Chapter 1047: Meeting the Criteria

Just two minutes ago, Chen Junnan had passed by the room labeled "Si."

After entering, he confirmed that no one was around and was pondering how to rush into the enemy's "Bei Zhan Qu" when something utterly unexpected happened.

The "door" in the room opened on its own.

A person wearing a tattered snake-head mask peeked out, and a few seconds later, their eyes met Chen Junnan's.

Chen Junnan only remembered that Qixia had instructed him to open doors illegally after crossing the river to check what was inside, but he never imagined that the "door" would open by itself.

Thinking it over, he realized he might be falling into a misconception—the other side of the "door" was also full of living people, so why couldn't it be opened from inside?

It just seemed like his life had always been entangled with "she" (snakes), and he had no idea what kind of temperament this snake in front of him had.

The person in the snake mask stared at Chen Junnan for a moment, then blinked.

"You look familiar, right?" Chen Junnan asked.

"Familiar."

"So, is it possible we've met before?"

"Yes."

The person in the snake mask nodded, then glanced around the room. "This setup is surprisingly official. What's the game?"

Chen Junnan felt speechless after hearing that.

Here he was, a game referee, asking a participant what the game was about. Should he know or not?

Did this game really require him to explain the rules to the referee?

"It's probably some illiterate kid's made-up word-puzzle game," Chen Junnan said.

"Word-puzzle?" The person in the snake mask was in an empty room and didn't quite get what "word-puzzle" meant.

"Something like that. Or maybe he knows how to read but pretends he doesn't."

"That sounds interesting?" the person in the snake mask asked again.

"Not really..." Chen Junnan was getting baffled by this conversation with the snake person. "She Ge, are you coming out of hibernation to hunt or something? Why did you open the door on your own?"

"Hunt? Not exactly. I ate someone before coming here—I'm pretty full," the person in the snake mask replied. "What about you? Just you by yourself?"

"No way. I have over ten thousand people behind me," Chen Junnan replied.

After a brief exchange, the two realized neither was telling the truth.

Although the person in the snake mask wasn't in a hurry, Chen Junnan was.

The snake person could stick their head out the door and chat all day, but if Chen Junnan kept this up, he was done for.

Now that Xuliu Nian had lost her "zi," she would definitely hurry back to the "Bei Zhan Qu." He needed to stop her before that, or this "Chuan Xin" operation would fail.

He had to impersonate Xuliu Nian right away.

The appearance and personality weren't too hard, but he was carrying a "bao" and a "jin," making him look like a street vendor selling women's clothes. How could he fool anyone like that?

Was he really going to put the "zi" in his mouth? But it looked so dirty...

Then, a brilliant idea struck him.

If he couldn't put it in his own mouth, what about putting it in someone else's?

"She Ge, could we make a deal?" Chen Junnan said.

"Not really," the person in the snake mask replied. "I was planning to eat you. How would I do that after making a deal?"

"Don't overestimate yourself," Chen Junnan said. "If you help me with a small favor, you can ask for whatever you want."

The person in the snake mask's eyes flickered slightly, though the mask hid their expression from Chen Junnan.

"I'm making my demand now," the person in the snake mask said.

"Oh, you're quite the bargainer," Chen Junnan thought, calculating the time while trying to stay calm, even though his palms were sweating. "What's your demand?"

"Is that guy Qixia with you?" the person in the snake mask asked.

"You're a forgetful one, aren't you?" Chen Junnan said. "Weren't you the one who opened the door for us back then?"

"I want to see him," the person in the snake mask said. "I'll wait for him right here in this 'door.' Tell him to come find me."

Chen Junnan was stunned for a moment. "Hey... I'm a bit short on time right now and don't have time to explain the game details to you. But it's really tough for Qixia to get into your room. How about you change your condition? Or after the game ends, we can set up a meeting—I can get Lao Qi to join us. We haven't caught up in ages; we could have a few drinks."

"Just this one condition. I have my reasons, and I'm not lying to you," the person in the snake mask said. "What's your request?"

"I... want you to hold onto the 'zi' for me for a bit."

"'Zi'?"

Chen Junnan nodded. "It's like the chips in this game. Due to some special circumstances, I need to transfer the 'zi' temporarily."

"Give me the 'zi,'" the person in the snake mask said without hesitation.

"She Ge, don't mess around... I'm in a rush," Chen Junnan said.

"I'm in a rush too," the person in the snake mask replied. "I don't have access to the game area. Once this game ends, I won't be able to see him, so this is my only chance."

"No access to the game area?" Chen Junnan paused, remembering that the other was one of the "Sheng Xiao" responsible for the doors.

"Your 'zi' is useless to me, but I need something from you, so I hope you'll help me out," the person in the snake mask said with a complex look in their eyes. "I have something very important to confirm with Qixia."

Chen Junnan blinked. "Don't you see Lao Qi every cycle...?"

"Things have changed. I might not make it to the next cycle," the person in the snake mask said. "Give me the 'zi.'"

As Chen Junnan hesitated, he heard the door handle turning. Without thinking, he quickly pulled the two "zi" from his pocket and handed them to the person in the snake mask, saying,

"She Ge, I'll trust you this once... If I don't come back in five minutes, destroy these two 'zi' for me, and we'll pretend we never met."

"Good, got it."

The person in the snake mask closed the door and left, leaving Chen Junnan without the "zi," standing there. He knew this was risky, but when had he ever not taken risks?

Behind him, the door creaked open, and after a few seconds of silent prayer, Chen Junnan turned to see Zhao Yisheng and Jin Yuanxun walking in.

If either of them had come alone, his plan would have failed, but they showed up together.

Before he could speak, another door on the left opened, and another Chen Junnan walked in.

What could you call this? It was fate—when it's meant to be, it just works out.

Everything was a mess yet perfectly timed.

"Just like my style," he thought.

Then, Chen Junnan started yelling at the other Chen Junnan.

He accused the other of impersonating Chen Junnan, calling him bold as a bear and a leopard, and challenged him to stop pretending and let everyone see who the real Chen Junnan was.

The other Chen Junnan looked bewildered and quickly explained that he wasn't Chen Junnan.

Chen Junnan smirked and insisted that he was the real one.

It was like one Chen Junnan from the south and Xuliu Nian from the north.

The one pretending to be Xuliu Nian claimed he wasn't Chen Junnan, while the one pretending to be Chen Junnan said he was.

Who knew if it was Chen Junnan disguised as Xuliu Nian or Xuliu Nian disguised as Chen Junnan?

As Chen Junnan mulled over the tongue twister he'd just made up, he accidentally slipped in a few "damns" and "I'm the boss," but luckily, everyone was too confused to notice, so he quickly smoothed it over by saying the other guy had said it.

The situation stalled until the real Xuliu Nian offered a suggestion.

Chen Junnan figured it didn't matter what happened—he'd just drag things out with Xuliu Nian if no one could think of a solution, or try to grab a "zi" if they did.

After all, there was always a way forward.

Too bad Xuliu Nian's words were so dull; no one picked up on the tongue twister he'd come up with.