Chapter 1074: The Onset of Disaster
"Eh...?" Doctor Zhao was taken aback. "Go tell Chu Tianqiu...?"
"That's right," Qi Xia nodded. "Just pass on the message. I won't make things difficult for you."
"No, no, no... I still understand the rules," Doctor Zhao said. "As long as you don't come near my side, I'll agree to anything you say."
"No. Go tell him I've made my move," Qi Xia said again. "If he continues to stay in the 'Preparation Zone,' it's no different from waiting for death."
Doctor Zhao pursed his lips and dared not speak. Qi Xia paused and then asked, "Are you coming in?"
"N-no, I won't..."
Seeing Qi Xia nod and then turn to leave directly, Doctor Zhao finally let out a slow sigh.
Entering the same room as Qi Xia... how was that any different from handing over his "word" directly?
This was the "snake" representing "cunning" and "questions and answers."
Unless all the questions the snake inside asked were about brain medicine, he stood no chance.
"Trouble's brewing..."
Doctor Zhao hurried back to the "Preparation Zone" to find Chu Tianqiu, where Wen Qiaoyun was talking to him about something.
"Tianqiu, look at this." Wen Qiaoyun held up a "turban" character (巾) for Chu Tianqiu to see.
Upon seeing this "word," Chu Tianqiu's expression gradually darkened.
"Qiaoyun... where did this 'word' come from?"
"The 'informant' from the opposing side voluntarily handed it over. Consider it a pledge of allegiance," Wen Qiaoyun said. "What's wrong with this 'word'? Is there a problem?"
Chu Tianqiu naturally knew the problem. This "turban" character was one he had personally given to Chen Junnan. Now it had been brought back by the "informant"... What did that mean?
"So this 'informant'... is Han Yimo, right?" Chu Tianqiu asked.
"Yes, that writer named Han Yimo," Wen Qiaoyun replied.
Frowning, Chu Tianqiu asked, "Did you promise him anything?"
"No," Wen Qiaoyun answered. "He asked me for a promise to accept him as one of our own, but I couldn't give an answer. So I told him to remain calm and that I would contact him soon."
"Absurd," Chu Tianqiu said. "This 'word' is hardly Han Yimo's 'pledge of allegiance'... It's clearly Chen Junnan's 'letter of challenge.'"
"What...?" Wen Qiaoyun and Doctor Zhao both paused simultaneously.
"This 'word' was with Chen Junnan... Why would he give it to Han Yimo?" Chu Tianqiu's brows were tightly knit. "Could it be that Han Yimo snatched it from Chen Junnan?"
"Tianqiu... don't get worked up..." Wen Qiaoyun said. "What are you worried about...?"
"How can I not be worried?!" Chu Tianqiu gritted his teeth. "Who was it that recruited Han Yimo as our 'informant'?"
Wen Qiaoyun was taken aback, realizing she had never considered that question. Han Yimo had sworn he was a mole, but how had he become a mole? And when had he become one?
Could he be pretending to be a mole to gain their trust...?
But Wen Qiaoyun quickly dismissed that thought.
With Han Yimo's level of cunning... how could he dare to use such a strategy?
"It... it was me..." Doctor Zhao said awkwardly from the side. "What's wrong with Han Yimo? Wasn't he always on our side?"
"It would be fine if he had always been on our side," Chu Tianqiu said. "But he's with Qi Xia's faction now. How could you dare to recruit him as a mole?"
Neither Doctor Zhao nor Wen Qiaoyun understood what Chu Tianqiu meant, but it was clear he was very angry.
He snatched the "turban" character from Wen Qiaoyun's hand and said grimly, "Besides, Qiaoyun didn't promise Han Yimo anything just now... He's already voluntarily handed over two 'words' without receiving any feedback. His mind must be full of countless doubts. If he can figure out that he isn't a real mole, that's fine. But if he stubbornly believes he is one... the situation will only become more dangerous."
He slowly placed the "turban" character onto the "Phoenix Engraved Book Platform," only to see four astonishingly large characters light up on the screen:
"Creation Failed."
"Just as I thought..." Chu Tianqiu sighed again. "The situation has already started to change..."
He rotated the "turban" in his hand a few times on the "Phoenix Engraved Book Platform," but no matter what, the screen only showed "Creation Failed."
"What's going on?" Wen Qiaoyun asked, puzzled. "It's clearly a distinct 'turban' character..."
"I thought that when Jin Yuanxun won back a 'wrap' character from Chen Junnan, it meant we were on the path to victory. But I never expected a massive boulder to block our way."
Chu Tianqiu's expression grew darker by the minute, and the two beside him could feel the anger radiating from him.
"So there's a way to win like this too..." he said through clenched teeth. "Even the limit of turning someone's trick against them is nothing more than this...?"
"Tianqiu, calm down," Wen Qiaoyun said. "If there's something going on, you can tell me, and I'll help you solve it."
"Qiaoyun..." Chu Tianqiu said. "You were in a game with Han Yimo earlier. You must have noticed his strange ability."
At Chu Tianqiu's reminder, Wen Qiaoyun recalled the peculiarity of that game—every answer Han Yimo chose was wrong.
To win the game, one had to avoid Han Yimo's choices as much as possible.
Was there no limit to this bizarre ability...?
Would whichever team he joined inevitably fail?
"This is too absurd..." Wen Qiaoyun said. "As long as he believes himself to be a mole, we can't win...?"
"That's the logic," Chu Tianqiu said. "Han Yimo probably doesn't even know his own 'echo' is called 'Disaster Evocation.' He triggers the disasters he believes in his heart, disasters that can actually come to pass."
At this point, Doctor Zhao also caught on. "So the 'disaster' Han Yimo envisions right now is 'the mole is going to lose'...?"
"Otherwise...?" Chu Tianqiu turned and asked coldly. "When you convinced him to become a mole... why didn't you think of that?"
Doctor Zhao knew that no matter how thoroughly he had considered it, he could never have anticipated the incompatibility between "Disaster Evocation" and being a mole.
"But that's not right..." Doctor Zhao said. "We could just stop cooperating with Han Yimo, make him think he's been abandoned. Then he'd end up in Qi Xia's camp, wouldn't he?"
"If things were really that simple, that would be great," Chu Tianqiu said. "The problem lies with Han Yimo himself. From my understanding of him, no matter how incomprehensible the situation, he will always fill in the logical gaps using his novel-writing experience and become utterly convinced."
"Ah...?" Although Wen Qiaoyun had heard this explanation for the first time, recalling the time she had spent with Han Yimo earlier, she felt that Chu Tianqiu's words made perfect sense.
No matter how bizarre the circumstances, Han Yimo would find a way to rationalize everything to himself. He only believed what he wanted to believe.
So even if they clearly told him now that "the mole is out of commission," he would think it was some kind of test they were giving him.
How on earth were they supposed to deal with such a troublesome person...?
Chu Tianqiu made a decisive decision. "Doctor Zhao... Go find Jin Yuanxun immediately. The two of you are now tasked with one goal: eliminate Han Yimo at all costs."