Chapter 65: Impersonation
The three who walked out of the chess club could not calm down for a long time.
Although the one who died was "Human Pig," no matter how you looked at it, Human Pig was a flesh-and-blood human being.
He was not a monster, not a madman, and certainly not the evil organizer.
Qi Xia walked with his head lowered, lost in thought. Lin Qin stayed close by his side, never leaving.
Old Lyu kept looking back toward the house, where Human Pig's corpse lay. But he seemed unconcerned, instead searching for something else.
"What's wrong?" Qi Xia turned and asked.
"That... although it might not be the right time to say this," Old Lyu said, "but you won that 'life gamble.' Their 'Dao' is ours now."
"Don't be foolish," Qi Xia shook his head. "Human Pig couldn't possibly have any 'Dao' left. The ten pieces he gave you were his entire stash."
"What?" Old Lyu's eyes bulged, then he shook his head dramatically. "Impossible. I don't believe it."
He hurried into the house, trying his best not to look at Human Pig's corpse, and began rifling through his drawers.
The once clean and tidy chess club was turned upside down in no time.
Just as Qi Xia had said, there wasn't a single 'Dao' left here.
Qi Xia shook his head from outside the door and said, "If he still had spare 'Dao,' why would he choose to gamble his life with us?"
"Goddammit, isn't that cheating?!" Old Lyu cursed in frustration. "Getting something for nothing!"
"Getting something for nothing?" Qi Xia couldn't quite grasp Old Lyu's logic. "Didn't the other party pay with their 'life'?"
"Uh... yeah, that's true." Old Lyu clasped his hands together and bowed toward Human Pig's corpse. "My apologies for speaking hastily. Please don't take offense."
After bowing a few times, Old Lyu still felt he'd taken a loss. After all, he hadn't wanted the guy's life either.
"I need to see if there's anything else valuable around here."
Old Lyu began searching the room again. But this was an abandoned chess club after all. Besides the scattered chess pieces, the only things worth anything were the tables and chairs.
"What a loss..." Old Lyu shook his head regretfully. "Kid, we took a huge loss! You almost died here, and we're leaving empty-handed."
As he spoke, Old Lyu suddenly noticed the pig-head mask that Human Pig had left on the floor.
"Mask..." Old Lyu's lips moved slightly, and then something clicked. "Goddammit... isn't this the most valuable thing here?!"
Qi Xia furrowed his brow, stepped forward, and asked, "What are you planning to do?"
"Do business!" Old Lyu picked up the dirty, stinking mask from the floor and held it in his hands like a treasure. "Kid Qi, with this mask, can't we run the 'Go Club' business?!"
"Wha—" Qi Xia's pupils shifted. He felt this wasn't a good idea. "Old Lyu, you want to become 'Human Pig'?"
"Pah, screw Human Pig!" Old Lyu waved dismissively. "Impersonation! You understand impersonation, don't you?"
"You..."
Old Lyu raised the mask, pretended to put it on his face, and spoke in a muffled voice: "Heh heh, someone's finally come to play with me! Hurry up and assign! Hurry up and assign!"
Qi Xia's brow remained tightly furrowed. This plan sounded far too dangerous.
The 'Zodiacs' were under the unified management of those overseers. How could anyone impersonate them so easily?
"Old Lyu, you should know that 'killing for Dao' isn't allowed, right?" Qi Xia asked.
"I heard it from Zhang Shan, but this isn't 'killing for Dao,'" Old Lyu pushed the mask forward. "We didn't kill him, and this isn't 'Dao' either."
"That's not what I mean." Qi Xia took the mask and placed it on the table. "I advise you not to touch that thing. On a small scale, this is called 'impersonation'; on a larger scale, this is 'usurpation of authority.' That's even more serious than 'killing for Dao.'"
"Usurpation of authority?!"
Qi Xia nodded. "Becoming a 'Zodiac'—is there an assessment process? What are the rules for designing games? If you put on that mask without clarifying these issues, I'm afraid you'll face punishment from the overseers."
Old Lyu looked a bit dejected after hearing this. He had just been picturing the beautiful scene of collecting dozens of 'Dao' every day, but now that dream had been shattered again.
"Kid Qi, aren't you being too cautious?" Old Lyu asked reluctantly. "Maybe this mask is something anyone can wear, as long as they can set a challenge."
"I don't know," Qi Xia said. "I'm just telling you my thoughts. If you still want to wear that mask, I won't stop you. But before that, tell me where those two are."
Old Lyu thought it over a few times, then said to Qi Xia, "Hang on a sec."
With that, he wiggled his bulky body and ran around the room holding the mask. Before long, he found a corner piled high with discarded table tops.
He hid the mask behind the pile of boards, then carefully covered it layer by layer with the junk.
"I'll stash it here for now. A man should always keep a trick up his sleeve..." Old Lyu dusted off his hands and turned around. "Kid Qi, I keep my word. I won't go back on it. Come with me!"
The three left the heart-pounding chess club behind and headed toward the dilapidated street.
Old Lyu led them back along the path they had come from.
"Oh, by the way, Kid Qi. Why didn't you pick me earlier?" Old Lyu asked.
"What?"
"Back during the 'Truth or Lie' game," Old Lyu scratched his pudgy face. "You picked that girl Lin Qin. Why not me?"
Qi Xia replied helplessly, "To be honest, I feel Lin Qin is a bit smarter than you."
"Pfft..." Lin Qin, who had been feeling a bit down, suddenly burst out laughing. Qi Xia might be a liar, but many times he simply didn't bother to lie.
"What kind of talk is that..." Old Lyu was a bit speechless. "Kid Qi, you don't know me. The more critical the moment, the smarter I get."
"Yeah, right," Qi Xia nodded. "And at critical moments, you think about grabbing iron plates and shrinking into corners."
"Huh?" Old Lyu was caught off guard and looked a bit embarrassed. "You can't blame me for that. I didn't know you had such a good head on your shoulders back then."
"That's fair. We're even now," Qi Xia said.
Old Lyu shrugged helplessly, then looked at the aluminum pot Lin Qin had been holding and asked, "Did you eat that bear meat?"
"Yeah," Lin Qin replied. "It was terrible."
"Sigh..." Old Lyu nodded sadly. "Bear meat might taste awful, but at least it fills your stomach. It's a pity Zhang Shan never got to eat it. In the end, he died an empty stomach."
"Why didn't he eat?" Lin Qin asked casually.
The next second, her eyes went wide.
Qi Xia also realized something. The two of them looked at Old Lyu at the same time.
"Empty stomach?"
Old Lyu's eyes showed a hint of sorrow. He sighed and said, "Zhang Shan is dead."
"Dead?!" The two exclaimed in unison.
"Yeah... otherwise, why would I be wandering around alone?"