“Writing Guy!”

Ever since leaving the “Preparation Zone,” Qiao Jiajin had stayed together with Han Yimo the entire time. They entered the rightmost room from the “Preparation Zone’s” perspective, and he wrapped his arm around Han Yimo’s shoulders like they were close buddies.

“What is it…?” Han Yimo responded.

“Nothing,” Qiao Jiajin said with a smile. “I just noticed you look really scared.”

“N-no I’m not…” Han Yimo forced a bitter smile onto his pale face. “Where do I look scared…?”

Qiao Jiajin looked Han Yimo up and down and said with complete indifference, “Writing Guy, you really do look tense… How about we sing together to cheer each other up?”

After hearing this, Han Yimo took several deep breaths before speaking: “At a time like this you still have the mood to sing? In novels, supporting characters like you don’t survive past three episodes.”

“Is that so?” Qiao Jiajin smiled slightly. “I’m used to being an extra—I don’t care when I die.”

“You…”

Qiao Jiajin’s words left Han Yimo speechless for a moment, but they also dispelled some of his nervousness.

“I’m saying, we should still be careful and look around,” Han Yimo said, steadying his nerves. “Didn’t they say people from the other side are going to attack?”

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Qiao Jiajin said. “No matter who comes, I’m here—I’ll give them a few punches right away.”

“I hope you’ll do as you say,” Han Yimo walked forward a few steps and reached out to open the door directly ahead.

It didn’t matter when the door was closed, but the moment they made eye contact, both Han Yimo and Qiao Jiajin froze in place.

Wen Qiaoyun stood in the room across from them, curiously observing the “door” standing in the center of the room.

“Hey…” Han Yimo turned his head and whispered, “Are you going to punch this one too?”

“Uh…” Qiao Jiajin swallowed, feeling he had been a bit too hasty.

He recalled the list of “invaders” that Qi Xia had mentioned earlier—aside from Doctor Zhao, it seemed he shouldn’t really fight anyone else.

A few seconds later, Qiao Jiajin slowly stepped forward and tried to greet her: “Beautiful lady, where are you headed?”

Wen Qiaoyun chuckled lightly: “The ‘chess piece’ has crossed the river, ready to come kill you.”

“Kill us…” Qiao Jiajin shook his head after hearing this. “That’s very dangerous.”

“Hand-to-hand combat is indeed dangerous,” Wen Qiaoyun said. “But we can compete inside the ‘door.'”

“A ‘chess piece’ that has crossed the river,” Qiao Jiajin nodded. “Speaking of which… I remember in ‘Chinese chess,’ if you want to capture an opponent’s piece, you need to actively move and come to our square. Otherwise, why don’t you come over?”

After hearing this, Wen Qiaoyun looked at Qiao Jiajin’s tattoos, then glanced at Han Yimo beside him. She knew she didn’t understand these two people—she had only heard a few words of introduction from others. Now she could only judge their abilities from their appearances.

A thug and a short writer.

Making the most reasonable guess, one of these two represented “martial prowess” while the other represented “intelligence.”

If it was a “battle of wits,” then naturally her target should be…

“Writer,” Wen Qiaoyun called toward the door.

“Huh…? Who?” Han Yimo was startled. “Me…?”

“What?” Wen Qiaoyun was somewhat puzzled. “Aren’t you a writer?”

“This…” Han Yimo smiled bitterly. “Damn writers like us, at most we’re ‘authors’—we can’t really be called ‘writers’ no matter what.”

“To laymen like us, they’re all the same,” Wen Qiaoyun said. “Do you want to come to my side? The two of us can go inside the ‘door’ and settle this.”

Wen Qiaoyun pointed to the “door” standing beside her, which had the character “亥” written on it.

“Go inside the ‘door’…” Han Yimo frowned, then turned his head and whispered, “Qiao Jiajin, now’s a great opportunity—let’s both rush over and knock that woman out, then take the ‘character’ from her hand!”

“Uh…” After hearing this, Qiao Jiajin scratched his head. “Writing Guy, although our tactics are indeed like that, there’s one small situation…”

“What situation?”

“I’ve paid my respects to Guan Gong.”

“Guan Gong…” Han Yimo was speechless for a moment. “You… what the hell are you acting so righteous for?! Don’t you thugs hit women? That’s not how it’s portrayed in Hong Kong movies—there are plenty of ruthless people everywhere.”

“I can’t represent everyone, but at least I’m like this,” Qiao Jiajin said somewhat embarrassedly. “However, after coming here, I did fight with a big woman once. That wasn’t a matter of whether to fight or not—the opponent was too formidable and wanted to take my life. To save myself, I could only respond seriously, but obviously this isn’t that kind of situation.”

“No… so you’re just going to ignore me?” Han Yimo said. “That woman looks too confident—she wants to compete with me inside the ‘door’… Are we really not going to rush over together and knock her out?! Won’t you consider doing what I say?”

“I’ve lived this long and never taken advantage of someone,” Qiao Jiajin said. “Every time I strike back second, and even if the opponent throws the first punch, I can still win fair and square. But now suddenly rushing over to rob an unarmed beautiful lady—that would make me unworthy of Guan Gong. But don’t worry, if that lady really wants to kill you, I’ll save you.”

“You… you…” Han Yimo looked somewhat out of control emotionally, saying through gritted teeth, “Supporting characters like you deserve to be extras…! A supporting character… how can a supporting character have their own principles and ideas? You should follow the protagonist’s arrangements!! If supporting characters have too much screen time, readers will complain!! Who the hell wants to know what supporting characters are thinking?!”

After hearing this, Qiao Jiajin sighed helplessly: “Okay, okay, okay… Now the opponent has openly and fairly challenged you to a battle of wits, and not only do you not accept, you’re also planning to have me help you beat her up. This is what a protagonist does?”

“I…” Han Yimo was stunned, thinking for several seconds before slowly saying, “A scheming protagonist is still a protagonist…”

“No matter how dark your belly is, make a decision quickly now,” Qiao Jiajin said. “If the opponent specifically challenged me to a match, I would accept too. You think you’re the protagonist—would a protagonist be stumped by such a small matter?”

“I…” Han Yimo was once again left speechless by Qiao Jiajin’s words. Now he seemed to be cornered.

One step forward meant going one-on-one with Wen Qiaoyun through the “door,” while one step back meant he wouldn’t count as a protagonist.

“Damn it… forget it…” Han Yimo said. “I’ll go all in… Anyway, the protagonist can’t lose… No matter how the plot develops, in the end it’ll still be favorable to me…”

Han Yimo took several deep breaths and stepped into the opponent’s room.

Before Qiao Jiajin could say anything, the “doors” in all four directions of the opponent’s room closed simultaneously, not only making everything invisible but also blocking out all sound.