Tiantian

Biodata

Background / History

Tiantian stopped using her birth name, Zhang Lijuan, when she was fourteen. By the time of the games, she identifies so strongly with her professional alias that she says she will not answer to her birth name. Customers at her workplace know her only as Tiantian 3 33.

Before arriving in the game room, she was with a client in a car parked in an alley. An earthquake caused a large billboard above them to collapse onto the vehicle. She lost consciousness and woke beside the other captives 3.

She initially defends her work as a legitimate way to earn money through her skills. Later, however, the prospect of returning to the same bleak life leaves her questioning whether escape would make any difference 3 30.

Appearance

Tiantian is described as an attractive young woman with a thin build, large eyes, and slender fingers 3 18.

• Clothing: A filthy, low-cut minidress; she initially seems unbothered by how revealing it is 3.
• Mannerisms: Repeatedly tucks loose strands of hair behind her ear while speaking 3 25.
• Injury: A harpoon pierces her right palm during the shield trial. The wound later bleeds heavily while she hangs from a handle 14 18.

Personality

Tiantian is sensitive to the stigma attached to her occupation. She becomes distressed when Qiao Jiajin treats her alias as evidence of lying, and later describes an invisible social “wall” separating respectable professionals from people such as herself, Qi Xia, and Qiao. Her decision to join the explorers rests partly on feeling that she has no place with the other group 3 25 35.

Her pessimism does not eliminate her willingness to act. She volunteers for Human Rat’s game while saying that dying would be acceptable, but later clarifies that she will still fight if there is hope. She frames her partnership with Qi Xia as temporary and transactional, openly warning that she may betray the group if circumstances turn against her 30 35.

Despite that warning, she shows concern for others and maintains firm moral limits. She checks on Zhang Chenze when the convenience store’s smell makes her retch, mourns Human Rat’s death, and refuses to murder anyone for Dao. She also readily welcomes Xiaoxiao’s help and invites her to eat, contrasting with Qi Xia’s suspicion 21 34 49.

Abilities & Skills

Improvised Problem-Solving

• Recognizes that individually searching more than a hundred boxes is impractical within a five-minute limit 31.
• Knocks over the warehouse shelves, scatters their contents, and switches off the light to look for the Dao’s faint glow 31.
• Infers that the Dao may be concealed in a sealed container when no glow appears, identifying canned broad beans as a possible hiding place 31.
• Limit: Her search fails before she can test the cans; she acknowledges that she did not inspect every box carefully 31.

Pain Endurance

• Remains quiet while hanging by her injured hand, only crying out after blood has coated the handle 18.
• Limit: Pain and blood loss force her to release her right hand. Her remaining grip fails, requiring Qi Xia to catch her 18.

Equipment / Items

• Improvised tabletop shields: Uses a triangular tabletop piece in the harpoon formation, then a square board wedged through a ceiling opening as a hanging support 13 14 17.
• Makeshift bandages: Qiao Jiajin tears fabric from Goat Head’s suit to stop the bleeding and wrap her palm wound 14.
• Dao pouch: Receives and personally counts twenty-four Dao after the group pools and redistributes its resources 49.

Relationships

• Qi Xia — Group leader and conditional partner. He catches her when her injured hand fails, and she later defends him against Xiao Ran’s demand for Dao. She nevertheless tells him that her cooperation is for her share of the rewards, not an expression of trust 18 28 35.
• Qiao Jiajin — Companion whose initial accusation threatens her in the Liar game. He later supports her shield, bandages her wound, and shares banter with her; she finds that they sometimes get along well and sometimes misunderstand each other completely 3 14 49.
• Lin Qin — Fellow explorer and green-team partner. Lin Qin notices her despair and questions her indifference to dying. They survive Earth Ox’s arena together 25 30 37 44.
• Han Yimo — Fellow captive. She feels guilty after the opening caused by her injured hand allows a harpoon to strike his shoulder, although the others reassure her that it was not her fault 14.
• Zhang Shan — Protects her arena team by killing its black bear. Tiantian credits him with keeping everyone else safe 45.
• Xiaoxiao — Quickly befriends Tiantian by offering water and a lighter. Tiantian thanks her and invites her to share the bear-meat meal despite Qi Xia’s reservations 49.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Initial Captivity

Division at the Convenience Store

• Chooses to explore with Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin, explaining that their marginalized occupations have already separated them from the police officer, lawyer, doctor, and writer 25.
• Leaves with Qi Xia after the accusations surrounding Han Yimo’s death, maintaining the choice she had made before the confrontation 27.
• Challenges Xiao Ran’s demand for Dao by pointing out that Qi Xia already spent one helping Han Yimo 28.

Human Rat’s Search Game

Tiantian becomes the group’s first voluntary game participant 30 31.

Earth Ox’s Arena

• Questions Earth Ox about payment and mistakenly calls him “Man Ox.” He sharply warns her that the distinction matters 36.
• Enters with the other three companions but is randomly assigned to the green team with Lin Qin, separating them from Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin 37.
• Is terrified by the black bear and survives through Zhang Shan’s intervention. All ten green-team members return alive 44 45.
• Earns nineteen Dao from the game and later receives twenty-four after the four companions redistribute their pooled resources 45 49.

Discovery of Different Eras

At the abandoned restaurant, Tiantian notices that Qiao Jiajin’s claimed birth year does not fit his youthful appearance if the present is 2019. Their questions establish that Qiao comes from 2006, Tiantian from 2019, Qi Xia from 2022, and Lin Qin from 2068 50.

• Wonders whether a god brought people from different years together 50.
• Accepts Qi Xia’s recommendation to prioritize escape over investigating the time discrepancy, then portions bear meat into everyone’s bowls 50.

Notable Quotes

“We earn our money through our skills, and I don't think there's anything shameful about it.” 3

“Our ‘sides’ were decided from the very beginning, weren't they?” 25

“Yes. If it means killing someone else, I'd rather die first.” 34