Chapter 1061: The Way to Win
Chen Junnan wanted to stop Qi Xia, but saw that he had already walked to the door of the "Preparation Zone."
Qi Xia suddenly thought of something. His hand, about to open the door, paused, and he turned his head to look at Qiao Jiajin and Han Yimo.
He hesitated for a moment, then walked over to the two of them and gave Han Yimo a look. Han Yimo immediately understood and laid Qiao Jiajin flat on the ground before stepping aside.
With his back to Han Yimo, Qi Xia reached into Qiao Jiajin's pocket and took out the "Shi" piece. Then, he exchanged it with the "Huo" piece he had taken from Attorney Zhang in his own pocket, putting the "Huo" back and keeping the "Shi" for himself.
Qi Xia felt that the "Shi" piece, which Qiao Jiajin had risked his life to bring back, might very well trigger a butterfly effect, taking them a huge step closer to "victory."
"Chen Junnan, I need to tell you one more thing..."
"Go ahead."
"Do you still have the extra chains? Give them to me."
"Damn, I've got plenty of chains. Hang on!"
Chen Junnan lowered his head, fished a bunch of chains out of his pocket, and handed them to Qi Xia. Qi Xia nodded. Just as he was about to say something, he turned and saw Han Yimo nearby. The words hesitated at the tip of his tongue.
He was always worried that he might overthink things, listing out solutions to problems that would never happen.
But at this point, caution was necessary. Even if there was only a one percent chance, he couldn't afford a slip-up now.
"Chen Junnan." Qi Xia looked at him. "Privately."
As soon as he heard "privately," Chen Junnan understood immediately. He strode over, leaned in, and offered his ear.
Qi Xia took the chance to whisper a few words, and Chen Junnan's expression gradually grew more lively.
"Oh?" He chuckled. "Alright, alright... This is really interesting."
"As long as you understand," Qi Xia said. "If that kind of thing really happens, play it by ear. Do whatever you want."
"I was worried you'd tell me to hold back." Chen Junnan said. "Relax, Old Qi. I've got this place covered. You go ahead and do your thing. If anything goes wrong, I'll bring you little Han's head."
Han Yimo: "Huh?"
"It's in your hands." Qi Xia nodded. "I'll be back soon."
He opened the room door, confirmed no one was there, and left the "Preparation Zone" without another word.
Chen Junnan took a deep breath. He was about to walk over to the screen when he noticed Han Yimo staring at him.
Because Han Yimo's gaze was so strange, Chen Junnan became intrigued. He walked over, crouched down, and looked at him with a grin.
"What? What is it?" Han Yimo asked.
"Nothing much." Chen Junnan replied.
"If it's nothing much, why are you staring at me?"
"Don't be scared, Xiao Han." Chen Junnan said. "There's nothing going on. I just think you're interesting, so I came over for a better look."
"Nothing going on...?" Han Yimo clearly didn't believe it. "But just now, Qi Xia, did he...?"
"Old Qi didn't say anything just now. He just told me a joke." Chen Junnan said, staring at Han Yimo. "Want to hear it? It's damn hilarious."
Han Yimo trembled all over at that, but quickly forced himself to stay calm. "C-Chen Junnan, I don't know what joke it is... but I've always been on your side. You have to believe me on that."
Chen Junnan raised an eyebrow at this. The situation was indeed getting interesting.
Because what Qi Xia had whispered to him didn't mention Han Yimo at all.
It was just that Chen Junnan noticed Han Yimo's expression turned unnatural after Qi Xia's whisper, so he randomly tested him. He didn't expect to crack the case on the spot.
But now that the case was cracked... how was he supposed to rule on it?
"Sure you don't want to hear that joke?" Chen Junnan asked with a smile.
"N-No, I'll pass." Han Yimo replied. "Just believe me. I'm loyal to Qi Xia through and through. I have no second thoughts!"
"Haha!"
Seeing Chen Junnan laugh, Han Yimo dryly laughed along twice.
The next second, Chen Junnan's smile vanished instantly, and his face turned ice-cold. Han Yimo flinched and immediately retracted his own expression.
"Did I give you too much face?" Chen Junnan asked. "You actually dare to laugh with me?"
"N-No... I didn't... I..." Han Yimo's face turned deathly pale in an instant.
"Do you know why Old Qi left you and me alone?" Chen Junnan asked.
"Ah...?"
"Do you know why he didn't say what he said in front of you?" Chen Junnan pressed.
After a few words, Han Yimo was trembling like a leaf.
Seeing this, Chen Junnan was secretly overjoyed. Han Yimo might as well have "I'm a traitor" written all over his face. Even he could tell — how could Qi Xia not?
But since he could tell, why did he leave Han Yimo behind...?
Ah, that's right. Qi Xia's move was brilliant.
Right now, Han Yimo might claim to be loyal to Qi Xia, but in his heart, he likely considered himself to be on the other side.
If he was on the other side, then as long as he believed "we are going to lose," the other side would lose.
That's a one hundred percent guaranteed loss, no luck involved.
The top priority now was to make Han Yimo even more convinced that he belonged to the other side, absolutely not to become loyal to Qi Xia.
So he couldn't persuade him to surrender, nor could he out him, and definitely couldn't intimidate Han Yimo too much.
If Han Yimo's fear shifted from "we're going to lose" to "I'm going to die," then such a good weapon would be completely wasted.
So how could he subtly control this situation, letting Han Yimo naturally believe he was still a mole, and that this hadn't been exposed?
"This way of winning is really abstract..." Chen Junnan muttered with a low laugh.
"What... what way of winning?"
"Who asked you to speak?" Chen Junnan said.
"Ah... n-no... it's not..." Han Yimo said. "We're all in the same boat. If something's up, you can tell me. I can help come up with ideas too."
Even as he said this, Han Yimo felt deep down that Chen Junnan's behavior was exactly like a villain in a movie, even the lines were the same.
He secretly sighed that he really was the protagonist; otherwise, he would never have ended up in a situation like this.
"Yeah, I know." Chen Junnan nodded gloomily. "I really am torn right now... You know what Old Qi said to me just now?"
"N-No idea." Han Yimo replied.
"Really no idea?"
"Really."
"He said you're a mole." Chen Junnan said with a grave expression. "Tell me... are you a mole or not?"
"Ah?!" Han Yimo was shocked. "H-How could I be a mole?! Didn't I just say it! I'm loyal to Qi Xia through and through!"
"Don't I know that...?" Chen Junnan said. "Remember those seven years? Even though I was always causing trouble, there was one person who always upheld justice and criticized my behavior constantly. Who was that?"
"Huh...?"
"No matter how many times he died, he tried to stop me in that kind of situation. I've always remembered his radiant and majestic figure." Chen Junnan stood up, slowly turning his back, his voice choked. "Han Yimo, tell me, who was that person?"
"N-No way... you..."
Chen Junnan sighed. "But Old Qi is telling me now that that person is a mole... Han Yimo, tell me, what should I do?"