Chapter 632: High-Stakes Play
"What the...hell..." Xiao Cheng stared blankly at Qi Xia.
"Time was a bit tight, so I only grabbed these," Qi Xia said. "Combined with your own, that's about thirty total. Should be enough for the 'entry fee' and 'stakes.'"
Xiao Cheng opened the cloth pouch in disbelief and counted, and countless questions exploded in his mind all at once.
Winning a single game only earned you two Dao, yet this man had brought back sixteen whole pieces. Had he actually managed to get to the game venue within an hour and a half, then directly played eight rounds?!
Never mind whether the time was sufficient... Could the Man-Monkey even round up eight batches of participants in an hour and a half?
"How did you do it...?" Xiao Cheng asked, his voice trembling slightly. "Did you really go to the Man-Monkey's game venue?"
"Yes," Qi Xia nodded. "What about it?"
"But how is that possible? Where did you find time to play eight rounds? And besides, you couldn't even afford the first round's entry fee..."
"Eight rounds...?" Qi Xia shook his head after hearing this. "No, two rounds."
Qi Xia's brief statement not only made Xiao Cheng frown, but also left Tiantian and Zheng Yingxiong confused.
The Man-Monkey's game was "No Cutting in Line," and the reward each time was fixed. How could he earn sixteen Dao in just two rounds?
"Lucky day, lots of people," Qi Xia said. "Sixteen participants each round."
"Doesn't that make it even more problematic...?" Xiao Cheng asked. "The more people in this game, the harder it is to win, because no one listens to you. So how exactly did you..."
"Win?" Qi Xia furrowed his brow, cutting off Xiao Cheng's question. "Why would I want to 'win'?"
"Huh...?"
"You already know that more people makes it harder to win, so why work toward that goal?" After speaking, Qi Xia felt a bit dizzy and reached up to rub his forehead.
"I-I really don't understand..." Xiao Cheng felt like he might be dealing with a truly formidable figure, and even his tone softened. "Bro, can you tell me how you actually did it?"
Qi Xia raised his weary eyes to look at Xiao Cheng and replied, "I told the Man-Monkey that I could be his inside man, guaranteeing a hundred percent that the 'participants' would lose the game, but he'd have to split the entry fee with me."
Xiao Cheng was momentarily speechless, unable to say a word.
"Sixteen participants, sixteen Dao as the entry fee," Qi Xia continued to explain. "If the Man-Monkey lost, he'd lose thirty-two Dao outright. Guess whether he'd choose to gamble directly or take the stable eight?"
"This..." Xiao Cheng thought for a moment before answering, "Even with just a fifty percent chance, he might still choose to gamble... After all, that's sixteen Dao!"
"So in the first round, I acted convincingly. I was just a 'participant' who accidentally stood in the wrong spot. I sincerely apologized to everyone and said I wouldn't make a mistake in the second round," Qi Xia said. "As long as you give the Man-Monkey the impression of a reliable long-term partner, he'll agree to cooperate for another round. That way, the same batch of 'participants' would play the game again, and both of us would take our sixteen Dao safely. One path gives a fifty percent chance of getting sixteen Dao, the other gives a guaranteed sixteen Dao. What would you choose?"
Xiao Cheng slowly swallowed his saliva, feeling like just listening to this man talk was making his ears ring.
His own thinking had always been trapped by the rules the "Zodiacs" set out. But most of the time, the participants' goal in playing games wasn't to "win" at all—it was to gather three thousand six hundred Dao. As long as you could ensure your own safety, you could think of any way possible to get Dao.
The man before him had opened up an entirely different way of thinking.
Qi Xia walked over to the side, holding his forehead, and slowly sat down, then began to rest with his eyes closed.
"Old Qi!" Chen Junnan took the chance to walk up to him. "I learned a ton of gambling knowledge last night. Wanna team up and cheat?"
"Cheating isn't the priority right now." Qi Xia looked at Chen Junnan after hearing this. "That kid has four Dao left. I brought back sixteen. Together, it's only enough for two people to leave. We're still short forty."
Qiao Jiajin walked over too. "Swindler, there's still time, isn't there? A whole day."
"But I suspect the people who enter here won't be carrying much Dao. Most are desperate gamblers going all in," Qi Xia said, frowning. "Assuming each person brings five Dao into the venue, minus the entry fee, that leaves three. You'd need to clean out at least fourteen people's Dao just to guarantee all of us survive."
"That's..."
The two did some rough calculations. Although they had faith in Qi Xia, would fourteen other people even enter this venue besides them?
And would each of those fourteen people have three Dao for them to win?
Qi Xia thought for a moment, then turned his head to look at the Earth Monkey, who was sprawled out sleeping on his seat.
"Since this is a 'casino,' there should be a high-stakes mode, right?" Qi Xia asked. "Did he mention any other ways to play?"
Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin shook their heads, but Tiantian, who was nearby, remembered something.
"You can gamble with the Earth Monkey," she said. "But he said he plays for high stakes, and most people can't handle it."
"That's the one," Qi Xia said. "The point of this game isn't to earn Dao. First is survival, second is to take down the Earth Monkey."
The teammates around Qi Xia all nodded. Xiao Cheng, standing nearby, was wide-eyed.
This man's terrifying nature was far beyond anything he could have imagined. He had confidently gone to the Man-Monkey and extracted a batch of Dao, and now he was planning to directly challenge the Earth Monkey?!
"How skilled is that kid?" Qi Xia glanced at Xiao Cheng and asked the people beside him in a low voice.
"Average," Chen Junnan said. "Can't do much to help, but won't cause trouble either."
"Then let's get ready," Qi Xia said slowly, standing up. "We don't need to wait for other 'participants' today. We can start right away."
"Heh." Qiao Jiajin smiled slightly. He looked at Qi Xia, then at Chen Junnan. "Jun Nan, Swindler, looks like this is the first time the three of us are working together."
"What does a greenhorn like you know?" Chen Junnan said, curling his lip with some pride. "I've seen scenes of the three of us working together plenty of times."
"Then it's settled. Jun Nan, let me show you what I've got this time." Qiao Jiajin cracked his knuckles.
"You haven't got a damn thing to show. The Earth Monkey isn't about to throw hands with you."
The two stood up, expressions utterly composed, and followed Qi Xia toward the sleeping Earth Monkey.