Chapter 266: A Little More Than One Hundred

When the Earth Goat reached Qi Xia’s side, Qi Xia’s words had already fallen.

He reached out his hand, intending to end Qi Xia right then and there, but ultimately held back.

Now, the entire space held only the two of them. If he killed Qi Xia… how would he get out?

Qi Xia threw away all the fans in his hand and lazily sat on the table. He cast a disdainful glance at the Earth Goat and said:

**“‘Table Theory’… When you can’t figure out who’s the easiest to fool at the gambling table, then the easiest one to fool is you.”**

The Earth Goat didn’t respond, only staring at Qi Xia.

**“What a hassle, swapping these damn fans back and forth… completely pointless.”** He raised his head with a mocking tone. **“Wouldn’t you agree?”**

The Earth Goat’s protruding mouth tightened into a thin line, his mind racing like a stampede of horses.

**“Originally, I wanted to just give them ‘Sorrow’ for free.”** Qi Xia shook his head. **“But you know how humans are—they’ll always doubt anything handed to them. So I had to auction and trade it… what a pain.”**

The Earth Goat gritted his teeth and spat out a few words: **“What do you want?”**

**“What can I want? The words ‘bet your life’ have tied us together. Of course I wouldn’t dare kill you.”** Qi Xia’s gaze was full of contempt. Though the two of them were like grasshoppers on the same string, Qi Xia held the upper hand completely.

**“Your deception is impressive…”** The Earth Goat nodded. **“You never wanted to monopolize ‘Sorrow.’ You just wanted to control when everyone could leave, didn’t you?”**

**“Yes.”** Qi Xia admitted.

**“But I still don’t understand.”** The Earth Goat asked like a student humbly seeking knowledge. **“What did you tell them? Why did they cooperate with you so willingly?”**

**“Isn’t it obvious?”** Qi Xia laughed. **“I told them that the Earth Goat would slaughter them all at the last moment to minimize losses, so I was helping them buy time to escape together. But who knew they’d outsmart me at the brink of death and come up with the idea of staging a collective conflict?”**

**“I lost… to something so simple?”** The Earth Goat’s expression darkened.

**“No.”** Qi Xia shook his head. **“Earth Goat, you didn’t lose to that one sentence. You lost to every single word I said.”**

**“Ha…”** The Earth Goat let out a pained, eerie smile. He shifted and sat beside Qi Xia, the two now facing forward like old friends chatting.

**“What’s your name?”** the Earth Goat asked.

**“Qi Xia.”**

The Earth Goat nodded, then said, **“So you came back to me at the last moment to confirm whether I had the complete set of ‘Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness.’”**

**“Exactly.”** Qi Xia nodded. **“That’s what we’ll need when we escape together. Don’t lose them.”**

**“Qi Xia…”** The Earth Goat turned his head to look at him. **“Why are you fighting so desperately? With your mind, you could’ve made a fortune here… Why tie my life to yours?”**

**“Because I want to negotiate terms with you.”**

**“What makes you think you can negotiate with me?”**

Qi Xia replied, **“Because while everyone else was thinking about how to trade their goods for money, I just robbed the bank. That’s my skill.”**

**“Qi Xia… aren’t you afraid I’ll fight you to mutual destruction?”**

**“No, no, no…”** Qi Xia shook his head. **“Earth Goat, it wouldn’t be ‘mutual destruction.’ If you fight, it’ll only be ‘you die, you lose.’”**

The Earth Goat fell silent, the atmosphere thick with tension.

**“I came here without an ‘Echo,’ not a single ‘Dao’ on me.”** Qi Xia said. **“If I lose our life-and-death bet, the worst that happens is I become a ‘native.’ I’ve only preserved two memories—if I become a native, so be it. But what about you?”**

The Earth Goat hadn’t expected this man to have planned even this far ahead. If he wasn’t lying, then he must have been utterly confident.

