Chapter 162: The Weapon Cards
"No need to greet them." The girl walked over and sat down at the table. "I reckon they're our opponents."
"Oh... is that so?" The boy gave an awkward smile. "Is this a battle card game?"
"Excellent!!" Earth Chicken roared loudly. "All four of you are here!! Now let me announce the rules of the game!!"
Qi Xia, Dr. Zhao, the boy, and the girl sat around the square table.
Earth Chicken reached out and picked up the cards on the table. He drew five cards from the deck and placed them on the table.
Everyone leaned in to look. The five cards each had a pattern drawn on them.
A knife, a stick, a rope, a stone, and a shield.
"My game is called 'Weapon Cards'!!" Earth Chicken roared with a laugh. "Before me, you will engage in the most spectacular battle!!"
Qi Xia looked at the five cards and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Using cards... to battle?
"In the following time, only one person from each team can sit at the square table!" Earth Chicken said. "The other person must enter the glass room!"
Everyone turned their heads simultaneously to glance at the glass room nearby.
"The person who enters the room is called the 'Fighter'! The person who stays at the table is called the 'Strategist'!" Earth Chicken continued to explain the rules with animated gestures. "The 'Strategist' will play a card each round, and the item on the card is the tool the 'Fighter' will use!!"
"I see..." Qi Xia slowly narrowed his eyes.
"At the start of the game, each 'Strategist' draws five cards. From then on, they play one card each round and draw one card the next round, until one or both of the 'Fighters' dies! By the way, there are also two 'Life Cards' and one 'Death Card' in the deck. You'll naturally notice their differences when you draw them!"
At this point, Dr. Zhao and the young couple's expressions gradually changed.
"One side dies?" the girl asked. "You mean the 'Fighters' are really fighting to the death in there?!"
"That's right!!" Earth Chicken roared. "If you lose the game, it's not just the 'Fighter' who dies!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, something suddenly popped out from the backrests of their chairs, locking around everyone's necks.
It was a metal collar.
The collars around Qi Xia and Dr. Zhao's necks lit up with a red light, while the young man and woman's collars glowed blue.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you are divided into two teams by color. If the collar detects that anyone's pulse has stopped beating, the collars of their teammates will explode."
Everyone tugged hard at their own collars, finding them extremely sturdy and immovable.
"Dr. Zhao, now we are 'bound together in life and death'," Qi Xia said in a low voice.
Dr. Zhao said nothing, but his expression was grim.
The tall male student nearby couldn't sit still. He looked very nervous, constantly looking around: "What's going on? Why is this game so dangerous?! The previous games were all clearly..."
"Zichen, it's okay, I'm here..." The girl patted his shoulder. "No matter how difficult this game is, we will definitely survive."
The boy named Zichen glanced at the girl and slowly nodded.
Hearing this, Qi Xia couldn't help but feel a bit curious about the girl before him.
Although she seemed a little nervous too, her expression remained calm. She was now constantly surveying the surrounding environment and the cards on the table. Someone who could immediately think of a countermeasure in this kind of environment was definitely a smart person.
"Now, please assign the 'Fighter' and 'Strategist'," Earth Chicken said.
Qi Xia slowly raised his hand and asked, "May I ask how many cards of each pattern there are?"
"Sorry, I can't say!" Earth Chicken shook his head vigorously. "You'll have to deduce that on your own!"
"Then how many cards are there in total?" the girl raised her hand and asked.
"I can't say that either!" Earth Chicken looked at the two of them, then gathered all the cards on the table, reshuffled them, and placed them in the center of the table. "Please assign your roles!"
Qi Xia slowly stood up, gave Dr. Zhao a signal, and the two moved to the side.
"Dr. Zhao, do you usually exercise?"
"Wait, you're not seriously sending me in?!" Dr. Zhao was taken aback. He secretly glanced at the young man who was almost 1.9 meters tall and whispered urgently to Qi Xia, "Do you really think I can beat him?"
"Otherwise..." Qi Xia scratched his head. "You stay here and use your brains, and I'll go in?"
"Well..."
Dr. Zhao naturally knew that Qi Xia's mind was sharper than his own. Having him stay here as the "Strategist" would probably be the best choice.
But thinking about having to "fight" that 1.9-meter-tall guy, he couldn't help but feel his legs trembling.
"He'll beat me to death..." Dr. Zhao whispered. "What if I get killed?!"
"If you get killed, I'll die too," Qi Xia said. "I'll try my best to avoid that happening."
"Do you have confidence?"
"No," Qi Xia shook his head. "I just wanted to experience 'Earth Chicken's' game. I heard there's some connection between us, so I have no confidence in this game at all. Both you and I could die at any moment."
"You're crazy!" Dr. Zhao cursed. "This 'experience' of yours is going to get us both killed!"
"Not necessarily, right?" Qi Xia said. "Anyway, there's no turning back now. Might as well give it a try."
After hearing Qi Xia's words, Dr. Zhao thought it over repeatedly before tremblingly agreeing.
Now that things had come to this, Qi Xia had to be the "Strategist."
Meanwhile, the young man and woman had unsurprisingly finished their assignment. The tall boy would be the "Fighter," going up against Dr. Zhao.
He looked even more scared than Dr. Zhao. The two of them were almost shaking all over as they stood inside the glass room.
"Alright, since you two are the 'Fighters,' there are some rules regarding 'Fighters' that I need to inform you of!" Earth Chicken said. "Once the 'Strategists' finish playing their cards, the ceiling will immediately drop your items, and you will have ten seconds of action time!"
"Ten seconds...?" The two exchanged glances, then looked back at Earth Chicken.
"After ten seconds, you must stop immediately. Regardless of whether the opponent is dead or not, you need to throw your items into the window behind you!" Earth Chicken swayed his head as he asked. "Apart from the action time, any fighting is considered a 'violation.' Any questions?"
The two turned around and saw that there was indeed a small window behind each of them.
"N-no questions..." Dr. Zhao replied.
"Very good!" Earth Chicken nodded, then turned to look at Qi Xia and the girl sitting at the table.
"As for the 'Strategists,' let me repeat the rules! At the beginning, each of you holds five cards. Each round, you play one card, and the next round, you draw one card!" Earth Chicken's voice was loud and distracting, making it hard for the two to concentrate. "To 'play' a card, place it on the table face up. Any questions?"
"No questions." The two said in unison.