Qiao Jiajin

Biodata

Background / History

Before entering the games, Qiao lived in Guangdong and lent money to people who could not obtain institutional loans. He resented being called cold-blooded, arguing that borrowers had regarded him as a savior when they needed help. He was collecting a debt before an earthquake occurred and he subsequently found himself among the game’s participants 4.

His experience of frequent injuries on the streets led him to teach himself basic bandaging. He also claims to have eaten garbage, bringing up the experience while urging his companions to eat their available food 14 50.

Qiao’s unfamiliarity with WeChat initially appears to be a gap in his knowledge. Later, a discussion over his birth year reveals that he comes from 2006, whereas Tiantian, Qi Xia, and Lin Qin come from 2019, 2022, and 2068 respectively. His birth year is 1979, not 2006 7 50.

Appearance

• Lean but muscular: His thin-looking build conceals considerable strength; removing his jacket reveals hardened muscle 12 46.
• Extensive tattoos: He has tattoo sleeves and tattoos covering his body 5 46.
• Rugged face: His frustration during the confrontation with Human Snake is described across his rugged features 19.
• Youthful appearance: His appearance and physical condition do not suggest a man in his forties, helping expose the group’s different temporal origins 50.

Personality

Qiao is outspoken, profane, and resistant to unearned authority. During the opening game, he refuses to accept Li Shangwu as the group’s captain simply because Li claims to be a police officer. When particularly angry, his imperfect Mandarin gives way to Cantonese 6 28.

His bravado coexists with practical courage. He prefers taking a chance to waiting helplessly, but recognizes dangers he cannot overcome alone. He repeatedly asks Qi Xia for solutions and continues carrying out the physical work even after being injured 12 39 42.

Despite his rough manner, Qiao draws a firm moral line against injustice. He refuses Qi Xia’s proposal to murder other participants for Dao, reasoning that they have suffered to survive just as his own group has. His willingness to endanger himself for Han Yimo and Qi Xia demonstrates that this principle extends beyond words 15 34 43.

Humor is a regular part of his companionship: he teases Qi Xia, tries to make others call him “boss,” and jokes about his own experience. Tiantian explicitly finds that his personality helps relieve the group’s gloom 23 36 46 50.

Abilities & Skills

Martial Arts

Qiao is a trained fighter rather than merely a street brawler. Qi Xia recognizes that his movements resemble mixed martial arts, and his exchange with Zhang Shan establishes that both men have combat training 40 46.

• Striking and footwork: Uses uppercuts, controlled weight shifts, evasive steps, and rolls to strike the black bear while avoiding its attacks 40.
• Grappling: Takes Zhang Shan down into an armbar, then later uses a shin kick to create an opening for a rear-naked choke 46.
• Limits: His punches make the bear wary but do little damage and badly hurt his hand. Zhang Shan escapes the armbar and prevents the choke from fully locking, leaving their fight unresolved 40 46.

Strength and Endurance

• Turns the heavy puzzle table halfway around by himself, initiating the group’s attempt to escape the harpoon trap 12.
• Stops Zhang Shan’s attacking arm despite the larger man’s effort to overpower him 46.
• Braces the iron plate against repeated bear attacks and resumes the task after a charge knocks him down 41 42.
• Cannot lift the arena’s iron plate outright; Qi Xia instead has him roll it along the floor 40.
• Is decisively overpowered when Earth Ox separates him and Zhang Shan and throws them apart 47.

Basic First Aid

Qiao’s medical knowledge is self-taught and limited to practical wound care 14.

• Tears fabric from the dead Goat-Headed Man’s suit to bind Tiantian’s arm and wrap her wound 14.
• Helps restrain Han Yimo during Doctor Zhao’s stitching procedure; he assists rather than performs the treatment 23.

Observation and Rule Analysis

• Recognizes that statements made during intermission are not subject to the storytelling game’s truth requirement 5.
• Identifies the apparent contradiction between Zhang Chenze’s captured fraud suspect and Li Shangwu’s ongoing stakeout 7.
• Questions possible connections between Lin Qin’s client and Xiao Ran, showing that his attention extends beyond physical threats 7.
• Points out that moving the roughly seventy-five-kilogram Seven Black Sword silently would be difficult even for himself and Qi Xia together 27.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Improvised fabric bandages — Made from the Goat-Headed Man’s suit to treat Tiantian 14.
• Tabletop shield — Uses the room’s divided tabletop pieces during the harpoon and collapsing-floor trials 13 17.
• Heavy iron plate — A temporary defensive barrier in Earth Ox’s arena, operated with Qi Xia’s directional guidance 40 41.
• Dao pouch — Carries his game rewards in a cloth pouch at his waist. Entrusts it to Qi Xia without hesitation and does not recount its contents when it is returned 49.

