Chapter 213: Plan Within a Plan

Was Chu Tianqiu truly sacrificing the chariot to protect the general? But this time, it was a real chariot being abandoned, and a real general being protected. No wonder the current Chu Tianqiu could devise such a meticulous plan. Could it be that the real person has reappeared? However, Qi Xia still harbored some doubts. If Chu Tianqiu confidently sent people to find Xu Liunian, it could only mean one thing: no one could find her because he had already killed her. But why would he make such a decision? Could it be that his killing intent was provoked by my proposal to cooperate with Xu Liunian? No matter how I consider it, the current situation feels peculiar.

Yun Yao slowly walked forward and asked, "Tianqiu, what kind of joke are you making? You mentioned 'Xu Liunian'?"

"That's right, it's her," Chu Tianqiu nodded.

"How could she possibly be someone who 'just joined Tian Tang Kou'?" Yun Yao's face was filled with shock. "Xiao Nian is our teammate!"

At that moment, Tong Yi, standing nearby, also showed a confused expression. She remembered Xu Liunian. Apparently, Xu Liunian was a "participant" from the same room as Chu Tianqiu and Yun Yao, but she had been missing for a long time.

"Yun Yao, how long has it been since we last saw Xu Liunian?" Chu Tianqiu added some scrap wood to the bonfire. "Think carefully. Even if we were once teammates, how can you be sure she isn't with 'Ji Dao' now?"

"This... how could that be possible..." Yun Yao's eyes widened.

Chu Tianqiu ignored Yun Yao and instead addressed the watching crowd, "Everyone, Xu Liunian was indeed our teammate two years ago. Some of you even fought alongside her, but I suspect her identity has changed. She's returned to 'Tian Tang Kou' and has been impersonating me."

The crowd showed shocked expressions upon hearing this.

"A few days ago, she locked me up in the school's warehouse. Because my 'Hui Xiang' trigger is very special, I didn't dare defy her and had to go along with it," Chu Tianqiu continued. "That also led to us losing many teammates recently. Although I didn't do it, I still want to apologize to all of you."

Yun Yao asked after hearing this, "Then how did you escape?"

"I..." Chu Tianqiu smiled at Yun Yao. "I don't know what happened today, but after she delivered my food, she forgot to lock the door, so I managed to escape."

"So that's what happened..." Zhang Shan murmured to himself. "So it was all done by that person called Xu Liunian...?"

Qi Xia slowly furrowed his brow. Although Chu Tianqiu was handling this well, he still felt something was off. It was as if a game of chess had just begun. Qi Xia had only moved one pawn, and the opponent immediately chose to abandon the chariot to protect the general. Was this reaction too hasty?

"Comrades," Chu Tianqiu stood up and walked step by step toward the door. "The first thing I did after escaping wasn't to come see you all, but to lock the school's main gate and bring antibiotics to save people. Now, someone is guarding the gate, so logically, Xu Liunian can't escape. Tonight is our best chance to catch her. Be careful. Her 'Hui Xiang' is 'Hua Xing', so she might transform into someone she's familiar with. From what we've seen, she's very familiar with me and Yun Yao, so her transformation could succeed easily. That's why Yun Yao and I will act together to give her no opportunity. If any of you see a lone 'Chu Tianqiu' or 'Yun Yao', you can grab them directly."

The crowd nodded in agreement after hearing this.

"In that case, everyone, let's work hard tonight and not rest yet," Chu Tianqiu said to the group. "Capturing Xu Liunian is the top priority."

He assigned groups to everyone, sending them to search different parts of the school, but he didn't give Qi Xia a task.

"What about me?" Qi Xia asked.

"You and Qiao Jiajin can stay here and protect the injured," Chu Tianqiu said. "We'll notify you once we find Xu Liunian."

Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exchanged glances and didn't object.

The crowd quickly left the classroom, scattering with flashlights.

Qi Xia slowly sat down, constantly replaying the whole incident in his mind.

"This is just too strange..." Qi Xia muttered.

How do you predict the moves of a madman in a game of chess?

"Cheater... are you okay?" Qiao Jiajin asked from the side.

"I'm fine," Qi Xia shook his head. "I just have a lot of things I can't figure out."

Time passed second by second, and Qi Xia's heart grew more and more restless. He felt like he had overlooked something very important. But what was it?

"It's coming again... this feeling of something beyond expectation..." Qi Xia slowly furrowed his brow.

The next second, a bell rang out from afar. The sound startled the three people in the room. Qi Xia looked out the window. Although he didn't know the exact time, it was definitely past midnight. It was impossible for anyone to be participating in a game at this hour, so what was this "bell"?

"The 'Ji Dao' people are attacking!!" someone shouted from outside. "Everyone, prepare for battle!!"

In an instant, the entire "Tian Tang Kou" was in chaos. Qi Xia could only hear the sound of heavy footsteps and noise, followed by waves of bells.

"The 'Ji Dao' is attacking?" Qi Xia said with a puzzled expression. Was this reasonable? Lin Geng had said that "Ji Dao" wasn't an organized or premeditated group, yet here they were attacking?

Qi Xia glanced out the window and saw people breaking in through the main gate. From a distance, there were about twenty or so of them, holding torches and wearing black clothes. They were clearly an organized group.

Li Xiangling felt extremely uneasy. She clutched her arm and got up, then looked out the window.

"They're killing people..."

Although visibility was poor in the dark, it was clear that violence was happening in the distance. A young "Tian Tang Kou" member had just reached the gate when he was suddenly pierced by several pieces of wood.

Li Xiangling covered her mouth, then rolled out of bed to look for something to defend herself with.

The bells in the distance kept ringing, mixed with shouts, fighting sounds, explosions, and gunshots, creating a chaotic uproar.

"Damn..." Qiao Jiajin glanced out the window. "Cheater, what the hell is going on?"

"I don't know."

Qi Xia shook his head, quickly walked to the bonfire, and extinguished the flames. Chu Tianqiu had just lit this fire himself, which could very well be a signal marking their location for the enemy. After all, this room was the only one lit up in the school, making it too suspicious.

"We can't stay in this room," Qi Xia said cautiously. "Fist, take Li Xiangling with us. We're moving out now."

"Got it!"

Qiao Jiajin didn't ask questions. He reached out and helped Li Xiangling up, draping her arm over his neck, then opened the door and carefully peeked outside. "No one."

Just as the three were about to leave, they heard the roar of a car engine. They turned back in confusion and saw through the window that an old sedan was bursting out of the school gate and speeding away without looking back.

"Someone's escaping in a car?" Qiao Jiajin asked.

"Don't worry about it. Let's go first."

The three slipped into the corridor under the cover of night. The main entrance of the teaching building and the courtyard were full of enemies, making escape impossible.

"Cheater, which way?"

"For now, let's get as far from the battlefield as possible."