Chapter 1002: Unconventional Tactic
Qiao Jiajin curled his lips after hearing that. "That means the 'Azure Dragon' isn't a good boss."
"Probably not," Qi Xia said. "The 'Human-level' status is far too low for the 'Azure Dragon.' I even suspect that in his eyes, they're worth less than ordinary 'Participants.' After all, 'Participants' at least provide some entertainment—occasionally you get one who's young and reckless. But 'Human-level' minions just obey his orders blindly. The 'Azure Dragon' wouldn't like that kind of person."
"What a rebellious bastard..." Qiao Jiajin muttered. "The ones who obey him have low status?"
"It's hard to explain, but the 'Azure Dragon' is that kind of person," Qi Xia said.
"So what do we do now?" Zhang Chenze asked.
"Wait for the others to come back. I need a complete picture of the terrain," Qi Xia said.
The two could only wait silently. Meanwhile, Zhang Chenze turned to look at the "Phoenix Bearing the Writing Platform" in front of Qi Xia. It still only showed the character "Soldier."
"Qi Xia..." she couldn't help asking, "I know you're the 'Commander,' but I still have a question."
"What?"
"That 'Character' you kept for yourself... does it actually mean anything?"
"Oh?" Qi Xia reached into his pocket and pulled out his own pendant with a "Character" on it.
It was "Soldier."
The true identity of the Red "Commander" was "Soldier."
"I don't really understand..." Zhang Chenze said. "Your screen already has the character 'Soldier'..."
"If it's already there, can't I still keep it in my hand?" Qi Xia asked.
"You can, but I feel that 'Soldier' is no longer important to us right now," Zhang Chenze said. "We don't need this 'Character' at the moment. In other words, even if we lost it and it fell into the enemy's hands, the impact on us would be minimal. Yet you chose to keep it on you, and in the safest 'Preparation Area' no less..."
"No." Qi Xia interrupted. "Attorney Zhang, I've already calculated. As things stand, if we lose the 'Soldier,' it's practically the same as losing the game."
Zhang Chenze frowned, clearly not understanding.
Why protect a "Character" that had already scored points?
But Qi Xia didn't bother explaining further. Instead, he stared at the wall where he had written down both sides' "Characters," continuing to think.
Whether it was bad luck or Earth Dragon's deliberate design, the current winning rate for their side was extremely low.
This game using "Chess" was not fair. The more you understood the rules, the more you realized that the scales had been tipped in Chu Tianqiu's favor from the very beginning. To turn the tide, Qi Xia's team needed more "Characters" and absolutely had to keep the "Soldier."
After all, even without snatching any "Characters," simply assembling the ones in their own team would allow Chu Tianqiu's team to win first.
"Did I miss something..." Qi Xia thought to himself. "Or have I not fully grasped the 'rules'? Why is it so hard for us to win..."
Just as he was thinking, the teammates began returning one by one. They exchanged information, and their reports were almost identical: in front of each of them were ten rooms, and each room had only one door in the center.
Except for Qiao Jiajin, everyone had gone through the doors to investigate. Without exception, all were Human-level "Zodiacs."
"Twenty 'doors'..." Qi Xia stroked his chin, thinking. "But there are only twelve Zodiacs in total. How are they arranged?"
After everyone told Qi Xia the positions of the Zodiacs they encountered, they realized that among the twelve Zodiacs, there was no "Sheep" and no "Dragon." Before reaching the "Chu River and Han Border," there were a total of ten rooms, each with a Human-level Zodiac.
"Old Qi," Chen Junnan called out. "So are the 'Dragon' and the 'Sheep' on the other side? Do we need to cross the river and take a look?"
"Probably not necessary," Qi Xia said. "'Sheep' represents lying, a trick used constantly in this game, so there's no need to have it as a standalone room. And 'Dragon' represents all types, so it doesn't need to be listed separately either."
"Awesome, as expected of you." Chen Junnan nodded after hearing that. "So that means the rooms on the opposite side don't have 'Dragon' or 'Sheep' either..."
"Right," Qi Xia confirmed. "Both sides should be mirror images, each with identical rows of ten rooms. But note... Earth Dragon mentioned earlier that if we and the enemy enter the same room at the same time, the door will forcibly close, and it won't open until a winner is decided. So before entering a room, we need to confirm if someone is already inside."
"Understood," everyone agreed.
"If I'm not mistaken..." Qi Xia narrowed his eyes. "Chu Tianqiu will probably only engage in skirmishes and probing in the early stages. He needs to train his team's 'Echoes.' After all, Zhang Shan, Kim Won-hoon, Xu Liunian, and even Doctor Zhao can't use their 'Echoes' immediately—they all require preconditions. If we really want to capture a certain 'Character,' we need to catch them off guard in the early phase."
"So what's our strategy?" Chen Junnan asked. "Do we start by picking opponents for betting one-on-one?"
"The enemy isn't ordinary," Qi Xia said. "Chu Tianqiu alone is no pushover, plus Wen Qiaoyun and Yan Zhichun... Although they're not united, their overall strength is formidable. So conventional tactics won't work. We need an unconventional move."
"Unconventional move?" Chen Junnan blinked. "Do we even have any unconventional moves here? Who's gonna do it?"
No one spoke. They all looked at Chen Junnan.
"...?"
Chen Junnan froze for a moment, then blinked again. "No way... me again?"
"Chen Junnan, this time I'm giving you an unconventional move," Qi Xia said with a smile. "Our first priority is to make sure the enemy can't guess our intentions at all, and to disrupt their unity as much as possible, driving them further apart."
After saying that, he turned to look at Qiao Jiajin. "Fists, is there a standalone 'door' at the 'Chu River and Han Border'?"
"No," Qiao Jiajin replied, then felt something was off. "How did you know I went to the 'Chu River and Han Border'?"
Qi Xia chuckled softly, then turned to Chen Junnan. "Chen Junnan, I'm giving you a mission now—go to the 'Chu River and Han Border' and launch a 'full-scale psychological assault.'"
With that, he waved his hand toward the group. "Hand me all the 'Characters' you have on you."
...
After finalizing their second-round tactics, both sides began moving around the rooms. Everyone was extra cautious before entering any door, afraid they might run into the enemy inside.
Kim Won-hoon pushed open the second door and arrived at the "Chu River and Han Border." To his surprise, Chen Junnan was standing right there.
Just as he was about to say something, he noticed something odd—both pockets of Chen Junnan's pants were very bulging, revealing several chains, as if he was carrying the entire team's collection of "Characters."
"Hey...?" Kim Won-hoon was startled.
"What are you staring at?!" Chen Junnan asked. "Never seen a handsome guy carrying over eighty Characters?"
Kim Won-hoon blinked, feeling that the rules probably weren't supposed to work this way.