Relationships

• Qi Xia — Partner and the “brain” to Qiao’s “fist.” Qiao repeatedly trusts him despite his professed selfishness, follows him after the original group splits, and intervenes when Zhang Shan attacks him 16 17 27 30 46.
• Tiantian / Zhang Lijuan — Initially argues with her over their opening accounts. Later bandages her injury and travels with her as part of Qi Xia’s group 4 14 25.
• Lin Qin — Fellow explorer and teammate. She restrains him during the Dao dispute and helps him up after Earth Ox’s intervention 25 28 47.
• Li Shangwu — Initially a rival whose authority and honesty Qiao challenges. Nevertheless, they cooperate to keep Han Yimo alive, and Li prevents Qiao from attacking Human Snake 6 7 15 18 19.
• Han Yimo — Fellow participant whom Qiao repeatedly helps protect: blocking his pull toward the wall, supporting him above the drop, and assisting during treatment 15 18 21 23.
• Zhang Shan — Skilled opponent. Their fight reaches a grappling stalemate before Earth Ox intervenes; afterward, Qiao accepts that Qi Xia had initiated the confrontation 46 47.
• Little Glasses — Fellow arena survivor who tries to relieve Qiao at the iron plate but lacks the strength. Later praises Qiao’s fighting ability during his group’s recruitment attempt 42 47.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Opening Trials

• Challenges other participants’ accounts and the assumption that a claimed professional identity deserves trust 3 5 6 7.
• Finds the message inside the Goat-Headed Man’s mask and discovers the harpoons hidden in the room’s openings 11.
• Starts rotating the puzzle table, then backs Qi Xia’s shield solution against Doctor Zhao’s objection 12 13.
• Risks being crushed against the wall to buy time for Li Shangwu to cut Han Yimo’s rope 15.
• Follows Qi Xia to the room’s center during the ceiling trap and helps keep the wounded Han from falling after the floor collapses 17 18.

Formation of the Exploration Group

• Chooses to explore with Qi Xia, Tiantian, and Lin Qin rather than remain at the convenience store 25.
• Rejects the accusation that Qi Xia could easily have moved Han Yimo’s murder weapon unnoticed and leaves with him 27.
• Reaffirms the brains-and-muscle partnership, stating that he neither wants to die nor sit around awaiting death 30.
• Rejects killing for Dao during Qi Xia’s moral test, helping establish the team’s shared limits 34.

Earth Ox’s Bear Trial

• Is assigned to the yellow team with Qi Xia, separated from Tiantian and Lin Qin 37.
• Distracts the bear while Qi Xia examines the arena’s iron plate, then becomes the frontline defender in the “eagle catches the chicks” formation 39 40 41.
• Continues shielding the group after being injured and attacks the bear to protect an incapacitated Qi Xia during the final seconds 42 43.
• Survives with eight yellow-team companions. With all ten green-team participants also surviving, each survivor receives nineteen Dao 44 45.

Zhang Shan Confrontation and Temporal Discovery

• Intervenes in Qi Xia’s fight with Zhang Shan and holds the larger fighter in a stalemate until Earth Ox forcibly ends the encounter 46 47.
• Initially agrees to admit a frightened young woman, but withdraws the invitation after noticing Qi Xia’s warning 48.
• Shares a bear-meat meal with his companions, during which his 2006 origin reveals that the group has been assembled from different eras 50.

Notable Quotes

“You've got brains, I've got muscle. Let's work together.” 16

“Even if the sky comes crashing down here, I won't do anything unjust.” 34

“Because he's my ‘brain.’ If you damage his head, we'll both end up stupid.” 46

Trivia

• Plays arcade games and mentions Fatal Fury, but does not recognize the game discussed by Han Yimo and Doctor Zhao 24.
• Admires Arnold Schwarzenegger and repeatedly uses The Terminator as a comparison for extraordinary power 32 34 45.
• Objects to being assigned the “mother hen” role in Qi Xia’s bear-defense strategy 41.