Chapter 240: Grudges
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
Chen Junnan turned his head in annoyance, staring straight at Han Yimo.
From the moment they had entered this classroom, this man had been staring at him, making him feel uncomfortable all over.
Since everyone else had already lain down to sleep, Chen Junnan decided to have a friendly chat with the man in front of him.
"May I ask what the hell you're looking at?"
Han Yimo frowned deeply and lowered his voice. "You're pretending you don't know? I haven't asked you yet—what exactly are you trying to do?"
"I don't really understand." Chen Junnan shrugged. "Aren't we preparing to sleep?"
"Sleep your ass..." Han Yimo cursed under his breath. "You motherfucker..."
Han Yimo gritted his teeth, as if he had something to say, but there were too many people around.
"Come outside with me!"
Han Yimo opened the classroom door and stepped into the corridor.
A moment later, Chen Junnan also came out.
"What's up? You wanna go one-on-one with Young Master here?" Chen Junnan slowly rolled up his sleeves. "You might not be a match for me. I might end up killing you."
"Chen Junnan, right?" Han Yimo said irritably. "You should know how much I want to kill you..."
"Kill me? For what?"
"Because you've made it impossible for me to move forward!"
"Really?" Chen Junnan sighed after hearing that. "It's not that big a deal."
"You..." Han Yimo seemed furious. "There were too many people just now, so I gave you face and didn't expose you... What's your real purpose in coming here with us? Are you planning to cause trouble again?"
"What purpose do I have?" Chen Junnan looked at Han Yimo with some confusion. "Do you live by the sea? You're really overstepping."
"I..." Han Yimo frowned, feeling his anger about to boil over.
"Besides, I don't like the way you're questioning me." Chen Junnan shook his head. "A scumbag who spread indecent rumors online—what gives you the right to interrogate me like a cop?"
This sentence startled Han Yimo.
"You... how do you know?"
"Wow." Chen Junnan raised an eyebrow. "I was wondering what was going on. So you don't remember the old me? No wonder you dared to talk tough to Young Master today."
"What...?"
"Old Han, I'm not better off than you." Chen Junnan smiled helplessly. "These past seven years, you've sung your tune, then I've taken the stage. I've echoed, then you've echoed. The two of us old brothers have been in pretty much the same situation..."
"You're full of shit!" Han Yimo grabbed Chen Junnan's collar. "My situation is all because of you! It's all because of you... that I've been stuck these seven years!"
"Isn't that a good thing?" Chen Junnan asked. "Don't you feel like a superhero? Knowing everything about that day inside and out?"
Hearing this, Han Yimo slowly released his grip, his expression pained.
"Chen Junnan... you're a madman, but I'm not..." Han Yimo trembled slightly. "To keep myself from going insane... I've had to constantly find different things to do..."
"Oh?" Chen Junnan couldn't help but laugh. "So what's your profession now? A Tieba moderator? A game commentator? A forum admin? Or some other new and exciting job?"
Han Yimo didn't want to answer that question.
"Chen Junnan, I just hope you won't cause any more trouble..." Han Yimo turned to look at him. "This time, we really have a chance to escape. Qi Xia—don't you think this man named Qi Xia has descended like a savior?! He'll lead us out..."
Upon hearing this, Chen Junnan's expression shifted.
He had thought his situation was similar to Han Yimo's, but he hadn't expected Han Yimo to be much worse off.
What did he mean by "this man named Qi Xia"?
Had Han Yimo forgotten Qi Xia?
To not even remember Qi Xia, and still manage to persevere...
"A savior, huh?" Chen Junnan nodded. "You're right. Old Qi really does seem like a savior. Don't worry, I won't cause trouble."
"Really...?" Han Yimo looked at Chen Junnan with suspicion.
"Yeah. The things that happened before won't happen again."
Han Yimo nodded, thought for a few seconds, then turned and went back into the classroom.
Watching him walk away, Chen Junnan felt a twinge of guilt.
For everyone here, "Zhongyan Land" wasn't scary, the "Zodiac" wasn't scary, and the "games" weren't scary.
What was scary was "giving up."
Chen Junnan looked out the window, shook his head, and was about to return to the classroom when he noticed a figure in the shadows.
It was Lin Qin.
"Yo..." He smiled slightly. "Whose gorgeous girl is this, sneaking around eavesdropping on men's conversations in the middle of the night?"
"Sorry..." Lin Qin stepped forward into the light. "I feel a bit bad about it, but I was indeed eavesdropping on purpose."
"Heh, pretty straightforward." Although Chen Junnan's words were flippant, his gaze was very cautious. "So may I ask why you were eavesdropping?"
He knew the girl before him was unfathomable.
When Qi Xia had appeared the second time, this girl had appeared right along with him.
Back then, when Chen Junnan saw Qi Xia, he thought he had gone mad. He couldn't help but reveal a despairing smile.
But to his surprise, the Qi Xia before him wasn't an illusion—he was a real person.
If that was the case... then who was this girl?
Someone who could casually appear in other people's Interview Rooms... could she be ordinary?
"Chen Junnan, I just wanted to confirm your motives." Lin Qin said. "I want to know where you stand, so I can determine whether we'll be fighting each other every round or cooperating every round."
"And what about your motives?" Chen Junnan countered.
"I need to follow Qi Xia and find a way out."
"Why are you so sure you can get out by following Old Qi?" Chen Junnan smiled at Lin Qin.
"I can't say..." Lin Qin stared back at him just as warily.
Lin Qin knew that this man retained a great deal of memory. His "Echo" was very easy to trigger. He might even remember things from seven years ago.
From the looks of it, every time this man's "Scapegoat" activated, it wasn't because of her "Stimulation."
He was willingly going to his death.
"Fine, don't say it then." Chen Junnan nodded. "The meaning of my existence is simple... I at least want to send Old Qi and Old Qiao out of here."
"Then our goals overlap quite a bit." Lin Qin nodded. "I hope you're not lying."
"Don't worry. I'm not Old Qi."
Lin Qin gave an ambiguous nod after hearing that.
"By the way, I'm an 'Extreme Path Cultivator' named Lin Qin. Have you really never seen me before?"
"No."
Lin Qin nodded again and turned to leave.
Chen Junnan looked at the night scenery outside the window and said with a puzzled expression, "What the hell is an 'Extreme Path Cultivator'? I've been staying in that room all these years and never came out... I didn't know 'Zhongyan Land' had changed so much."