Chapter 246: Deception Game
Qi Xia took the five "Dao" that Qiao Jiajin had given him and officially headed to Earth Goat's game venue.
Qiao Jiajin insisted on accompanying Qi Xia for part of the way, and no amount of persuasion could change his mind.
Although Earth-level games all carried considerable danger, Qi Xia knew his own chances of dying were very low.
Even if he couldn't win the game, he should be able to survive.
But if something unexpected happened...
"Fist..." Qi Xia turned his head and said, "If I forget everything next time, remember to tell me, 'Yu Nian'an said dong dong dong'... Then I'll believe what you say."
"Don't be so pessimistic, trickster boy." Qiao Jiajin patted Qi Xia on the back. "If you dare to forget me, I'll give you a full set of grappling techniques—even if I have to beat you awake."
"This..." Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. "I won't have any memories. If you suddenly attack me, I'm afraid I'll fight you to the death..."
"Forget the death fight." Qiao Jiajin stretched lazily and said, "Then I'll just follow your instructions. What did Yu Dongdong say again?"
"Yu Dongdong...?"
This simple phrase took three tries for Qi Xia to teach Qiao Jiajin to remember it perfectly, but Qi Xia still felt it was very unreliable.
Still, at least Qiao Jiajin was a good person. Even if Qi Xia lost his memory, he should be able to get to know him again.
The two of them walked for about half an hour and finally spotted the bar that Earth Tiger had mentioned.
A person with a black goat head was standing at the entrance, with about a dozen people around him. It looked like a large-scale game.
"Trickster boy... Are you sure you don't need me to go with you?" Qiao Jiajin asked, looking at the distant crowd. "All these people are participating."
"Fist, 'Goat' represents deception." Qi Xia turned his head. "If we end up in the same team, that's one thing... But if it's an individual battle, I don't want to deceive you."
"It's fine if you deceive me." Qiao Jiajin said naively.
"What kind of logic is that?" Qi Xia frowned. "I can clearly choose not to deceive you, but you want to go in and be deceived by me?"
"Oh, you're right." Qiao Jiajin nodded helplessly. "So, do you have a plan?"
"Most likely, I won't die." Qi Xia said. "But whether I can win all of Earth Goat's Dao depends on what the rules are."
"Then... Be careful yourself."
Qiao Jiajin still looked worriedly at the dozen or so people in the distance. Even in a one-on-one deception game, he might not win against them. If a dozen people were all tricking each other... that was terrifying.
This game wasn't for him.
"Go back first." Qi Xia said. "After I'm done, I'll find you at Heaven's Gate."
After saying goodbye to Qiao Jiajin, Qi Xia slowly walked toward the crowd.
Earth Goat's shiny black short fur sparkled in the sunlight. He twitched his nose and looked at Qi Xia.
"How much is the entrance fee?" Qi Xia asked.
"Five," Earth Goat said.
"Five...?" Qi Xia nodded slightly. In most cases, the entrance fee for Earth-level games was this amount. Qiao Jiajin had been a great help this time.
He took out all five of his Dao and threw them to Earth Goat.
"How many more are needed?" Qi Xia looked around at the dozen or so men and women and asked, "When can we start?"
"The game requires fifty participants." Earth Goat's voice was flat, completely devoid of emotion. "The number is far from enough now."
"What?" Qi Xia was taken aback. "Fifty people?!"
This massive number made even Qi Xia feel uneasy.
"What are we going to play?" Qi Xia asked again.
"When the number is reached, you'll know the rules."
Hearing this, Qi Xia could only slowly stand among the crowd. No wonder the people here all looked grim—they were all shrouded in this unknown fear.
A deception game with fifty people.
No matter what the rules were, the difficulty was excessive.
What's more... 'Goat' would start lying while explaining the rules. Could these people break through?
Qi Xia found a spot by the roadside and sat down, waiting for the next participants.
Fifty people was an enormous number. From morning until noon, they waited until finally there were only about thirty-plus.
The previous Earth Ox game had only needed twenty people, yet Earth Goat required fifty...
Could he really handle such a large-scale game?
"Hey..." A middle-aged man in a suit asked, "What happens if we can't gather enough people?"
Earth Goat calmly turned his head and said, "Then this game is canceled."
"Canceled?!" The middle-aged man couldn't take it. "Are you kidding?! We all paid!"
"Then what do you want to do?" Earth Goat's voice was still flat, sounding like a very dull person. "Do you want to cause trouble here?"
The middle-aged man slowly lowered his head and fell silent.
Qi Xia looked at these people and noticed that most of them had very calm expressions. Many likely had already obtained "Echoes" from previous games.
Being able to participate in an Earth-level game on the first day—either they were Echo users or complete rookies. This could make the game even more intense.
Over thirty participants standing on the street were very conspicuous, quickly attracting many passersby to inquire. Some gave up midway, while others chose to join.
What piqued Qi Xia's curiosity was that about four or five people in the crowd were carrying small handbags, like gangsters in movies doing deals.
After waiting another two hours, until Qi Xia felt his mouth dry and his stomach hungry, the last person paid the entrance fee.
By then, the bustling street was filled with the figures of participants.
Qi Xia swept his gaze over them—men and women, young and old alike. This was also the first time Qi Xia had seen elderly people in a game. About two or three faces looked familiar, probably members of Heaven's Gate, but Qi Xia had no interaction with them.
It seemed there were a very large number of "participants" wandering here every day.
"Alright, everyone, sorry for the wait. Please follow me." Earth Goat turned and opened the bar door, leading the crowd into the building.
The bar was completely abandoned, with tables and chairs scattered all over.
He didn't stop but went straight to the counter and pushed open the small door beside it, revealing a staircase leading downward.
"Watch your step, be careful not to fall to your death." Earth Goat said softly and led the way down.
The line was very long. Qi Xia was in the middle-back of the group, slowly shuffling forward with the bustling crowd.
"Hey, brother." A square-faced man behind Qi Xia patted his shoulder.
"What?" Qi Xia turned around and asked.
"Not sure what we're going to play. How about we cooperate a little?"
"Oh?" Qi Xia sized up the square-faced man, finding it interesting. "You want to cooperate with me?"
"Yeah." The man nodded. "Goat is a 'deception' game, right? If we can make a deal in advance and trick others together, we'll have the first-mover advantage!"
"Sure." Qi Xia nodded. "Let's cooperate."
He stared at the man with interest. Seeking cooperation in a venue of deception—Qi Xia wondered whether this guy was a clown... or an expert.