Chapter 1184: Information Discontinuity

Yan Zhichun paused slightly upon hearing Zhoumo's telepathic message, then stood up and glanced out the bookstore window. In the distance, two people in black leather jackets were already standing there.

Yan Zhichun stepped outside with a hint of concern and quickly approached the leader.

"Song Qi?" Yan Zhichun asked.

"It's me," the man replied. "The one behind me is Ma Shier."

Yan Zhichun nodded. "The target has appeared at the Dizhu site. Go now, don't wait for the signal."

"Dizhu..." Song Qi thought about the map in his mind and instantly frowned. "Oh no... The distance is... too far..."

"We bet wrong," Yan Zhichun said. "Zhuque doesn't know I'm the 'Wang,' so it didn't descend here. But if Zhoumo dies, the entire information chain will be broken."

"I'll head out right away," Song Qi said seriously. "I hope Fifth Brother can get there before I do."

Song Qi nodded slightly to Yan Zhichun, turned around, and immediately left the scene with Ma Shier.

After receiving the message, Jiang Ruoxue quickly ran out the door and saw Bai Jiu standing nearby, waiting.

"Little Jiu!"

"Sister Ruoxue!"

"It's at Zhoumo's location!" Jiang Ruoxue said. "It seems to be Dizhu. I'm not entirely sure about the position—contact them quickly and don't just wait here!"

"Oh! Got it!" Bai Jiu nodded. "It doesn't seem too far. Sixth Sister should send a signal."

"Don't wait for the signal!" Jiang Ruoxue said. "Start running! Our Jiu is the best—hurry!"

Bai Jiu rolled her eyes lightly. "Sister Ruoxue, I'm just small in size, not a child."

"Jiu is amazing! Jiu, run fast!"

"Okay, okay..."

Before the signal flare in Zhoumo's hand could start smoking, Zhuque flashed into view and appeared right in front of him.

"What are you doing?"

The many Ji Dao Zhe behind Zhoumo moved to rush forward, but Zhoumo raised a hand to stop them.

Zhuque smiled and grasped Zhoumo's hand, gently moving his thumb to block the flare's smoke vent.

The action was so swift that neither Zhoumo nor Dizhu had time to react. After all, the presence of a "divine beast" was always overwhelming.

They were like real cats, toying with a dying mouse.

"Tsk, can't I just set off a firework?" Zhoumo steadied himself and said.

"No," Zhuque replied with a smile, then turned to Dizhu. "It's time to board. Why aren't you leaving?"

Dizhu swallowed nervously and said, "I have something today. I want to stay here a bit longer."

"How strange..." Zhuque looked up into the distance. "It seems like a lot of 'participants' are gathering at the doors of various 'Sheng Xiao.' What are you planning?"

"Zhuque," Dizhu said before Zhoumo could respond, "I was the one who broke the rules this time. What's the point of bothering the 'participants'?"

"Oh...?"

Zhuque looked at Dizhu, then squeezed hard with his hand, extinguishing the signal flare in Zhoumo's grip. It only managed to release a small amount of smoke, which hovered low to the ground and never rose into the air.

Zhoumo grew a bit anxious at the sight, but the prison's signal flares were limited—one per "Cat" squad. The most critical issue was that after killing Xuanwu, the "Cats" had split into seven squads. Besides his own group, everyone else was with a team of Ji Dao Zhe.

For now, the only forces he had on hand were the six or seven Ji Dao Zhe behind him. Without being able to send the location, how could he notify all the "Cats" to regroup?

"How curious, little pig," Zhuque said. "Whenever a 'Sheng Xiao' breaks the rules, their first words to me are always 'unfair.' But you're taking all the blame yourself. Do you have some plan?"

"Since I realized I could never advance to 'Tian Zhu,' I've made up my mind," Dizhu replied. "If it's a dead end no matter what, I'd rather die heroically. That way, I can honor the bonds with my companions."

As the two began to talk, Zhoumo glanced back and gave Liu Ershiyi a signal with his eyes. Liu Ershiyi thought for a moment and nodded.

"Die...?" Zhuque still seemed not to understand Dizhu's meaning. "Why would you die?"

"Because today, I'm going to let these 'participants' enter my door," Dizhu said. "Is that reason enough for me to die?"

"At such a young age... quite the bold talk," Zhuque said, furrowing his brow slightly. Though his words sounded casual, he felt a bit puzzled inside.

He didn't know why the "participants" wanted to enter the "train."

Why hadn't Qinglong and Tiangou heard anything about something so important?

"In other words, all of you are waiting by the 'Sheng Xiao' for them to open their doors...?" Zhuque asked again.

Before Dizhu could speak, Zhoumo waved his hand. "Tsk, no need to tell him too much. A rebellion is a rebellion—what's with all the questions?"

"A rebellion...?" Zhuque asked, growing even more confused. Today, everything felt off to him.

It was as if his ears had been blocked, and he hadn't received any information at all.

If this was a rule-breaking event, he and Xuanwu should have appeared together—Xuanwu handling the 'participants' violations, and himself handling the 'Sheng Xiao' ones.

But why was he here alone?

"Tiangou..." Zhuque slowly looked up and called out Tiangou's name. "For something this big, how could Qinglong not move? Are you deaf, or is he?"

Tiangou sat in his room and shuddered, pretending he hadn't heard a thing.

"You're acting strange today..." Qinglong stared at him. "What's happening down there?"

"Nothing..." Tiangou said. "A 'Sheng Xiao' broke the rules. Zhuque is handling it."

"A 'Sheng Xiao' breaking the rules..." Qinglong rubbed his temples. The mental strain from his earlier battle with Xuanwu hadn't fully recovered yet.

He felt like killing someone—anyone. He just wanted to go on a rampage.

But the "Tian Ji" in front of him were somewhat useful, so he needed to focus his remaining sanity as much as possible to avoid lashing out at them.

"This is messed up," Zhuque said, staring at the sky for a while with no response from any "Tian Ji." "Exactly which link went wrong...?"

"At Dizhu's place," Zhoumo said, slowly closing his eyes and murmuring the same phrase repeatedly. "The person is at Dizhu's place."

Soon, she received several replies. Since most of the "Cats" were with the Ji Dao Zhe, they couldn't confirm Dizhu's location immediately, and everyone asked for the exact coordinates.

Just as Zhoumo was about to respond, he noticed Zhuque right in front of him, staring with a smile. "What are you chatting about?"

"Tsk..." A bead of sweat slowly trickled down Zhoumo's forehead. "None of your business...?"