Chapter 263: The Plan Begins

“So you’re monopolizing?” Song Qi also smiled. “Then you’ve really hit the jackpot.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s be friends. I’ll trade you one ‘Sorrow’ and one ‘Joy’ for one ‘Anger,'” Song Qi said. “Deal?”

Qi Xia hadn’t expected this turn of events.

“You have ‘Sorrow’ too?”

“Yep.”

Qi Xia thought for a moment, then sighed helplessly. “Bro, you’re not messing with me, are you?”

“What’s up, man?”

“Do you even know the current situation?” Qi Xia asked. “Right now, ‘Sorrow’ is worth more than ten ‘Paths.’ Why trade with me?”

“Of course I know,” Song Qi nodded. “But I’m not after ‘Paths.’ I just wanted to experience the thrill of ‘life and death on the line,’ but this game doesn’t seem to suit me.”

“Oh?” Qi Xia frowned. This guy seemed to be here searching for an “Echo.”

“Here, you either escape or die outright,” Song Qi shook his head. “There’s no real ‘life-and-death’ tension. I’m ready to leave.”

“That’s it?”

“Exactly.” Song Qi nodded, then glanced at the time. “Time’s running out. If you survive… we’ll talk outside.”

Qi Xia paused slightly. “Fine.”

He pulled out his “Anger” and exchanged it for two fans.

The man moved decisively, without hesitation, clearly someone with his own agenda.

Then Qi Xia watched as Song Qi and another person in a black leather jacket escaped together.

The situation couldn’t be more perfect.

This man, Song Qi, single-handedly reduced the number of “Sorrow” fans in circulation by two.

By his count, there were now at most eleven “Sorrow” fans left in play.

Yet there were still twenty participants.

That meant, of all the fans taken by the thirty who had escaped, at most one could be “Sorrow.” Otherwise, with fewer than ten “Sorrow” fans remaining, at least some of these twenty would be unable to escape.

But was that even possible?

Assuming each person took one extra fan, with a one-in-four chance of it being “Sorrow,” the thirty escapees would have already taken roughly seven or eight “Sorrow” fans.

Eleven minus seven or eight left only three or four “Sorrow” fans in the game.

With a bit more luck, there might not even be one left.

If not now, then when?

Qi Xia nodded, packed up his stall, wiped away the writing on the ground, and took his “Joy” and “Happiness” fans to Di Yang’s stall.

Since Di Yang had declared “two for one” from the start, he hadn’t had any business yet.

“I’d like to exchange fans,” Qi Xia said.

Di Yang frowned, sensing trouble.

“What?” Qi Xia said. “As such a fair and strict ‘referee,’ you won’t trade with a ‘participant’?”

His words were sharp and loud, drawing the attention of everyone present.

Not only did this morally corner Di Yang, but it also gave Qi Xia an unassailable advantage.

If someone coming to trade got killed… who would dare come next?

After a brief hesitation, Di Yang nodded. “Please… choose freely.”

Qi Xia scoffed, tossed “Happiness” and “Joy” at Di Yang, and picked up a “Sorrow” from the table.

Barring surprises, this might be the last “Sorrow” not under Qi Xia’s control.

The “market monopoly” was now complete. From here on out, Qi Xia held all the power.

The others remained trapped in the “disaster bias” phase.

What they didn’t realize was that trading two fans for one “Sorrow” was already the best deal they could get. Since Qi Xia had always insisted on “one-for-one” trades, people subconsciously believed the fans weren’t that valuable.

Thus, for the past half-hour, no one had been willing to trade two fans for “Sorrow,” waiting instead for a “chance” at Qi Xia’s stall.

With the last “Sorrow” secured, Qi Xia exhaled in satisfaction.

Now, all that remained was the final restocking. If all went well, it would be harvest season.

Soon, the ninety-minute mark arrived—the last restocking time.

Di Yang set aside three unwanted fans and pulled out a small bag, adding four more to the table.

One each of “Happiness,” “Anger,” “Sorrow,” and “Joy.”

Now, there were seven fans on the table: two “Happiness,” two “Anger,” one “Sorrow,” and two “Joy.”

Di Yang picked up the small blackboard, took out a half-used piece of chalk, and pondered what to write.

The “two-for-one” deal was no longer viable. This man was clearly monopolizing “Sorrow”… So how could he turn the tables?

After some thought, Di Yang wrote: “One-for-one trades. ‘Sorrow’ price negotiable.”

This was the best he could do.

Seeing this, Qi Xia smirked. Di Yang’s mistake was restocking only every half-hour—now he was completely at a disadvantage.

“Everyone!” Qi Xia turned and called out.

The crowd stopped in their tracks.

“Who here has already formed teams?” he asked loudly.

Unsure of his intentions, no one answered.

“Here’s the thing…” Qi Xia slowly pulled out a “Sorrow” fan. “I accidentally bought one too many. Anyone want it?”

Expressions shifted instantly.

“I’ll only give this to those who’ve already teamed up. That way, once you get the fan, you can leave immediately,” Qi Xia added. “No lone wolves, please.”

The crowd buzzed as people scrambled to form impromptu teams.

With “Sorrow” only going to paired participants, who wanted to be left out?

Within a minute or two, everyone had paired up.

“Bro! We’re ready!” one team called. “Give it to us!”

“No, no!” another argued. “We’re set too—just need one ‘Sorrow’ to escape.”

As the teams bickered, Qi Xia glanced around, then feigned hesitation.

“So many people want ‘Sorrow’?” He scratched his head. “Who should I give it to?”

“W-well…” A young woman stepped forward, holding out a fan. “We can trade you.”

“Oh?” Qi Xia eyed her fan, still pretending to deliberate.

The tension grew. If not for the knife in Qi Xia’s hand, someone might’ve snatched the fan by now.

“Fine,” an elderly man interjected. “We’ll trade two!”