Chapter 250: Sunk Cost
"Huh?!" The middle-aged man was visibly taken aback. "Little girl, what are you saying?!"
Qi Xia nodded. He had already figured out the woman's tactic.
Sacrifice eight hundred to wound a thousand—this tactic was similar to his earlier line of thinking. The plan wasn't bad, just a bit reckless.
"I'm saying I changed my mind, Uncle." The woman's smile faded, replaced by a slightly mocking look at the middle-aged man. "A lecherous old creep like you—what makes you think I'd want to 'pair up' with you?"
"Girl! What exactly are you trying to do?!" The uncle looked at a loss. "We both pressed the button, how can you back out now?!"
"Doesn't matter." The woman shrugged. "We've got three chances to pair up, and besides, I didn't throw the fan in. I'm just losing one pairing opportunity."
"You..." The middle-aged man was so angry he was puffing and sputtering, but he couldn't get a single word out.
"Uncle, let's renegotiate the terms." The woman's meaningful smile returned. "If you want me to throw the fan in, you need to give me the one you still have."
Qi Xia let out a cold laugh. Sure enough, this was indeed a game of deception.
If the rules were simply about 'escaping', it would be a true cooperative game.
But the fact that each fan was worth five 'Tao' brought out the worst in human nature.
"Give you a fan...?" The middle-aged man paused, looking at the last fan in his pocket.
"Uncle, surely you understand?" The woman lifted her chin. "Even if you abandon me now and go pair up with someone else... you only have one fan left."
"But I'll get another one soon..." The man hesitated. "You're playing tricks... I can't trust you."
"What if your next fan is a duplicate?" The woman's expression turned sly. "Uncle, there's a one-in-four chance it'll be a duplicate. Don't you want to escape? Give me the fan now, and I'll let you out right away. But if you wait half an hour and end up being cheated again... your fate won't be so certain."
The middle-aged man slowly lowered his head, his expression extremely conflicted. He really did want to escape.
But if he couldn't keep even a single fan, he'd lose five 'Tao'.
What was more important—'Tao' or his life?
"Girl... I really misjudged you." The man stomped his foot, but finally pulled out the third fan. "Fine, fine... I don't want to play with you anymore. Here's the fan. Let me go, quick!"
"Great!" The woman nodded cheerfully. "Uncle, you're really smart!"
But Qi Xia knew that this uncle had just walked himself into the abyss.
The woman took the fan and put it in her pocket, but still made no move.
"Girl, what are you doing?" The uncle's voice trembled. "Throw the fan in!"
"Sorry, Uncle." The woman's expression turned cold again. "I have another idea."
"Huh?!" The man's voice cracked completely this time. "No, girl, you can't do this! What do you want this time?"
"I want all the 'Tao' you have on you." The woman's tone remained icy. "This time, you give me the 'Tao', and I'll definitely throw the fan in."
"Girl, don't you get greedy!" The uncle's temper flared. "You can't bully people like this!"
"Then forget it. I'm leaving." The woman shook her head and turned to go without any hesitation.
"No! Don't go!"
In less than two seconds, the middle-aged man panicked.
Now that he had thrown in all his fans, how could he just give up?
"I, I only have three 'Tao' on me!" The man shakily pulled out three small orbs. "That's all I've got. I don't want to die... you have to keep your word..."
"Don't worry, killing you does me no good." The woman snatched the three 'Tao' from him.
Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. This uncle had completely fallen into the 'sunk cost' trap.
Just like most failed investors in the world, from his perspective, not continuing to invest would only lead to greater losses. From the moment he first invested two fans, the situation had already entered a death spiral.
"Girl... I've given you both the 'Tao' and the fans. I've got nothing left..." The man's voice quivered. "Let me out. I really don't want to play anymore."
Qi Xia slowly stepped forward. He knew it was time for him to act.
"Sorry, Uncle." The woman put on a pitiful expression. "I changed my mind again."
The middle-aged man's eyes bulged, and he couldn't say a word.
The woman stretched lazily and was about to leave.
"G-girl... please spare me. I really have nothing left..."
"Yeah, I know." The woman nodded, turned back, and said with a hint of sympathy, "Don't worry, Uncle. This time I don't want anything."
"Don't want... anything?"
"Yeah, Uncle." She wore an innocent expression, gave a sly smile, and said, "Our cooperation is over. I don't want to leave, so I'm going to stay here a while longer."
"What... you, you, you..."
"Uncle, let me give you some advice." She patted his shoulder. "Wait here for an hour, get two fans, and then find a way out."
The man's eyes already looked hopeless. "Little girl, you're killing me... Didn't you say killing me does you no good?"
"I'm not killing you, Uncle." The woman sighed. "You're still alive and well, aren't you? Even though killing you does me no good, letting you out does me no good either."
With that, the woman waved her hand and finally walked away.
The middle-aged man's heart sank halfway. He opened his mouth to say something, but caught a glimpse of Qi Xia behind the woman and felt intimidated. In the end, he didn't cause any trouble. Instead, like a gambler who had lost everything, he leaned against the wall and slowly slid down, covering his face in anguish.
He had no one to blame but his own foolishness.
People like him weren't uncommon in society. But once they arrived at the 'Land of the End', cowardice and gullibility were inherent sins. Even if he left this place, he'd die in some other game.
Qi Xia looked at the man and could only shake his head helplessly before turning to leave.
It seemed the woman had anticipated this all along. She knew the middle-aged man wasn't bold enough to cause any trouble.
"How was that?" The woman turned back to ask Qi Xia. "Pretty smart, right?"
"You call that smart? You only have three chances. How many times can you cheat?" Qi Xia asked.
"If the plan goes smoothly, I can cheat three times." The woman smiled and smoothed her hair. "The later it gets, the more I'll get."
"Oh?" Qi Xia hadn't expected the woman to have such an appetite. "The third time decides whether you get out or not. Are you still going to cheat?"
"Of course. That's when you can get the biggest haul." She turned around and handed Qi Xia three 'Tao'.
"What for?"
"This success is partly thanks to you." The woman smiled. "The fan is too valuable to give you, but these three 'Tao' are yours."
"I didn't help at all." Qi Xia said.
"Take them." She insisted on pressing the three 'Tao' into Qi Xia's hand, so he had no choice but to accept.
"Brother, what's your name?" the woman asked.
"Qi Xia."
"Nice name." She nodded.
"And you?"
"My name's pretty ugly. I'm afraid you'll laugh."
"I want to know how ugly it is."
"Mm..." She shook her head helplessly and said in a low voice, "My name is Qin Dingdong."