Chapter 987: Nine and One
"Strong Luck" and "Shapeshifting"—the abilities of these two were both extremely troublesome.
No matter who joined Qi Xia's camp, he would need to formulate a detailed counterstrategy.
Now that Xu Liunian and Yun Yao had essentially parted ways with him, recruiting them from his own side came with certain risks.
Moreover, a trick like "Shapeshifting" would be hard to pull off against a team led by Qi Xia, and choosing that path would be risky for him.
Qi Xia reached up and rubbed his chin, a myriad of names swirling in his mind.
The difficulty of this "Choosing of Generals" lay in the fact that they had no idea what kind of game would come next. The mere information of "team confrontation" was far from sufficient.
This state of uncertainty forced them to select as versatile a team as possible in order to handle all situations.
"Well...?" Chu Tianqiu probed. "Have you decided who it is?"
"Of course," Qi Xia said, taking a deep breath before stepping forward to write a character.
"Cloud" (Yun).
Just as Chu Tianqiu furrowed his brows, Qi Xia stopped.
He turned his face expressionlessly, as if observing Chu Tianqiu's reaction.
"What's wrong?" Chu Tianqiu asked. "Can't write 'Yao'?"
"Ha..." Qi Xia chuckled. "Chu Tianqiu, you should know... I've never believed in 'luck'."
"Oh?" Chu Tianqiu thought for a few seconds and nodded. "That does sound like something only you would say."
"If you had tried to stop me, I would have unhesitatingly written 'Yun Yao'. But why didn't you stop me?" Qi Xia asked.
Chu Tianqiu sighed softly upon hearing this. "Qi Xia... I know my chances of winning aren't great. I just want to become as strong as possible in this game."
"A good mindset."
"So having 'Yun Yao' on your side would only make things harder for me," Chu Tianqiu said. "After all, we share a similarity... we don't let ourselves have an easy time on the path to becoming stronger."
Qi Xia smiled upon hearing this but still didn't continue writing.
The character "Yun" on the screen slowly faded after Qi Xia remained inactive for a long time.
"Chu Tianqiu... I think the same as you," Qi Xia said. "'Yun Yao' only makes this game meaningful to me if she's on your side."
"You..."
Chu Tianqiu paused, then said, "Since it's not Yun Yao, then it can only be Xu Liunian."
"Xu Liunian?" Qi Xia shook his head. "Deceiving people by changing appearances—that's not my style."
Hearing this, Chu Tianqiu found it hard to understand.
"You've only gotten to know a few people in my room. If it's neither Yun Yao nor Xu Liunian, then who are you going to choose?"
"Maybe it's not someone from the 'current room,'" Qi Xia said with a smile. "For example..."
Qi Xia reached out and wrote three characters on the screen: "Zhang Chenze."
When Chu Tianqiu saw the name, his eyes widened instantly.
"What's wrong...?" Qi Xia asked. "Don't remember who she is?"
"You..."
Chu Tianqiu hadn't expected that in just one day, Qi Xia's memory had recovered somewhat. But Wen Qiaoyun hadn't activated her "Echo"—how had Qi Xia recovered his memories?
"Chu Tianqiu... you've been hiding quite a lot," Qi Xia interrupted Chu Tianqiu's train of thought. "Even though Zhang Chenze had already appeared in my room, you still acted like nothing had happened?"
"As it happens, I only remembered this after bidding farewell to Zhang Chenze that day," Chu Tianqiu said with a smile. "You took her from my room and kept her by your side... but what use is such a niche ability as 'Soul Migration' to you?"
Dilong frowned slightly at this, turning to look at Qi Xia, but remained silent.
"I owe her," Qi Xia replied. "She once helped me. This is my way of repaying that favor."
"Fair enough," Chu Tianqiu said. "Zhang Chenze once helped me too, but I don't know how to repay her."
Dilong turned around and opened the wooden door. Outside stood Zhang Chenze, her face cold and composed.
"Hmm...?" She had been sitting alone in the classroom of "Heaven's Mouth," her expression full of confusion.
"Main General 'Qi Xia' has chosen 'Zhang Chenze' to assist in the 'Cangjie Chess.' Accept the order and step through the door; decline and step back five paces."
"Assist...?" Zhang Chenze slowly stood up, walked to the door, stared at it for a long time, and asked, "What is 'Cangjie Chess'?"
"It's my game," Dilong answered from inside the door. "I am 'Dilong'."
Zhang Chenze nodded upon hearing this, then carefully examined the black light door in front of her. She asked again, "Did Qi Xia himself request my participation?"
Dilong felt that the young woman before him seemed a bit special. She was remarkably calm compared to others.
"Yes," Dilong said.
Zhang Chenze thought for a long time, then finally looked up and said, "Last question... how many people are with me?"
Dilong glanced back at Qi Xia, then turned his face and said, "Six."
"Alright."
Zhang Chenze nodded and stepped into the light door, her figure vanishing instantly.
"What a calmly rational person...?" Chu Tianqiu remarked. "A teammate like that would surely put any team at ease, wouldn't she?"
"Absolute rationality isn't necessarily a good thing," Qi Xia said. "What I value is her 'big-picture thinking.' If Lawyer Zhang thinks her own death is the optimal solution to a problem, she won't hesitate to die. In that regard, she's quite similar to the two of us."
"No..." Chu Tianqiu shook his head. "Qi Xia, the three of us are completely different. You became absolutely rational in 'The Land of the End,' but she was already fully rational before she even came here."
"Oh?" Qi Xia nodded upon hearing this. "And what about you?"
"From the moment I was born, my mind has contained only rationality," Chu Tianqiu said with a smile. "Unlike you two, I gained a sliver of emotion in 'The Land of the End.' This makes the three of us appear similar on the surface—all with nine parts rationality and one part emotion."
"And are you planning to discard that 'rationality'?" Qi Xia asked tentatively.
"I will," Chu Tianqiu replied.
"Need my help?" Qi Xia asked again.
"Qi Xia, the only help you can give me is to let me see the gap between you and me," Chu Tianqiu said. "You can predict every move I make, so do you know who I'm going to choose next?"
"Of course," Qi Xia said. "She's just outside."
"You... really are a monster," Chu Tianqiu said. "You've already reached this point without even relying on your own 'Echo.'"
Qi Xia said nothing, only watched as Chu Tianqiu reached out and began to write on the electronic screen.
Three elegant characters gradually appeared.
The person he had chosen was none other than "Yan Zhichun."