Chapter 126: The Cheater
As per the "rules," the human monkey was the winner of rock-paper-scissors, so he could designate who would go "first."
"I'll go first myself," the human monkey said. "You pick the box."
Qi Xia lowered his head in thought for a moment, then said, "A box with ten 'Tao.'"
The human monkey's expression darkened at this, and even his pupils flickered. He felt like a remarkable figure had just stepped into his arena.
Had the man in front of him already figured out the solution long ago... or was this just a coincidence?
After pondering for a moment, the human monkey walked over to the box containing ten "Tao" and took out one.
Now the two boxes had twelve and nine pieces respectively.
Seeing that the human monkey had only taken one, Qi Xia's expression shifted slightly as well.
"Only one...? You're not a fool either."
The two of them were locked in a battle of wits sharp as blades, yet their expressions remained calm.
Joe Jiaying, pretending to look serious, had been watching for a while before quietly asking Yun Yao, "Is this game really that hard?"
"Do you think it's easy?" Yun Yao replied, arms crossed. "Every move Qi Xia makes right now is brilliant, including deliberately losing the rock-paper-scissors just so he could 'designate the box.'"
"What?" Joe Jiaying froze. "That conman did it on purpose? But even if he lost rock-paper-scissors, can he still win the game?"
"Let's simulate it," Yun Yao said. "Right now, one box has nine pieces, and the other has twelve. Which box would you pick, and how many would you take?"
"Hmm..." Joe Jiaying thought about it. "I might take all twelve."
"Then I'd take all nine from the other box, and I'd win," Yun Yao said with a smile.
"What if I leave one in the box and only take eleven?" Joe Jiaying asked again.
"Then I'd leave one in my box too, take only eight, and still win on the next turn."
"Shit—" Joe Jiaying sucked in a breath, realizing he couldn't win no matter what. "So does that mean the next person to take 'Tao' is doomed to lose?"
"No, Qi Xia won't make decisions like you did," Yun Yao said. "The man I like isn't an idiot."
"That's true..." Joe Jiaying started to agree, but then something struck him. "Hey, wait—are you calling me an idiot?"
Just then, Qi Xia walked up to the box with twelve "Tao," thought for a few seconds, and reached in to take out three.
Now both boxes had nine pieces each.
The human monkey's gaze was like dead water, as if he was calculating something.
"Monkey, is this good enough?" Qi Xia asked. "If you give up now, I'll leave you a few 'Tao.'"
After the last gamble with the human pig, Qi Xia was being extra cautious. He was worried that after losing all his "Tao," the opponent might go all in and gamble his life.
The human monkey said nothing, just silently took one "Tao" from the box in front of him.
Qi Xia shook his head and also took out one "Tao."
It seemed the rules didn't allow "conceding"; otherwise, the human monkey wouldn't have needed to keep going.
The human monkey then took two "Tao" from his box, and Qi Xia took two as well.
From then on, the game became dead time.
No matter how many pieces the human monkey took from his box, Qi Xia only took the same number.
By doing this, he could guarantee that he would always be the last one to take a "Tao."
Even if there were ten thousand "Tao" in the box, Qi Xia could never lose.
A few simple strategic moves at the start had put him in an invincible position.
"Oh... I think I get it now." Joe Jiaying's eyes widened. "So he just wins like that?"
"Mm," Yun Yao nodded. "When both boxes have the same number of 'Tao,' the one who goes second is guaranteed to win."
"You really are impressive..." the human monkey muttered to himself. "But you overlooked something..."
"Overlooked?" Qi Xia frowned, a bit puzzled.
In a game that was nearly a sure win, did the human monkey still have a trick up his sleeve?
Qi Xia looked at the "Tao" in front of each of them. The human monkey had five pieces in front of him, while Qi Xia had six. The numbers were already that obvious, so how could there still be...
Wait a second. Qi Xia's whole body stiffened.
Why did the human monkey have five pieces in front of him?
He had taken from the box three times: once with one piece, once with one piece, and once with two pieces.
Qi Xia had clearly seen it, so when did it become five?
When did this happen?
On the surface, the human monkey's box now had five pieces left, and Qi Xia's box had six.
And now it was the human monkey's turn to pick.
He walked over to Qi Xia's box and took one piece from the six "Tao" inside.
Qi Xia's brow furrowed deeply. In just a few seconds, their positions had been completely reversed.
Now both boxes had five pieces left. No matter how many Qi Xia took from which box next, the human monkey would only take the same number. The last person to take a "Tao" would be the human monkey.
Just as Yun Yao had said, when the number of "Tao" in both boxes was equal, the second player was guaranteed to win.
Qi Xia had lost?
"Hey, you know, cheating gets your pinky cut off," Joe Jiaying said, having noticed something fishy. He stepped forward menacingly. "Did you steal a ball, you stinking monkey?"
"Yes," the human monkey answered bluntly. "I cheated. What are you going to do about it?"
"I..." Joe Jiaying hadn't expected him to admit it so straightforwardly, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words.
Seeing the uncertainty in their expressions, the human monkey slowly reached for the "Tao" on the table.
He pinched one piece between two fingers, lifted it lightly, and suddenly two "Tao" disappeared from the table.
He turned his hand over to show them, and they saw another "Tao" hidden in his palm.
"This is called 'palm concealment,' the most basic trick in magic," the human monkey said with a grin. "Shouldn't you be glad you didn't gamble for your life with me?"
Qi Xia let out a bitter smile.
Yeah, who said cheating wasn't allowed?
At some point during one of his turns, the human monkey had taken what looked like one piece but had actually taken two.
"You missed such a fatal move," the human monkey toyed with the two small balls in his hand. "It seems you underestimated me."
"Yes, I really did underestimate you." Qi Xia nodded helplessly. "Let's just end the game."
Then, Qi Xia suddenly grabbed five "Tao" from his box and tossed them onto the table. Yun Yao, watching from the side, wore a complicated expression.
Qi Xia had just given up entirely. Had he always been like this?
The human monkey smiled slightly and also took five "Tao" from his box.
The game was over.
Tiantian and Joe Jiaying exchanged frustrated glances, their expressions equally complicated.
For them, what did ten "Tao" even mean?
They'd gone through four rounds of deadly games and only earned four "Tao." Now they'd just lost ten in one go.
The human monkey swept all the "Tao" on the table into his pile.
"I didn't expect someone to bring me so many 'Tao' first thing in the morning. I'm truly grateful," the human monkey said with a laugh.
"And I didn't expect someone to gather them all up for me in advance. I'm equally grateful," Qi Xia replied.
"Yeah, you..." The human monkey paused, startled. "What?"