Chapter 249: The Fraud Begins
The man slowly lowered his head and carefully opened the fan in his hand. Hanging from it was the character "Anger," torn down the middle—a sight that seemed particularly ironic.
"It's Anger..." the gaunt man sobbed mournfully. "I guess it's useless now... What am I supposed to do... What do I do?!"
Qi Xia pondered for a moment before saying, "How about I trade with you?"
"Trade...?" The man was taken aback.
"I have three fans here. I'll pick one at random and trade it with you," Qi Xia said. "I promise mine aren't damaged."
Qi Xia's reasoning was simple. After Di Yang's demonstration, all the fans had been folded before being tossed into the machine. This meant the machine wasn't reading the characters on the fans—it was identifying the fans themselves. So as long as the torn fan had all its parts intact, it should still work.
"But... why would you want to trade with me?" the gaunt man asked again.
"That's my own business," Qi Xia replied. "Your fan is broken. Holding onto it would only cause you trouble. If you secretly trade it to me now, you'll have two intact fans the next time supplementary fans are distributed. You can still 'pair up' with someone."
Hearing this, the gaunt man grew wary instead.
He clutched his torn fan tightly, his eyes filled with suspicion.
"N-No way, right?" the man stammered after a long pause. "Everyone's trying to stay as far away from broken fans as possible. Why would you want to trade for mine? What's your angle?"
"What?"
"You definitely have some ulterior motive..."
Qi Xia fell silent for a moment, feeling that base human nature was truly laughable.
"Maybe I was being too generous," Qi Xia sneered. "You didn't dare to oppose the person who stole your fan, but now you're suspicious of me for offering to trade for your broken one. Forget it. I take it back. Stay here and wait for death."
Qi Xia knew there were still over forty people on the field. It was highly likely that someone else had gotten three fans with the same contents as his. As long as they were willing to trade, he didn't need to risk taking a broken fan.
"Huh?! Don't go!" The gaunt man suddenly rushed over and grabbed Qi Xia's arm. "I was just asking... How about we trade? After all, this fan..."
"I said I take it back," Qi Xia said coldly. "Opportunities in this world aren't meant for indecisive people like you."
Though Qi Xia wanted to exchange fans, he knew he didn't have to beg this man. He shook off the man's hand and left.
Now everyone knew this man had a broken fan—a worse predicament than having three "Sorrow" fans.
Twenty minutes passed. Though no new participants had escaped, quite a few teams had formed.
It seemed the remaining participants were planning to wait for the next batch of supplementary fans before escaping. That way, they could at least earn ten "Dao."
Just as Qi Xia was observing the crowd, the fashionable woman he had seen earlier approached him.
"Hello," the woman said softly. "Do you have a teammate yet?"
Qi Xia shook his head and looked at her.
"Want to team up?" the woman asked. "You seem smart. How about we make a big profit together?"
"A big profit?" Qi Xia looked her up and down. Her makeup was exquisite, she wore a strong perfume, and she was dressed in a tight fitted skirt, her figure not bad.
"Yes," the woman nodded. "I have a good plan, but I need a man to work with me."
Qi Xia found the woman intriguing. Her proposal wasn't about "escaping"—it was about "making a big profit."
"And what do you need me to do?"
"Just protect me," the woman said. "Otherwise, I feel like I might get beaten to death."
"And... what's in it for me?" Qi Xia asked.
"You won't be shortchanged."
Qi Xia smirked. "So what's your plan?"
"Well..." The woman thought for a moment. "Follow me."
Qi Xia followed her, feeling a bit like an enforcer in a honey trap scheme.
Soon, the woman singled out a middle-aged man. He had been looking around, as if searching for a suitable teammate.
"Hey, uncle!" the woman called out. "Want to cooperate?"
"Cooperate...?" The man was startled. "For what?"
"You want to get out, right? I'll 'pair up' with you." The woman flashed a sweet smile. "What fans do you have?"
The middle-aged man unabashedly let his gaze linger on several private parts of the woman's body before speaking with a sly look. "You—you tell me what you've got first."
The woman nodded and directly took out her three fans, spreading them open in front of him.
"I have Joy, Anger, and Sorrow." The woman looked at the man. "As long as you have Bliss, we can pair up."
The middle-aged man thought for a moment, then pulled out two folding fans from his pocket and slowly opened them.
They were Bliss and Joy.
"Perfect," the woman said, smiling and nodding. "I'll offer Anger and Sorrow; you offer Bliss and Joy. Deal?"
The man looked at the woman's face and legs with some suspicion, then asked, "You're not gonna cheat me, are you?"
"Of course not, uncle. Why would I cheat you?" The woman directly grabbed the man's arm. "If you're worried, let's go to the 'Pairing Machine' right now."
The man glanced hesitantly at Qi Xia behind the woman, then thought for a moment.
Qi Xia was also curious about what the woman was planning. He watched silently without saying a word.
"Alright," the uncle nodded, staring at the woman's fair thighs. "Girl, I'll 'pair up' with you."
"Great!" The woman acted as if she hadn't noticed his gaze, still smiling sweetly. "Then let's find a Pairing Machine?"
She led the man to a corner, a secluded spot clearly chosen on purpose.
Qi Xia followed closely behind. Though he hadn't agreed to be the woman's "enforcer," being in such a corner would make things convenient for anything that happened.
The fashionable woman stepped up to the Pairing Machine and pressed the button on the left. The woman's photo appeared on the screen, with three smiling faces below.
A line of text lit up: "Waiting for teammate..."
"Uncle, your turn," the woman said to the middle-aged man with a smile.
The man nodded and pressed the button on the other side. A second later, his photo also appeared on the screen. The text on the screen began to change.
"Both parties ready. Starting pairing."
"Uncle, you don't seem very proactive," the woman said, still smiling lightly. "I already pressed the button. Won't you show some initiative? Afraid I'll cheat you?"
"Ah... no, that's not it." The man shook his head and grinned. "It's my fault. I should be more proactive."
He pulled out two fans from his pocket and showed them to the woman. They were indeed Bliss and Joy.
The woman nodded, watching as the middle-aged man inserted both fans into the two slots.
"Alright! Mine are in. Girl, your turn!" The uncle looked up at her. "Where are your Anger and Sorrow?"
The woman smiled, folded her arms, and slowly took a step back. "Uncle, sorry. I changed my mind."