“Tsk…”
After hearing this, Chen Junnan scratched his head: “Speaking of which, it’s not that hard to imagine. People who can’t ‘cross the river’ actually ‘crossed the river’—at minimum they’d ‘lose their character,’ at maximum they’d ‘lose their life’… This makes things troublesome. Some ‘characters’ can probably only be seized in the opponent’s territory.”
“No need.” Qi Xia said. “Chen Junnan, your ‘psychological attack’ just now should have been effective.”
“That fast?”
“Mm.” Qi Xia said. “Right now the opposing main force should have already entered our territory. Under your chaotic ‘psychological attack,’ their subconscious believes we’ve ‘attacked.’ If they don’t ‘counterattack’ at this moment, they’ll appear very passive. Plus, the opposing teammates aren’t familiar with each other, so they may very likely choose to enter separately. Therefore, the plan remains unchanged—the ‘early stage’ is key for us to obtain ‘characters.’ In our territory, we have more teammates. It’s time to start scoring.”
“Alright.” Everyone nodded after hearing this.
“Fists.” Qi Xia turned and called out. “Your target is still Zhang Shan. Zhang Shan is both loyal and has a sense of security. I suspect he very likely took on the job of protecting Chu Tianqiu. And a character that cannot ‘cross the river’ yet ‘needs protection’… should be ‘Advisor.'”
“Big Guy is ‘Advisor’…?”
“Right, and you are ‘Elephant.'” Qi Xia said again. “Both your ‘pieces’ cannot ‘cross the river.’ Theoretically, you two can’t meet, so did you tell him what I taught you before?”
“Of course!” Qiao Jiajin nodded and said. “Big Guy and I made an agreement that as long as we meet at the ‘river,’ we’ll fight directly.”
“Good.” Qi Xia nodded. “The ‘river’ is the only place you two can clash, unless Zhang Shan changes to another ‘character’ later on. But I also need to remind you… the ‘characters’ you and Zhang Shan carry—one is ‘Elephant,’ one is ‘Advisor’—are both prime targets for everyone to seize. Be careful of the other side using tricks.”
After hearing this, everyone looked toward Qiao Jiajin. If we’re talking about the hardest people to rob in this place, it would be none other than Zhang Shan and Qiao Jiajin, yet these two happened to carry the two “characters” with the most functionality.
“Use tricks…?” After hearing this, Qiao Jiajin shook his head. “Shouldn’t happen… Big Guy isn’t that kind of person. He should also hope to have an upright fight with me.”
“That’s right, Zhang Shan won’t, but that doesn’t mean others won’t.” Qi Xia said. “Besides Zhang Shan, every single person on the other side may interfere when you two duel. When the time comes, just call out. If necessary, even I will go help you.”
“This…” After hearing this, Qiao Jiajin nodded. “Alright… I understand.”
“Also.” Qi Xia said. “I told you before—even if you ‘cross the river,’ you absolutely cannot open any door on the other side. Because then you’ll be triggering a ‘Human-Level Game,’ and you’ll be detained there.”
“I know, Liar Boy.” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “I’ll just fight Big Guy and come back.”
“Smart Writer.” Qi Xia looked at Han Yimo again. “You go with Qiao Jiajin. Remember, no matter what happens, the two of you cannot separate. As long as it’s two people entering a room together, you won’t trigger a ‘Human-Level Game.’ While Qiao Jiajin is fighting Zhang Shan, you need to observe the surroundings. If there’s even the slightest movement, call out loudly.”
“O-okay…” Han Yimo’s voice trembled slightly as he replied.
Qi Xia looked at Chen Junnan again: “Old Chen, you take Tiantian to find Lawyer Zhang and Hero Zheng. The two of them should be gathering intelligence right now. Bring them back, then the four of you form two teams to start ‘encircling and suppressing.'”
“‘Encircling and suppressing’…?”
“Right.” Qi Xia said. “Since all the ‘doors’ in the venue lead to ‘Human-Level venues,’ and I also guessed that those ‘Human-Level Zodiacs’ ultimate goal is to kill people, you must not create a situation of ‘entering a room one-on-one with an opponent simultaneously.’ Try your best to enter rooms in pairs. Without triggering ‘Human-Level Games,’ use force to seize the ‘characters’ from the opponents.”
