Chapter 251: The First Lie
"Ding dong...?"
Qi Xia didn’t intend to laugh, but he couldn’t help repeating those two syllables.
"So, Classmate Qi," Qin Dingdong said with a smile, "are you going to keep working with me?"
"I can’t say for sure," Qi Xia shook his head. "You’re too good at deceiving people."
"Ha! But if you don’t protect me..." Qin Dingdong slowly tugged at Qi Xia’s arm, "little old me would be quite scared."
Qi Xia gently pushed her hand away. "Sorry, if you want to talk, just talk. Don’t touch me like that."
"Huh?" Qin Dingdong covered her mouth in slight surprise. "You’re not a virgin, are you?"
"What—" Qi Xia frowned. "Why are you asking that?"
"Really?" Qin Dingdong seemed very interested in Qi Xia. Her hand instinctively began to roam over him. "Don’t you want Big Sister to show you the world?"
Qi Xia’s face flushed slightly, and he unconsciously took a half-step back.
But a moment later, he regained his composure and shook his head. "No need. I’m married."
"Married...?" Qin Dingdong was taken aback. "You’re terrible at lying. Do you think I’ve never seen a man before? If a shy guy like you were actually married, I’d be your maid for free for the rest of my life."
"You... are you bored or what?" Qi Xia’s expression gradually cooled. "Instead of worrying about that, why not think about how to earn some 'Dao'."
Hearing this, Qin Dingdong slowly withdrew her hand and said sulkily, "But you’re not going to keep protecting me anymore. I don’t know how to earn 'Dao' either."
Qi Xia narrowed his eyes and studied her. There were so many people in this venue... why was she fixated on him?
After a moment of thought, he said slowly, "Qin Dingdong, continuing our cooperation isn’t out of the question. Can I exchange a fan with you?"
"Exchange a fan...?" Qin Dingdong pondered for a moment, then flashed a charming smile. "Qi Xia, what design do you want on the fan?"
"I..." Qi Xia looked at her cautiously, then answered, "Anything will do."
"Pfft." Qin Dingdong covered her mouth with a laugh. "Qi Xia, when I asked you to team up earlier, you were already trying to exchange fans with someone else. That’s why I knew I had you."
"Oh?"
"My guess is... the three fans you’re holding all have the same design, don't they? Only that would make you so eager to trade with others."
"So?"
"So cooperating with me is your only way out. If you don’t play along... I’ll tell everyone you have three identical fans."
Qi Xia’s lips curled slightly, and he looked at Qin Dingdong with a hint of mockery.
"About twenty-five minutes have passed now." Qi Xia raised his head to glance at the electronic clock on the wall. "Your threat only lasts five more minutes. When the next batch of fans is distributed, everyone’s designs will reset."
"Is that right?" Qin Dingdong nodded, then pointed at several participants in the distance. "Qi Xia, have you noticed that some of those people are carrying briefcases?"
Qi Xia had already noticed, but he couldn’t figure out the role of briefcases in this game.
"So what are they?" Qi Xia asked.
"Qi Xia, it seems you’ve retained your memories too. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to enter a 'Earth-level' game on your first day, right?"
"Yes," Qi Xia nodded.
"'Earth Sheep's' game is special." Qin Dingdong squinted at the distant participants. "If you’re smart enough, you can keep earning 'Dao' here forever. And those people... they’re here to speculate."
Those words clicked for Qi Xia.
"You mean... they came prepared?" He took another look at the people carrying briefcases. "So the 'Dao' is in those briefcases?"
"You’re really sharp." Qin Dingdong nodded. "This place is like a microcosm of society. In this game, you’ll see everything that happens in the real world."
Qi Xia found this interesting. He was looking forward to seeing what happened next.
"So how much 'Dao' did you bring?" Qin Dingdong asked. "Besides the three I gave you, do you have any extra?"
Qi Xia didn’t answer. He just shrugged indifferently.
"If you don’t cooperate with me, you’ll probably only earn five 'Dao' at most—ten if you’re lucky." Qin Dingdong continued. "But look at the expressions on those people’s faces... They’re after dozens, maybe hundreds. How are you going to compete with them?"
"Interesting..." Qi Xia nodded. "So the 'Earth Sheep' game has been going on for several cycles and has become somewhat famous among the participants?"
"Of course." Qin Dingdong nodded. "Everyone wants to get three thousand six hundred 'Dao'. Smart people will naturally find the method that suits them best."
Qi Xia stroked his chin. He knew things couldn’t be as simple as Qin Dingdong made them sound.
If the 'Earth Sheep' game truly allowed stable earnings of 'Dao', someone would have already gathered three thousand six hundred by now.
So... what was the 'variable'?
"So, Qi Xia... won’t you reconsider?" Qin Dingdong asked in a suggestive tone again. "Won’t you reconsider me?"
"Not for now." Qi Xia shook his head. "You can go ahead and tell them I have three identical fans. That doesn’t affect me at all."
He slowly turned and walked away. After three steps, he looked back and said, "But I find you quite interesting. If the opportunity arises, I’ll introduce some 'clients' your way."
Seeing that her threat hadn’t worked, Qin Dingdong gradually dropped her smile and sighed helplessly. "Fine... I’ll just have to hope we work together next time."
Qi Xia left Qin Dingdong and walked into the venue, taking another look at the surrounding participants.
He felt he should have realized it earlier: those who could enter an 'Earth-level' game on the first day and still be here were bound to have participated in this game before and survived.
'Earth Sheep's' game was different from 'Earth Ox,' 'Earth Tiger,' and 'Earth Rooster.' It required neither teamwork nor violent confrontation, making it relatively much safer.
As long as you had the strength, you could keep earning 'Dao' in this game over and over again. Because winning here depended on no one else but yourself.
Time ticked by, and soon it reached the thirty-minute mark.
From under the table, 'Earth Sheep' slowly pulled out another briefcase.
He took out a large stack of fans and laid them out on the table. A quick glance suggested there were about forty or fifty.
Seeing 'Earth Sheep's' action, many participants gradually gathered around. It seemed time for the next batch of fans.
Qi Xia followed the crowd. This time, as long as he didn’t get 'Sorrow', the situation wouldn’t be so passive.
But what Qi Xia hadn’t anticipated was that after 'Earth Sheep' had covered the table with fans, he silently produced a small blackboard and set it up on the table.
On it was written: 'Each fan: three Dao.'