Chapter 871: Betting on Causality
Wait... Old Sun actually believed me?
This was the first time I told a member of the "Ultimate Path" that they would form a connection with Bai Yang in the future. So it wasn't just me... Bai Yang would even exchange a few words with them?
But I quickly understood. Bai Yang was already a "Zodiac," and might one day become a terrestrial-level "Zodiac." It was entirely possible that they would cross paths with Bai Yang in the game someday. This wasn't so hard to grasp.
"But you said I'm just an ordinary person..." Old Sun spoke up again, asking, "How could someone like me possibly have any connection with such a powerful figure?"
Hearing this question left me caught in a dilemma.
It felt like a prize quiz.
If I took the prize and walked away right now, Old Sun would become a member of the "Ultimate Path." But if I kept talking with him, there was a chance he might eventually decide that everything I said was a lie.
So, should I keep gambling?
"Old Sun... what's your 'Echo'?" I asked.
I would decide whether to bet with "Causality" based on the value of the other party.
"What's gotten into you, girl?" Old Sun looked at me in confusion. "You seemed pretty sharp just now... but now you're all over the place. I have the 'Original Object.' Didn't I show it to you in that land-pig game just now?"
With that, he reached out and clenched his hand in front of me, but his palm was empty.
He seemed a little embarrassed. He steadied himself and clenched his hand again.
Still empty.
"Crap... it's not working anymore..." Old Sun scratched his head, looked up at me with surprise, and asked, "Where's my stuff?"
As I said, I've always had trouble dealing with overly outgoing people.
The way he said it made it sound like I had taken something from his hand.
"What the heck... why can't I grab it now... Ah, whatever! It's the 'Original Object,' anyway." He looked up with a carefree expression, which actually made me a bit awkward.
I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, completely at a loss as to what this "vanishing Original Object" really was... It was a pity I hadn't recovered all my memories, so I had no idea how powerful this person's "Echo" really was.
"Try again," I said.
Old Sun nodded at that and tried a few more times in front of me. He kept reaching out and grabbing at the air, the motion a little awkward, as if trying to catch something, but his hands always came up empty.
"Damn, why can't I find that feeling anymore?" Old Sun grew a bit anxious. "Why can't I grab anything?"
I knew that in this state, he was basically unable to activate his "Echo." He was starting to doubt himself.
Since he was such a weak "Echo user," I might as well take another gamble.
Starting now, I would bet on "Causality."
"Old Sun, maybe you should stop trying for now. What were you asking me just now?" I said.
"Just now...?" Old Sun thought for a moment, pulled back his hand that was flailing in the air, and then said, "I... asked how I could have a connection with someone so powerful."
"That's right," I said. "Do you want me to help you guess? Guess how you'll meet this person in the future."
"Sure." Old Sun nodded. "You're sharper than me. Tell me how I'll run into him."
"Maybe you'll have some connection in a game."
I placed my bet.
"Oh, I see. That makes sense." Old Sun nodded. "There's no other way besides that."
He believed me.
I won the first round by a narrow margin, so I began to raise the stakes with "Causality."
"Meeting someone that powerful—it must be a really hard game, right?" Old Sun asked again.
I thought about the question for a moment. Knowing that if Bai Yang designed a game, it naturally wouldn't be easy to clear.
"It should be pretty tough," I said, raising the stakes.
"I thought so," Old Sun said. "You know that person?"
"Of course," I said, raising the stakes further.
"No wonder..." Old Sun gave a bitter laugh. "Is he also one of us 'Participants'?"
"No, he's a 'Zodiac,'" I said without thinking.
"What?!" Old Sun shot up from his seat. "What did you just say?!"
My eyes slowly widened. I felt something was wrong, but the words were already out. Where had I gone wrong?
Every "bet" I had made earlier had been correct... So why did one simple truth cause a crack?
"He's a 'Zodiac'? Little girl, are you messing with me?"
"What...?" I was momentarily stunned.
"How could I possibly have a connection with a 'Zodiac' in a game? That thing wants our lives!" Old Sun looked genuinely angry, like he had been tricked. "Can you be friends with someone who wants you dead?! I should have left the moment I realized you were spouting nonsense. Tch! Wasting my time with all this jabbering!"
I suddenly couldn't figure it out...
Wait... Old Sun believed that someone who could change this place would appear. He believed he'd have a connection with that person in the future. He also believed that that person's game wouldn't be easy.
But he didn't believe that person was a "Zodiac"?
Didn't that mean that the person wasn't a "Zodiac"?
If that person wasn't a "Zodiac"... then what was he?
I suddenly felt my mind spinning, as if something was wrong.
Wasn't the one who was supposed to change this place Brother Yang?
"Wait... wait a minute, Old Sun..." I stood up with a confused expression. "Don't go just yet... There's something I need to tell you..."
"Cut the crap!" Old Sun waved his hand. "I already thought this was fishy, and now it's just getting more and more twisted. When I think about it, aren't you just like some cult leader? Stop pulling my leg."
With that, he turned and stormed out the door.
I had failed again, but I wasn't in the mood to chase after Old Sun... because I was just too confused.
In the future... Brother Yang wasn't a "Zodiac"?
But could the path of the "Zodiac" lead anywhere else?
At that moment, I felt both excited and terrified... Could it be that Brother Yang, as he had once said, through self-suggestion... had become something beyond human?
A monster...?
But that didn't fit either. If he were a monster, how could he have had even a few words of acquaintance with Old Sun?
Just as my mind was racing, I heard a faint rustling sound from outside the door, as if a voice I hadn't heard in a long time was speaking out there.
She was talking with Old Sun.
Before long, Old Sun turned around and came back through the door, smiling at me. "Hey! Sis, why didn't you tell me about the 'logical relationship' sooner? If you'd just said it earlier, I would have figured it out right away!"
I was momentarily stunned, and before I could even speak, I saw Jiang Ruoxue, whom I hadn't seen for five years, step out from behind Old Sun with a mischievous grin. She raised her hand and greeted me:
"Hey!"