“Even so… but…” One of the male participants still seemed a bit skeptical.
“It’s fine,” White Sheep pointed behind him and asked, “Do you see the red light on the ‘Earth Ox’ behind me?”
Everyone followed his finger and saw that the ox statue was indeed glowing red.
“So what?”
“You can take your time to verify it. You can even go to the ‘Earth Ox’s’ area right now and ask if he just won the game,” White Sheep said. “My game has only just started, and as they say, all beginnings are hard. Eventually, you’ll understand what ‘Elysium Bank’ truly means. I have no control over the overall display—it’s entirely up to the other ‘Zodiacs.'”
The participants exchanged glances, seemingly weighing their options.
“Alright… let’s assume you’re telling the truth for now,” a girl said before turning her gaze toward Jiang Ruoxue and me. “But I don’t understand why your game requires ‘reservations.’ And there are even ‘VIPs’… Aren’t you going to explain?”
“That’s precisely the final gameplay of this round,” White Sheep replied. “As I mentioned earlier, since my name is ‘Bank,’ my main business is ‘depositing.’ These two guests just made a ‘large deposit’ with me—twenty ‘Dao’ each.”
“Depositing twenty ‘Dao’?” Everyone froze for a moment, including Jiang Ruoxue and me.
“The display here will conduct a ‘final evaluation’ on the last day,” White Sheep explained. “You can designate your ‘Dao’ to be deposited under any ‘Zodiac.’ If that ‘Zodiac’ ends with a ‘total red’ after ten days, the deposit will gain a ten percent bonus. If it ends with a ‘total green,’ the deposit will be reduced by ten percent. Of course, if it’s a ‘total white,’ there will be no change. These adjustments take effect immediately, and you can withdraw at any point in the cycle.”
I swallowed hard. Just as I’d suspected, White Sheep was using the simple logic of “red for win, green for loss” to establish a massive financial institution.
I was about to turn and say something to Jiang Ruoxue when I noticed her face turning pale, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
“So this place… is really a ‘bank’…?” the participants muttered in disbelief. “A ten percent fluctuation every ten days… That’s insane…”
“But you can withdraw at any time,” White Sheep said. “Even a second before the ‘final evaluation.'”
“But how do we know if we’ll profit or lose…?” one man asked.
“You’re mistaken—you *can* know,” White Sheep countered. “Have you forgotten? My ‘final evaluation’ is based on the ‘Zodiacs’ performance. As long as you observe them closely or actively participate in their games, you can predict their ‘final evaluation.’ The clever ones will profit here, but fools need not apply.”
His words left everyone deep in thought.
Yes… from every angle, this was a highly feasible scheme.
Even if this was an ‘Earth-level’ game, with enough caution and capital, one could definitely earn ‘Dao’ here.
Wait a minute… Something suddenly felt off…
An ‘Earth-level’ game?
Was the ultimate purpose of an ‘Earth-level’ game really just to earn ‘Dao’?
Before I could figure it out, Jiang Ruoxue swayed unsteadily beside me, nearly collapsing. I quickly caught her.
“Ruoxue…?” I whispered. “What’s wrong?”
“Something feels off…” She pressed a hand to her forehead, her voice weak. “This is just the simplest ’cause and effect’… Why am I so exhausted…?”
“Let me take you somewhere to rest!” I glanced back at White Sheep, who had also noticed Jiang Ruoxue’s condition.
“She…” He seemed about to say something but held back. “If you’re done here, you can leave.”
I nodded and was about to guide Jiang Ruoxue away when White Sheep suddenly stepped forward, stopping us.
“Wait.”
“What is it…?” I asked.
“‘Cause and effect,'” he murmured. “How much of your memory have you preserved?”
“At least three to five years, why?” Jiang Ruoxue lifted her head weakly.
“Regardless of how long, have you ever used ’cause and effect’ on another ‘display’ before?” he pressed.
“No,” she shook her head. “This is the first time in my memory.”
“Good.” White Sheep nodded. “Rest well. You’ll get used to it soon. This ’cause and effect’ will make you stronger.”
I didn’t respond, quickly leading Jiang Ruoxue out of White Sheep’s game area.
I found a shaded, breezy building and helped her sit down. Soon after, she still felt unwell, so I laid her on a wooden plank.
She rested the back of her hand on her forehead, breathing heavily.
She almost seemed feverish, but when I touched her forehead, it was only cold sweat.
“Ruoxue…” I watched her worriedly, unsure what was wrong. “Are you really okay?”
“This is so strange…” she murmured. “It’s just the simplest ‘binary logic’… But it feels more exhausting than when I founded the ‘Extreme Path’…”
My brow furrowed at that.
More exhausting than founding the ‘Extreme Path’?
Wait… I think I get it now…
If everything is logical and aligns with our understanding, then the ’cause and effect’ White Sheep had Jiang Ruoxue apply must be far more complex than it appeared—so much so that it surpassed the difficulty of creating the ‘Extreme Path.’
“Go on…” Jiang Ruoxue opened one eye weakly. “Whenever you make that face, you’ve figured something important out.”
“Yes… Ruoxue… but give me a second…” I blinked. “It’s a bit too convoluted… I need to organize my thoughts…”
“‘Convoluted’…?” She sighed deeply. “You mean White Sheep’s game? What exactly did he do?”
“If I’m not mistaken… the ’cause and effect’ of this game is enormous, and it contains a ‘logical short circuit.’ That’s probably what’s draining you—because the ’cause and effect’ is trapping itself!”
“What…?” Jiang Ruoxue sat up abruptly, her exhaustion seemingly lessened. “Explain in detail!”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage