Chapter 803: A Game of Tug-of-War
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Brother Wang roared. "I thought you had a good idea! There are six of us in here, and you want four of us to die?"
Qi Xia watched the group from a distance, finding it amusing. He walked over, found an old wooden crate, sat down, and quietly observed them.
Since the Earth Ox had her back to him the whole time, she didn't realize he had entered her space. The men in the distance only saw Qi Xia as an ordinary "participant" watching the show, and paid him no mind.
"Brother Wang, think about it carefully!" the bespectacled, overweight man explained. "Each of us has limited strength, and we've already used up most of it. If we try once every time we kill someone, we'll run out of strength before we even beat this Ox!"
"You..." Brother Wang hesitated upon hearing this.
"Instead of trying over and over and finding out it won't work," the fat man continued, "why don't we just make her unable to use her limbs from the start? That way, we're guaranteed to win, right?" He pressed on, "Do you want to gamble on a slim chance of winning, or do you want a one-hundred percent guarantee?!"
At this point, besides the bespectacled fat man, everyone else present wore troubled expressions.
Four out of six people would have to die. This seemingly simple tug-of-war game had become a deadly one with a mortality rate of 66.6%.
"What are you hesitating for?!" the fat man urged. "If we win this game, each of us gets ten 'Tao'! Do you know what ten 'Tao' doubled four times means?! Multiply ten by two, four times, that's one hundred and sixty 'Tao' per person!"
"Huh?" Brother Wang was stunned. "That's how it's calculated? I thought it was only forty each..."
Hearing this, everyone turned to look at the Earth Ox. She smiled and nodded at that moment, saying, "You've calculated correctly. One hundred and sixty 'Tao' per person. How will you decide?"
"But there's another problem..." Brother Wang said. "That number sounds like a huge payout, but... the ones who die... won't they get any 'Tao'?"
"Normally, that's the case," the Earth Ox nodded. "But since I'm just starting out, I can offer you a 'grand opening special.' Anyone who participates in this game will receive 'Tao,' whether they live or die. The 'Tao' of those who die will be given to the survivors. How you split it is up to you."
"Damn it..." the man called Brother Wang gritted his teeth, frowning. "Six people, one hundred and sixty 'Tao' each. That's nine hundred and sixty total! Are we really playing for stakes this high?"
"I think it's a solid plan," the fat man said. "This woman doesn't seem like those 'Zodiacs.' She even told us how to solve the 'Heavenly Snake Hour.' That means she's not a bad person, right?"
Qi Sha sat not far away, stroking his chin. He found this game quite interesting. If he wasn't mistaken, not a single one of these six people would escape. They would all die here.
Of course, the Earth Ox had helped them escape the 'Heavenly Snake Hour' for the sake of her own 'performance targets.' She couldn't afford to let the 'participants' who had finally wandered into her domain become the prey of the 'Heavenly Snake.'
After all, the 'Heavenly Snake' didn't need these six heads, but the Earth Ox did.
"Tug-of-war..." Qi Xia pondered for a moment.
If he had to participate in this kind of physical game, what would be a good strategy?
After only three seconds, he came to a conclusion. If he had to choose the best strategy, it would be to not participate in physical games at all.
After all, as Sun Tzu said: "One who is skilled in warfare first makes himself invincible."
As long as he didn't participate in physical games, the opponent could never win.
Brother Wang gathered the group together and whispered among themselves for a long time before turning back and asking, "Hey! Earth Ox!"
"Hmm?"
"If you don't use your limbs, how will you fight us in tug-of-war?"
The Earth Ox thought for a moment, then said, "I can tie the rope around my waist, curl up on the ground, and keep my hands and feet still. As long as you can drag me away, you win."
"Brother Wang! You heard her!" the fat man tugged at his clothes. "She's not using her hands or feet! She won't be able to exert any force!"
"What the hell..." Brother Wang scratched his head continuously. The temptation before him was simply too great.
Even though they knew there might be a trap, none of them could figure out where the problem would lie.
A person curled up, unable to move their hands or feet—couldn't they just pull her away by the rope around her waist?
Besides, the Earth Ox before them was clearly a woman. She was thin, her voice was soft. No matter how he thought about it, her body couldn't possibly weigh a thousand pounds.
On the other hand, they still had two strong, able-bodied men left. If they put their backs into it, they could pull not just an average-sized woman, but even a small car.
Most importantly... the Earth Ox couldn't win!
Since she couldn't move her hands or feet, she could at most try not to be dragged away. Winning a tug-of-war was simply preposterous.
"How about... we draw lots," Brother Wang said. "Let's pick the fairest method. No one can run away. Two people will survive. They can supervise each other, hide the 'Tao,' and come back together next time to retrieve it. Since both rooms know each other, no one can trick anyone. How about it?"
Qi Xia watched their final decision and couldn't help but curl his lips. Yes, no one would escape.
Even if they didn't die in the game, the hidden 'Tao' would be found by the 'Ants' that came out to 'forage' late at night. Then, the survivors would never be able to clear their names, even if they jumped into the Yellow River.
The rift between the two rooms would also be born from this. Eventually, neither side would trust the other, and teammates who had once depended on each other for survival would become enemies who cheated each other.
This was the terrifying nature of this land.
The men scraped together six 'Tao' from their pockets and used small stones to scratch a mark on two of them. They looked around, and their gazes landed on Qi Xia.
The Earth Ox also noticed their stares. She slowly turned around and realized Qi Xia had been sitting behind her, for God knows how long.
She stared at Qi Xia in silence, her face expressionless.
Brother Wang walked over with the six 'Tao' and said to Qi Xia, "Hey! Buddy! Do us a favor!"
"Go ahead," Qi Xia said.
"Hold onto these six 'Tao' for us. We'll come up one by one to draw," Brother Wang thought for a moment, then said, "Each time, you pick out two, one in your left hand and one in your right. We'll just choose left or right."
"I'm just a stranger," Qi Xia sighed, glancing at the beads above his head. "You're about to let a stranger decide your life and death."
"Exactly because you're a stranger. This way, no one can complain."
With that, Brother Wang handed the six 'Tao' to Qi Xia. Qi Xia put them behind him, then took out two and held them in his hands.