Auntie Tong walked to the center of the room and helped Old Lu, who was lying on the ground, to his feet.

“Oh my… Old Lu, are you alright?” She looked over the fat man with some concern.

“I’m fine, I’m fine…” Old Lu shook his head. “Don’t let all this fat fool you—at critical moments, I can really take a beating.”

“Always acting tough…” Auntie Tong’s expression was somewhat unnatural as she leaned closer to Old Lu.

Old Lu noticed Auntie Tong’s strange behavior and stared into her eyes, asking, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Ah? Nothing… I’m a bit embarrassed to say…” Auntie Tong frowned. “It might be my imagination…”

“Imagination?” Old Lu felt something wasn’t right. “Little Chan, even if it’s your ‘imagination,’ tell me about it. What happened?”

Auntie Tong’s expression flickered for a long while before she pulled Old Lu over and said in a low voice, “I… I just felt like that young doctor was groping me…”

“Ah…?”

Old Lu looked Auntie Tong over. Although he quite liked this woman of similar age who had some refinement, he wasn’t confused either.

Auntie Tong’s looks really couldn’t be called very good, and her figure had begun to gain weight. It was hard to believe that the dignified young doctor would take liberties with her.

“Little Chan, are you sure…? He really touched you?” Old Lu asked.

“That’s why I said it might be my imagination…” Auntie Tong shook her head. “It was just two short seconds. I don’t know if it was unintentional or deliberate…”

After hearing this, Old Lu nodded. “Hey, two seconds? Then it’s probably your imagination.”

“Mm…” Auntie Tong gave an ambiguous response, then hid behind Old Lu and said no more.

Han Yimo was silent for a long while, then turned to look at Doctor Zhao.

“Are you… really going to join him…?” Han Yimo said in a low voice. “Your decision right now is wrong…”

“Is that so?” Doctor Zhao looked at him with an unnatural expression. “Can you distinguish? Every choice we make here has an unknown outcome. How can you judge right from wrong?”

“In any case, following them is wrong…” Han Yimo turned his head distractedly and looked around at everyone in the room. “What fate awaits those who join the ‘supporting character’ camp? Especially these ‘supporting characters’ who are obviously villains… even the ‘Seven Black Sword’ won’t spare them. Do you still expect them to lead you to the grand finale?”

“What bullshit grand finale. I think you’ve truly gone mad.” Doctor Zhao replied. “You’re like a deranged gambler, preparing to bet all your chips on Qi Xia. But have you asked him? Does he want to accept you?”

“He must accept me.” Han Yimo said. “Our ‘identities’ are destined to be inseparable. He’s the ‘Savior,’ and I’m the ‘Protagonist’!!”

“Can you sober up a bit…?” Doctor Zhao said with a frown. “Don’t you still know why Qi Xia abandoned you?”

Seeing Han Yimo’s state, Chu Tianqiu slowly raised the corners of his mouth.

This man was mad enough—it was truly wonderful.

Only someone this mad could release the most powerful “Echo.” He didn’t need to completely lose his reason like a Native, nor did he need to be as clearheaded as a normal person. He only needed to hover on the edge of half-madness.

This was the state of a “Perfect Echoer.”

Someone who could wield a flying sword, someone who could shake the earth.

This ability was simply a gift from heaven and today’s greatest harvest.

“Han Yimo… right?” Chu Tianqiu smiled. “After listening to you talk for so long… I always feel you’ve overlooked something.”

“Overlooked something?” Han Yimo slowly raised his head, and their gazes met.

Only then did everyone realize these two had the same crazed look in their eyes.

“That’s right… I’ve never quite understood.” Chu Tianqiu pushed up his glasses and asked softly, “You said you’re the ‘Protagonist,’ right?”

“Yes…” Han Yimo nodded. “Haven’t you all realized I’m the ‘Protagonist’?”

Chu Tianqiu smiled even more happily. He walked forward several steps, approached Han Yimo, and stared straight at him. “Then what are you afraid of?”

“What?”

“You’re the ‘Protagonist’—what are you afraid of?” Chu Tianqiu repeated. “In which book does the ‘Protagonist’ die without the ‘Savior’? Now is the time for you to venture out on your own, isn’t it?”

Han Yimo blinked slightly, feeling that what Chu said seemed quite reasonable.

“Although we’re all a group of insignificant ‘supporting characters,’ once you join us, we also become the ‘Protagonist’s camp,’ right? I’m truly curious—in a book’s ‘grand finale,’ is it more likely that the ‘Protagonist’ survives, or that the ‘Savior’ survives?”

Chu Tianqiu’s successive questions gradually shook Han Yimo’s position.

“What you’re saying… seems right too…” Han Yimo nodded. “The ‘Savior’ left me, so his storyline is over… From now on, my story is the main event…”

“Right, that’s exactly what I mean.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “You no longer need the ‘Savior’ now. What you need is me—I’m your ‘Guide.'”

“Guide…?”

“I will fully understand your ‘Echo’ and help you develop it to its maximum potential.” Chu Tianqiu reached out and patted Han Yimo’s shoulder. “And you don’t need to think about anything—you just need to follow me.”

“But, but the ‘Savior’ he…”

“What if he’s a villain?” Chu Tianqiu interrupted. “What if this part of the plot is ‘the Savior’s betrayal,’ and in the end, you have a great battle with him? Would you show him mercy?”

“I…”

Han Yimo seemed to have never considered this question. The savior who once rescued him from difficulty… would he betray?

Thinking carefully, it wasn’t impossible.

This kind of plot was very common in novels.

The protagonist’s initial “mentor” is actually a villain with his own agenda. He will turn traitor at the final moment, taking a completely different path from the “Protagonist.”

But would Qi Xia be that kind of person…?

“No rush.” Chu Tianqiu smiled. “I can give you some time to think it over carefully. As long as you’re willing to join ‘Heaven’s Mouth,’ the best future will definitely be waiting for you.”

After saying this, he looked at the people in the room and the mess on the ground, then helplessly shook his head. “Today’s farce ends here. Everyone, I’ll act as if nothing happened. Let’s all carry out our duties.”

After hearing this, everyone silently looked at him, not knowing what they were thinking.

“Jin Yuanxun, help me put the two heads back in their original positions later.” Chu Tianqiu said. “Old Lu and Doctor Zhao, if you have time, bury Chen Junnan’s corpse.”

After saying this, he paused and comforted everyone. “Don’t let these little episodes affect your mood. Remember our goal at ‘Heaven’s Mouth’—it’s to ‘escape.’ In the coming days, continue to collect game strategies.”

Chu Tianqiu turned around, put his hands in his pockets, and was about to take a step when he suddenly felt something hard in his pocket.

He frowned and took the thing out. Turning his hand over to look, his expression gradually changed.

In his hand was a yellowish, golden ingot.

“What…?”

He thought for a moment, then calmly put the gold ingot back in his pocket. Just as he turned back to say something, he discovered that Yan Zhichun was also at this moment pulling a gold ingot from her own pocket.

Their eyes met. Yan Zhichun found it somewhat interesting and smiled. “This leader, what is it?”

Chu Tianqiu looked down at the gold ingot in her hand, thought for a long while, squeezed out the words “It’s nothing,” then pushed open the classroom door and left.