Chapter 1055: The Rational One
Wen Qiaoyun recounted everything that happened between her and Han Yimo inside the "Door" to Chu Tianqiu.
"There's a 'pig' in there who's extremely nervous, whose voice trembles when it speaks."
"Moreover, that 'pig' mentioned 'the helper' and 'betting one's life.' Although I didn't fully understand what those meant, I relayed them to you word for word."
Before Chu Tianqiu could respond, Dr. Zhao and Chen Junnan burst through the door in a flurry.
"Hm...?" Chu Tianqiu looked at Chen Junnan with a composed expression. "Dr. Zhao, what's this?"
"This is the fake Chen Junnan," Dr. Zhao said. "I was with him and the game didn't trigger."
"I'm Xu Liunian," Chen Junnan said. "It was too dangerous just now... Chen Junnan disguised himself as me and attacked, and now he's trapped Jin Yuanxun inside the game venue."
Upon hearing this, Chu Tianqiu's eyes flickered for an unusually brief half-second, then he said in a displeased tone, "That's absurd... You let Chen Junnan and Jin Yuanxun go one-on-one...?"
"I didn't have a better option at the time!" Xu Liunian said. "If we hadn't found a way to distinguish who was real quickly, I would have died there!"
"You..." Chu Tianqiu slowly furrowed his brow.
Some words were indeed hurtful, but for the "chariot" that was Xu Liunian, the "pawn" that was Jin Yuanxun was more important.
Under these circumstances, to ensure that Jin Yuanxun's "pawn" remained unaffected, what did it matter if Xu Liunian died?
"What game did the two of them enter?" Chu Tianqiu asked again.
"It seems to be 'Si,'" Dr. Zhao explained. "At first, we were both in the room labeled 'Si,' but later Xu Liunian and I went to another room, and they locked the door."
Chu Tianqiu knew this made the situation even more dire.
If it were a physical or combat-type game, Jin Yuanxun might have been able to win a "character" from Chen Junnan.
But what did the game type of "Si Snake" represent...?
"Cunning" or "Quiz." In either aspect, Jin Yuanxun stood no chance against Chen Junnan.
"Oh, right... there's something else..." Wen Qiaoyun suddenly thought of something and spoke with a troubled expression. "When I passed by the 'river channel' just now... I saw Zhang Shan lying there..."
"'Lying'...?" Chu Tianqiu's expression darkened again, as if he didn't understand the word. "By himself?"
"Yes," Wen Qiaoyun nodded. "I didn't find anyone else in the 'river channel'... but the whole 'river channel' was stained with blood spots."
Chu Tianqiu naturally became puzzled upon hearing this. Zhang Shan lying there alone?
How many people in this place could take down Zhang Shan without using "Echo"?
The answer was three.
Qiao Jiajin, Qinglong, Dilong.
Zhang Shan certainly wouldn't break the rules. Everyone had just seen Dilong descend from the sky, but she landed in their own team's area, dealing with the "real or fake Chen Junnan" incident, not punishing Zhang Shan.
That meant Zhang Shan was taken down by Qiao Jiajin.
But where was Qiao Jiajin?
"Did you see any traces of blood being dragged on the ground...?" Chu Tianqiu asked again.
After careful thought, Wen Qiaoyun replied, "There were no dragging marks on the ground, only countless blood spots."
"How strange..." Chu Tianqiu said, lowering his head. "If there were no dragging marks on the ground... it can only mean that Qiao Jiajin left on his own, or was carried away on someone's back or in their arms."
After a moment's thought, it was clear the latter was basically impossible.
The opposing side had five men and two women.
But among those five men, excluding Qiao Jiajin himself, Zheng Yingxiong was a child, Chen Junnan was causing trouble on their own side, and Han Yimo was also playing games with Wen Qiaoyun during that time. How could the remaining two women carry a hundred-plus-pound Qiao Jiajin on their backs or in their arms without leaving a trace?
Not to mention those two, even Han Yimo, with his physique, would have had to drag Qiao Jiajin on the ground to move him, leaving dragging marks.
But if the ground was very clean...
"Qiao Jiajin should still be active," Chu Tianqiu said. "It's possible that he left on his own after taking down Zhang Shan."
Only then did Chu Tianqiu realize how critical the situation was. With Zhang Shan's condition unknown and likely unconscious, if they lost Xu Liunian now, their team could essentially be declared defeated.
"Still active...?" Wen Qiaoyun frowned at this. She turned to look in the direction of Qi Xia's camp and said softly, "Tianqiu... I think, given the amount of bleeding, even if he could move, he must be severely injured."
"He's still a soldier carrying a 'character,'" Chu Tianqiu said. "We now have only six people, while the other side has seven."
Wen Qiaoyun thought for a few seconds and said, "Tianqiu... what do you think the chances are... that Qiao Jiajin actually fell, and Qi Xia came out himself to take him away?"
Chu Tianqiu's brow furrowed slightly upon hearing this, then he carefully considered Wen Qiaoyun's statement.
Qi Xia... crossing the "battle zone" where he might encounter Wen Qiaoyun and Yan Zhichun, coming to the "river channel" to personally take away Qiao Jiajin?
"I don't think so," Chu Tianqiu said.
"Why...?" Wen Qiaoyun didn't understand.
"You might not understand Qi Xia... How rational a person is he?" Chu Tianqiu said. "He dispatches a chess piece to attack the opponent's piece; regardless of the outcome, the 'commander-in-chief' should not personally take the field. Qi Xia knows this too. He knows how to win the match, so he won't act on impulse here."
"Is that so...?" Wen Qiaoyun's eyes seemed a little sad. "Even if the person fighting is someone he cares about deeply... he absolutely won't go to see if they're dead or alive?"
"It's not a matter of caring or not," Chu Tianqiu said. "For example... if Qi Xia rushed to the scene and found Qiao Jiajin taken down, then Zhang Shan might have pressed the advantage and taken down Qi Xia too. In this game, only the 'commander-in-chief' can score. Once Qi Xia falls, the whole team dies. So from an absolute rational perspective, he needs to ensure the survival of the entire team, not just Qiao Jiajin's life alone... So Qi Xia wouldn't do something so reckless."
Although Chu Tianqiu kept saying that Qi Xia was an absolutely rational person, Wen Qiaoyun felt that Chu Tianqiu was even more rational than him.
Because at this moment, Zhang Shan was still lying in the "river channel," and his "commander-in-chief" had kept his word—he didn't want to go see him, didn't even ask if he was alive or dead.
"Is it possible..." Wen Qiaoyun seemed to have another doubt, her voice low. "That Qi Xia believed Qiao Jiajin would definitely win... so he went?"