Chapter 60: Psychological Warfare
Human Pig did not speak. Instead, he looked calmly at Qi Xia and said, "Even if you've seen through all of that, you still have to pick a black stone with a forty-nine percent probability."
"That's right." Qi Xia continued fumbling in the bowl. "When all science ceases to work, I'll also believe in metaphysics."
"So what is your metaphysical theory?"
"That I absolutely must get out." Qi Xia said. "I believe one hundred percent that I can leave this hellhole, so I have to pick 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 Human Pig and opened his hand for him to see.
Human Pig's face instantly changed. The eyes beneath the mask trembled uncontrollably. He could hardly believe what he saw.
Both stones were black!
The two crystal-clear black stones lay in Qi Xia's hand like a pair of hollow eyes, staring silently at Human Pig, sending chills down his spine.
After a moment, seeing that Human Pig said nothing, the corner of Qi Xia's mouth lifted again. He tossed one of the black stones back into the bowl and kept the other.
"I've made my choice."
A few seconds later, Human Pig finally understood. "You—you dared to trick me?!"
He slammed the table and stood up, ready to lash out, but on second thought, Qi Xia hadn't done anything wrong.
He had simply held the stones up for him to see.
Human Pig had miscalculated.
When Qi Xia raised those two black stones before his eyes, he should have said something.
Even a taunt. Even a sneer.
Even a hurry-up-and-make-your-choice—
But his mistake was saying nothing at all.
After all, in such a situation, the only thing that would render someone speechless was if both stones were black.
He had thought Qi Xia was leaving everything to luck, never imagining that even at the final moment, the man was still playing a psychological game.
Just a moment ago, Human Pig had been wondering: how could this man pull out two black stones at once?
Was his luck really that strong?
Now he realized: the man had no idea what color stones he had picked.
He was watching his reaction.
He would base his next move on his response—or his silence.
Human Pig seemed utterly defeated. He slowly sat down and said, "I have to admit, you're not only meticulous in your thinking, your luck is terrifyingly strong too."
Qi Xia placed the stone on the table and slowly removed the blindfold. "Thank you."
Old Lyu jumped up, releasing all the pent-up joy of the past half day.
"You're a goddamn genius!" He hugged Qi Xia excitedly. "Kid, I'm calling it even between us from now on! Hahahaha!"
Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. "Should I thank you for that?"
Lin Qin was happy for them too. Even though they hadn't gained any Dao this time, winning was still something to celebrate.
Reluctantly, Human Pig walked to a box, took out ten Dao stones, and handed them to Old Lyu.
Old Lyu beamed. He pocketed the Dao, then turned to Qi Xia and said, "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. "The Dao doesn't matter. I need to know the whereabouts of those two people now."
"Oh, that's easy." Old Lyu said. "I may be cheap, but I know how to repay a favor. Come with 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..." Human Pig called out.
The three turned back, confused. "What's wrong?"
"What's your name?" Human Pig stared at Qi Xia.
"Qi Xia."
"Qi Xia..." Human Pig repeated. He slowly sat back down at the table, as if deep in thought.
For a long time, Human Pig said nothing, leaving the others perplexed.
"Did we win too much and drive this dead pig crazy?" Old Lyu muttered. "He probably doesn't even earn ten Dao in a whole day here."
"Crazy?" Lin Qin pursed her lips. "They're all crazy to begin with..."
Just as they were about to pack up and leave, Human Pig finally spoke.
"Qi Xia."
Hearing his name, Qi Xia turned around again, his expression growing impatient. "What is it now?"
"I want to gamble with you again. This time, for your life." Human Pig's tone was steady.
Hearing this, the three stood frozen for a moment.
As if none of them could comprehend what Human Pig meant.
"What?! What?!" Old Lyu, once he snapped out of it, took a big step back. "You dead pig have really lost your mind?!"
Lin Qin quickly grabbed Qi Xia's arm. "Let's just ignore him..."
Qi Xia frowned. "I refuse."
"Refuse?" Human Pig crossed his arms. "You want to refuse?"
"That's right." Qi Xia nodded. "There's no way I'm betting my life when my chances are only fifty-fifty. That means nothing to me."
Old Lyu turned and stared suspiciously at Qi Xia. "Kid... what the hell are you talking about?"
"What's wrong?" Qi Xia turned to him. "Do you think I should bet my life?"
"It's not a matter of 'should' or 'shouldn't'!" Old Lyu stomped his foot in frustration. "In this godforsaken place, if one side proposes a death match, the other side has to accept!"
Qi Xia was taken aback, as if something clicked.
When he had proposed a death match to Human Rat earlier, she had been extremely reluctant, but in the end, she accepted.
Now that he thought about it, that was a very strange decision.
Her game was very simple. If the other party truly chose to bet their life, there was a good chance they had found a way to win.
Under such unfavorable conditions for her, she should have refused at all costs, right?
But she hadn't.
So it turned out that here, proposing a death match meant a forced life-or-death contract?
If someone broke this rule, a judge like Vermilion Bird would descend from the heavens and punish the violator.
Qi Xia's face turned icy cold. That Vermilion Bird was itching to kill him. If he chose to run away now, the consequences would be dire.
Even more despairing was that all the tactics he had just used would be useless the second time, greatly increasing his chance of failure.
"Don't be afraid." Human Pig seemed to read Qi Xia's thoughts. "I'm not that unreasonable a pig. This time, let's play something more interesting."
He pulled two pairs of glasses from a box and placed them on the table.
"These are some good stuff I borrowed from Brother Yang."
Everyone took a closer look. The glasses looked ordinary except for a small device on the nose bridge, its function unknown.
"Both of you, I need a favor." Human Pig said with a simple grin.
"A favor?" Old Lyu pouted immediately. "Help you? No way."
"If you refuse, I'll declare a death match with all of you." Human Pig said in a strange tone.