Chapter 1082: Final Gambit

"Chu Tianqiu... While I don't fully grasp the principle of 'Qiao Wu', I have a general understanding of 'Hui Xiang'."

Yan Zhichun continued, "If that person named Tian Tian can 'repair the display screen', then theoretically, she could create 'Zi' out of thin air, right?"

Chu Tianqiu nodded upon hearing this. "That's correct."

"So, wouldn't the other side be able to gather twenty-eight 'Zi' in no time?" Yan Zhichun felt there was a logical flaw here. "The structure of 'Zi' is clearly simpler than that of the 'display screen'. If they can repair the 'display screen', why not just make 'Zi'?"

Chu Tianqiu furrowed his brow, thinking that Yan Zhichun's reasoning was similar to Wen Qiaoyun's—both helped fill in the gaps in his own logic.

"There's a rare possibility," Chu Tianqiu said. "That is, Tian Tian understands the structure of the 'display screen' better than that of 'Zi'."

"Assuming what you say is true—that Tian Tian knows more about the 'display screen' than 'Zi'—then repairing it would still be extremely difficult," Yan Zhichun replied. "First, we have to confirm if this girl named Tian Tian can really obtain 'Hui Xiang'. Then, Qi Xia would need to predict that you would actually smash the 'display screen' and have Tian Tian perform a restoration that can't afford any mistakes. On top of that, what you smashed wasn't an ordinary display screen, but a touchscreen that can write. Would Qi Xia really bet the entire outcome on such a slim chance?"

Chu Tianqiu pondered the feasibility of this as he listened. Since this was a gambit against Qi Xia, he had to consider even the unlikely possibilities as much as possible.

Maybe Qi Xia had anticipated this move and had already started training Tian Tian's 'Hui Xiang' in advance. After all, in all this time, no one had ever heard of anyone entering the game area with Tian Tian, which meant she had been active somewhere, but not in the 'Bei Zhan Qu'.

So, where could she be?

"If we assume Tian Tian really can repair the display screen... then I'll have to go there myself," Chu Tianqiu said.

Yan Zhichun didn't know how to advise Chu Tianqiu, as the situation was tough for both sides. Before Di Long announced the game results, no one could predict who would win.

This elusive Tian Tian had become a sword hanging over Chu Tianqiu's neck. As long as her abilities remained hidden, he could never relax.

Chu Tianqiu sighed. "Yan Zhichun, have you noticed how terrifying Qi Xia really is?"

Yan Zhichun was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"In his own team, everyone played a crucial role in this game," Chu Tianqiu explained. "Qi Xia handles the overall strategy, Qiao Jia Jin takes down Zhang Shan, and Chen Junan executes the tactics. I thought only those three would shine, but in the end, it wasn't them who caused our defeat—it was the others."

"Including that kid...?" Yan Zhichun asked.

"Yes, including Zheng Yingxiong," Chu Tianqiu said. "Earlier, I noticed that Chen Junan, Han Yi Mo, and Qiao Jia Jin all gained 'Hui Xiang'. I couldn't understand how they achieved such stable 'self-suggestion' in such a short time. But when I thought about Zheng Yingxiong's ability, it all made sense. They don't need everyone to do 'self-suggestion'—Zheng Yingxiong can handle the 'explicit suggestion' for all of them."

"'Explicit suggestion'...?"

"Originally, each person would have to lie and deceive themselves," Chu Tianqiu answered. "Now, only Zheng Yingxiong needs to lie, and that simplifies the whole task dramatically. It's a perfect use of everyone's strengths."

Only then did Yan Zhichun realize her understanding of the game was still one-sided. She'd been on the front lines, constantly seizing 'Zi' from the enemy, so she hadn't seen how the commanders on both sides were laying out their plans.

"Plus, there's Zhang Chenze, who can infiltrate the enemy's 'Bei Zhan Qu' alone, coolly deducting points without breaking a sweat," Chu Tianqiu added. "And now, there's this final trump card—Tian Tian, who can use 'Qiao Wu' to ensure their team doesn't lose."

Chu Tianqiu shook his head helplessly with a bitter smile. "Even the mole we sent over, Han Yi Mo, exists only to lead us to failure... How can there be such a comprehensive team? And look at our side—everyone's out for themselves, full of ulterior motives. When you see the enemy putting all their abilities to use, what kind of sharp blade do we need to cut through their defenses and glimpse victory?"

Yan Zhichun shook her head after listening. She knew, just as Chu Tianqiu said, that the seven people on the other side were like a seamless wall. Though it didn't look like they were cooperating on the surface, they were all striving for 'victory', attacking from seven different angles to create the current situation.

"I'm not good at managing people; it's just that there's always someone helping me," Yan Zhichun said.

"Doesn't 'always having someone help you' count as managing people?" Chu Tianqiu laughed. "There are times when I wish someone could help me too, but at every stage, no one understands what I'm doing. 'Ji Dao' has come this far, maybe because someone was helping you, but you've still played a huge part in it."

"Ha." Yan Zhichun rarely smiled. "I should have visited 'Tian Tang Kou' earlier and had a long talk with you about managing people."

"It's too late now," Chu Tianqiu said. "The moment you stepped into 'Tian Tang Kou', it was already on its last legs."

"Alright." Yan Zhichun nodded. "So, as the string of that 'spent bow', what are you planning to do now?"

"Qi Xia has blocked all the paths," Chu Tianqiu said. "If I don't go to 'He Dao' and settle the final outcome with him, the results will be out of my hands and his—they'll be in Qing Long's. That might as well be a loss."

"Going there... will mean we won't lose?"

"At least there's a chance to win," Chu Tianqiu said. "Don't forget, the mole hidden in Qi Xia's team on our side hasn't shown up yet. I suspect that's another trump card."

Yan Zhichun sighed after hearing this. She knew Chu Tianqiu didn't trust her, so explanations were pointless. She simply said, "Alright."

"Besides, if we really lose..." Chu Tianqiu added, "I still have a backup plan."

...

As soon as they returned to the 'Bei Zhan Qu', Chen Junan and Qiao Jia Jin dragged their injured bodies over to tell Qi Xia what had just happened.

Qi Xia just nodded calmly, as if he had already guessed the overall situation. He reassured Qiao Jia Jin and Chen Junan, telling them the game was about to end.

Now, they just needed to face Chu Tianqiu in one final gamble.

"You're kidding, Lao Qi..." Chen Junan said. "Our screen's smashed... Can we really still win?"

"We can," Qi Xia nodded. "Just like how Chu Tianqiu came and smashed our screen, there are many ways to win—it's not just about scoring with 'Zi'."

"Hey!" Chen Junan leaned in and whispered to Qi Xia, "I just thought, don't we still have Zhang Lijuan here...? Could she help fix the screen?"

Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. "Unfortunately, Tian Tian's 'Hui Xiang' isn't strong enough right now, and we don't have more time to build it up. Plus, if repairing the screen fails, we'd lose even the broken display screen."

"If she can't fix the screen... what is she doing now?" Chen Junan asked.

"She has another task to handle."

Chen Junan couldn't help but feel puzzled.

In this game, Zhang Lijuan wasn't needed to create 'Zi' or 'display screen'... so what was her task?

He only remembered that Qi Xia had sent Zhang Lijuan out early in the game. Could it be that her "task" had started back then?