Chapter 1055: The Rational One

Wen Qiao Yun recounted to Chu Tian Qiu everything that had happened between her and Han Yi Mo inside the Men.

There was a very nervous Zhu there, whose voice even trembled when it spoke.

Moreover, that Zhu had mentioned Xie Zhu Zhe and Du Ming, and even though Wen Qiao Yun herself didn't fully understand these terms, she relayed them word for word to Chu Tian Qiu.

Before Chu Tian Qiu could respond, Zhao Yi Sheng and Chen Jun Nan burst into the room in a flurry.

"Um...?" Chu Tian Qiu looked at Chen Jun Nan with a calm expression. "Zhao Yi Sheng, what's this?"

"This is the fake Chen Jun Nan..." Zhao Yi Sheng said. "I was with him and it didn't trigger the game."

"I'm Xu Liu Nian..." Chen Jun Nan said. "It was too dangerous just now... Chen Jun Nan disguised himself as me and came to kill, and now he's trapped Jin Yuan Xun in the game area."

Upon hearing this, Chu Tian Qiu's eyes flickered briefly, an unusual reaction, and then he said with displeasure, "This is absurd... You're letting Chen Jun Nan and Jin Yuan Xun go one-on-one?"

"I didn't have a better option at the time!" Xu Liu Nian said. "If we didn't quickly figure out who was fake, I would have died there!"

"You..." Chu Tian Qiu slowly furrowed his brow.

Some words, once spoken, could be quite hurtful, but for the che on Xu Liu Nian, the zu on Jin Yuan Xun was more important.

In this situation, to ensure the zu on Jin Yuan Xun remained unaffected, what did it matter if Xu Liu Nian died?

"What game did they enter?" Chu Tian Qiu asked again.

"It seems to be Si," Zhao Yi Sheng explained. "At first, we were all in the room marked with Si, and then I went to another room with Xu Liu Nian, so they locked the door."

Chu Tian Qiu realized the situation had become even more dire.

If it were a physical or combat-type game, Jin Yuan Xun might still win the zi from Chen Jun Nan.

But what did the Si She game type represent...?

It was "cunning" or "question-and-answer." In either of these, Jin Yuan Xun wouldn't stand a chance against Chen Jun Nan.

"Oh, right... there's something else..." Wen Qiao Yun suddenly remembered, looking troubled as she spoke. "Just now, when I passed by the He Dao, I saw Zhang Shan lying there..."

"'Lying'...?" Chu Tian Qiu's face darkened again, as if he didn't quite understand the word. "By himself?"

"Yes." Wen Qiao Yun nodded. "I didn't see anyone else in the He Dao... but the entire He Dao was covered in blood spots."

Naturally, Chu Tian Qiu began to ponder this. Zhang Shan was lying there alone?

In this place, how many people could take down Zhang Shan without using Hui Xiang?

The answer was three.

Qiao Jia Jin, Qing Long, and Di Long.

Zhang Shan wouldn't break the rules, and everyone had just seen Di Long descend from the sky, but she landed in their own area, dealing with the "true or false Chen Jun Nan" issue, not punishing Zhang Shan.

That meant Zhang Shan had been taken down by Qiao Jia Jin.

But where was Qiao Jia Jin?

"Did you see any fresh blood drag marks on the ground...?" Chu Tian Qiu asked.

Wen Qiao Yun thought back carefully and said, "There were no drag marks on the ground, only countless blood spots."

"That's really strange..." Chu Tian Qiu muttered, looking down. "If there are no drag marks on the ground... it means Qiao Jia Jin left on his own, or someone carried or held him away."

Upon closer thought, the latter was basically impossible.

The opposing side had five men and two women.

But among those five men, excluding Qiao Jia Jin himself, Zheng Ying Xiong was a child, Chen Jun Nan was causing chaos on their side, and Han Yi Mo was engaged in a standoff with Wen Qiao Yun at that time. As for the two women, how could they carry or hold away someone weighing over 100 jin without leaving a single trace?

Not to mention them—even with Han Yi Mo's build, if he wanted to take Qiao Jia Jin away, he would definitely drag him on the ground, leaving drag marks.

But if the ground was clean...

"Qiao Jia Jin should still be moving..." Chu Tian Qiu said. "He might have left on his own after taking down Zhang Shan."

Only then did Chu Tian Qiu realize how critical the situation was. Zhang Shan's status was unknown, and he had likely lost consciousness. If they lost Xu Liu Nian as well, their team could basically be declared defeated.

"Still moving...?" Wen Qiao Yun furrowed her brow at this, glancing back toward the Qi Xia camp's direction, and said softly, "Tian Qiu... I think with that amount of blood, even if he can move, he must be seriously injured."

"He's still a soldier carrying zi," Chu Tian Qiu said. "We only have six people now, but they have seven."

Wen Qiao Yun thought for a few seconds and said, "Tian Qiu... do you think it's possible that Qiao Jia Jin is also down, and Qi Xia came out to take him away himself?"

Chu Tian Qiu furrowed his brows slightly and carefully considered Wen Qiao Yun's suggestion.

Qi Xia... crossing the possible "war zone" where he might encounter Wen Qiao Yun and Yan Zhi Chun to reach the He Dao and personally take away Qiao Jia Jin?

"I don't think so," Chu Tian Qiu said.

"Why...?" Wen Qiao Yun asked, puzzled.

"You might not know Qi Xia... how incredibly rational he is?" Chu Tian Qiu said. "Sending out one of his pieces to attack the opponent's piece—regardless of the outcome, he shouldn't have the 'commander' appear personally. Qi Xia knows this principle himself; he knows how to win the game, so he won't act impulsively here."

"Is that so...?" Wen Qiao Yun's eyes seemed a bit sad. "Even if the one fighting is someone he cares about deeply... he absolutely won't even check on him?"

"It's not about caring or not," Chu Tian Qiu said. "For example... suppose Qi Xia arrived at the scene and found Qiao Jia Jin down, then Zhang Shan could press the advantage and take down Qi Xia. This game can only be scored by the 'commander,' so if Qi Xia falls, the whole team dies. From a purely rational perspective, he needs to protect the entire team's lives, not just Qiao Jia Jin's... so Qi Xia wouldn't do something so reckless."

Though Chu Tian Qiu kept saying Qi Xia was absolutely rational, Wen Qiao Yun felt that Chu Tian Qiu was even more so.

Because right now, Zhang Shan was still lying in the He Dao, and his "commander" was talking the talk without any intention of checking on him, not even asking if he was alive or dead.

"Is it possible...?" Wen Qiao Yun still seemed to have doubts, saying quietly, "Qi Xia thought Qiao Jia Jin would definitely win... so he went?"