# Chapter 76: Smart at Crucial Moments
"You old dog, you're pretty clever." A Mu's face instantly darkened.
"Of course... I'm very smart at crucial moments." Old Lü put on an ugly smile.
"I really hope your teammates could see this side of you." A Mu took five "Dao" from his pocket and scattered them on the ground like feeding pigeons.
Old Lü hurriedly got down on the ground, picked up the "Dao" one by one, and stuffed them into his pocket.
"Heh heh... my teammates will understand me." Old Lü patted the dust off his hands. "I already warned them that 'I'm smart at crucial moments.' They didn't expect me to betray them—I can't help that."
A Mu gave a forced smile that didn't reach his eyes, then handed the locked box together with the golden key to Old Lü.
"Then I'll leave the rest to you."
...
On the other side, in the "Receiver's" room.
Qi Xia was sitting on a chair, resting with his eyes closed.
"'Prisoner's Dilemma'?" he murmured to himself. "No, it should be the 'Bucket Law'..."
"The weakest member of the team determines the team's overall strength..." Qi Xia's fingers tapped lightly on the table as he mentally counted time. "But which 'plank' belongs to our bucket..."
"The 'spies' on both sides should have already met with the 'Senders'." Still with his eyes closed, he tried to simulate the meeting scenes between both parties as best he could.
"About ten minutes have passed. Our 'spy' hasn't delivered the letter yet, which means Lin Qin's persuasion failed. After all, a woman in love has no reason to personally harm her lover."
"As for the other side..."
Qi Xia opened his eyes and reached out to toy with the silver key on the table.
"Old Lü has most likely defected."
His expression gradually turned cold. "From now on, the other side will have the help of two 'spies' at the same time. Things are heading in the worst possible direction."
"The good news is that the 'Bucket Law' has officially failed; there are no more weak links in our team." Qi Xia's lips curled into a faint sneer. "Next comes the 'MiG-25 Effect'."
Just then, a voice came from the doorway: "When the Soviet Union built the MiG-25 fighter jet, even though none of its components were as good as America's, they improved the overall performance to make it a world-class fighter. That's the 'MiG-25 Effect,' isn't it?"
Qi Xia turned his head. The "spy" Jiang Ruoxue was standing outside the door, looking at him expressionlessly.
In her arms was a box, locked.
"Do you think the 'MiG-25 Effect' is correct?" Jiang Ruoxue asked.
"I'm not entirely sure." Qi Xia's face was equally expressionless. "I'm not certain whether the 'components' I have now are good or not. But the moment you appeared, all my doubts vanished."
"Just my appearance gave you an epiphany? Then you must be a once-in-a-century genius." Jiang Ruoxue placed the box on the table in front of Qi Xia with a hint of sarcasm. "Now go ahead and use your 'MiG-25 Effect' to open this box."
Qi Xia examined the box carefully. A golden lock firmly secured it.
He tried the silver key in his hand, but it didn't open it at all.
He picked up the box and shook it gently. Sure enough, he heard a rustling sound inside.
There was a letter.
"What should I call you?" Qi Xia asked.
"Jiang Ruoxue."
"Jiang Ruoxue, did you crush the key earlier?" Qi Xia asked.
"Do you think your teammate would give me the key?" Jiang Ruoxue crossed her arms, as if watching a good show. "A smart guy like you can't open the box without a key?"
"She didn't give you the key—that's excellent." Qi Xia's lips twitched upward. He said to Jiang Ruoxue, "Did you hear that just now?"
"Hear? Hear what?"
"Footsteps," Qi Xia said. "The soundproofing in this old inn isn't great. Before you made your move, you must have heard footsteps, right?"
"So what?" Jiang Ruoxue pouted. "The only people moving around in this building are me and that old man. Footsteps aren't strange."
"Then why did he set out earlier than you?" Qi Xia tapped the table and looked at Jiang Ruoxue meaningfully. "Why did our 'spy' set off first?"
"You..." Jiang Ruoxue's expression stiffened, as if she had thought of something.
"How likely do you think you are to survive this game?" Qi Xia kept tapping the table, trying to break her psychological defenses with his words. "If your team cooperates with our 'spy,' do you still have a chance?"
"I get it." Jiang Ruoxue's gaze gradually turned icy. "You can't open the box, so you've shifted your target to me? Isn't that a bit childish?"
Qi Xia nodded and said, "So you saw through that?"
"Don't try to deceive me." Jiang Ruoxue took a step back. "I absolutely will not trust you."
Qi Xia stopped talking and instead looked at his own tapping fingers.
"About time..." His face turned cold as he muttered to himself. "Let me verify whether the 'components' are good or not..."
Before Jiang Ruoxue could understand the meaning of his words, the sound of commotion suddenly erupted from another corridor.
It sounded like people were fighting.
Unfortunately, it was a bit far away, and the details were unclear.
"Excellent. These are 'top-grade components'." Qi Xia stopped tapping the table and slowly stood up. "Miss Jiang, if you had agreed to cooperate with us just now, the outcome would have been completely different. But now there's no chance. You're just a 'spare component'."
"Heh, how interesting." Jiang Ruoxue shook her head helplessly. "Then I'd like to see how you plan to get the letter."
Qi Xia didn't try to open the lock at all.
Instead, he picked up his own silver lock and locked it onto the box as well.
Now the box had two locks.
"Have you lost your mind?" Jiang Ruoxue asked. "Adding another lock—are you trying to get a 'double negative makes a positive'?"
"Lost my mind? That's possible." Qi Xia picked up the box and shoved it into Jiang Ruoxue's hands. "Please, deliver this back to the 'Sender'."
"What?!" Jiang Ruoxue was stunned.
A box with two locks back to the "Sender"?
"So that's it..." She was instantly shocked, understanding Qi Xia's strategy. "Wait, hold on..."
Before she could finish, Qi Xia pushed her out of the room and locked the door.
As Jiang Ruoxue stepped into the hallway, the countdown on the wall lit up—three minutes.
Clutching the box, her expression was complicated.
If only she had known he was that kind of person, she should have pretended to agree just now...
Once in the corridor, the sounds from the other hallway became clearer.
Jiang Ruoxue snapped back to reality and pressed her ear against the wall to listen.
Before long, her expression turned serious.
A Mu sounded very angry. He was shouting loudly: "You old dog, you actually destroyed the key?!"