At this moment, Tiantian on the side paused, then said: “Seizing by ‘force’… for us, isn’t that…”
“Don’t worry…” Qi Xia said. “The opposing invasion team shouldn’t include Zhang Shan and Jin Yuanxun. One of these two needs to protect Chu Tianqiu, the other is like Hero Zheng—as an intelligence officer shuttling back and forth, so neither can actively invade. As for the remaining few… whether it’s Yan Zhichun, Wen Qiaoyun, Xu Liunian, or Doctor Zhao, there’s no problem plundering by ‘force.'”
“True…” Chen Junnan said. “If we’re talking about ‘using our brains,’ we’re probably a bit lacking. If we’re talking about directly ‘robbing,’ probably not much of a problem.”
“Writer Boy!” Qiao Jiajin waved at Han Yimo in the corner. “You come with me in a bit!”
Chen Junnan turned his head following Qiao Jiajin’s voice to look at Han Yimo, discovering his condition was a bit strange—his whole body was trembling.
“Little Han, you okay?” Chen Junnan asked.
“I-I’m fine…” Han Yimo shook his head.
Everyone prepared to set out, then turned to look at Tiantian again. Tiantian had been keeping her head down, stroking the “Advisor” in her hand, not knowing what she was contemplating.
That “character” looked about half a palm’s size, gray-black and ice-cold.
“Found the feeling?” Qi Xia asked. “Do you generally understand this ‘character’s’ construction?”
Tiantian held her “Advisor” in her hand, but ultimately still shook her head: “Qi Xia… this thing, I’m seeing it for the first time today.”
“So…?”
“You’re thinking ‘Ingenious Objects’ are too powerful.” Tiantian said. “I’m not familiar with it… Even if I could become completely familiar with it in a short time, I’d only be familiar with this specific ‘character’ in my hand. Moreover, it can be magnetically attached to the screen—I don’t know if there are any other mechanisms inside… If I can’t disassemble and study it carefully, there’s no way I can replicate it with ‘Ingenious Objects’ regardless.”
“Mm…” Qi Xia nodded. “Plus right now there aren’t any spare materials on hand for you to craft with… so ‘Ingenious Objects’ can’t be used here…”
“Not just ‘Ingenious Objects’…” Chen Junnan said. “Old Qi, don’t you think this place is strange?”
“Strange?”
“Your boy doesn’t know what your ‘Echo’ is made of, but my ‘Scapegoat’ doesn’t feel quite right…” Chen Junnan said. “Should we send someone out to check? I suspect your boy’s ‘Echo’ has already been removed from the big screen.”
After hearing this, Qi Xia furrowed his brow slightly. Hero Zheng’s “Spirit Smell” was being interfered with, and Chen Junnan’s “Scapegoat” was also affected. It seemed everything was no different from what he had thought.
To release an “Echo” in this space required extremely strong “conviction.”
“That’s a good thing.” Qi Xia said. “If we just look at ‘Echoes’ between both sides, naturally the other side is more formidable. Whether it’s ‘Soul Seizing,’ ‘Heaven’s Vigor,’ ‘Fission,’ or ‘Quantum Leap’—all are tricky abilities. Since Chen Junnan has difficulty activating his, the other side’s situation is probably similar.”
“Oh right…” After hearing this, Chen Junnan nodded. “No wonder Yan Zhichun didn’t use ‘Soul Seizing’ on me just now… Turns out it’s not that she didn’t want to, but that she couldn’t use it for the time being…?”
“Most likely.” Qi Xia said. “Otherwise, when she saw your pocket stuffed full of ‘characters,’ she should have used ‘Soul Seizing’ to control you to pull out the ‘characters’ yourself.”
“That’s good then…” After hearing this, Chen Junnan chuckled softly. “Let them see how we with these ‘chicken rib Echoes’ usually fight.”
“But still be careful.” Qi Xia said. “Even if the probability is small, there must be someone who can hear their ‘Echo’ here… Perhaps it requires adaptation, or perhaps it’s just a matter of time.”
“Alright, your boy knows.”
Qiao Jiajin took Han Yimo with him, while Chen Junnan took Tiantian. The two teams set out and entered rooms, going to find Lawyer Zhang and Hero Zheng who were gathering intelligence elsewhere.