Chapter 60: Psychological Warfare
The human pig said nothing, but instead stared quietly at Qi Xia. "Even if you've seen through all of this, you still have to draw a black stone with a forty-nine percent probability."
"That's right." Qi Xia kept fumbling in the bowl. "When all science fails, I'll believe in superstition too."
"And what's your superstitious theory?"
"It's that I absolutely have to get out of here." Qi Xia said. "I believe with one hundred percent certainty that I can leave this damned place, so I have to draw a black stone here."
With that, he grabbed two stones from the bowl and held them in his palm.
Then he raised them in front of the human pig and flipped his hand over to show him.
The human pig's expression instantly changed. His eyes behind the mask were trembling uncontrollably. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.
Both were black stones!
Those two crystal-clear black stones lay in Qi Xia's hand like two hollow eyes, staring silently at the human pig, sending chills down his spine.
After waiting a moment, seeing that the human pig said nothing, Qi Xia curled his lips again, threw one of the black stones back, and kept the other.
"I've made my choice."
A few seconds later, the human pig finally realized what had happened. "You... you dare to trick me?!"
He slammed the table and stood up, ready to lash out, but on second thought, Qi Xia hadn't actually done anything.
He had only raised the stones in front of his eyes.
The human pig had miscalculated.
When Qi Xia held up the two black stones before his eyes, he should have said something.
Even a taunt. Even a sneer.
Even a hurry for the other to make a choice—
But his mistake was saying nothing at all.
After all, under these circumstances, only the sight of two black stones could leave a person speechless.
He had thought Qi Xia was leaving everything to "luck," never expecting that in the final moment, he was still playing psychological warfare.
The human pig had just been wondering how this man could pull out two black stones at once.
Was his "luck" really that strong?
Now he realized: the other party had no idea what color the stones he picked up were.
He was watching his reaction.
He would make his next move based on his reaction or words.
The human pig seemed completely defeated. He slowly sat back down and said, "I have to admit, not only are you meticulous, but your 'luck' is terrifyingly strong too."
Qi Xia placed the stone on the table and slowly took off his blindfold. "Thanks."
Old Lv jumped up, releasing all the joy he had been suppressing.
"You're a goddamn genius!" He hugged Qi Xia excitedly. "Kid, all our past grievances are settled now! Hahahaha!"
Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. "Do I have to thank you for that too?"
Lin Qin was also happy for the two of them. Even though they hadn't earned any 'Tao' this time, "winning" was still something to celebrate.
The human pig walked reluctantly to the side, took out ten 'Tao' from a box, and handed them to Old Lv.
Old Lv beamed with joy, pocketed the 'Tao,' and turned to Qi Xia. "Kid, don't think I'm being stingy. I paid the 'entrance fee' this time, so you'll have to forgive me."
Qi Xia didn't mind. He nodded and stood up. "'Tao' doesn't matter. I need to know where those two are now."
"Oh, that's easy." Old Lv said. "I may be stingy, but I know how to settle scores. Follow me. I saw those two outside a game room this morning."
"Great." Qi Xia and Lin Qin both nodded and stood up to leave.
"Hey..." the human pig called out.
The three turned around in confusion. "What's up?"
"What's your name?" the human pig asked, staring at Qi Xia.
"Qi Xia."
"Qi Xia..." the human pig repeated, then slowly sat down in front of the table, seeming lost in thought.
He didn't say anything more for a long time, leaving the others bewildered.
"Did winning too much drive this dead pig crazy?" Old Lv muttered. "He probably can't earn ten 'Tao' in a day."
"Crazy?" Lin Qin snorted. "He's already crazy to begin with..."
Just as everyone was packing up to leave, the human pig finally spoke.
"Qi Xia."
Hearing his name, Qi Xia turned back again, his expression already impatient. "What is it this time?"
"I want to bet with you again. This time, I'm betting my life." The human pig's tone was steady.
Hearing this, the three stood frozen for a moment.
As if none of them could understand what the human pig meant.
"What... what?!" Old Lv reacted and took a big step back. "Have you lost your goddamn mind, you dead pig?!"
Lin Qin quickly grabbed Qi Xia's arm. "Let's not listen to him..."
Qi Xia frowned. "I refuse."
"Refuse?" The human pig crossed his arms. "You're going to refuse?"
"That's right." Qi Xia nodded. "There's no way I'm betting my life when I only have a fifty percent chance of winning. That's meaningless to me."
Old Lv turned around, looking at Qi Xia suspiciously. "Kid... what the hell are you talking about..."
"What's wrong?" Qi Xia turned to him. "You think I should bet my life too?"
"It's not a matter of 'should I or shouldn't I'!" Old Lv stomped his foot anxiously. "In this damned place, if one party proposes a 'life bet,' the other party has to accept!"
Qi Xia was taken aback, as if he understood something.
When he had proposed a life bet to the "human rat," although she was extremely reluctant, she had ultimately accepted.
Now that he thought about it, it was a very strange decision.
Her game was very simple. If the other party really chose a life bet, there was a high chance they had found a way to win.
Under conditions so unfavorable to herself, she should have refused no matter what, right?
But she hadn't.
So here, a proposal to "bet your life" was a binding death contract?
If this rule was broken, an arbiter like "Zhuque" would descend from the sky and punish the violator.
Qi Xia's expression turned ice-cold. That Zhuque was dying to kill him. If he chose to run now, the consequences would be dire.
Even more hopeless was that all the tactics he had just used would fail the second time around, and the probability of losing would skyrocket.
"Don't be afraid." The human pig seemed to see through Qi Xia's thoughts and spoke up. "I'm not such an unreasonable pig. Let's play something more interesting this time."
He pulled out two pairs of glasses from a box beside him and placed them on the table.
"These are some good things I borrowed from Brother Goat..."
Everyone looked closely. The glasses seemed no different from ordinary ones, except for a small device at the bridge of the nose, whose function was unknown.
"Both of you, I need your help." The human pig said with a silly grin.
"Help?" Old Lv curled his lips immediately. "Help you? No way."
"If you don't agree, I'll declare a life bet with all of you." The human pig said in a strange tone.