Chapter 1023: I Am Here

Chu Tianqiu paused slightly after listening, feeling that Yan Zhichun was talking about something utterly absurd.

"Ti Tang Kou helping Ji Dao to clear obstacles...?" He smiled and furrowed his brow. "Do you even know what you're saying? In a certain sense, we're in a long-term adversarial relationship."

"Ti Tang Kou and Ji Dao are adversaries, but are you and I?" Yan Zhichun asked casually.

"That's an interesting way to put it." Chu Tianqiu nodded. "Many rival company CEOs are like that—their subordinates fight fiercely, while the bosses occasionally sit down for tea and chat."

"That's exactly what I mean." Yan Zhichun said. "Even though Ti Tang Kou and Ji Dao have been struggling for years, that doesn't stop us from having a common goal, right? Even if your people can't see through that, you should."

"So what?"

"Ji Dao needs your help." Yan Zhichun said. "I have a bad feeling about this, so I had to gather another wave of reinforcements."

"Reinforcements...? But you still haven't said what kind of help, just that it's a 'thorny problem'." Chu Tianqiu replied. "What if you're tricking me? What if you get the few people in Ti Tang Kou killed?"

"I really can't explain it clearly, but it's not because I want to hide it from you." Yan Zhichun said. "I'm worried the walls have ears, and there are too many people who shouldn't hear this."

Chu Tianqiu glanced at Chen Junnan beside him, then looked up at the overhead Di Long and Qing Long, naturally realizing this wasn't the place to talk.

But how could he judge if the deal was fair if the other side wouldn't say what needed to be done?

"I can only say..." Yan Zhichun seemed to sense Chu Tianqiu's hesitation and added, "This mission is extremely dangerous. Once you take it on, it could lead the entire Ti Tang Kou to its death. I'm not lying to you, and that's all I can say. The rest is up to you to decide."

Chen Junnan frowned upon hearing this. "You're putting Chu Tianqiu in a tough spot..."

Chu Tianqiu understood what Yan Zhichun meant—she couldn't reveal the mission details, but she made it clear how risky it was.

If he agreed, the whole Ti Tang Kou might die. If he refused, Yan Zhichun would keep the "Shuai" and "Pao" for herself, and their current team could end up wiped out.

Although Yan Zhichun was part of this team, and failure would mean her death too, she was from Ji Dao after all—these fanatics weren't afraid of dying.

After a few seconds, Chu Tianqiu slowly smiled. "Yan Zhichun, you might not understand the current me..."

"How so?"

"Ti Tang Kou has been dragged into hell by my own hands several times already." He said softly. "After experiencing two Tian Ji Shi Ke events, it's now the last sanctuary they can remember. Sending them to die again will work better than ever before."

"You're truly unworthy of the title 'Liang Ren Wang'." Yan Zhichun said. "I guess I wasn't wrong about you."

"Doesn't matter. So, the deal is on." Chu Tianqiu said. "Give me the 'Zi', and I'll let Ti Tang Kou go crazy with you."

"Who knows who's crazier." Yan Zhichun extended her hand, revealing a handful of metal "Zi" in her palm.

"Shi", "Ri", "Jin".

Chu Tianqiu took the "Zi" thoughtfully, his expression calm as he said, "Yan Zhichun, you might not realize yet that whether it's 'Shuai' or 'Shi', they won't play a big role in this game."

"That's not my concern." Yan Zhichun said. "In this game, we each have our roles. We're in charge of retrieving the 'Zi', and you're in charge of using the retrieved 'Zi' to beat Qi Xia."

Chen Junnan looked up at the screen in front of Chu Tianqiu and frowned after a moment.

"What is it?" Chu Tianqiu turned to Chen Junnan. "Why are you staring at the screen?"

"Nothing..." Chen Junnan sighed lightly. "Can we really win?"

"I'm still calculating." Chu Tianqiu said. "So far, I've figured out we can form more than thirty-five 'Zi', but half of them can't even be read."

Chen Junnan paused. "Why not have everyone gather and hand over the 'Zi' so you can try them one by one?"

"That would leave the 'front line' undefended." Chu Tianqiu said. "Qi Xia is probably using the same tactic as me. If no one's holding the enemy on the front line, they'll all come to our 'reserve area'."

"So what if they come to our 'reserve area'...?"

Chu Tianqiu didn't respond. He simply picked up the "Zi" in his hand and scored three points on the screen.

"Shuai", "Jin", "Shi".

Unfortunately, in Chu Tianqiu's view, these three "Zi" couldn't form any other possibilities.

After combining them, he lowered his head, thought for a moment, and took out the "Jin" separately, handing it back to Chen Junnan.

"Without a 'Zi', you can't move. We still need you."

"Is a single 'Jin'... even considered a 'Zi'?"

"It is." Chu Tianqiu said. "Go on. No matter who you failed against last time, remember to switch targets this time."

"What if I keep failing...?"

"Then you can still create massive psychological pressure on the other side." Chu Tianqiu said. "As long as they start doubting it's really Chen Junnan, you've succeeded."

"Alright..."

"Go." Chu Tianqiu said. "Time is slipping away—don't delay."

"But that screen..."

"I'll handle the 'Zi' matters." Chu Tianqiu smiled again. "You just focus on your own tasks."

"Okay..."

Chen Junnan tucked the "Jin" into his pocket, opened his mouth as if to say something more, but sighed and turned to leave.

After he left, Chu Tianqiu and Yan Zhichun beside him fell into a long silence.

"Is something wrong...?" Yan Zhichun asked. "You don't look right."

"This is ridiculous." Chu Tianqiu suddenly showed a strange smile and said gravely, "This is just too ridiculous... I finally understand why Qi Xia arranged Xu Liunian in my team."

"What...?" Yan Zhichun was stunned. "That 'Hua Xing' was chosen by Qi Xia?"

"Well, that's just great." Chu Tianqiu said. "With 'Hua Xing' and 'Fan Hua Xing'... We won't even have time to disrupt their tactics before their people show up in our 'reserve area'."

Yan Zhichun slowly widened her eyes upon hearing this. "Are you saying... that person just now wasn't the 'Hua Xing' at all?! He's the real Chen Junnan?!"