Chapter 65: The Impostor

The three of them left the chess club, unable to calm down for a long time.

Even though it was the “Human Pig” who had died, no matter how you looked at it, he was still a flesh-and-blood human being.

He wasn’t a monster, nor a madman, let alone the wicked organizer.

Qi Xia kept his head low, lost in thought, while Lin Qin stayed close by his side.

Old Lü kept glancing back into the room where the Human Pig’s corpse lay, but he didn’t seem the least bit concerned. Instead, he was searching for something else.

“What’s wrong?” Qi Xia turned and asked.

“Well… It might not be the best time to bring this up,” Old Lü said, “but since you won the ‘gamble for life,’ his ‘tokens’ are ours now.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Qi Xia shook his head. “The Human Pig couldn’t have had any ‘tokens’ left. The ten he gave you were all he had.”

“What?” Old Lü’s eyes widened before he shook his head exaggeratedly. “No way, I don’t believe it.”

He hurried into the room, deliberately avoiding looking at the corpse, and began rummaging through the drawers.

The once-tidy chess club was soon turned upside down.

Just as Qi Xia had said, there wasn’t a single ‘token’ left.

Qi Xia shook his head from the doorway. “If he had any ‘tokens’ left, why would he have chosen to ‘gamble for life’ with us?”

“Damn it, that’s cheating!” Old Lü cursed in frustration. “He tricked us into giving him nothing in return!”

“Nothing in return?” Qi Xia couldn’t quite follow Old Lü’s logic. “Didn’t he pay with his life?”

“Uh… Yeah, I guess.” Old Lü clasped his hands together and bowed slightly toward the corpse. “Sorry for the harsh words, no hard feelings.”

After a few more bows, Old Lü still felt cheated. After all, he hadn’t wanted the man’s life.

“I need to see if there’s anything else valuable here.”

Old Lü resumed his search, but the place was just an abandoned chess club. Aside from scattered chess pieces, the only things of any worth were the tables and chairs.

“What a rip-off…” Old Lü shook his head in frustration. “Kid, we got screwed! You almost died here, and now we’re leaving empty-handed.”

Just then, Old Lü spotted the pig mask lying on the floor where the Human Pig had left it.

“The mask…” Old Lü murmured before suddenly realizing something. “Damn it… This is the most valuable thing here, isn’t it?!”

Qi Xia frowned and stepped forward. “What are you planning to do?”

“Business!” Old Lü picked up the grimy, foul-smelling mask and cradled it like a treasure. “Qi, with this, we can run the ‘Chess Club’ ourselves!”

“Wha—” Qi Xia’s pupils flickered, sensing something off. “Old Lü, you want to become the ‘Human Pig’?”

“Pfft, screw that!” Old Lü waved it off. “We’ll just pretend! You get it?”

“You—”

Old Lü held up the mask as if putting it on and mimicked a muffled voice: “Oink oink, finally someone to play with me! Quick, assign the roles!”

Qi Xia’s frown deepened. The whole idea sounded far too dangerous.

The ‘Zodiacs’ were under the management of the higher-ups—how could anyone just impersonate them?

“Old Lü, you know ‘killing for tokens’ is forbidden, right?” Qi Xia asked.

“Zhang Shan mentioned it, but this isn’t ‘killing for tokens,’” Old Lü retorted, thrusting the mask forward. “We didn’t kill him, and this isn’t a ‘token.’”

“That’s not what I mean.” Qi Xia took the mask and placed it on the table. “I’m warning you—don’t mess with this. At best, it’s ‘impersonation.’ At worst, it’s ‘usurping power.’ That’s even worse than ‘killing for tokens.’”

“Usurping power?!”

Qi Xia nodded. “Do you know if there’s a selection process to become a ‘Zodiac’? What are the rules for designing games? If you put on that mask without knowing these things, you’ll be punished by the overseers.”

Old Lü’s excitement deflated. Just moments ago, he had envisioned himself raking in dozens of ‘tokens’ a day, only for the dream to shatter.

“Qi, aren’t you being too cautious?” Old Lü asked reluctantly. “Maybe anyone can wear the mask as long as they can come up with challenges.”

“I don’t know,” Qi Xia said. “I’m just telling you my thoughts. If you still want to wear it, I won’t stop you. But before that, tell me where those two went.”

Old Lü hesitated before finally saying, “Hold on.”

He waddled around the room with the mask, eventually finding a corner piled with discarded table planks.

He hid the mask behind them, carefully covering it with more junk.

“Gotta have a backup plan…” Old Lü dusted off his hands and turned back. “Qi, I keep my word. Follow me!”

The three of them left the unsettling chess club behind and stepped back onto the ruined streets.

Old Lü led them back the way they had come.

“Hey, Qi,” Old Lü suddenly asked, “why didn’t you pick me earlier?”

“Huh?”

“During the ‘truth or lie’ game,” Old Lü scratched his chubby cheek. “You chose this girl, Lin Qin. Why not me?”

Qi Xia sighed. “To be honest, I thought Lin Qin was smarter than you.”

“Pfft—” Lin Qin, who had been somber, suddenly laughed. Despite being a liar, Qi Xia often told the blunt truth.

“What kind of answer is that?!” Old Lü grumbled. “You don’t know me, kid. I get sharper in critical moments.”

“Yeah,” Qi Xia nodded. “Sharp enough to grab an iron plate and hide in a corner.”

“Hey!” Old Lü flushed with embarrassment. “Can’t blame me for that. I didn’t know you had a plan.”

“Fair enough. We’re even,” Qi Xia said.

Old Lü shrugged helplessly before eyeing the aluminum pot Lin Qin was carrying. “Did you eat the bear meat?”

“Yeah,” Lin Qin replied. “It was disgusting.”

“Tsk…” Old Lü sighed. “Bear meat’s nasty, but it fills you up. Too bad Zhang Shan never got to taste it—died on an empty stomach.”

“Why didn’t he eat?” Lin Qin asked absentmindedly.

Then her eyes widened.

Qi Xia caught on too, and both turned to Old Lü.

“Died hungry?”

Old Lü’s expression darkened. He sighed. “Zhang Shan’s dead.”

“Dead?!” they exclaimed in unison.

“Yeah… Otherwise, why would I be out here alone?”