnan shook his head. "Has Little Master been sleep-deprived lately? Having dreams in broad daylight?"
He thought back carefully, feeling that this wasn't his own memory.
"What's wrong?" Qi Xia glanced at Chen Junnan.
"I don't know..." Chen Junnan shook his head. "Right after this kid said the 'Snake' characteristics, Little Master suddenly got images in his head, like some kind of signal got triggered."
"Did you know about this before?" Qi Xia asked again.
"Even though I wanted to take care of 'Earth Serpent' and 'Celestial Serpent,' Little Master never started acting, so how could I know what their characteristics are?"
Qi Xia suddenly thought of something and turned to ask the Earth Serpent: "'Sheep' lie, 'Monkeys' cheat. What do 'Snakes' do?"
"Snakes can 'establish themselves.'" The Earth Serpent replied. "To put it simply, we can create an organization meant for 'favoritism.' And we can lure or persuade the participants who enter our games to join this organization. We have the freedom to run this organization as we see fit, without being under the jurisdiction of 'Celestial Dragon' or 'Azure Dragon.'"
As soon as he finished speaking, more fragmented memories flashed through Chen Junnan's mind.
"An... organization meant for 'favoritism'..." He muttered the words to himself, feeling as if he had opened Pandora's Box.
Chen Junnan's eyes flickered slightly, and then what flashed through his mind were corpses, blood, bleached bones, a throne, and... a princess.
Where were these images coming from?
"Damn... Little Master thinks his brain is cramping..." Chen Junnan reached out and slapped himself cleanly. "It's nothing... nothing... you guys keep talking, don't mind me."
"Bastard, are you okay?" Qin Dingdong looked at Chen Junnan. "Why are you suddenly wearing that look like you're about to die?"
"It's nothing... Little Master doesn't know what demonic technique he's been practicing lately. My head's full of delusional thoughts."
He walked over and sat down to the side, and Qiao Jiajin followed him, looking somewhat worried.
"I see." Qi Xia nodded, paying no attention to Chen Junnan, and said to the Earth Serpent instead. "Snakes can create an organization for 'favoritism,' and they can lure participants who enter their games into joining. Some people established this organization to have participants provide all kinds of items, while others used the organization to take lives, providing test subjects to 'Celestial Serpent.' That's how they all managed to survive this 'catastrophe.'"
"Yes." The Earth Serpent nodded and shifted his body to sit up. "Qi Xia, I could have built a 'forest of meat and pool of wine,' but instead I built a 'Mutual Aid Society.' I had the chance to avoid having this experiment done on me... but I also worry: if the experiment never yields results, what would I have to show that brat when I see him?"