“Hmph.”
Before Xiao Cheng could respond, Earth Monkey spoke first.
“He already admitted he’s a liar. Why should you believe him?”
Earth Monkey scratched his head. “You should be able to figure it out yourself—who has the better odds in this game, me or him?”
“I…” Xiao Cheng lowered his head and nervously squeezed the cards in his hand, his expression conflicted.
From his perspective, Earth Monkey clearly had the upper hand. After all, the “rules” of this game were entirely in Earth Monkey’s control.
Meanwhile, Qi Xia, the leader of their team, not only had to repeatedly guess the rules but also had to outmaneuver the rule-maker to win.
By any measure, this was going to be an uphill battle.
“Young man, if you join me, victory is guaranteed,” Earth Monkey added.
Qi Xia’s eyelids twitched slightly—this was bad.
If Xiao Cheng switched sides now, their chances of winning would plummet.
Currently, it was six against one. As long as one of their six players won, Qi Xia’s team would claim victory.
In other words, for Earth Monkey to win, his hand had to beat all six of theirs. Otherwise, any single victory on their side would spell his loss.
That was perhaps their only advantage in this game.
But with only eight rounds in total, if they couldn’t quickly decipher the rules—if players with strong hands recklessly “folded” or those with weak hands foolishly “raised”—they’d lose the entire game in no time.
What Earth Monkey couldn’t have anticipated was that Qi Xia had already cracked the rules in less than two rounds and had been winning consistently since. If Earth Monkey didn’t act soon, the outcome would already be sealed in Qi Xia’s favor.
Earth Monkey’s manipulation caught Qi Xia off guard. He’d struck at the perfect moment, driving a wedge just as Xiao Cheng’s resolve wavered.
How could Qi Xia turn this around?
Though they’d only exchanged a few words, Qi Xia had already picked up on Xiao Cheng’s indecisive nature.
If he started arguing with Earth Monkey now, trying to convince Xiao Cheng who had better odds, it would only confuse him further. More choices meant more hesitation.
So how could he ensure Xiao Cheng stayed on his side?
Qi Xia slowly raised his head, glanced at Xiao Cheng, then turned to Earth Monkey.
Human thought was funny—sometimes, all it took was a shift in perspective to unravel a problem.
Why bother convincing Xiao Cheng?
Why not go straight for Earth Monkey instead? Earth Monkey’s attempt to plant doubt was already too late—because Qi Xia had already buried his own “needle” the previous round.
“Deception” had its own uses.
“Don’t push it!” Qi Xia’s tone shifted abruptly, laced with irritation as he addressed Xiao Cheng. “I’ve already explained everything clearly. Are you really this stubborn?”
“Stubborn?” Xiao Cheng blinked. “No, that’s not it… I’ve told you my thoughts. I just—”
“I’m pretending you didn’t,” Qi Xia cut in. “Do you really want to side with a ‘Zodiac’? Are you really the kind of spineless, irresponsible coward who preys on the weak?”
“I—I’m not thinking like that at all!” Xiao Cheng protested, hurt. “But that’s too harsh… How could I be that kind of person?”
“Whatever. Go if you want.” Qi Xia shook his head in resignation. “I’ll act like you never existed. I don’t keep useless people around.”
“You—” Xiao Cheng was stunned by Qi Xia’s sudden hostility, left speechless. “That’s too cruel. I might not be as smart as you, but I haven’t dragged the team down, have I…?”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
Earth Monkey, watching the argument unfold, didn’t intervene. Instead, his eyes narrowed slightly.
“Earth Monkey, you can have him.” Qi Xia’s voice was ice-cold. “Go die together.”
Earth Monkey studied Qi Xia’s expression for a long moment before straightening up, a glint of frost in his gaze.
“Qi Xia, not this again.”
Qi Xia raised a hand to his face. “What?”
“Picking a fight every round to trick me?” Earth Monkey smirked. “Same trick, same script. Do you really think I’m that easy to fool?”
“I’m not tricking you,” Qi Xia sighed. “I genuinely don’t want him anymore. Let him sit by your side—he’s annoying me.”
“Dream on.” Earth Monkey shook his head. “But your ‘deception’ ends here. I won’t fall for the same trick twice.”
“You—” Qi Xia’s expression twisted into frustration.
“That was close,” Earth Monkey mused, a hint of amusement in his voice. “But you got impatient. If you hadn’t staged this little argument, I might’ve walked right into your trap.”
“Oh? Really?” Qi Xia arched a brow ambiguously. “So I said too much?”
“Just wait for your deaths together.”
“Hah.” Qi Xia let out a cold laugh. “Guess my ‘deception’ still needs work…”
Earth Monkey ignored him, turning away.
And in that moment, Xiao Cheng finally understood why Qi Xia’s demeanor had shifted so abruptly.
This man was even more terrifying than he’d imagined—he was toying with a “Zodiac.”
Last round, Qi Xia had faked an argument with Zheng Yingxiong, tricking Earth Monkey into a misstep. Now, he was reusing the same tactic to force Earth Monkey to back off.
Earth Monkey thought he’d seen through the deception, but “seeing through” was exactly what Qi Xia wanted.
This move not only shut Earth Monkey out completely but also severed any chance of Xiao Cheng joining his side.
Now, Earth Monkey would assume Xiao Cheng was a failed spy planted by Qi Xia, ruling out any future cooperation.
As the realization sank in, Xiao Cheng’s ears buzzed. Compared to the mind games this man was playing, his own struggles in the “Land of Finality” felt like child’s play.
Ordinary people spent every second against an Earth-level “Zodiac” just trying to survive. But this man? He was manipulating the Zodiac’s very thoughts.
Noticing Xiao Cheng’s dazed expression, Chen Junnan leaned over and whispered, “You know what? When Old Qi sets up a ‘trap,’ he doesn’t even need your cooperation—he’ll just make you part of it anyway.”
The words struck Xiao Cheng like lightning, his pupils contracting as he nodded slowly, half-understanding.
“Well then, we’ll just have to rely on ourselves.” Qi Xia shot Xiao Cheng a meaningful glance.
Xiao Cheng nodded again, staying silent.
The group dealt and revealed their cards casually, weathering the crisis of trust.
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