Chapter 855: The Difficult Problem
Aries used the last bit of time to brief us on a few matters.
He took out a "Liars" card and held it up before his eyes, then drew a simple map with a pen. After that, he spoke: "Zhang Qiang, I've hidden a goat-man mask on the second shelf of the wardrobe in this room. After you find it, put it on directly, then rest here. Someone will come to pick you up tonight and take you to the 'Train' to sign the contract. When the next cycle begins, you'll be the 'Interviewer.'"
"Just like that...?" Zhang Qiang took the card in disbelief.
"That's right," Aries said. "Your path will be smoother than anyone else's, but you'll also see the finish line too early."
"But that doesn't seem right..." Zhang Qiang blinked. "Although I really hope to settle down, becoming a 'Zodiac' is this easy? Don't I need any training?"
"No," Aries replied. "You'll play my role in the new room—just announce the rules of 'Liars' directly. Whatever I said, you say."
"Ah...?" Zhang Qiang looked utterly baffled. "You mean... I'm going to host the exact same game as you? And for the three games, I just need to remember the rules of 'Liars'?"
"Yes. As long as you remember the rules of 'Liars,' I can guarantee you'll never break them." Aries slowly stepped forward until he was beside Zhang Qiang. "But besides that, there's a very important condition: If you lose, when you commit suicide, you must not aim at your temple. Instead, point the gun at your heart."
"Why...?" Zhang Qiang froze. "If my body gains permanent 'Brute Force'... then shooting myself in the heart might not kill me instantly, right...?"
"You'll die eventually," Aries said. "Either way, you're dead. And after you die, you'll come back to life. But only if you aim at your heart will you not break the rules."
"But we've cooperated already. If you don't tell me the truth... I'll feel very uneasy," Zhang Qiang said. "Why can't I aim at my temple?"
"It's better if you don't know," Aries said. "For example, if I told you, 'Because there are words on the mask, so you can't damage it,' then you might, in a moment of mental instability, try to see what words are on your mask, and that would cause you to break the rules. So I can't tell you the reason."
"This..." Zhang Qiang nodded slightly. "So it's not because there are words on my mask? Then what is it...?"
"Don't ask anymore," Aries said. "Just know that this is the first thing to be careful about."
"Alright. Then what's the second...?"
Aries came to Zhang Qiang's side, reaching out one hand and slowly placing it on his shoulder.
"The second thing to be careful about: if you find someone who looks very much like me, place your hand on his shoulder," Aries said. "If that person responds to you, tell him everything I've just told you. If he doesn't respond, pretend nothing happened."
"Looks... very much like you...?" Zhang Qiang seemed not to have expected that even after agreeing to Aries's request, the situation would still be so hard to understand.
"That's right," Aries said. "The specific situation—still can't say."
Zhang Qiang lowered his head and pondered for a long time before asking, "You said before... that this is a room where you can never 'advance.'"
"Mm."
"Why...?" Zhang Qiang looked up at Aries. "Can you tell me?"
"This one I can." Aries nodded. "I'm going to set up a special room. Everyone in that room will be pawns, selected very strictly. So you will never be able to advance."
After hearing this, Zhang Qiang took a deep breath. Many more questions sprang up in his mind.
At that moment, Aries glanced at the clock on the table. Seeing that it was almost one o'clock, he added, "The 'Liars' game is almost over. I'm about to die. Let's leave some time for Yan Zhichun."
With that, he looked at me. "Do you have anything you need to ask?"
"I..." I paused for a moment, thought for a few seconds, and then said, "Will I be in that room?"
"What?"
"I mean..." I rephrased my wording, "Will I be among those teammates you carefully selected?"
"No," Aries denied decisively. "I told you, before I came to this room, I knew nothing about it. I could only gamble. So I can't count anyone in this room as part of that plan."
"Then... how will I contact you?" I asked again.
"All I can say is that now is not the time," Aries sighed. "But don't worry. One day, I'll find a way to let you find me."
"But... what should I do before that?"
I was a bit confused. My goal was to grow stronger, but if I could never contact Aries, how would I get stronger?
"I'll give you a difficult problem to solve," Aries said. "When you see me, tell me your answer."
"A difficult problem...?"
"That's right." Aries thought for a while, then said, "First, I need a way to fill the people here with despair, and greatly increase the probability of 'Echo.' The more powerful someone is, the more I want them to despair. Second, I need to prevent anyone from collecting three thousand six hundred 'Dao.' If someone tries to achieve that goal, you must stop them at all costs. Third, I need powerful, trustworthy 'Echo users' that I can use."
"How is that 'one difficult problem'..." My gaze flickered slightly. "Aren't those three problems?"
"Then it depends on how you solve it," Aries said. "But you don't need to worry too much. When we meet outside, even if you haven't solved any of the problems, our agreement still stands. I'll try my best to share information with you."
I understood. The word "try" in that sentence meant, "If you can't solve this problem, I can guarantee your safety, but that's all."
Fortunately, although Aries was cold, he polished his words as much as possible, making them pleasant to hear. Smart people and fools would hear different meanings from the same sentence, leading to different choices.
According to his words, if I could solve this problem and solve it beautifully, I would gain much more than just "information."
"I understand," I nodded. "I'll do my best."
After that, Aries gave us a few more instructions and ended the conversation.
The ewe dragged the Shar Pei's corpse into a corner to wait for the harpoon, while Aries stood quietly outside, waiting to be pierced.
I never expected that the next time I would see Aries again would be five years later—that is, seven years ago from now.