Pursing his lips, the Earth Goat sighed and slowly said, **“Then… let’s negotiate terms.”**

Qi Xia nodded. **“Good. I don’t want any of the fans on the ground. I want all the ‘Dao’ in your possession.”**

**“Impossible.”** The Earth Goat said firmly.

**“No, it’s possible.”** Qi Xia replied. **“Earth Goat, this is my only demand. If you refuse, we’ll both wait here to die.”**

The Earth Goat stood up abruptly, his face twisted in fury. **“Do you even know what ‘negotiating terms’ means?! Who the hell asks for everything the other person has?!”**

**“That’s exactly what ‘negotiating terms’ is.”** Qi Xia said calmly. **“This is my only condition. If you don’t agree, I will absolutely die here with you.”**

The Earth Goat knew the best outcome now was for both of them to pair up and walk out together.

That way, neither would have killed the other in the game, meaning the ‘life-and-death bet’ would be considered a failure.

**“Don’t be so greedy.”** The Earth Goat said angrily. **“If I really give you all my ‘Dao,’ how am I supposed to exchange fans with them outside?! I’d be breaking the rules too!”**

**“Oh?”** Qi Xia raised an eyebrow. **“Breaking the rules?”**

**“If they can’t exchange their fans for ‘Dao,’ my game loses its meaning! I’ll be punished!”** The Earth Goat roared. **“If I’m doomed either way, I won’t let you go either!”**

**“Is it really that hard?”** Qi Xia said.

**“What?”**

**“You just have to give them ‘Dao,’ right?”** Qi Xia stroked his chin.

**“Of course! The game’s rewards must be honored!”**

**“Then just write them an IOU.”**

**“An IOU?!”** The Earth Goat’s jaw nearly dropped.

**“Tell them all to come back tomorrow at the same time to collect their ‘Dao.’ Until then, it’s just a debt.”**

**“You’re out of your damn mind.”** The Earth Goat said, almost breaking down. **“In all my time here, I’ve never heard of anyone ‘writing IOUs’… And with this much ‘Dao,’ even by tomorrow I…”**

**“Borrow from Earth Tiger.”** Qi Xia said. **“Ten percent daily interest. If you’re willing, you can go borrow tonight.”**

**“Earth Tiger…?”** The Earth Goat’s eyes widened. **“You… were sent by Earth Tiger to ruin me?!”**

**“Don’t overthink it.”** Qi Xia shook his head. **“Even without Earth Tiger, I would’ve come for you.”**

**“Why…?”**

**“Because you’re a ‘Goat.’”**

Hearing that, the Earth Goat finally deflated.

**“Qi Xia… that’s 1,100 ‘Dao.’ Can you even carry that much?”**

**“You miscalculated.”** Qi Xia shook his head. **“Not 1,100. It’s 1,476.”**

**“What?”** The Earth Goat felt Qi Xia was pushing him too far. **“The first time, I handed out 160 fans. The second time, 52. The third and fourth times, 4 each—220 fans total. Each fan costs 5 ‘Dao,’ so I only prepared 1,100 ‘Dao.’ Where the hell did you get the extra 300?!”**

**“Our entrance fees—51 people at 5 ‘Dao’ each. That’s 255.”**

**“That’s still only 1,355…”**

**“Plus the 52 fans we bought for 3 ‘Dao’ each when replenishing the first time. Total: 1,476.”**

The Earth Goat realized he was completely cornered.

**“Qi Xia…!”** The Earth Goat seethed. **“You’re too damn greedy! No one in the history of ‘Terminal Land’ has ever won this much ‘Dao’ in a single game! Do you have any idea what’ll happen if you walk around with that much ‘Dao’?!”**

**“Not my problem.”** Qi Xia shrugged. **“Right now, I’m just a gambler who won big. If you don’t pay up, I’ll fight you to the death. Simple as that.”**

**“You…”** The Earth Goat felt dizzy with rage. **“What grudge do you even have against me?”**

**“None. I don’t hate you. But I told you—because you’re a Goat, I was always going to find a way to control you.”** Qi Xia said. **“This was just the perfect opportunity. And I have a few questions for you.”**

The Earth Goat slowly lowered his head. **“What… do you want to know?”**

**“I want to know where the ‘Heavenly Goat’ is.”** Qi Xia said.

The Earth Goat gave Qi Xia a suspicious look, then replied, **“Though I shouldn’t tell you this… the position of ‘Heavenly Goat’ is currently vacant.”**