Chapter 1062: The Maker of Scholars

“I…”

Han Yimo was caught off guard by this sudden emotional moment.

“Chen Junnan… I used to think you were just causing trouble, but I never imagined that deep down…”

“That’s all in the past. But now my good brother tells me you’re a mole… What am I supposed to do? What *can* I do?” Chen Junnan asked solemnly.

At this moment, Han Yimo had the vague feeling he had seen a similar scene in a movie before, but he couldn’t recall the next lines.

“Have I never wanted to defect to the other side?” Chen Junnan continued, “But that man is my sworn brother. I can’t leave. Even if the path he walks is wrong, I will stay by his side until the end.”

“I… I think I kind of understand now.” Han Yimo scratched his head. “So you’re also…”

“So I can only entrust this matter to you…” Chen Junnan shook his head, interrupting Han Yimo, “I can’t help you, nor can I help him eliminate you. One is my brother, the other is the beacon of justice from the End Zone. Remaining neutral is already the best choice I can make.”

Han Yimo stood there, stunned for a while, before finally managing to say three words: “Thank you…”

“No need.” Chen Junnan waved his hand, “Earlier, Old Qi whispered to me: ‘Han Yimo is a mole sent by the enemy side. Deal with him here. If necessary, beat him up a bit.'”

“What…?”

Han Yimo never expected to be exposed already. Fortunately, just like the villains in novels, Qi Xia also left the handling of the truth to his subordinates, which allowed the protagonist to narrowly escape death.

“You know I can’t bring myself to do it.” Chen Junnan turned his head, his expression particularly sorrowful, “But if he comes back and doesn’t find any signs of torture, your situation will become even more dangerous.”

Han Yimo swallowed hard and said, “Chen Junnan, it’s okay. I understand your feelings already.”

“Sigh…” Chen Junnan said, “So even though I can’t bear to do it… I still have to put on a show for Qi Xia to see. I’m sure you understand, right?”

“Of course, I know.” Han Yimo nodded, “It’s a classic ploy.”

“Then… I’ll have to trouble you?”

“Go ahead.”

Han Yimo never expected Chen Junnan to hit so hard. After knocking him down with one punch, Chen started kicking him mercilessly.

But since it was just a performance… a few injuries were understandable.

However, while kicking him, Chen muttered phrases like “Let’s see how you like being a mole,” “Let’s see how you like spreading smutty rumors,” “Let’s see how you like killing entire families,” and “You really are a pest.” It sounded a little too convincing.

Although he believed in going all out for the act… was it really necessary to go *this* far? There was clearly no one else around to hear it.

“Ouch… come on… enough already…” Han Yimo dodged Chen’s attacks as he spoke, “Do you really have to act this convincingly?”

Upon hearing this, Chen quickly crouched down and helped Han Yimo up, his face filled with concern. “I’m sorry… Did I hit you too hard just now?”

“Whether it was too hard or not aside…” Han Yimo rubbed his arm, “But the words you were muttering… it really felt like you genuinely wanted to beat me up…”

“You’re wrong,” Chen Junnan said, “It’s precisely because I couldn’t bring myself to do it that I had to shout some slogans to motivate myself. It’s like shouting ‘one, two’ during a tug-of-war. Just slogans, nothing meaningful.”

“Is that so…” Han Yimo stood up and stretched his aching limbs. “Well, I’ve been beaten and interrogated. Now Qi Xia shouldn’t suspect anything, right?”

“You can rest assured about that,” Chen Junnan nodded. “Don’t forget, I’m on your side now. If Qi Xia really starts to suspect, I’ll definitely speak up for you behind the scenes.”

“Phew, that’s a relief,” Han Yimo said. “I was just worried about how to dismantle Qi Xia’s team from within. Now that I have your help, it feels like gaining wings.”

Han Yimo felt the current plot was very reasonable. Often, the protagonist alone couldn’t complete such a difficult task, but they would always meet like-minded teammates along the way. It seemed everything was moving in a positive direction.

Chen Junnan was his first teammate. As the saying goes, enemies can become friends through battle. Memories of past encounters with Chen Junnan surfaced, piecing together into a clumsy emotional scene in Han Yimo’s mind.

Yet Chen Junnan felt he hadn’t kicked hard enough after all. Han Yimo actually wanted to dismantle Qi Xia’s team from within?

Didn’t that mean wanting the entire team to die?

But it didn’t matter anyway. Chen Junnan knew Qi Xia had left Han Yimo in the preparation area for two reasons.

First, to prevent the news of Qiao Jiajin’s critical condition from leaking out, and second, to find a way to use “Catastrophe” to win the competition.

As always, Qi Xia didn’t need Han Yimo’s approval when making plans. His “Echo” ability had already been used as a weapon.

“Wait a second…” Chen Junnan suddenly froze, realizing he had just discovered a strange issue, “Can Han Yimo even use his ‘Echo’ here?”

…

Qi Xia arrived at the rightmost room. Although this room was already at the edge of the map, it still had four “doors.”

However, the “door” on the far-right wall was black. Before the game started, the Dragon had mentioned that exiting through these “doors” meant “desertion.”

At this moment, Tian Tian was standing in this room, eyes closed, seemingly deep in thought.

“Tian Tian.” Qi Xia called softly.

Upon hearing this, Tian Tian immediately turned around, meeting Qi Xia’s gaze.

“How did you leave the ‘Preparation Area’…?” Tian Tian’s eyes flickered with caution.

“I need to go across the river, and I just happened to pass by here.” Qi Xia replied, “I wanted to check on your progress.”

“It doesn’t seem to be working…” Hearing this, Tian Tian relaxed slightly but still shook her head, “It’s too difficult to ‘Echo’ here.”

“Is that so…?” Qi Xia nodded and said, “But you can’t hear the ‘Bell’ here. Maybe you’ve already ‘Echoed’ without realizing it?”

“Huh?” Tian Tian was taken aback, “Is that even possible…?”

“Why don’t you try?” Qi Xia said, “You still have your ‘Character’ on you, right?”

“Yes…” Tian Tian nodded and took out her “Soldier” piece.

Qi Xia nodded and pulled a bunch of chains from his pocket, handing them to Tian Tian.

“What’s this for?”

“Use these extra chains to reshape your ‘Character’,” Qi Xia explained. “If it works, maybe you’ve already ‘Echoed’ without knowing it.”

“But I don’t know the structure of those ‘Characters’…” Tian Tian said.

“Just try it. It won’t hurt to try,” Qi Xia said. “Besides, I’ve already said the ultimate goal isn’t really about forging the ‘Character,’ so even if it fails, it’s not a big deal.”

After hearing this, Tian Tian nodded and placed the chains on the ground, then closed her eyes.

Qi Xia slowly bent down, picked up the chains from the ground, and then placed the “士” he had taken from Qiao Jiajin.