Chapter 608: The Humanoid Monkey?
As Xiao Cheng had said, the humanoid monkey’s game arena was very close to the base they had chosen—only a ten-minute walk away.
According to him, none of the people in their stronghold had ever voluntarily challenged a "monkey-type" game, because aside from Xiao Cheng, who was a college student, the remaining five were all middle-aged folks in their forties or fifties, and monkey games weren’t exactly their forte.
Even Xiao Cheng himself wasn’t absolutely confident he could win in a test of intelligence.
"But I heard that most 'Zodiacs' represent two types, don’t they?" Tian Tian asked, puzzled. "Does monkey have to be 'Intelligence'?"
"It could also be 'Agility'," Xiao Cheng replied as he led the way. "If we’re unlucky and find out this monkey is an 'Agility' type game, we’d better go look for the ground monkey instead. After all, most 'Agility' games involve tree climbing, stake-walking, balance beams, and such—hard to match with our group."
As they spoke, they arrived in front of the humanoid monkey. Surprisingly, there were already seven or eight participants gathered outside the door.
"More people are coming!" the crowd murmured.
Xiao Cheng and Tian Tian exchanged a glance, their brows furrowing instantly.
The "Pegasus Hour" had just ended—why were there so many people here?
"Come take a look!" the humanoid monkey, standing in front of the game arena, shouted loudly. "The Pegasus Hour is here! The Humanoid Monkey’s store is having a grand opening sale!! Buy one ticket, get one free!"
The monkey was dressed decently enough, but he was very thin. His suit jacket and trousers hung loosely on him, and the mask on his face looked like it might fall off at any moment.
"This..."
Both Tian Tian and Xiao Cheng stared at him in bewilderment. It was the first time they had ever seen a "Zodiac" peddling their wares, and also the first time they had seen ticket discounts for a Zodiac game.
"How strange..." Xiao Cheng muttered quietly to Tian Tian. "Do the Zodiacs have a daily 'quota' or something? Why does he seem so anxious, like he’s trying to rope people in?"
"I’m not sure," Tian Tian shook her head.
"Zodiacs do have tasks to complete every day," Zheng Yingxiong said beside them. "If they fail to complete their tasks, they’ll be in danger."
"You know that too?"
"Mm," Zheng Yingxiong nodded, speaking like a little adult. "The situation today with the black threads falling from the sky was too unusual. It drained almost all the citizens’ strength, so no one will be participating in games anymore. To finish their tasks, these Zodiacs have to do everything they can to attract customers."
Hearing this, Xiao Cheng scratched his head and thought about the current situation. With the human-level ticket promotion offering buy-one-get-one-free, he and Tian Tian would only need to pay one "Tao" to enter. Besides, human-level games weren’t life-threatening. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like a good deal with no downside.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Tian Tian said. "By 'tasks,' you mean they bet their own 'Tao' against the participants', right?"
"That’s right," Xiao Cheng nodded. "They need to collect enough 'Tao' every day."
"In that case," Tian Tian reasoned, "even though there’s a risk of losing 'Tao,' this humanoid monkey is still offering discounts. Doesn’t that mean he’s very confident in his game?"
"Even if it’s dangerous, the worst we can do is lose our 'Tao,'" Xiao Cheng said. "Let’s give it a try. With so many people, the game should start soon."
Having made up their minds, they stepped forward to ask about the tickets. Normally, each person would need to pay two "Tao" to play, but now it was buy-one-get-one-free.
At this price, everyone only needed to hand over one "Tao" to participate—the lowest price in all of "The Land of Endings," aside from free.
"What kind of game is it?" Xiao Cheng asked.
"A team-based intelligence game, perfect for relaxing after the Pegasus Hour," the humanoid monkey replied. "If you win, each person gets two 'Tao'." He then looked down at Zheng Yingxiong behind them. "Kids can join for free."
"Free for kids...?" The two exchanged skeptical glances, wondering what trick he was playing.
In other words, even if the kid entered for free, the monkey wouldn’t lose anything?
"Then I’ll go too," Zheng Yingxiong said. "Maybe I can help."
Xiao Cheng knew that even though Zheng Yingxiong was a child, he did have his own strengths. For example, he was very adept at using his "Echo"—not only could he identify others' Echoes, but he could also tell whether a person was good or evil. Besides, he was nothing like ordinary children; he wasn’t willful or naive. Having him around wasn’t a bad thing.
"In that case, the three of us will go in together," Xiao Cheng said. "One 'Tao' for three people—sounds like a good deal."
There were over ten people standing around, all of whom had already paid the admission fee. Yet the humanoid monkey showed no signs of starting, continuing to hawk his wares loudly on the street.
After a few minutes, Xiao Cheng began to lose patience. He spoke up: "Hey, humanoid monkey, how many people do you need to start your game?"
"The more, the better," the monkey grinned. "Twenty, thirty—no problem. Everyone can wait a bit longer. If no one else comes, we’ll start in three minutes."
Seeing this, Tian Tian frowned again. More than ten people was already a large group. Yun Yao had said that, generally speaking, the more participants in a game, the higher the difficulty. But this was just a "human-level" Zodiac—why would he design such a massive game?
"Xiao Cheng, I think there’s a trap," Tian Tian said softly.
"What’s wrong, Sister Tian?"
"It’s a team-based 'Intelligence' game, but I’ve got a bad feeling." She glanced at the so-called "teammates" in the distance. "These people—let’s be honest—joined for different reasons than we did. Most of them were lured in by the cheap price. Can we really cooperate with them?"
Xiao Cheng gave her a reassuring look and smiled. "Sister Tian, I can’t guarantee a hundred percent victory, but I’ll definitely try my best to think things through in the game."
Tian Tian frowned, feeling that Xiao Cheng hadn’t grasped her real concern.
After all, this game was a bet between the "participants" and the "Zodiac." If the referee said "the more people, the better," then naturally for the participants, "the fewer, the better."
From that, she could deduce that the biggest challenge of this game wasn’t "intelligence"—it was "teamwork."
The three minutes flew by, and no other participants appeared on the empty street. The humanoid monkey announced the start of the game, turned around, and opened the door behind him.