Chapter 830: Hope
"Is that so..." Earth Snake pondered for a moment and nodded.
"That's right. Everyone running around here isn't doing it for 'life,' but for 'survival,'" Qi Xia said. "They live every single day in immense anxiety between life and death. How could they possibly feel at ease just because the environment is comfortable? Would a person who could die at any moment care about the cooking technique of the food they ate that day?"
"Yes... and some 'Zodiacs' have more than just life and death to worry about." Earth Snake let out a bitter laugh. "After all, hardly any of the 'Heavens' here are normal."
Qi Xia continued, "Besides... in your impression, how many 'Zodiacs' have gladly accepted this wonderful atmosphere? When they eat in silence in their rooms, how many of them have ever cracked a smile?"
"You're right. No one would be happy about these things. But as I said, the sorrow in everyone's heart here is too great, even for the 'Zodiacs,'" Earth Snake said seriously. "Even if all the 'Zodiacs' here have grown accustomed to these so-called gifts, if you try to overturn all of this, many will come out to oppose you."
"I expected that," Qi Xia said. "Even if I clearly tell everyone that I've come to save them, there will still be many who resist me. When countless paths lie ahead, people usually choose the safest and most practical one. They won't be willing to give up everything in front of them to gamble on an uncertain future."
"So how many 'Zodiacs' do you think you can rally at most...?" Earth Snake asked. "Right now, there are nearly thirty 'Earth-levels' and ten 'Heaven-levels.' Out of about forty people, how many do you think will be on our side?"
Qi Xia thought for a moment and replied, "At least eleven."
"At least eleven...?" Earth Snake paused. "And at most?"
"At most—'Endless Renewal.'"
"'Endless Renewal'...?" Earth Snake blinked. "What does that mean? What is 'Endless Renewal'?"
"It's a belief," Qi Xia said. "Only someone completely insane could possibly understand that belief."
"Is that true?"
Qi Xia stared into Earth Snake's eyes for a moment, then said calmly, "It's true."
Earth Snake nodded slightly, as if something else occurred to him. "Then what role do you plan to play in this team?"
Qi Xia pointed a finger at Earth Snake's back and said softly, "Me... I'm the same as that surviving 'eye' of yours."
"My 'eye'...?"
"'Heavenly Snake' saw that you were about to completely collapse, so he left you one living eye," Qi Xia said. "That eye gave you hope and your last shred of reason. Not only do you not resent 'Heavenly Snake' for all your wounds, but you even want to thank him for giving you that 'eye.'"
"You're saying that all of us are 'dead,' and you are the only surviving eye?" Earth Snake nodded. "You want to take the remaining eye to seek hope?"
"No, I'm not going to favor a single 'eye.'" Qi Xia reached out and patted Earth Snake's shoulder. "I'm going to take 'you'—the very land where all the eyes survive—and together, we'll seek hope."
"Huh...?"
Qi Xia's words not only stunned Earth Snake, but also left Chen Junnan and the other two beside them utterly confused.
"So no matter how many 'Zodiacs' end up blocking my way, I won't back down," Qi Xia said. "We'll move forward together, with this body."
"Qi Xia." Earth Snake called out. "I'm not as smart as you, so I can't guess what you're trying to do. But I'll handle my own part."
"Good." Qi Xia nodded.
"Kid, if one day you can lead us out of here, make sure you strip this skin off me," Earth Snake said. "Even if I die after peeling it off, I don't want to go back carrying this stinking, reeking snake skin."
"Don't worry," Qi Xia said. "I'll strip everyone's skin."
Earth Snake smiled upon hearing this, walked over to a chair, and sat down.
"In that case, I'll wait for your news," Earth Snake said.
"Don't wait for me," Qi Xia said. "Whenever you think the time is right, you can make your move against 'Heavenly Snake.'"
"Is that so?"
"Even if I don't launch my plan, it doesn't matter," Qi Xia said. "You could become the new 'Heaven' and have all the managers on those trains working for you."
"It wouldn't be a problem for me to kill 'Heavenly Snake,'" Earth Snake said. "But I could never become the new 'Heaven.'"
"Why do you say that?"
"Because no 'Zodiac' dares to kill another 'Zodiac,' especially a 'Heaven,'" Earth Snake said. "Even if I could do it, I definitely wouldn't survive."
"What are you worried about?" Qi Xia asked. "Tell me, and I'll take care of it one by one."
"Ha..." Earth Snake let out a laugh. "Qi Xia, I trust you a lot, but I doubt you can solve this one. After all, the two people in charge of this matter are beyond your ability to handle."
"How do you know I can't solve it if you don't tell me?" Qi Xia pressed.
Earth Snake sighed and said, "I've already told you how important 'Heavenly Snake' is to the entire train. Not only does he keep the whole train running smoothly, but he also provides 'Heavenly Dragon' with a lot of research results. If 'Heavenly Snake' is threatened with death, 'Heavenly Dragon' won't just sit idly by."
"Relax," Qi Xia said. "If you kill 'Heavenly Snake,' you'll become the person who has the most control over his research results. After all, 'Heavenly Snake' has performed the most 'experiments' on you. And you've always presented yourself as diligent and hardworking. Even though you know it's all fake, that doesn't mean 'Heavenly Dragon' does."
"You mean..."
"Yes." Qi Xia nodded. "If you kill 'Heavenly Snake' and 'Heavenly Dragon' kills you, then there won't be any 'researcher' left in this place. He'd lose two major generals at once, so he most likely won't do that. At worst, he'll just give you some punishment."
Earth Snake slowly furrowed his brow after hearing this, feeling that Qi Xia's reasoning made some sense.
"This is a very practical issue of management," Qi Xia said. "Even in the workplace, someone who forces a colleague to resign doesn't get blamed by the boss. Everyone thinks they're important, but from the higher-ups' perspective, that's not the case. So you can go ahead and kill 'Heavenly Snake' without fear, and promise 'Heavenly Dragon' that you'll take over all the previous work, and even do it better than 'Heavenly Snake.' That way, you'll be absolutely safe. 'Heavenly Dragon' won't kill you from any angle; at most, he'll punish you. And because he still needs you to continue researching, that 'punishment' will be very light."