Upon hearing what he said, everyone fell into silence.
“Although I’m not familiar with you all… but is there anyone among us who kills people willingly?” Earth-Rabbit asked. “Those who become ‘zodiac’ are, at the end of the day, people who have no way out and want to escape from here, aren’t they?”
He sat down on a chair looking dejected, appearing as if his mental state had been greatly impacted.
Everyone understood his feelings. The reason everyone present could kill anyone without hesitation was because there was simply no choice.
‘Participants’ could come back to life after death, but ‘zodiacs’ could not.
This place had some kind of strange curse—the only people who could revive were those bearing the title of ‘participant.’ But anyone who left this category, once dead, was truly dead.
This was a gamble that seemed fair but was actually full of trickery, forcing every ‘zodiac’ to give their all.
“So… let me join.” Earth-Rabbit’s head slowly hung down. “I don’t know if I’ll have such a good opportunity as this in the next few decades, but this time I’m willing to try.”
“Buddy… you…” Earth-Tiger opened his mouth wanting to say something but stopped himself, saying nothing in the end.
“No need to persuade me…” Earth-Rabbit said with a serious face. “Although this matter seems to have nothing to do with me, I’ve been thinking about it for a day and a night, and now I’ve finally figured it out.”
“No, I meant…”
“It doesn’t matter.” Earth-Rabbit said. “All men are mortal. This ending was already decided the day we became ‘zodiacs.'”
Earth-Tiger was stunned for a long time before he finally couldn’t help but say, “I actually just wanted to ask if you want some sunflower seeds…”
After hearing this, Earth-Rabbit’s face also showed a trace of embarrassment. He turned his head to look at Earth-Tiger, whose furry palm was holding a handful of sunflower seeds.
“Uh, I’ll, I’ll have some.” Earth-Rabbit reached out to take them, still feeling somewhat confused.
“Oh, oh… do, do you need me to crack them for you?” Earth-Tiger nodded, then began cracking sunflower seeds with an embarrassed look on his face. He felt that his earnest declaration to join this team seemed a bit ill-considered.
“That… that won’t be necessary…” Earth-Tiger laughed awkwardly.
Earth-Rabbit had no other option but to laugh along awkwardly as well.
“Have more, don’t be shy.” Earth-Tiger said carelessly. “There aren’t many rooms on the train that roast sunflower seeds. I specifically asked them for these. These seeds are really fragrant.”
“Alright, alright…” The awkward atmosphere between the two spread to the remaining people in the room, making everyone’s expressions somewhat uncomfortable.
“If you have nothing to say, don’t force the conversation.” Earth-Dog lay on his side on the sofa, scratching his ear while asking, “There are quite a few people here today. Should we meet up like this every day until we have a countermeasure?”
Before Earth-Tiger could answer, he heard footsteps outside the door again.
Everyone turned to look—it was Earth-Pig and Earth-Horse.
“Oh!” Earth-Pig was startled. “I said I’d pass by here today to take a look, but I didn’t expect everyone to actually be here! Big Tiger, you’re really something!”
Earth-Horse’s feet were wrapped in thick bandages. She walked in step by step with a cane, and when she passed by Black Sheep, she glanced at him with some resentment.
Black Sheep didn’t care either, returning her gaze with a cold and stern look.
The other party had thrown a tantrum right in front of him and ended up in this state—there was no need for an apology at all.
“Little Pig is here! By the way, why aren’t you guys closing the door?” Earth-Tiger asked. “Is my place so open now? Anyone can just come in?”
Black Sheep by the door heard this and reached out to close the door. Originally wanting to leave, he now had no reason to depart either. If he left things alone, Pei Qianhu wouldn’t be able to handle these people by himself.
The exact same ‘zodiac’ lineup as yesterday appeared neatly in the room today. Earth-Tiger was indeed somewhat impressed—Baiyang was indeed Baiyang.
Although he had never seen this scene here, he had long anticipated today’s scenario.
Next was his last prophecy…
Would it come true?
Earth-Tiger looked somewhat anxiously at the wall on the left, then at the wall on the right.
“Neighbor…?” Earth-Tiger murmured to himself. “Why would a ‘neighbor’ join us?”
While he was pondering, Earth-Dog and Earth-Pig in front of him had already started arguing.
“It looks like we all appeared here according to our agreement!” Earth-Pig said with a serious face. “A promise is a promise, this is great.”
“Didn’t I tell you not to talk so melodramatically?” Earth-Dog answered lazily. “Also, must you sit next to me?”
“I think you’ve gone far enough.” Earth-Pig said with a furrowed brow. “Do I need you to teach me how to speak? Do I need your permission to sit wherever I want?”
“Anyway, I don’t like you. Go to the other side.”
“You’re going too far!” Earth-Pig slowly stood up, his eyes ice cold. “Do you think that just because you’re a few years older than me in the real world, you can lord it over me?”
“Me, lord it over you?” After scratching his ear, Earth-Dog nonchalantly lowered his head to look at his nails. “Yesterday you started fighting without a word right here, nearly causing our plan to fall apart, and yet you say I’m lording it over you? I just can’t stand people who are brave but foolish.”
“Bastard…” Earth-Pig directly rolled up his sleeves. “Although I very much hope this is an invincible team, encountering someone like you is truly unavoidable! If you have any objections, let’s settle it with our fists—no need for lip service.”
“What a hassle…” Earth-Dog rubbed his forehead with his hand, then raised his head to say to everyone, “I suspect this kid will cause trouble sooner or later. Let’s expel him from the team early.”
“You!” Earth-Pig stopped talking nonsense and directly flew a kick toward Earth-Dog’s face.
The usually lazy-looking Earth-Dog actually revealed a face full of killing intent at this moment. He dodged the attack with a sidestep, then used both hands to support himself on the chair and kicked toward Earth-Pig.
Earth-Pig raised his hand to block, and a huge sound exploded. Both of them retreated several steps.
“You don’t really think you can gain an advantage with your fists, do you?” Earth-Dog said. “When will you change this bad habit of yours of liking to use your hands?”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Seeing the two fighting, Earth-Tiger quickly came forward to mediate. “You two, that’s enough. We’re all grasshoppers on the same rope now. If something happens, it’s bad for everyone.”
“You can tolerate this too?” Earth-Dog said. “It wasn’t my face that got scratched yesterday anyway.”
“Hey! There was a misunderstanding back then, wasn’t there?” Earth-Tiger laughed somewhat awkwardly. “Haven’t we cleared things up now?”
“Big Tiger, don’t interfere!” Earth-Pig shouted coldly. “This world is fundamentally one where the strong prey on the weak. Today I’m going to use my fists to make him submit to me!”
“I really can’t stand this anymore.” Earth-Dog looked at Earth-Tiger. “Pei Qianhu, listen to him yourself! Is he mature?”
While they were talking, Earth-Pig leaped up again and collided violently with Earth-Dog.
As the two were locked in stalemate, a faint knocking sound came from the door.