Chapter 1045: Heart Piercer
The four of them were stuck in a stalemate inside the same room.
Doctor Zhao knew the situation had already spiraled out of control.
In this room of four, one of them was Chen Junnan.
In other words, Chen Junnan alone had managed to control all three of them.
There were only seven people on their team. Subtract Chu Tianqiu, and six remained. Of those six, three were trapped in this room, leaving only Yan Zhichun, Wen Qiaoyun, and Zhang Shan.
Yan Zhichun and Wen Qiaoyun had naturally gone to the opposing side to "invade," which meant only Zhang Shan was left guarding the entire ten-room area on their side.
In other words, their home base was wide open. If they didn’t resolve the mystery of the real and fake Chen Junnan soon, they might as well just surrender now.
"Jin Yuanxun!" Chen Junnan A turned his head to look at Jin Yuanxun. "Do you remember, three years ago, we played a game together, and in that game I turned into a fat old man!"
"Uh..." Jin Yuanxun glanced at Doctor Zhao after hearing that. Unfortunately, his own memories didn’t go back that far. Only the person who said that sentence could know if it was true or false.
Chen Junnan B wasn’t about to back down either: "He has no idea you lost your memory. How can you trust that? Jin Yuanxun, I’ve found a way to achieve 'Echo.' Think of a way to get rid of him, and I’ll teach you 'Echo.' Then you’ll see if I’m the real one!"
Doctor Zhao thought carefully about the situation for a moment and quickly sorted things out. He said, "Xu Liunian, weren’t you just charging to the 'front lines' with them? Why did you suddenly turn back?"
"Because I lost the 'Character'!" Both Chen Junnans said it at the same time, then glared at each other with identical expressions of disgust.
"You lost the 'Character'...?"
"So you need to let me go back right now!!" Chen Junnan A said. "If I don’t get back to the 'Preparation Zone' soon, I’ll be dead when the Earth Dragon comes down!"
"That’s what I’ve been saying!" Chen Junnan B said.
"Then this is easy..." Doctor Zhao said. "Xu Liunian doesn’t have a 'Character' on her, but Chen Junnan does. Would you two mind if we searched you?"
"I don’t mind." Both Chen Junnans said at the same time, then looked at each other with disgust again.
Hearing both of them so confident, half of Doctor Zhao’s hope died, but to be safe, he and Jin Yuanxun stepped forward and searched both Chen Junnan A and B.
As expected, neither of them had a 'Character' on them.
Since Chen Junnan had the audacity to swagger over and pretend to be Xu Liunian, why would he be afraid of a search?
But he absolutely had to have a 'Character' on him, otherwise he would be breaking the rules. The only question was where it was hidden.
In this game, it was hard to pretend to have a 'Character,' but pretending not to have one was far too simple. If Chen Junnan was ruthless enough, he could even swallow the 'Character' into his stomach.
While they were hesitating, the Earth Dragon in the sky slowly stood up and leaped toward the room below. Almost everyone active on the field saw it.
The Earth Dragon’s pale figure landed in the room with the two Chen Junnans. She barely bent her knees upon landing, making almost no sound.
The four people in the room all looked grim when they saw the Earth Dragon descend.
"It’s been over two minutes," the Earth Dragon said expressionlessly. "If the person who lost the 'Character' hasn’t fled back to the 'Preparation Zone' in three minutes, I’ll have no choice but to send them to their death."
Both Chen Junnans panicked, looking genuinely afraid.
"This is the first time a 'Characterness Stay' has occurred," the Earth Dragon said. "Please, whoever survives, pass this on to the others: next time, the time limit will be thirty seconds."
Doctor Zhao swallowed hard. The Earth Dragon's timing felt perfectly convenient.
"Perfect..." Doctor Zhao said. "Since the Earth Dragon is here, she must know who she needs to kill... and the one she kills will be the real Xu Liunian!"
Both Chen Junnans looked dumbfounded.
Yeah, sure, once one of them was dead, they’d know who the real one was. And then what?
Jin Yuanxun turned to look at the Earth Dragon: "Sis... which one are you going to kill?"
"How interesting..." The Earth Dragon covered her mouth and laughed. "I could see everything clearly from up there, but saying it out loud would ruin the fun. My job is just to kill the rule-breaker, not to help you figure out who’s real. You have forty seconds left."
"Huh?!" Both Chen Junnans panicked at once. "No way!"
The countdown was on. Doctor Zhao hurriedly stared at both Chen Junnans, trying to distinguish them. At this point, the real Xu Liunian would be far more panicked, because she actually faced the risk of being eliminated. The fake Xu Liunian had no such worry; his goal from the start was to stall for time and get the real Xu Liunian eliminated.
So at this moment, the real Chen Junnan should be delighted, not panicked.
But Doctor Zhao stared at them for a few seconds and found that both of them really did seem panicked. Neither looked like they were acting.
He had faced too many critically ill patients. He was far too familiar with the demeanor people showed when they were about to die.
It was an extremely complex look in the eyes, as if every cell in the body was fighting against fate together.
This kind of demeanor was impossible for an ordinary person to fake. Even a professional film actor would struggle to recreate it.
Wait...
Doctor Zhao suddenly thought of something. Did Chen Junnan really have the 'Character' on him?
Was it possible that he genuinely thought he was about to die?
But barging into the enemy's zone without a 'Character'...
"Twenty seconds left." The Earth Dragon had already rolled up her sleeves, as if afraid of getting them dirty. "Are you ready?"
"I've got it!" Chen Junnan A suddenly had an idea. "Doctor Zhao! Come with me to the room next door! Jin Yuanxun, you stay here!"
"What?" Doctor Zhao was stunned.
"We’ll split into two groups and each enter a room. That way, the real Chen Junnan will definitely trigger the game," Chen Junnan A said. "Then three out of the four of us will know who the real one is."
"W-Will that work?" Doctor Zhao asked.
Earth Dragon: "Ten seconds."
"Don’t hesitate!! I’m about to die!!"
"Alright, alright!" Doctor Zhao didn’t have time to think. He grabbed Chen Junnan A in front of him and quickly left the room, heading to the game area on the other side.
Only Jin Yuanxun and Chen Junnan B were left behind, staring at each other through the open 'door.' In just a few seconds, the 'door' slammed shut and locked.
So one of them—Doctor Zhao or Jin Yuanxun—had triggered the game. But who exactly...?
Chen Junnan A grabbed Doctor Zhao and said nervously, "Hurry up and come with me to see Tianqiu! I’m the real one!!"
Doctor Zhao was stunned. He watched as Chen Junnan A led him out through another door, straight into the 'Preparation Zone.'
The room was indeed unlocked. The Chen Junnan in front of him was 'fake,' and Xu Liunian was 'real.'
"Jin Yuanxun is in danger..." Doctor Zhao said.