Chapter 1038: Playing the Undercover Card

"What..."

"We've been misled," Qi Xia said. "Initially, when I saw our 'zi', I assumed the opponent's 'zi' would follow the rules of Xiangqi. But the designer of this game is 'Qing Long', and he wouldn't let us pass through so easily. So, even if he altered the 'zi', that falls within the realm of possibility."

Qi Xia stared at the walls covered in 'zi', his expression extremely serious.

"Unfortunately, by the time I figured this out, the battle between Quan Tou and Zhang Shan had already reached its final stage."

At that point, no one could stop the two of them.

"But doesn't this feel like a loss...?" Zhang Chen Ze said. "We got the 'zi', but Qiao Jia Jin can't even stand anymore..."

"Not a loss," Qi Xia turned to look at Qiao Jia Jin and said. "If Quan Tou hadn't held off Zhang Shan, how many of us do you think could have stood against him?"

"This..."

"Zhang Shan could have charged straight through with everyone, and we wouldn't have triggered the 'game' or been able to withstand the assault. We would have been defeated in under a minute."

Zhang Chen Ze knew Qi Xia was right, but she still felt the fight had been unfair.

A simple 'shi' had nearly cost two lives.

Yet she also understood that grievances have their origins and debts their payers—they should resent not the opponent, but the one who designed this game, or even the creator of the entire 'Zhong Yan Zhi Di'.

...

Han Yi Mo had been in this strange place for a while now.

It was a simple 'Ren Zhu' game.

Guessing coins.

The ugly Ye Zhu tossed the coin high into the air and then caught it with both hands, while Han Yi Mo and Wen Qiao Yun each held three cards.

"Flip Card," "Re-toss Card," and "Swap Card."

In this game, both he and Wen Qiao Yun could simultaneously guess "heads" or "tails," and a correct guess earned a point. The first to seven points would win.

But he had already lost five rounds in a row.

Five consecutive rounds.

What an unbelievable streak.

They both had a fifty percent chance of guessing correctly, but his luck seemed terribly awful—he couldn't score a single point from that damned Ye Zhu no matter what.

In the third round, after placing their bets, Wen Qiao Yun used the "Flip Card," reversing the coin in Ye Zhu's hands and turning what would have been Han Yi Mo's winning result into a loss.

Han Yi Mo decided right then that from now on, he would always guess the same as Wen Qiao Yun. If she guessed "heads," so would he. If she guessed "tails," so would he.

In the fourth round, they both guessed incorrectly.

In the fifth round, just after he followed Wen Qiao Yun's guess, she played the "Swap Card," switching one of the guesses before the coin was revealed, changing his "heads" into "tails."

Han Yi Mo hesitated for a long time, worried that Wen Qiao Yun would lead him to another loss, so he saved his cards and lost the round again.

At this point, Wen Qiao Yun only had one card left: the "Re-toss Card."

Han Yi Mo never imagined someone would use strategy in a luck-based game like this. He was already behind in the score, and even if he followed her guesses perfectly from now on, he would still lose.

"I... I need a break..." Han Yi Mo said, trembling. "I really can't continue... I need to pause for a bit... I feel like I'm going to lose..."

"Pause...?!" Ye Zhu stopped, looking tense. "Are you kidding? There's no such thing as a pause... Just make your bet and lose already, don't waste my time."

"No... I can't..." Han Yi Mo said. "This game area is too dark; I'm a bit scared... I... I have claustrophobia..."

"Dark?" Ye Zhu looked up; the bulb he had just hung was still on. "Damn it, kid, what's your excuse? Hurry up and bet...! If you cause trouble, I'm done for too!"

"No, no, no..." Han Yi Mo waved his hands frantically. "I'm truly sorry... Just let me take a break... I... I need to rest a bit..."

"It's fine," Wen Qiao Yun said. "I accept the pause; you can rest."

Han Yi Mo quickly turned to Ye Zhu: "See? My opponent agreed!"

Ye Zhu looked at Wen Qiao Yun, knowing she was a smart woman who had already seen through the game. Winning was just a matter of time for her. He sighed, shook his head, and turned away.

"Qiao Yun Jie..." Han Yi Mo called. "Let me catch my breath... I have something to tell you..."

"Oh?" Wen Qiao Yun raised an eyebrow. "Here?"

"Yes..." Han Yi Mo swallowed, steadying his breath. "I'm really not good at games, so could we make a deal...?"

"Go ahead," Wen Qiao Yun replied calmly.

"Could you throw this round for me...? So I can have something to show when I get out..."

Wen Qiao Yun was stunned, as if she'd heard an absurd suggestion, unsure how to respond at first.

"You might not know this, Qiao Yun Jie—actually, I'm on your side," Han Yi Mo said, pinching his thigh hard as he spoke.

He felt his current state was unbecoming of a "protagonist"—he was actually afraid, shaking.

Not only was he undercover in Qi Xia's team, planning to take down that monster, but he was also facing off one-on-one against the ancient strategist Wen Qiao Yun in this 'Sheng Xiao Game'.

Before the game started, Doctor Zhao had told him that Wen Qiao Yun was extremely clever—maybe not quite on par with Qi Xia, but definitely not inferior to Chu Tian Qiu.

So, he was truly nervous, his legs trembling nonstop.

In his own words, he was nervous enough to feel like a side character.

"On our side?" Wen Qiao Yun asked impassively. "What do you mean?"

"I'm... I'm an undercover!" Han Yi Mo explained loudly. "I made a deal with Doctor Zhao before the game started—we're allies... I'm here to undermine Qi Xia from the inside...!"

Wen Qiao Yun paused before saying, "So, does Qi Xia trust you? And why do you think you can undermine him?"

"He... how could he not trust me? We came from the same room, and I have an important 'zi' on me... a very important one!"

Han Yi Mo pulled out a 'ma'.

How was the 'ma' important?

Wen Qiao Yun sighed and said, "You might not realize that, not just you, but even that 'Doctor Zhao' you allied with, we can't be sure he's clean anymore."

"Huh...?" Han Yi Mo was stunned. "How's that possible... Did Lao Zhao switch sides?"

"I don't know him well," Wen Qiao Yun said. "So, I can't be certain. It's just that I saw him exchanging glances with Chen Jun Nan, so we can't fully trust him."

Han Yi Mo was suddenly stumped. He had agreed to ally with Doctor Zhao, but if Doctor Zhao had switched sides...

Then, which side was he on?