Chapter 1085: The Big Picture
Xu Liunian, at the last moment, broke through the limitations of her subconscious, shed Chen Junnan's appearance, and took on Chu Tianqiu's form. Whether it was her speaking style, facial expressions, or even thought patterns, she perfectly replicated Chu Tianqiu. But she still lost. This crushing defeat made her feel unprecedented despair.
“To be honest, there wasn’t any fatal flaw this time,” Qi Xia said helplessly. “I had no way to confirm you were Xu Liunian. I just felt you might do this, so I bluffed you once.”
In an instant, the Chu Tianqiu before him transformed into Xu Liunian, and she could only smile bitterly and lower her head.
A fine ‘bluffed you once’—the coincidence lay in the fact that the one who said it was Qi Xia. He didn’t look like he was bluffing at all; instead, he seemed genuinely certain of her identity.
Qi Xia looked at Xu Liunian’s complicated expression and said, “If you had deceived me in your current state from the very beginning, I never would have guessed that you and Chu Tianqiu were two different people.”
Xu Liunian knew Qi Xia had phrased it as tactfully as possible.
“Losing to a bluff… that still counts as a loss, doesn’t it?”
Qi Xia sighed. “You don’t need to be too upset. If there was any flaw, it was only one thing: when I said it didn’t matter that we were missing Jin Yuanxun’s ‘Characters,’ you immediately agreed with that decision.”
“What…?”
“This issue is no longer within the scope of ‘imitation’; it’s a matter of big-picture thinking. It’s not your fault that you didn’t realize it,” Qi Xia said. “Chu Tianqiu should know how important the ‘Pawn’ is, and so do I. With your team missing a ‘Pawn,’ my interest dropped by half. When I casually said ‘The Pawn isn’t important,’ your expression was even calmer than mine.”
“Qi Xia, the ridiculous thing about this problem is…” Xu Liunian sighed. “This game is about to end, and I still don’t know why the ‘Pawn’ is so important.”
“It’s okay. This isn’t something everyone needs to know anyway,” Qi Xia shook his head. “Go ahead, bring Chu Tianqiu to see me.”
Xu Liunian softly assented, then left the room carrying a pile of ‘Characters’ on her.
In the air, Qinglong also shook his head helplessly repeatedly. He seemed more eager to see Chu Tianqiu’s scheme take effect at the last moment, but he hadn’t expected Qi Xia to have seen through Xu Liunian’s disguise multiple times. This time, although Xu Liunian had shown no flaw at all, just one bluff from Qi Xia made her drop her ‘Shapeshift’ disguise.
“What a pity,” Qinglong said. “Chu Tianqiu doesn’t know what awaits him… truly a pity.”
Before long, Qi Xia met Chu Tianqiu in the ‘Mao’ Character room. As soon as he entered, the room locked, trapping the two inside.
It seemed Chu Tianqiu had long been prepared; he entered without a second’s hesitation.
Without a word, Qi Xia took out all the ‘Characters’ he had on him and then let them drop to the ground, as if placing a bet before the final gamble.
Chu Tianqiu frowned, then took out his own ‘Characters.’ Just as he was about to drop them, he suddenly thought of something. He lowered his head and carefully examined the ‘Characters’ Qi Xia had dropped. His expression quickly changed.
“Qi Xia… there’s no ‘Pawn’ here.”
This was the first thing Chu Tianqiu said after entering. He hit the nail on the head, and it made Qi Xia clearly feel that the person before him was the real deal.
“That’s right, no ‘Pawn’,” Qi Xia said. “The ‘Pawn’ isn’t with me.”
“So what did you do to Jin Yuanxun?” Chu Tianqiu asked. “Why did he disappear along with his ‘Characters’? I still can’t figure that out.”
“I can’t answer that question,” Qi Xia replied. “After all, it’s one of my strategies. Consider it a puzzle I’ve left for you in this game.”
Chu Tianqiu stared coldly at Qi Xia, carefully pondering the bizarre situation. It was he who had sent Jin Yuanxun to trap the opposing members. Theoretically, Jin Yuanxun had a decent success rate—he could at least trap two or three people, and those people would regain their freedom after he conducted one ‘game.’ Even if an accident caused Jin Yuanxun to be trapped in a game along with the opponent, he should still appear after the game ended. There was no reason for him to just vanish outright. Even if, worst case scenario, the other side killed Jin Yuanxun, or Jin Yuanxun died in an ‘Earth-level game,’ Qi Xia would surely have obtained his ‘Characters.’ But now, where was Jin Yuanxun? Where were his ‘Characters’? What means had the other side used to capture Jin Yuanxun, who had awakened ‘Jump’?
“Indeed, it’s a very difficult puzzle,” Chu Tianqiu said. “It has me completely baffled.”
“So are you scared?” Qi Xia asked. “Do you still dare to enter the game arena with me?”
Chu Tianqiu knew the current situation was full of mysteries; the best course of action would naturally be not to enter that door. But this game had no timer, and both sides could estimate that time was nearing its end. If he didn’t take the initiative to enter this ‘door,’ once Tiantian finished repairing the display screen and the other side’s score recovered, he would still lose. What lay before Chu Tianqiu now was a bizarre gamble… a bet on whether Tiantian could succeed in the repair or not. If he firmly believed that Tiantian would fail… then he didn’t have to join this gamble; he just had to stall until the game ended. But what if she could succeed?
Chu Tianqiu kept scrutinizing Qi Xia, and found that the other’s eyes were still brimming with confidence, as if victory was in his grasp.
“I am indeed afraid,” Chu Tianqiu said. “I’m afraid that you’ve had Tiantian set up deadly traps inside, traps that can even shatter ‘Characters.’ As soon as I step in, I’ll be doomed, becoming the next Jin Yuanxun to disappear.”
“You can rest assured,” Qi Xia said. “That idea sounds interesting, but it’s not my style. I can guarantee you that there are no killing traps in the arena, and Tiantian’s ability currently can’t create anything that complex.”
“Can’t create complex things…?” Chu Tianqiu frowned. “Are you trying to deceive me?”
“I’m not lying to you,” Qi Xia said. “I can swear that Tiantian only made something very simple in structure during this game. Perhaps when I tell you the answer, you’ll just smile knowingly.”
Chu Tianqiu found no flaw in Qi Xia’s words. According to the information he had, Tiantian was not a veteran ‘Echoer’ either. Although this ‘Echo’ called ‘Artifice’ seemed omnipotent, it was still too difficult for a ‘newcomer’ like Tiantian.
“In that case…” Chu Tianqiu asked. “Which ‘Character’ are you planning to take into the ‘door’ with me?”