Chapter 250: Sunk Cost

“Huh?!” The middle-aged man was visibly stunned. “Little girl, what are you saying?!”

Qi Xia nodded slightly—he already understood the woman’s strategy.

Sacrificing eight hundred to injure a thousand. This tactic was similar to Qi Xia’s own line of thinking earlier. A decent plan, though a bit reckless.

“I said I changed my mind, old man.” The woman’s smile faded, replaced by a mocking gaze. “What makes you, a lecherous creep, think I’d ever ‘pair up’ with you?”

“Girl! What the hell are you doing?!” The man looked flustered. “We both pressed the button! You can’t just back out now!”

“Doesn’t matter.” She shrugged. “There are three pairing attempts anyway, and I didn’t even put my fan in. At worst, I lose one chance.”

“You—!” The man was so angry he nearly choked, unable to get another word out.

“Old man, let’s renegotiate.” The woman flashed that sly smile again. “If you want me to put my fan in, you’ll have to give me the last one you’ve got.”

Qi Xia smirked coldly. Indeed, this was truly a game of deception.

If the rules were purely about “escaping,” it would be a genuine cooperative game.

But with each fan worth five “Dao,” human nature inevitably reared its ugly head.

“Give you a fan…?” The man faltered, glancing at the last fan in his pocket.

“Old man, you get it, right?” The woman tilted her chin up. “Even if you ditch me and find someone else to pair with… you’ve only got one fan left.”

“But I’ll get another one soon…” He hesitated. “You’re tricking me… I can’t trust you.”

“What if your next fan is a duplicate?” She flashed a cunning grin. “Old man, there’s a one-in-four chance it’ll be useless. Don’t you want to escape? Give me the fan now, and I’ll let you out immediately. But if you wait half an hour and get scammed again… well, your fate won’t be so certain.”

The man slowly lowered his head, his expression twisted with conflict. He really did want to escape.

But if he gave up his last fan, he’d lose five “Dao.”

Which mattered more—his “Dao” or his life?

“Girl… I really misjudged you.” The man stamped his foot and finally pulled out his third fan. “Fine, fine… I’m done with this. Take it and let me go!”

“Perfect!” The woman clapped cheerfully. “Old man, you really are smart!”

But only Qi Xia knew—this man had just walked straight into the abyss.

As soon as the woman pocketed the fan, she made no move to act.

“Girl, what’re you doing?” The man’s voice trembled. “Put the fan in!”

“Sorry, old man.” Her expression turned icy again. “I’ve got another idea.”

“Huh?!” The man’s voice cracked. “No way! You can’t do this! What else do you want now?!”

“All the ‘Dao’ you have left.” Her tone was frigid. “Give them to me, and I swear I’ll put the fan in.”

“You’re pushing your luck!” The man finally lost his temper. “No one cheats this blatantly!”

“Then forget it. I’m leaving.” She turned away without hesitation.

“Wait! Don’t go!”

In less than two seconds, the man panicked.

Now that he’d lost all his fans, how could he just give up?

“I—I’ve only got three ‘Dao’ left!” He shakily pulled out three small orbs. “This is everything I have. I don’t wanna die… You have to keep your word this time.”

“Relax, killing you doesn’t benefit me at all.” She snatched the three “Dao” from his hand.

Qi Xia sighed inwardly. This man was now trapped in the sunk-cost fallacy.

Like most failed investors in the world, from his perspective, stopping now would only mean bigger losses. The moment he invested his first two fans, he was already caught in a death spiral.

“Girl… I’ve given you all my ‘Dao’ and fans. I’ve got nothing left…” The man’s voice quivered. “Just let me go. I’m done with this.”

Qi Xia took a step forward—it was time for him to intervene.

“Sorry, old man.” The woman put on a pitiful expression. “I changed my mind again.”

The man’s eyes widened, speechless.

The woman stretched lazily and turned to leave.

“G-Girl… Have mercy. I really have nothing left…”

“Yeah, I know.” She nodded, glancing back with mock sympathy. “Don’t worry, old man. This time, I don’t want anything from you.”

“Nothing… at all?”

“Yep.” She grinned innocently. “Our deal’s over. I don’t actually want to leave, so I’m staying.”

“Wh-What… You—you—!”

“Here’s some advice, old man.” She patted his shoulder. “Wait here an hour, get two more fans, and try to escape then.”

The man’s eyes filled with despair. “Girl… you’re killing me. You said killing me wouldn’t help you!”

“I’m not killing you.” She sighed. “You’re alive, aren’t you? Sure, killing you doesn’t benefit me, but neither does letting you go.”

With that, she waved and finally walked away.

The man’s heart sank. He wanted to argue, but one look at Qi Xia behind her made him hesitate. Instead of confronting her, he slumped against the wall like a gambler who’d lost everything, burying his face in his hands.

He blamed no one but himself for being blind.

People like him were everywhere in society. But in the “Land of the End,” weakness and naivety were cardinal sins. Even if he escaped this game, he’d die in another.

Qi Xia glanced at the man, shook his head helplessly, and turned to leave.

Clearly, the woman had anticipated this—she knew the man was too timid to fight back.

“So?” She turned back to Qi Xia. “Pretty clever, right?”

“You call that clever? You only get three chances. How many can you waste?”

“If things go smoothly, I can trick all three.” She grinned, running a hand through her hair. “The later it is, the more I can steal.”

“Oh?” Qi Xia hadn’t expected such greed. “The third attempt decides whether you escape. You’d still cheat?”

“Of course. The biggest stakes come when you go all-in.” She turned and handed him the three “Dao.”

“What’s this for?”

“You helped make this work.” She smiled. “The fans are too valuable, so you get these instead.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Take it.” She insisted, forcing them into his hand.

Qi Xia reluctantly accepted.

“Hey, what’s your name?” she asked.

“Qi Xia.”

“Nice name.” She nodded.

“And yours?”

“Mine’s kinda ugly. You’ll laugh.”

“I want to hear how ugly.”

“Hmm…” She sighed softly. “It’s Qin Dingdong.”