Chapter 72: Identity Cards
After tidying up a bit, the group followed Old Lyu to the game venue.
Perhaps as Old Lyu himself had said, since he had been setting up a street stall for years, he was particularly familiar with the city's intricate alleyways.
The group followed him as he wove through various alleyways, and Qi Xia lost his bearings several times.
But Old Lyu strolled leisurely, constantly turning left and right.
During the journey, Qi Xia also spotted the "numbers" Old Lyu had mentioned several times. Besides the "52" he had seen before, Qi Xia also saw "19" and "34."
He guessed Old Lyu might be right—these numbers were just markers someone had written to remember the way.
After about twenty minutes, they arrived in front of a shabby hotel.
"Earth Dog" was standing at the entrance, seemingly talking to a few people.
When Qi Xia and the other three approached, their expressions changed instantly.
The "Earth Dog" mask before them was incredibly realistic—it was the face of a large bulldog. His suit was shiny black, and his fitted shirt was immaculate.
"It's 'Earth Dog'..." Qi Xia was momentarily stunned.
Zhang Chenze blinked slightly and asked, "What does 'Earth Dog' mean? Isn't it 'Human Dog'?"
"'Earth Dog' is a rank higher than 'Human Dog'..." Qi Xia rubbed his chin and said. "In an 'Earth-rank' game, people can die."
"People die..." Zhang Chenze was taken aback. "Then do we still participate?"
"Well..."
Qi Xia frowned and thought for a moment. Even if it was "Earth-rank," the game was still a "cooperative" type. As long as the four of them worked together, Qi Xia was confident they could win.
With that in mind, he turned around and looked seriously at Zhang Chenze and Old Lyu. "Can you guarantee you'll follow my arrangements?"
"I can." Zhang Chenze nodded.
"I can." Old Lyu echoed.
Qi Xia felt relieved after hearing that.
"Great, people are here!" A shout came from the direction of Earth Dog. "Now we can start, right?"
Qi Xia turned to look and saw the young people beside Earth Dog were all staring their way.
"What's going on? Isn't it a four-person team?" Qi Xia asked Old Lyu in confusion.
"I don't know either. This morning, that Dog told me only four-person teams could participate."
Qi Xia stepped forward to size up the four people.
Three men and one woman.
They all appeared to be in their twenties. One man and one woman were holding each other, seemingly a couple.
These people looked rough and rowdy, with hair dyed in various colors. Qi Xia's first impression of them wasn't good.
If Qiao Jiajin gave the first impression of a renowned enforcer among thugs, these young people seemed like the lowest-level underlings in a gang.
"Want to join my game?" Earth Dog's low voice suddenly rang out. "One 'Dao' per person. Life and death are up to fate. The losing team will be fully eliminated, and the surviving team will receive five 'Dao' per person, plus all the spoils from the eliminated team."
"Full elimination?!" Everyone was stunned.
"What are the rules?" Qi Xia asked coldly.
"Pay the entry fee, learn the rules."
"Here we go again..."
Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. It was the same with Earth Ox's game earlier—they had no idea what they were getting into before paying.
"Hey, can you guys do it or not?" A thug with green hair looked impatient. "Scared already before you've even played?"
Qi Xia ignored the green-haired man. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Earth Dog, will your game 'randomly split teams'?"
"Randomly split teams..." Old Lyu and Lin Qin seemed to think of something.
That was indeed a problem. If Earth Dog followed Earth Ox's example and suddenly scrambled the teams after the entry fee was paid, the outcome would be unpredictable.
"No." Earth Dog said. "You will maintain your current teams. All your efforts will be for the benefit of your team."
Hearing this, Qi Xia slowly relaxed.
So this was a purely "team cooperation" game. Since there were two teams on site, it would likely be a competition.
Seeing Qi Xia hesitating, Old Lyu quickly took out four "Dao" and handed them over.
"Old Lyu..." Qi Xia frowned. "What are you doing?"
"This round is on me." Old Lyu grinned slyly. "If we end up winning, give me a little extra share."
"I don't want to give you extra." Qi Xia said. "The 'Dao' we win will be split equally among everyone. Otherwise, I'll leave right now."
"Well..."
Old Lyu sighed and then nodded reluctantly. "Alright, alright... You're really stingy, kid."
Both teams paid their entry fees.
To everyone's surprise, after paying, Earth Dog's attitude did a complete 180. He danced with joy and, like a host welcoming guests, ushered the eight people inside.
"Come in, everyone!" Earth Dog said with a smile. "Welcome to my game venue!"
Although everyone was puzzled, they could only follow him inside reluctantly.
After entering, Qi Xia looked around the shabby hotel.
The interior structure was simple. There was a long corridor on each side, and each corridor had several rooms.
"I wonder if any of you like watching spy dramas?" Earth Dog rubbed his hands and asked.
Qi Xia noticed that the back of Earth Dog's hand was furry, as if he was wearing very realistic gloves.
"Spy dramas? Who watches that stuff?" A blond thug shook his head. "Stop wasting time. Tell us what we're playing."
"So impatient..." Earth Dog pulled two stacks of cards from the front desk drawer and held them out. "Although you entered as four-person teams, everyone has their own identity card within the team. Now, please draw your identities."
Qi Xia looked at the stack of identity cards. They resembled the cards he had seen when he first met Human Sheep, with the words "Nuwa Game" on the back.
Lin Qin, standing at the front of the team, took the four cards and turned around. "Who draws first?"
"Doesn't matter. You deal the cards." Zhang Chenze said.
Lin Qin nodded, flipped the cards face-down, shuffled them, and then handed one to each of the three.
Qi Xia took his "identity card" and looked at it with confusion.
It read "Sender."
"Do we need to keep this secret?" Old Lyu pressed his card to his chest and asked cautiously.
Everyone looked at Earth Dog.
"No need." Earth Dog said with a smile. "Teammates can check each other's identities. If you like, you can also exchange identities."
Hearing this, the few of them gathered around Qi Xia, forming a circle.
They revealed their cards one by one. Everyone's identity was different.
Qi Xia's identity was "Sender."
Lin Qin's identity was "Receiver."
Zhang Chenze's identity was "Hostage."
"What about yours?" Qi Xia looked at Old Lyu, who still refused to show his card.
"I... mine... how should I put it..."
Without further ado, Qi Xia grabbed Old Lyu's wrist and forced his card into view.
It read "Spy."