Chapter 1057: A Fluke?

Chu Tianqiu instructed several people to split up; the top priority now was to help Yan Zhichun obtain an “Echo.”

He deduced that Jin Yuanxun would soon lose his “character,” and if Yan Zhichun could activate his ability by then, there would still be time to turn things around.

“Oh, and…” He finally called out to Wen Qiaoyun before she left, “If the situation allows, check on Zhang Shan’s condition.”

“Go check on him now…?”

“If Zhang Shan is still conscious, tell him the method to obtain an ‘Echo.'” Chu Tianqiu continued, “His ‘Echo’ has some self-healing ability; maybe he can stand up again.”

Wen Qiaoyun paused after hearing this and asked, “What if he can’t hear these words anymore?”

“In that case, all I can say is what a pity,” Chu Tianqiu replied. “But he’s already done his best.”

Wen Qiaoyun nodded silently and turned to leave the “Preparation Zone” without another word.

Watching her leave, Chu Tianqiu felt slightly dazed. It seemed like only a short while ago, Yun Yao had also worn a similar expression before parting ways with him.

If Chu Tianqiu had felt a flicker of emotion at this moment… he knew it was neither sadness nor reluctance.

It was a senseless, all-pervading loneliness that coursed through his entire body.

Both Yun Yao and Wen Qiaoyun had once been his most trusted companions. They had shared countless brushes with death and had created different glories together.

But now, Chu Tianqiu had awakened—he had woken up among ordinary people, which made him seem particularly abnormal.

How difficult was it to completely liberate the “End of the World?”

He was walking a path no one understood. Beyond saying Zhang Shan had died in the “Riverway,” even if he himself died there, Chu Tianqiu could only bitterly say, “I did my best.”

He was mocking the effort he had put in for decades, mocking how all his hard work had come to nothing.

For Chu Tianqiu, whether he won or lost this game was unimportant. Rather than calling it a game, it was more like a performance.

He needed to showcase his strength as much as possible, for Azure Dragon to see, and for Qi Xia to see.

If he made a careless mistake due to emotional impulses now, then there would be no seat left for him on that train.

Once, standing on the rooftop of the “Heaven’s Gate,” Azure Dragon had told Qi Xia and Chu Tianqiu that only one of them could reach the peak.

Chu Tianqiu wondered, when Azure Dragon had said that… had he even considered himself and Qi Xia as equals?

But the good news was, Wen Qiaoyun was not Yun Yao.

Chu Tianqiu understood Wen Qiaoyun. She was a strong individual who had grown up in an emotional environment, and unlike Yun Yao… she could distinguish the current situation even under extreme pain and make the most correct decision.

Then Chu Tianqiu snapped back to reality and instructed Xu Liunian that since he couldn’t revert to his original form, the best plan was to continue causing chaos under the identity of “Chen Junnan.”

Since he had failed before, he could try to find the reasons for the failure and reduce the failure rate in the upcoming attempts. No matter how many times he failed, as long as he managed once to reach the enemy’s “Preparation Zone” or trick someone into giving up a “character,” it would be worth it.

As for Dr. Zhao, Chu Tianqiu simply told him to “adapt as circumstances change,” without elaborating further.

Dr. Zhao couldn’t help feeling puzzled inside. In this game, he possessed one of the strongest “Echoes.” As long as he got close enough to the enemy, he could find a way to destroy those “characters.” Yet Chu Tianqiu seemed reluctant to rely heavily on him.

But at this point, Chu Tianqiu said nothing more, and Dr. Zhao offered no explanations either. He simply nodded and left the room together with Wen Qiaoyun.

Chu Tianqiu, on the other hand, continued studying the possible “characters” they could form next on the screen.

Before long, he realized that to win this match, there were two specific characters they absolutely needed to obtain.

They were “Soldier” (兵) and “Minister” (相).

It was known that Chen Junnan had “Wrap” (Bao) and “Cloth” (Jin). So who had “Soldier” and “Minister”?

As Chu Tianqiu was pondering this, Jin Yuanxun walked in from outside.

“Bro…”

Seeing Jin Yuanxun holding a “Wrap,” Chu Tianqiu couldn’t help but feel confused.

“This is…?”

“Bro, I won,” Jin Yuanxun said. “It was a bit lucky… but I got a ‘character’ from Chen Junnan.”

Looking at Jin Yuanxun’s smiling face, Chu Tianqiu remained silent for several seconds.

“Lucky?”

In a game of “Deception” or “Q&A,” Jin Yuanxun had defeated Chen Junnan.

With his current level of Chinese… how lucky would he have to be to accomplish this?

“What about your own ‘character’?” Chu Tianqiu asked again.

Jin Yuanxun hesitated, then took out a chain from his pocket, bearing three parts forming the character “Soldier” (卒).

“It’s here, bro.”

Seeing the “Soldier” (卒) character, Chu Tianqiu felt slightly reassured and said, “Good job, Jin Yuanxun.”

“Don’t mention it, bro. It was really just luck.”

Chu Tianqiu nodded and continued, “Jin Yuanxun, you weren’t here just now, but I heard a bell sound.”

“A bell…?” Jin Yuanxun was taken aback.

“Yeah,” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “Since you and Chen Junnan were the only ones in the game just now, I suspect you’ve obtained an ‘Echo.'”

Jin Yuanxun felt something was off. If there had really been a bell sound, why hadn’t he heard it?

Wasn’t the game room directly connected to the outside?

“Bro… just now I was in the game with Chen Junnan…” Jin Yuanxun asked tentatively, “Even if there really was a bell… why wouldn’t it be his?”

“Because he lost,” Chu Tianqiu replied. “Based on your understanding of Chen Junnan, if he had both his skills and an ‘Echo,’ how could you have won?”

“That does make sense…”

Jin Yuanxun nodded. But he couldn’t remember what Chen Junnan’s “Echo” was. He just felt that this person had only recently started appearing in the “End of the World” and had already shown great talent. It was likely that he had remained silent before because he hadn’t obtained a stable “Echo.”

“So try it now,” Chu Tianqiu patted Jin Yuanxun’s shoulder. “I’ve heard your ‘Echo’ many times. That bell sound sounds very much like yours.”

“You can even tell that…?”

Jin Yuanxun muttered to himself, then slowly narrowed his eyes, looking toward the spot behind Chu Tianqiu. With a sudden shift of his body guided by his thoughts, he vanished from where Chu Tianqiu stood and reappeared in front of the display screen.

“Wow?” Jin Yuanxun said joyfully, “Bro… it really works…”

Seeing this, Chu Tianqiu nodded as well. It seemed that Xu Liunian had indeed found a way to “Echo” in this place. For those who had already mastered the “Echo,” adding a bit of psychological technique wasn’t difficult.

“Alright, Jin Yuanxun,” Chu Tianqiu said. “You’ll keep the ‘Soldier’ for now. From this point on, you must protect this ‘character’ with your life.”

“With my life…” Jin Yuanxun paused after hearing this, suddenly recalling something. “Bro… just now when I was in the game area, that ‘Zodiac’ told me to give you a message like this…”