Chapter 355: The Guide
Aunt Tong walked to the center of the room and helped Old Lü, who was lying on the ground, to his feet.
"Oh my... Old Lü, are you alright?" She looked at the stout man with some concern.
"I'm fine, I'm fine..." Old Lü shook his head. "Don't let this fat fool you—when it counts, I can take a hit."
"You always try to be tough..." Aunt Tong's expression was a bit unnatural as she moved a little closer to him.
Old Lü noticed her odd behavior and stared into her eyes. "What's wrong with you?"
"Huh? Nothing... I'm a little embarrassed to say..." Aunt Tong frowned. "It might be my imagination..."
"Imagination?" Old Lü felt something was off. "Xiaochan, even if it's just your 'imagination,' you should tell me. What happened?"
Aunt Tong's expression flickered for a long moment before she pulled Old Lü aside and whispered, "I... I just felt like that young doctor guy touched me..."
"Huh...?"
Old Lü looked Aunt Tong over. Although he really liked this slightly refined woman his age, he wasn't delusional.
Aunt Tong wasn't exactly attractive, and her figure was starting to fill out. It was hard to believe that a clean-cut young doctor would make a pass at her.
"Xiaochan, are you sure...? He really touched you?" Old Lü asked.
"That's why I said it might be my imagination..." Aunt Tong shook her head. "It was only two seconds. I don't know if it was accidental or intentional..."
Old Lü nodded after hearing this. "Haih, two seconds? It's probably just your imagination."
"Mm..." Aunt Tong gave a vague reply, then hid behind Old Lü and said nothing more.
Han Yimo had been silent for a long time. He turned his head and looked at Dr. Zhao.
"You... are you really going to join him...?" Han Yimo said in a low voice. "The decision you're making right now is wrong..."
"Is that so?" Dr. Zhao's expression was a little strained as he glanced at him. "Can you really tell? Every choice we make here, the outcome is unknown. How can you judge right from wrong?"
"Either way, following them is wrong..." Han Yimo turned his head listlessly and scanned the people in the room. "What happens when you join the 'supporting character' camp? Especially these obvious villains... Even the 'Seven Black Swords' won't let them off. Do you really think they'll take you to the 'grand finale'?"
"Screw the grand finale. I think you've really lost your mind," Dr. Zhao replied. "You're like a deranged gambler, ready to bet everything on Qixia. But have you asked him himself? Does he even want to accept you?"
"He has to accept me," Han Yimo said. "Our 'identities' dictate that we're inseparable. He's the 'Savior,' and I'm the 'Protagonist'!"
"Can you wake up...?" Dr. Zhao frowned. "Don't you understand by now why Qixia abandoned you?"
Seeing Han Yimo's state, Chu Tianqiu slowly curled the corner of his mouth.
This man was crazy enough. Perfect.
Only a man this insane could unleash the most powerful "Echo." He didn't need to completely lose his mind like a native, nor did he need to stay as clear-headed as a normal person. He just needed to hover on the edge of madness.
That was the state of a "perfect Echo user."
A man who could wield flying swords. A man who could shake the earth.
This ability was a gift from heaven—today's biggest haul.
"Han Yimo... right?" Chu Tianqiu smiled. "I've been listening to you for a while... and I feel like you're ignoring one thing."
"Ignoring one thing?" Han Yimo slowly lifted his head, and their eyes met.
Only then did the others notice that both of them had the same mad gleam in their eyes.
"That's right... There's something I've never quite understood." Chu Tianqiu adjusted his glasses and asked in a low voice, "You said you're the 'Protagonist,' didn't you?"
"Yes..." Han Yimo nodded. "Haven't you all realized that I'm the 'Protagonist'?"
Chu Tianqiu smiled even more brightly. He took a few steps forward, closing in on Han Yimo, and stared straight into his eyes. "Then what are you afraid of?"
"What?"
"You're the 'Protagonist'—what are you afraid of?" Chu Tianqiu repeated. "Which book's 'Protagonist' can't survive without the 'Savior'? Now's the time for you to strike out on your own, isn't it?"
Han Yimo blinked slightly, feeling that Chu Tianqiu's words made some sense.
"Although all of us are nothing but insignificant 'supporting characters,' once you join us, doesn't that make us part of the 'protagonist camp' too? I'm really curious—in a book's 'grand finale,' who has a better chance of surviving? The 'Protagonist'? Or the 'Savior'?"
Chu Tianqiu's successive questions gradually began to shake Han Yimo's position.
"What you're saying... might be right..." Han Yimo nodded. "Once the 'Savior' leaves me, his story ends... From now on, my story is the main event..."
"Exactly. That's what I mean." Chu Tianqiu nodded. "You no longer need the 'Savior' now. What you need is me. I am your 'Guide.'"
"Guide...?"
"I will fully understand your 'Echo' and help you develop it to its maximum potential." Chu Tianqiu reached out and patted Han Yimo on the shoulder. "And you don't need to think about anything else. Just follow me."
"B-but what about the 'Savior'..."
"What if he's a villain?" Chu Tianqiu interrupted. "What if this part of the story is 'the Savior turns traitor' and ends up fighting you tooth and nail? Would you go easy on him?"
"I..."
Han Yimo seemed to have never considered this question. That Savior who had once rescued him from danger... Could he really turn traitor?
When he thought about it carefully, it wasn't impossible.
This kind of plot was common in novels.
The protagonist's initial "mentor" often turned out to be a villain with his own agenda, defecting at the last moment and taking a completely different path from the "protagonist."
But would Qixia be that kind of person...?
"No rush." Chu Tianqiu smiled. "I can give you some time. Think it over carefully. As long as you're willing to join 'Heaven's Gate,' the best future awaits you."
After saying this, he looked around at the people in the room and the mess on the floor, shaking his head helplessly. "The farce ends here today, everyone. I'll pretend none of this happened. Let's all get back to our duties."
The others looked at him in silence, their thoughts unknown.
"Kim Won-hoon, help me put the two heads back in their places later," Chu Tianqiu said. "Old Lü and Dr. Zhao, if you have time, go bury Chen Junnan's corpse."
After a pause, he reassured them, "Don't let these little interruptions affect your mood. Remember: 'Heaven's Gate's' goal is 'escape.' For now, keep collecting game strategies."
Chu Tianqiu turned around, slipped his hands into his pockets, and was about to take a step when he suddenly felt something hard in his pocket.
He frowned, pulled the object out, and glanced at it. His expression slowly changed.
In his hand was a gleaming, golden ingot.
"What...?"
He thought for a moment, silently put the gold ingot back into his pocket, and turned to say something, only to find that Yan Zhichun had also taken a gold ingot out of her pocket at that very moment.
Their eyes met. Yan Zhichun found it amusing and smiled. "Chief? What is it?"
Chu Tianqiu looked down at the gold ingot in her hand, thought for a long time, and squeezed out a single word: "Nothing." Then he pushed open the classroom door and left.