Chapter 1074: The Beginning of Calamity

“Huh…?” Dr. Zhao froze. “Go tell Chu Tianqiu…?”

“Exactly.” Qi Xia nodded. “Just relay the message truthfully. I won’t make things difficult for you.”

“No, no… I understand the rules.” Dr. Zhao said. “As long as you stay away from me, I’ll agree to anything.”

“No, go tell him I’ve made my move.” Qi Xia added. “If he stays in the ‘preparation zone,’ it’s no different from waiting for death.”

Dr. Zhao pursed his lips, not daring to speak. After a pause, Qi Xia asked, “Are you coming in?”

“N-no, I won’t…”

Only after Qi Xia nodded and turned to leave did Dr. Zhao let out a slow sigh of relief.

Entering the same room as Qi Xia… How is that any different from handing him the “character” outright?

This place was still the “Snake,” representing “cunning” and “question-and-answer.”

Unless the questions inside were all about neurosurgery, he stood no chance.

“Things are getting complicated…”

Dr. Zhao hurried back to the “preparation zone” to find Chu Tianqiu, where Wen Qiaoyun was talking to him.

“Tianqiu, look at this.” Wen Qiaoyun showed Chu Tianqiu a “towel” character in her hand.

Seeing the character, Chu Tianqiu’s expression darkened.

“Qiaoyun… where did this character come from?”

“The ‘informant’ on the other side handed it over voluntarily, as a pledge of allegiance.” Wen Qiaoyun said. “What’s wrong with this character? Is there a problem?”

Chu Tianqiu knew exactly what was wrong. He had personally given this “towel” character to Chen Junnan. Now it had been brought back by an “informant”… What did that mean?

“By ‘informant,’ you mean Han Yimo, right?” Chu Tianqiu asked.

“Yes, that writer named Han Yimo.” Wen Qiaoyun replied.

Frowning, Chu Tianqiu asked, “Did you promise him anything?”

“No.” Wen Qiaoyun answered. “He asked for my commitment to accept him as one of us, but I couldn’t answer. I told him to go back and stay calm, and that I’d contact him soon.”

“This is absurd.” Chu Tianqiu said. “This character isn’t Han Yimo’s ‘pledge’ at all… It’s clearly Chen Junnan’s ‘declaration of war.’”

“What…?” Wen Qiaoyun and Dr. Zhao beside her both froze.

“This character was with Chen Junnan… Why would he give it to Han Yimo?” Chu Tianqiu’s brow furrowed deeply. “Did Han Yimo take it from Chen Junnan by force?”

“Tianqiu… calm down first…” Wen Qiaoyun said. “What exactly are you worried about…?”

“How can I not be worried?!” Chu Tianqiu gritted his teeth. “Who was it that recruited Han Yimo as our ‘informant’?”

Wen Qiaoyun froze, realizing she had never considered this question. Han Yimo had sworn he was a mole, but how and when had he become one?

Was he pretending to be a mole to gain trust…?

But Wen Qiaoyun quickly dismissed that thought.

With Han Yimo’s level of cunning… how would he dare to use such a tactic?

“It… it was me…” Dr. Zhao said awkwardly. “What’s wrong with Han Yimo…? Hasn’t he always been on our side?”

“If he had always been on our side, that would be one thing.” Chu Tianqiu said. “But now he’s with Qi Xia. How could you dare to recruit him as a mole?”

Neither Dr. Zhao nor Wen Qiaoyun understood Chu Tianqiu’s meaning, but it was clear he was furious.

He snatched the “towel” character from Wen Qiaoyun’s hand, his expression grim. “Moreover, Qiaoyun didn’t promise Han Yimo anything… He’s already voluntarily handed over two characters but received no feedback. His mind must be filled with questions. If he realizes he’s not a real mole, that’s fine. But if he’s convinced he is… things will get even more dangerous.”

He slowly placed the “towel” character on the “Phoenix Scroll Stand,” only to see four baffling words light up on the screen:

“Creation Failed.”

“As I thought…” Chu Tianqiu sighed again. “The situation is already changing…”

He rotated the “towel” character on the stand several times, but no matter what, the screen only displayed “Creation Failed.”

“What’s going on?” Wen Qiaoyun asked, puzzled. “It’s clearly a ‘towel’ character…”

“I thought Jin Yuanxun winning the ‘bag’ character from Chen Junnan meant we were on the path to victory. But now a huge obstacle has blocked our way.”

Chu Tianqiu’s expression grew increasingly grim, and the anger radiating from him was palpable to the other two.

“Is this even a way to win…?” He gritted his teeth. “This is the absolute limit of turning the tables…”

“Tianqiu, calm down.” Wen Qiaoyun said. “If there’s a problem, tell me, and I’ll help you solve it.”

“Qiaoyun…” Chu Tianqiu said. “You and Han Yimo just played a game. You must have noticed his strange ability.”

After the reminder, Wen Qiaoyun recalled the eerie nature of that game—every answer Han Yimo chose was wrong.

To win, they had to avoid his choices as much as possible.

Does this bizarre ability have no limits…?

Whichever team he joins, that team loses?

“That’s just ridiculous…” Wen Qiaoyun said. “As long as he believes he’s a mole, we can’t win…?”

“That’s the logic.” Chu Tianqiu said. “Han Yimo probably doesn’t even know his ‘echo’ is called ‘Disaster Summoner.’ He triggers disasters he genuinely believes can happen.”

Dr. Zhao finally caught on: “So the ‘disaster’ Han Yimo believes in right now is ‘the mole will lose’…?”

“Exactly…?” Chu Tianqiu turned and asked coldly. “When you convinced him to be a mole… why didn’t you think of this?”

Dr. Zhao knew that no matter how thorough his considerations, he could never have anticipated the incompatibility between “Disaster Summoner” and “mole.”

“But wait…” Dr. Zhao said. “We can just stop cooperating with Han Yimo, make him think he’s been abandoned, and then he’ll switch to Qi Xia’s side, right?”

“If only it were that simple.” Chu Tianqiu said. “The problem lies with Han Yimo himself… From what I know of him, no matter how incomprehensible the situation, he’ll fill in the gaps with his own novelistic logic and believe it wholeheartedly.”

“Huh…?” Though Wen Qiaoyun was hearing this for the first time, recalling her recent interaction with Han Yimo, she found Chu Tianqiu’s words rang true.

No matter how bizarre the circumstances, Han Yimo would rationalize everything to fit his own narrative. He only believed what he wanted to believe.

So even if they told him outright, “Your mole status is invalid,” he’d take it as a test.

How do you deal with someone so stubborn?

Chu Tianqiu made a snap decision: “Dr. Zhao… go find Jin Yuanxun immediately. From now on, your sole objective is to kill Han Yimo at all costs.”