# Chapter 1240: Advanced Version of the Card-Swapping Game
"Turn back... Brother Xu, do you guys know the direction?" Chen Chou asked cautiously.
"No," Mu Yan said directly. "But no matter which direction we go, we'll definitely run into new players."
"Well, big brother, big sister, I have a small suggestion." Chen Chou tested the waters. "How about we find the endpoint first, then wait near it like sitting by a tree stump waiting for rabbits... Brother Xu is so strong, most players in the instance probably aren't his match. That would definitely make things much easier. As for the extra cards, I can help. You go first—among the dozens of cards, there are several exchange cards and cancel cards. We can definitely get a few. Then whatever cards you want, you'll have them. Even the first card can be swapped!"
"You know quite a bit about this instance," Xu Huo said flatly.
"Actually, not that much. I just know there are several types of cards, and each type has roughly the same number." Chen Chou didn't forget to flatter as he spoke. "But Brother Xu is formidable, so your target must be the flower card."
"Aren't you talking a bit too much?" Xu Huo's gaze turned cold.
Chen Chou immediately knew to shut up.
Blocking people near the endpoint? It sounded like a good idea, but many players had thought of waiting by the tree stump. There were six cancel cards and six exchange cards each—seemingly a lot, but in reality, it was impossible to gather them all in a short time. Especially the cancel cards—many players would use them midway, sending them back to the starting point or inside any maze wall. Very few would make it to the endpoint—unless some players got lost and ended up there.
In other words, even if he had several players who could collect cards infinitely, it would still be very difficult to get the flower card this way, and it would be time-consuming and labor-intensive. After all, players kept entering the maze instance. If there were only fifty-four people, then finding them all might be worth considering.
Furthermore, Chen Chou's suggestion wasn't just for their benefit.
Without exposing his little scheme, Xu Huo said to Mu Yan and the other, "We'll cross the bridge when we come to it. Maybe there are other programs similar to the card-swapping game in the maze."
The two female players weren't obsessed with high-rated clearance. Since they had to find the maze endpoint anyway, they'd follow Xu Huo's arrangement.
And so, the group continued wandering aimlessly through the maze, encountering several more players along the way. Having gotten lost in the thick fog, many chose to join Xu Huo's team to find a way out together.
Finding direction was now the priority, and the players had lost much interest in the cards. The atmosphere was relatively harmonious.
But when the team grew to nine people, they triggered the card-swapping game.
This card-swapping game was much harsher than the last one. It was no longer the simple, straightforward mode of taking turns. The requirement was: players in the game could choose one person to duel. When killing the opponent, all of that opponent's cards would flip over. The killer could choose to take the cards or not. Even if they took them, they could select any number of cards.
This gave players a very flexible environment, perfectly solving the dilemma of "not being able to kill freely for fear that the cards you hold would instead be randomized."
This was especially true for players holding "good cards."
Therefore, as soon as the rules were announced, the players who had been chatting and laughing moments before immediately distanced themselves from each other.
"But there's an extra person," Chen Chou said. "Nine people can't be evenly divided."
"That's simple," said a player around forty from the opposite side. "Just kill one of them, no? The game says choose one person to duel, it doesn't say four against four. Someone capable could kill all eight other people!"
Mu Yan and Li Cheng exchanged a glance. There was one problem with this game—it hadn't announced how it would end. Would a one-on-one duel end it, or would it only end when only one person was left?
"How about we try giving up on this game?" Chen Chou forced a smile.
If this game could only let one person out alive, it definitely wouldn't be him. He couldn't help but look at Mu Yan and Li Cheng, a hint in his eyes—if they really couldn't get out, would Xu Huo abandon them?
Mu Yan and Li Cheng had gotten their lives back, but that didn't mean they could casually throw those lives away.
After the middle-aged man's words, some injured players immediately became angry. Not daring to attack other players recklessly, they tried to destroy the maze walls while loudly asking how this game would end and whether they could forfeit.
But their only response was dead silence.
They were completely isolated inside this plant-made arena.
"Crack!" Xu Huo cracked his knuckles. "Let's start now."
He looked at the middle-aged man. "Since you're so confident, how about we go first?"
The middle-aged man had long noticed that Mu Yan and the others followed Xu Huo's lead. He sneered, "Are you really going to kill us all?"
After speaking, he looked at Chen Chou and the other two. "You three aren't following him voluntarily, are you? Now, to complete the game, do you think he'll spare you three cannon fodder?"
"Three against one might not be enough, but what about eight against one? Even if we can't kill him, self-defense shouldn't be a problem."
"You haven't finished speaking, have you?" Xu Huo interrupted when the man paused. "You think Chen Chou and the other two are under your control and don't dare to resist. Of course, the cards I hold must be the best—I might even have the flower card. Three against one isn't enough, but eight against one will definitely turn the tables. Kill me first and then divide the cards, right?"
"Do you think everyone else is stupid?" He smiled, then added, "Even if everyone else is stupid, since they can listen to your stupid words, they can definitely listen to my sincere good advice. That is—I'll kill you first, then the remaining eight will duel one-on-one. Life and death are up to fate. The four who survive will default to ending the game."
"The game can't keep us locked in here forever either."
"If the game still doesn't end by then, we can think of other ways. Anyway, no matter who's missing from these nine people, the best outcome is what I just described."
This game was designed to kill players. There was no way to forfeit and walk away unscathed.
That made sense.
To the other players, as long as they weren't the ones dying, it didn't matter who died. The best outcome would be Xu Huo and the middle-aged man mutually destroying each other.
However, Xu Huo's words cooled the heated heads of Mu Yan and the other three. They had seen Xu Huo's strength, especially Mu Yan. During the maze dismantling midway, although Xu Huo hadn't personally admitted it, Xue Lang wasn't easy to deal with. The fellow players had been killed without even making a splash—showing how strong he was. Xu Huo, who could fight him, couldn't be much weaker... In other words, were eight people really a match?
Li Cheng and the other six had been pinned down without even lifting a hand.
Besides, Xu Huo still needed people to help him collect cards. For that reason alone, wouldn't the voluntarily cooperating Mu Yan and the other two be more convenient than finding new people?
Of course, this alone wasn't enough to guarantee their safety, but they had no other choice.