Chapter 200: Let's Make a Bet

Chapter 200: Let's Make a Bet

"I heard the country is calling on ordinary people to join the player ranks. My son still wants to sign up. If he ever turns into that kind of person, I'll beat him to death!"
"...If the country ends up in the hands of people like that, it's doomed sooner or later..."
"..."
Most people didn't speak, but with over a hundred people here, even if only a few opened their mouths, the chatter of one after another still made it noisy.

Brother Tie laughed, looking at Xu Huo smugly.

However, Xu Huo ignored him and said directly, "Scouting ahead isn't necessary."
"No matter what danger lies on the next floor, we have to follow the elevator down. As long as we stay vigilant when the doors open, we can achieve the same effect as scouting."

Brother Tie's little tricks weren't worth mentioning. Xu Huo had no desire to elaborate. He looked at Dai Wenqian. "Let's make a bet."

Dai Wenqian's interest was piqued. "How so?"

"Bet on who has better luck," Xu Huo said. "Ten elevators. Let's see which one gets chosen. Setting aside everyone else, between you and me, whoever gets chosen gets the right to allocate the elevators for the next floor."

Dai Wenqian smiled. "Looks like you're pretty confident."

"Fine, but I think for this round, we can spread people out a bit. After all, there are enough elevators."

Counting the one who was just killed, the total number of dead and missing came to sixty-five. That left one hundred and thirty people, just enough to fill ten elevators—no more, no less.

But if Xu Huo's deduction was correct, by the time the elevators reached the ninth floor, only nine elevators' worth of people would remain.

The rules of the elevator game were still unclear, so any of the ten elevators could repeat the disappearance event from the fifteenth to the fourteenth floor. The best approach was to reduce the group by thirteen people, ensuring the other nine elevators would be safe, just like when they came down from the thirteenth and twelfth floors.

But whether it was random killing or leaving thirteen people on the eleventh floor, those thirteen would basically die. However, if players shared this risk, even if they triggered the elevator game's rules, there was still a chance they could survive.

But if the people who could have been concentrated in ten elevators were spread across more elevators, there was no guarantee that multiple elevators wouldn't experience "disappearances" at the same time.

This was another unclear aspect of the elevator game.

Dai Wenqian's suggestion to spread people out was just an attempt to test a definitive conclusion.

"There aren't enough players," Xu Huo said. "Each elevator needs at least two players."

Dai Wenqian, however, replied, "I can't interfere with the other players. You can negotiate with them yourself."

Gu Yu, Zheng Liang, Jiang Yihua, and Da Zhi were baffled by the conversation. Gu Yu frowned and asked, "What exactly are you talking about?"

"Nothing much. Just someone trying to use players' lives to save ordinary people," Dai Wenqian said lightly. "We have thirteen players on our side, but they have five on theirs. If it comes to a real fight, neither side will come out ahead. It's better to sit down and talk things out."

"Five?" Zheng Liang and Jiang Yihua said in unison, then turned to look at the group of ordinary people. "Who are the other two players?"

Xu Huo nodded toward Kang Hong and the tall woman. "Stop hiding. You need to state your position on this too."

Kang Hong and the tall woman showed varying degrees of surprise. The former smiled and said, "I thought I was hiding pretty well, but it turns out I've been found out."

The tall woman introduced herself gracefully. "My name is Chen Shu. E-rank player."

Jiang Yihua glared at the two of them. "You've been hiding deep enough! When we were in danger earlier, you still had the nerve to hide in the back!"

Kang Hong and Chen Shu didn't argue, effectively admitting it.

But Dai Wenqian directly exposed their backgrounds. "Don't be too demanding. Everyone who entered this Instance Dungeon is an E-rank player. Some might have just come off their initial trial train and don't even have items or potions. What do you expect them to help with?"

Jiang Yihua didn't say anything more, but Chen Shu said, "Even if we can't play a key role, we can still lend a hand."

"Wait a minute!" Zheng Liang suddenly said. "Since there are so many players here, shouldn't we confirm our player categories? I don't want to travel with Cannibal Players!"

Chen Shu pulled down her shoulder, revealing the white serial number behind it.

Kang Hong followed suit, showing his number—it was black.

Then came Jiang Yihua and Da Zhi, one a White Player and the other a Black Player.

"Your turn." Xu Huo only showed everyone the letter "E."

As a gesture of goodwill, Gu Yu and the others also displayed their numbers. Most were Black Players, while Zheng Liang and Xiao Ba were White Players.

Jiang Yihua looked at Zheng Liang with some surprise. "I didn't expect you to be a good guy."

Zheng Liang's face turned red with anger.

After checking the numbers, the players had a preliminary basis for cooperation.

The group moved to a nearby laboratory. Xu Huo explained his guesses about the Instance Dungeon game's mechanics and proposed spreading the players across each elevator to share the risk.

"According to you, the extra elevator is ten times more dangerous. We might not even know how we die. Why should we risk our lives for a bunch of strangers?" Brother Tie was the first to object.

"I think most of the mutant creatures in this building have starved to death. Even if some haven't, they're definitely no match for the players," Xu Huo retorted. "Besides, the minority should follow the majority."

Brother Tie's injured face twisted in anger. He looked at Gu Yu and the others. "You all agree?"

Gu Yu nodded. "It's not a bad idea."

"Besides, this is just a guess from Xu Huo and Dai Wenqian. It's not certain. If we can use this to figure out the game rules, our survival rate will be higher."

Zheng Liang and Xiao Ba immediately said they would follow Gu Yu's lead.

Zhang Biao and the Bald Player exchanged a glance and also agreed.

Brother Tie glared at them with fury. "Have you all lost your minds too?"

Zhang Biao quickly said, "Brother Tie, this plan is actually pretty good. It lets us protect ourselves and save others at the same time—killing two birds with one stone."

"Bullshit!" Brother Tie shouted. "If the next floor really reduces the number by one elevator's worth, just leave those people upstairs!"

Wei Bin rolled his eyes. "Are you stupid?"

"Can't you see the situation now?"

"There are eighteen of us players here. Even if everyone outside dies, by the time we reach the first floor, there'll still be five of us left. Do you think we should find five people to commit suicide in advance or what?"

After hearing Xu Huo's words, Wei Bin immediately understood why Dai Wenqian had agreed to the bet. Because Dai Wenqian wasn't confident enough to kill Xu Huo, and if they fell out, he might end up being killed by Xu Huo. So, unless it was the last resort, mutual restraint was the best option.

The anger on Brother Tie's face froze. He suddenly turned to look at Xu Huo, only to find him staring back expressionlessly.

His heart skipped a beat, and he sensed trouble. When it came down to it, it was hard to say who this guy would strike first.