Chapter 259: Far From Enough
The square-faced man looked around, then quickly reached out and pressed the button.
His photo appeared on the screen, along with the words "Waiting for teammate..."
Qixia keenly noticed that this man had already lost one chance to pair up.
If his guess was correct, this man had also deceived others and, fearing retaliation, was eager to leave.
But just how many fans had he managed to scam?
"Brother, it's your turn!" the square-faced man said.
"Alright." Qixia nodded and pressed the button as well.
Qixia's photo appeared on the "matching machine" for the first time. He still had all three of his chances remaining.
Seeing this, the man relaxed and pulled out two fans, opening them to show Qixia. They were precisely "Grief" and "Joy." After displaying them, he inserted them into the machine.
There were twenty-five "Grief" fans left on the market.
Qixia nodded, inserted the "Happiness" fan in his hand, then reached into his pocket and pulled out another fan to insert as well.
The square-faced man breathed a sigh of relief and repeatedly thanked Qixia.
"Don't thank me yet. It's too early for that." Qixia said in a low voice.
"Identifying..."
After a moment, the text on the screen abruptly changed.
"Identification Failed."
Then the screen went black.
The square-faced man was dumbfounded.
"What's going on?!" Qixia shouted first, immediately reaching out to pat the machine. "What does 'Identification Failed' mean? What's happening?!"
The square-faced man was stunned for a moment, then instinctively followed Qixia's lead, patting the machine as well.
"Is the machine broken...?" He paused, then turned to Qixia and said, "Brother... are you sure the fans you just put in were 'Happiness' and 'Anger'?"
A flash of displeasure crossed Qixia's face.
"What do you mean by that?" Qixia said, his voice laced with anguish. "I've lost two fans myself! Who would joke around with their own fans?!"
The square-faced man knew Qixia wasn't lying. Even if he wanted to deceive someone, he wouldn't do it after already putting fans in.
Could it really be that the machine was broken?
"Maybe..." Qixia paused, then suggested, "Let's try a different machine?"
The square-faced man only had one pairing chance left, and he looked completely at a loss.
"Brother... I don't know if it's the machine's fault or not..." the square-faced man said, still shaken. "But next time, make sure you look at the fan faces carefully before putting them in... I, I really can't afford to lose any more..."
"I know... I know..." Qixia quickly nodded. "This time, I'll open the fans, and we'll both confirm before putting them in."
"Alright then..."
The square-faced man and Qixia moved to a different machine together. Trembling, the square-faced man pressed the button, using up his very last chance.
"Brother... take out your fans..."
Qixia nodded, then felt in his pocket.
"Oh no!" Qixia suddenly exclaimed in alarm. "I don't have any extra 'Happiness' fans!"
"Huh?!"
"I just remembered I only had one 'Happiness' fan..." Qixia said apologetically. "The one you gave me earlier was put in too!"
"You!" The square-faced man clearly hadn't expected this, but thinking back, Qixia had been asking him for a 'Happiness' fan since the very beginning of the game, which proved he didn't have any spares.
After thinking for a long time, the square-faced man still took out a 'Happiness' fan and handed it to Qixia. "Use mine! But you absolutely have to put in an 'Anger' fan! Otherwise, I'll be at a huge loss!"
Qixia nodded and took the 'Happiness' fan.
"No problem." Qixia said. "Let's put the fans in!"
"Mm..." the big man nodded, inserting his 'Grief' and 'Joy' fans.
But the next second, he felt something was wrong. He had been too hasty. Qixia still hadn't pressed the button yet.
Qixia paused, then put the 'Happiness' fan back into his pocket. He opened all three of the other fans he was holding.
They were all 'Grief'.
"Brother, my apologies. I remembered wrong." Qixia said. "It turns out I only have three 'Grief' fans left. I don't even have an 'Anger' one."
"You... you..."
A look of despair flickered across the square-faced man's face. He was silent for a long time before finally speaking. "You've dragged me into hell."
"Is that so?" Qixia said. "Give me an 'Anger' fan right now, and won't we both be able to leave?"
"Do you think I'll trust you again?" the square-faced man roared in anger. "You're a liar!"
"Thanks for the compliment." Qixia said. "But I'm not here to negotiate with you."
"What?"
Qixia slowly reached out and placed his hand on the button.
"Right now, you still have one way to live. That's to stay here and quietly wait for someone else to become your teammate." Qixia said. "As long as someone else comes, presses the button, and puts in 'Happiness' and 'Anger', you can still leave with them."
"So what's your point?"
"My point is very simple." Qixia said. "Give me all the fans you have right now. If you don't, I'll press this button and waste your very last chance."
The square-faced man was stunned.
He knew that if Qixia pressed the button, they would start the "pairing" process. But Qixia wouldn't put in any fans, and with all three of his chances gone, he would be as good as dead.
He felt that the man before him was terrifying.
Although he had only placed his hand on the button, it felt like he had a knife pressed against his throat.
"Deal?" Qixia asked.
The square-faced man felt he had never been so powerless. He had used a similar tactic to deceive others just moments ago, but he hadn't been nearly as thorough about it.
"Don't..." the square-faced man said, backing down. "Don't press it..."
He slowly pulled out all of his remaining fans. There were two more. It seemed he had also managed to swindle everything from another person.
"After I give them to you... what are you going to do?" the square-faced man asked.
"Even though I've stripped you of everything, you're not my target. So, at some point later on, I might lend you a hand to save your life." Qixia replied.
"Why take such a big risk?" the square-faced man asked, confused. "Even if you manage to collect twenty fans, you'll only get at most a hundred 'Tao'. But you'll make enemies of everyone... Do you really think you can leave alive after the game is over?"
"Making enemies of everyone just to earn a hundred 'Tao'?" Qixia gave a faint smile. "You underestimate me."
"What? Then... just how many do you want?"
"A little more than a hundred."
The square-faced man was silent for a long time after hearing this before finally handing his fans over to Qixia.
Qixia opened them to have a look. 'Anger', 'Anger', 'Joy'.
Adding these to his previous fans, he now had three 'Grief', two 'Anger', one 'Happiness', and one 'Joy'.
Seven fans in total. That was enough to reach the level of a 'Rich Man'.
Although it was already enough for a small profit, it was still far from enough to "win all of Earth Sheep's Tao."
True to his word, Qixia took the man's fans and turned to leave without any further hesitation.
Since the square-faced man couldn't leave the "matching machine" that now had an active button press, Qixia's position was relatively safe.
If the man tried to leave recklessly and someone else came to press the button, it would be the same as signing his own death warrant. If he was willing to obediently stay put, Qixia was confident he could save his life. But if he had other ideas, then he would just have to let him die.
With only two pairing chances left, Qixia's expression gradually grew heavier.
He needed to hurry—the second wave of fan collection was about to begin.