Chapter 968: Pathfinder

"That's right..." Bai Lan Gou shook his head, ultimately failing to grasp the meaning of the Bai Yang plan.

"Tonight, let's just leave it at that..." Di Shu said, "Dog leader, please don't spread what I told you... after all, we need the reckless one."

"I understand." Bai Lan Gou nodded, stood up, opened the door, and left.

...

"Big guy!"

Di Zhu pulled the tall Di Tu into his room, excitedly exclaiming, "You're really 'Yuan Bo'?"

Di Tu narrowed his eyes and looked at Di Zhu, then gave a bitter smile and said, "What 'Yuan Bo'... I don't quite get it, who are you...?"

"It's me!" Di Zhu looked extremely happy, but clearly had something unspeakable on his mind. He pondered for a long time before gesturing and saying, "I'm... 'Ling Chu'! Though I'm not anymore..."

"What...!"

Di Tu was stunned, his red eyes flickering for a while before he seemed to remember something. He quickly turned around to shut the door, then pulled Di Zhu to a corner inside the room.

"You little rascal..." Di Tu said with a tremble, "It really is you... You've always been part of 'Sheng Xiao'...?"

"Ha!" Di Zhu laughed out loud, but as he laughed, tears started to flow. "This is great... Truly great..."

"What on earth is going on?!" Di Tu said, "Back then, you were the first to disappear from the room... No one knew where you went... We all thought you'd turned into a 'Yuan Zhu Min'!"

"I..." Di Zhu's smile gradually faded, and he lowered his head. "Big guy... I can't talk about this."

"Now of all times!" Di Tu said gravely, "Is there anything we can't discuss?"

Di Zhu thought for a few seconds and felt that Di Tu had a point, so he stammered, "Big guy... I was the first one Xia Ge sent to explore the 'Sheng Xiao Zhi Lu', so I left the room years before you all did."

"Ah...? Exploring the 'Sheng Xiao Zhi Lu'?"

"Yes, it was my agreement with Xia Ge."

Di Tu scratched his head, feeling that many things were starting to connect.

But why had Qi Xia chosen the youngest one, Di Zhu, to explore the 'Sheng Xiao Zhi Lu' back then?

"For a long time, I never saw any of you..." Di Zhu said sullenly, "I thought Xia Ge had betrayed me. A few days ago, I suddenly saw him... I was furious... and said some harsh words."

"Don't overthink it..." Di Tu's voice grew softer; he could understand Di Zhu's feelings, as he too had felt isolated for a long time.

After a few seconds of silence, Di Zhu spoke up: "Big guy, are all eight of us... now part of 'Sheng Xiao'...?"

Di Tu stared at Di Zhu for a moment, then said, "To be honest... Apart from you, the seven of us were indeed given instructions. He prepared seven rooms for us... In my room, there was a rabbit mask and a message."

"What message...?"

"He told me to put on the mask after activating 'Hui Xiang' and to hide my identity as much as possible." Di Tu continued, "I don't know the point of it, but since it was Qi Xia's arrangement, I had no choice but to follow through."

Di Zhu paused slightly, his eyes lighting up: "Big guy! Is it the same for the others?"

"I don't know... I don't know if the others' rooms had the same things... In other words, I don't know if the others became 'Sheng Xiao' too. Even if they did and put on masks like me... With such a vast city and such a long 'Liei Che', we can't reveal our names or show our 'Hui Xiang', and everyone has to go through stages like 'Ren Ji', 'Mian Shi Fang Jian', 'Di Ji'... How on earth are we supposed to recognize each other?"

"This..." The hope that had just ignited in Di Zhu quickly faded. "After all this time... Hasn't any 'Sheng Xiao' tried to find their teammates?"

"Yes..." Di Tu said, "The only one I confirmed had become 'Sheng Xiao' and revealed her identity herself is already dead."

Di Zhu froze: "Already dead...? Who?"

"It was Zhuang Jie." Di Tu said, "The big sister in our room who loved smoking."

"Zhuang A Yi...?"

"She was once a Di Gou." Di Tu continued, "After three years as 'Di Ji'... The isolation drove her mad."

Di Zhu fell silent.

Di Tu sighed and said, "She was the one in our room who always preached 'unity', but she ended up experiencing complete disintegration. She endured it alone for so many years; it's no wonder she lost her mind."

"This is ridiculous... Zhuang A Yi not only became 'Sheng Xiao'... She even rose all the way to Di Gou, and I had no idea..." Di Zhu said, growing more incredulous. "You say she went mad...?"

"Yes, and thanks to her outburst in the hallway where she revealed her identity..." Di Tu sighed deeply, "I witnessed firsthand what happens when you can't hold on. I didn't reveal myself to her, but she helped me stay clear-headed."

"So, what is she now...?" Di Zhu asked.

"This..."

They both knew the answer but couldn't bring themselves to say it.

Their once most trusted teammate had now become a 'Lou Yi', being herded like livestock every day.

"Little Zhu." Di Tu said, "I'm going mad too..."

"You?"

"Don't you think today's Di Ji and Di Niu look familiar too..." Di Tu said, "I was about to reveal my ability to verify their identities..."

"No!" Di Zhu quickly stepped forward and grabbed Di Tu, "Big guy, we only just recognized each other—don't expose yourself so easily! Although... although those two..."

Di Zhu trailed off; he also felt that Di Ji and Di Niu's figures overlapped with people from his memories.

"I'm planning to test them for you." Di Tu said, "I suspect the plan Di Niu mentioned today is a fake; her real goal is to get us to recognize each other."

"What...?"

"Because Qi Xia once said we couldn't expose ourselves, but Di Niu today said she hopes everyone reveals their 'Hui Xiang'... No matter how you look at it, not many people know about this, and aside from you, it's highly likely that the seven of us became 'Sheng Xiao' with 'Hui Xiang'..."

"But that doesn't make sense..." Di Zhu said, "What if the deaths are more than you think? What if Xia Ge's team is down to just us two—what then?"