Chapter 785: Fence-sitters

Chen Jun-nan glanced at Qiao Jia-jin, and once again, the two of them felt a familiar sensation wash over them.

Amidst the noisy room, they felt an unusual sense of calm.

It was as if every word from Di Shu reached their ears clearly.

"Di Shu," Chen Jun-nan called out, "Do you really want to help Lao Qi?"

Di Shu turned his head slightly and asked, "What do you mean? You don't trust me?"

"I..."

Di Shu's reaction made Chen Jun-nan even more uneasy; he began to worry that he might have placed his trust incorrectly, and that the Di Shu in front of him could be working for "Tian Long."

"I get it now," Qin Ding-dong said through the blaring music. "You two must have made some kind of deal with Di Shu, right?"

"It's not exactly a deal," Di Shu replied. "I just gave them some information in exchange for them doing something for me. What do you think, leader?"

Chen Jun-nan turned his attention to Qin Ding-dong, feeling that his own thoughts had been tangled up by Di Shu; perhaps Qin Ding-dong, who was just getting involved, could offer a fresh perspective.

"Then I don't understand," Qin Ding-dong said, crossing her arms. "As a Di Ji 'Sheng Xiao,' don't you usually see them?"

"I do," Di Shu answered honestly. "We're together in the evenings."

"Then why not handle it yourself?" Qin Ding-dong pressed. "Killing one 'Sheng Xiao' would be a lot easier for you than for us, right?"

Di Shu didn't respond right away; he just twitched his nose, making the whiskers on his cheeks quiver slightly.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "I don't think I can do it alone, so I need teammates."

"You should be looking for 'Sheng Xiao' teammates," Qin Ding-dong said. "What good does coming to us do? Do you really expect two 'Can Yu Zhe' to help you kill eight 'Sheng Xiao'? Do you know how tough that is?"

Di Shu stared at Qin Ding-dong for a long time before smiling and saying, "You're really sharp, leader. I have to admit, I'm not on your level."

Hearing Qin Ding-dong's questions finally helped Chen Jun-nan pinpoint the oddity that had been bothering him.

"You little," Chen Jun-nan turned to Di Shu. "Have you been lying to me all along?"

"Well, sort of," Di Shu replied. "But not entirely."

"About the 'Tian Long heart's confidants'—was that a lie?"

"No," Di Shu said. "I'm not sure if they are truly 'Tian Long's heart's confidants,' but I do know 'Tian Long' values them highly, and that's all. Having you go after them is the safest way for me right now."

"Then what did you lie about?" Chen Jun-nan asked. "You said you and I were once 'team members'—was that a lie?"

Qin Ding-dong paused at that question. "What?"

Di Shu shook his head. "That wasn't a lie. We were indeed team members, and you know we got along well, right?"

"Then what's the lie?" Chen Jun-nan grew more curious about Di Shu. "You've been telling me the truth so far, haven't you?"

"My lie was about Yang Ge," Di Shu said. "I don't want to help him eliminate any threats—I just want to eliminate threats to myself."

"What?"

"Since we're being straightforward, I'll lay it all out," Di Shu said. "I'll definitely board Bai Yang's ship, but I don't care who's steering it. In other words, if anyone chooses to 'rebel,' I'll try to join them and see where it goes."

"Why?" Chen Jun-nan asked.

"Because I'm fed up," Di Shu said, pointing to his neck. "You probably don't know what my daily life is like. I could be killed at any moment based on my superior's whims."

The three of them looked at his bare neck, confused about what he meant.

Sensing their bewilderment, Di Shu turned and pulled a collar from a cabinet behind him.

"As someone under 'Tian Shu,' the reason we smoothly became Di Ji is by becoming dogs," Di Shu explained. "Every time I play the game, I have to wear this deadly thing. If 'Tian Shu' presses the button, I'm gone—just like that, no reason needed."

"Can it really work like that?" Chen Jun-nan slowly frowned. "As a 'Tian Ji,' can he just kill a 'Di Ji' whenever he wants?"

"It's ridiculous, I know," Di Shu said. "But it's all voluntary on our part."

"Hmm?"

"When we were still Ren Ji, there was a chance for direct promotion right in front of us. The price was this collar. If it were you, what would you choose?"

Chen Jun-nan felt it was a dilemma he couldn't decide on.

"I was too arrogant," Di Shu said. "I thought with my skills, even wearing this collar, I could quickly rise to 'Tian Ji' and escape it all. But 'Tian Shu' was just collecting disciples to amuse himself; he didn't care if we advanced. The agreement we signed privately became a chain we put on ourselves."

He paused for a moment, then shook his head again. "No, that's not right. It should be... he knew we could never advance. So he could keep us as slaves forever—let us live if he wants, kill us if he doesn't."

Chen Jun-nan found it hard to believe. "Every time someone comes to play the game, you have to wear this collar? Does it explode?"

"Yes," Di Shu nodded.

"Then why wear it? Why bother with him?" Chen Jun-nan asked, puzzled. "Could he just come down and kill you himself?"

"He will eventually," Di Shu said. "'Tian Ji' are on a completely different level from 'Di Ji'—they're right beside those two dragons. Even if they killed us, they'd just get a scolding at most. But me? What about me?"

Chen Jun-nan finally nodded in understanding. "Okay, I get it. So you're not really going after 'Tian Long' or 'Qing Long,' and you don't want a true 'rebellion.' You just want to kill 'Tian Shu.'"

"Yes, I'll board this ship, but I might get off midway," Di Shu said. "I have to kill 'Tian Shu,' but I'm not foolish enough to mess with the 'dragons.' Overall, I'm on the same boat as Yang Ge for now—I'll help him as much as I can, but I'll also look out for myself."

Di Shu's explanation finally made sense of the doubts that had plagued Chen Jun-nan for two days.

Thinking about it this way, Di Shu might be the most reliable among all the 'Sheng Xiao'—at least until he kills 'Tian Shu,' he's on their side.

"You're quite the opportunist," Chen Jun-nan said with a cold laugh.