Chapter 985: Those Who Refuse to Choose

Qi Xia watched as Chu Tianqiu hesitated to choose the second person, and a spark of interest flickered in his eyes.

“What’s the matter?” He turned his head and said, “I left ‘Chen Junnan’ for you—are those three characters really that hard to write?”

“Chen Junnan…?” Chu Tianqiu let out a light chuckle. “Qi Xia, what kind of joke is this?”

“What joke?” Qi Xia shot back. “We can only choose one person each time. Now that I’ve left Chen Junnan outside, you can easily pick him up. He’s nothing like Qiao Jiajin—Qiao would choose to die, but Chen Junnan would probably agree without hesitation. If my right-hand man joins your team, what am I supposed to do?”

“*Because* he’d agree, that’s exactly why it’s such a headache,” Chu Tianqiu said. “If Chen Junnan joins my team, I can’t even imagine how to keep it stable, let alone how the game would proceed.”

“Oh…?” Qi Xia feigned ignorance. “Is Chen Junnan really that formidable?”

“What do you think?” Chu Tianqiu replied. “A man skilled in ‘psychological warfare’ and ‘causing chaos’ joining my ranks—that’s hardly a good thing.”

With that, he decisively wrote down the name *Jin Yuanxun*.

Chu Tianqiu understood Qi Xia’s intentions perfectly. There was no way Qi Xia would ever write *Chen Junnan* in the first round—doing so would mean leaving the chance to choose *Qiao Jiajin* to him.

If Qiao Jiajin learned that *he* had been the one to choose him, he would undoubtedly refuse, and Qi Xia would lose a key player.

So instead, Qi Xia deliberately left *Chen Junnan* on the board. A person like him would be the same in any faction—unwaveringly loyal to Qi Xia.

At that moment, the Earth Dragon turned and opened the door once more, revealing Jin Yuanxun standing outside.

After hearing the explanation, Jin Yuanxun stepped through without hesitation.

Qi Xia knew full well that Jin Yuanxun was more loyal to Chu Tianqiu and would stabilize his team.

Jin Yuanxun possessed formidable combat skills and the *Leap* ability, backed by unwavering conviction. Taciturn and unshakable, he followed orders unconditionally—a formidable opponent.

“In that case…” Qi Xia murmured, “If you don’t want Chen Junnan… I’ll take him.”

“Be my guest,” Chu Tianqiu said flatly.

Qi Xia slowly wrote *Chen Junnan* on the board, and the Earth Dragon turned to open the door again.

What greeted the trio in the dark space, however, was an awkward sight: in the short time since they’d last seen him, Chen Junnan had found a corner to relieve himself, his back turned to the door.

Whistling nonchalantly, he was busy with his business when he suddenly turned around—and nearly jumped out of his skin.

A pitch-black portal had materialized behind him, glowing with red characters that read: *Chen Junnan, Accept the Call*.

“Holy—!!”

He hastily yanked up his pants, flustered, first covering the door with his hands before realizing that was wrong, then switching to covering his face instead.

“Hold on, hold on! Don’t snap a pic yet! I ain’t ready!”

The three inside the door stared at him blankly, the atmosphere thick with awkwardness.

The Earth Dragon curled her lip and said impatiently, “Commander *Qi Xia* has summoned *Chen Junnan* to assist in the *Cangjie Game*. Step through the door to accept, or take five steps back to refuse.”

Chen Junnan blinked, glanced behind him at the damp patch on the wall, then pointed at the portal and yelled, “Step back?! The hell am I supposed to step back on?! Ask Old Qi if he’s targeting me! Picking this exact moment so I’ve got no way out, huh?! Not even a shred of privacy?!”

The portal remained silent.

“Damn it, others get to choose between stepping in or stepping back—I get to choose between stepping in or stepping in piss! Where’s the justice?!”

He took two steps forward and glared at the portal. “Old Qi? Old Qi, say something! Don’t give me this underworld judge act—just tell me straight, am I in or out?!”

Before Qi Xia could respond, the Earth Dragon couldn’t help but interject, “Hey, could you at least pull your pants up first?”

Chen Junnan froze, clearly not expecting the portal to talk back. He quickly turned around to adjust his pants, then smoothed out his hair a few seconds later before spinning back, grumbling,

“No way… There’s actually a lady watching me…?”

With a resigned sigh, he stopped arguing and stepped through the portal.

Qi Xia knew that choosing Chen Junnan wasn’t particularly crucial—after all, Chu Tianqiu would never recruit him into his own team.

But he also wasn’t sure about the situation in the *Preparation Zone*. Leaving Qiao Jiajin there alone didn’t sit right with him.

Chen Junnan was sharp-witted enough to explain things to Qiao Jiajin in the *Preparation Zone*.

And now, for both of them… the real *Drafting* would begin, as the *mandatory picks* were already in place.

Qi Xia naturally had plenty of candidates to choose from, but he needed to see Chu Tianqiu’s next move first.

Since he was the *second pick*, he’d aim to counter whatever Chu Tianqiu selected.

Both of them still had a *reserve piece* waiting outside—Wen Qiaoyun and Yan Zhichun.

These two, as *pawns*, each had their own uses.

If Wen Qiaoyun didn’t enter the field, Chu Tianqiu couldn’t awaken. If Yan Zhichun remained outside, the *Extreme Path*’s conviction would waver.

With the three already on the field, both sides would now pick four more. Including the two *pawns*, that meant only three additional selections.

Chu Tianqiu’s expression visibly darkened with hesitation—the names he wrote next wouldn’t be people he fully trusted, and the considerations would grow more complex.

“In that case…”

…

Dr. Zhao and Han Yimo followed the crowd down the street, both wearing puzzled expressions.

“Dr. Zhao… where are we going…?” Han Yimo asked.

“That woman Jiang Ruoxue told us this morning,” Dr. Zhao replied impatiently. “If we want to carry out the task we discussed last night, we have to follow the crowd when it starts moving.”

“But this makes us look like anything *but* ‘saviors’…” Han Yimo frowned. “Blending into the crowd like this—we just seem like side characters…”

As they spoke, a black portal suddenly materialized in front of Dr. Zhao, its center emblazoned with the words: *Zhao Haibo, Accept the Call*.

The sight froze both men in their tracks, but the pedestrians around them merely glanced at it, as if they’d long grown accustomed to such bizarre phenomena, pausing only briefly before continuing on their way.

“Damn it…” Han Yimo muttered under his breath. “Those people act like they’ve seen it all… Who do they think they are?”

Dr. Zhao ignored them, his brow furrowing as he stared at the portal. “Han Yimo… didn’t you say you understood this place? What *is* this…?”