Chapter 1062: The Creator of the Scholar
"I..."
Han Yimo was completely stunned by this sudden, emotional scene.
"Chen Junnan... I always knew you were causing trouble before, but I never thought that deep down you..."
"That's all in the past. But now my good brother tells me you're a spy... What do you want me to do?" Chen Junnan asked again in a deep voice. "What can I possibly do?"
At this moment, Han Yimo felt like he had seen a similar plot in a movie somewhere, but he couldn't recall the next lines of dialogue.
"Do you think I don't want to defect to the other side?" Chen Junnan continued. "It's just that... that person is my brother like a hand and foot. I can't leave. Even if the path he takes is wrong, I'll always stay by his side."
"I... I think I kind of get it now." Han Yimo scratched his head. "So you also..."
"So this matter can only be entrusted to you..." Chen Junnan shook his head, interrupting Han Yimo. "I can't help you, and I can't help him get rid of you either, because one side is my brother, and the other is the beacon of justice in the 'Land of Endings.' The best I can do is stay out of it on both sides."
Han Yimo stood there dumbfounded for a long time before finally squeezing out three words: "Thank you..."
"No need." Chen Junnan waved his hand. "What Old Qi just whispered to me was, 'Han Yimo is a spy sent by the other side. You interrogate him thoroughly here, and if necessary, you can give him a beating.'"
"Ah...?"
Han Yimo hadn't expected to be exposed already. Fortunately, Qi Xia was just like the villains in the books—after discovering the truth, he always had his underlings handle it, allowing someone with the protagonist's aura to escape by the skin of their teeth.
"You know I can't bring myself to do it." Chen Junnan turned around, his expression exceptionally sorrowful. "But if he comes back... and doesn't find any signs of torture, your situation will be even more dangerous."
Han Yimo swallowed hard after hearing this and said, "Chen Junnan, it's fine. Knowing your heart is enough for me."
"Alas..." Chen Junnan said. "So even though I can't bring myself to do it... I still have to put on a show for Qi Xia. You should understand, right?"
"Yes, I know." Han Yimo nodded. "A ruse of self-injury."
"Then... sorry about this?"
"Go ahead."
Han Yimo never expected Chen Junnan to hit so hard. After knocking him down with one punch, he started kicking him mercilessly.
But since it was just for show... getting a little injured was reasonable.
However, as he kicked him, Chen Junnan kept muttering under his breath: "Fucking spy," "Fucking spreading lies," "Fucking killing someone's whole family," "You're fucking curse incarnate." It sounded a bit too convincing.
Sure, you have to commit to the act... but did he really need to go this far...? There was clearly no one else around to hear it.
"Ouch... that's... that's enough..." Han Yimo said while blocking Chen Junnan's attacks. "Is it really necessary to act this convincingly?"
Hearing this, Chen Junnan quickly crouched down and helped Han Yimo up, his face full of concern. "Sorry... Did I hit too hard?"
"Forget whether it was hard or not..." Han Yimo rubbed his arm. "The things you were muttering... it felt like you genuinely wanted to beat me up..."
"You're wrong..." Chen Junnan said. "It's precisely because I couldn't bring myself to do it that I had to chant some slogans to give myself motivation, like shouting 'One, two' when pulling a rope. They're just slogans, no real meaning."
"Really...?" Han Yimo stood up and stretched his aching limbs, saying, "You've hit me and interrogated me... Qi Xia shouldn't be suspicious now, right?"
"Don't worry about that." Chen Junnan nodded. "Don't forget, I'm on your side now too. If Qi Xia really gets suspicious, I'll definitely put in a good word for you from the sidelines."
"Hoo, that's great." Han Yimo said. "I was just worrying about how to dismantle Qi Xia's team from the inside. With your help now... it's like a tiger gaining wings."
Han Yimo felt that the current plot was very reasonable. Many times, the protagonist simply couldn't complete such a difficult task alone, but they would inevitably encounter like-minded teammates along the way. It seemed everything was moving in the right direction.
Chen Junnan was his first teammate. As the saying goes, friendships often start with a fight. The bits and pieces with Chen Junnan from before surfaced in his mind, piecing together into a clumsy, sentimental scene.
But hearing this, Chen Junnan felt that he might have kicked a bit too lightly. Han Yimo actually wanted to dismantle Qi Xia's team from the inside...?
Didn't that mean he wanted the entire team to die?
Well, it didn't matter anyway. Chen Junnan knew that Qi Xia keeping Han Yimo in the preparation area probably had two purposes.
First, to prevent news of Qiao Jiajin's severe injury and coma from leaking out. Second, to find a way to use Han Yimo's "Disaster Magnet" to win the game.
As always... Qi Xia didn't need Han Yimo's consent when setting his plans. His "Echo" effect was already being used like a gun.
"Wait a minute..." Chen Junnan suddenly froze, feeling like he had discovered a strange problem. "Can Han Yimo's 'Echo' even be used here?"
...
Qi Xia arrived at the room on the far right. Although this room was at the very edge of the entire map, it still had four "doors."
However, the "door" on the far right wall was black. Before the game started, Earthworm had said that going out through these "doors" meant "desertion."
At this moment, Tian Tian was standing in this room with her eyes closed, resting, seemingly lost in thought.
"Tian Tian." Qi Xia called softly.
Hearing this, Tian Tian immediately turned around, her eyes meeting Qi Xia's.
"Why did you leave the 'preparation area'...?" A trace of caution flashed in Tian Tian's eyes.
"I need to go to the other side of the river, and I happen to pass by here." Qi Xia replied. "I wanted to see how your progress was going, so I came to check."
"It doesn't seem to be working..." Tian Tian relaxed upon hearing this but still shook her head. "It's too hard to 'Echo' here."
"Is that so...?" Qi Xia nodded after hearing this. "But since you can't hear the 'bell' here, maybe you've already 'Echoed'?"
"Huh?" Tian Tian was startled. "Is that possible...?"
"Try it." Qi Xia said. "Your 'character' is still on you, right?"
"Yes..." Tian Tian nodded, taking out her "Scholar" (士).
Qi Xia nodded, took a bunch of chains from his pocket, and handed them to Tian Tian.
"What's this for?"
"Use these extra chains to reshape the 'character' on your body." Qi Xia said. "If it works, maybe you've already 'Echoed.'"
"But I don't know the structure of those 'characters'..." Tian Tian said.
"Just try it; there's nothing to lose." Qi Xia said. "Besides, I told you, the ultimate goal isn't for you to forge the 'character.' So even if you fail, it doesn't matter."
Hearing this, Tian Tian nodded, placed the chains on the ground, and closed her eyes.
Qi Xia then slowly bent down.
He picked up the pile of chains from the ground, and then placed down the "Scholar" (士) he had taken from Qiao Jiajin.