What exactly is “luck”?
Qi Xia couldn’t help but wonder.
What exactly is “luck”?
Qi Xia couldn’t help but wonder.
As a person, how unlucky do you have to be to have all three fans say “Sorrow”?
The current situation was extremely tricky. No matter who Qi Xia partnered with, he could only produce two “Sorrow” fans. In other words, anyone who teamed up with him would be unable to escape.
If the rules dictated that each person had to contribute two folding fans, then whoever partnered with Qi Xia would absolutely be unable to complete the set of “Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness.”
So what should he do next?
Qi Xia furrowed his brow and pondered for a moment. Suppose his luck was so incredibly bad that half an hour later, when the fans were replenished, he ended up with yet another “Sorrow”…
“Hey, buddy!” A square-faced man patted Qi Xia on the shoulder from behind. Qi Xia immediately tucked away his fan.
“What are you doing here?” the man asked.
“I…” Qi Xia turned his head and slipped the fan into his pocket. “I was just checking the characters on my fan.”
“So? What characters do you have?” the square-faced man pressed.
Qi Xia didn’t understand why this person was being so straightforward about asking to see his hand.
If word got out that “this guy has three ‘Sorrow’ fans,” who would ever be willing to partner with him?
“Aside from ‘Joy,’ I have the other three characters,” Qi Xia replied.
“Oh, really?” The square-faced man thought for a moment. “Well, I have ‘Joy’—two of them, actually! Looks like we could form a complete set of ‘Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness’ together!”
“So, you want to get out of here quickly?” Qi Xia asked.
“Of course…” The square-faced man nodded vigorously. “People die in this place. Who wouldn’t want to get out as soon as possible?”
“Oh…” Qi Xia responded indifferently, then abruptly changed the subject. “I’m willing to partner with you, but you’ll have to give me one of your ‘Joy’ fans.”
“No problem,” the square-faced man nodded. “When the time comes, I’ll contribute one ‘Joy’ and one ‘Anger,’ and you can contribute the other two.”
“You misunderstood me,” Qi Xia shook his head. “I said I want one of your ‘Joy’ fans for myself.”
“What…?” The square-faced man stared blankly for a moment. “Buddy… did I hear you right?”
“You did,” Qi Xia shook his head. “If you want to work with me, you’ll have to hand over that extra fan you’re holding.”
“Why should I?” The square-faced man looked at Qi Xia with displeasure. “Even though I said I’d work with you, it’s not like I have no other options, right?”
“Of course,” Qi Xia nodded. “You can go find another partner, but my condition remains the same. If you want to work with me, I want that third fan in your hand.”
“You’re insane.” The square-faced man waved his hand dismissively and walked away.
The Earth Sheep glanced around at the crowd, then stepped up to the central table and announced, “Ten minutes have passed. The game will now begin.”
As soon as the words were spoken, the crowd began to stir.
Qi Xia let out a deep sigh and slowly wandered through the venue, fan in hand.
In a game with so many participants, the first round was essentially a process of separating the wheat from the chaff. The timid, the lost, and those who had second thoughts would escape in large numbers, leaving behind the true “participants” of this game.
Some people had already started talking to each other, and a few were even showing their fans to one another.
Everyone wore bright smiles, and the atmosphere was relaxed and cheerful.
Qi Xia knew that his purpose here was different from everyone else’s. Besides surviving, he needed to acquire as many “Tao” as possible.
But how was he supposed to take the first step with three “Sorrow” fans?
Contrary to Qi Xia’s expectations, after a full ten minutes, only two pairs had managed to escape.
Those four people, after successfully identifying their sets, walked up the staircase leading to the upper floor.
It seemed Qi Xia had been too optimistic. Human greed was far more terrifying than he had imagined.
Since the Earth Sheep would replenish the fans after half an hour, that meant the remaining players would each have at least four fans. After pairing up, they would have two left over, and the final reward would increase from five “Tao” to ten “Tao.” So, escaping right away wasn’t the wisest move.
Yet Qi Xia had a sinking feeling. After all, the Earth Sheep was capable of lying.
Had it lied about the rules?
As Qi Xia wandered around the room, he suddenly heard a commotion in the corner. Turning to look, he saw human nature laid bare.
A burly man was trying to snatch a folding fan from a thin, frail man.
“What are you doing?!” the thin man cried out nervously. “Referee! Someone’s stealing!”
The Earth Sheep’s gaze slowly drifted toward the two but made no move to intervene.
“You… you’re not going to do anything?” The thin man was so frightened that his glasses fell to the ground.
To everyone’s surprise, the Earth Sheep slowly closed its eyes.
Seeing this, the burly man grew even more emboldened.
“Damn it… hand it over!”
He reached out and yanked hard, snatching two fans from the thin man.
The thin man clung desperately to his last fan, refusing to let go. The burly man gave him no chance to react, roughly pulling at him.
Within seconds, there was a sharp tearing sound—the third fan had been ripped in half.
The burly man picked up the torn fan and examined it. It now resembled a pair of scissors, with one end drooping limply when held up.
Uncertain whether the fan was still usable, he thought for a few seconds before tossing it back to the thin man.
“Leave some room for reconciliation—we might meet again,” the burly man said with a laugh. “You can have this one back.”
The thin man was visibly furious, but he didn’t dare fight back. The dozens of people nearby watched coldly, not one stepping in to stop the altercation.
But the atmosphere among the crowd had clearly shifted at that moment.
“I have a proposal,” a fashionable-looking woman suddenly announced loudly. “Let’s all refuse to partner with this terrible man. Leave him here to die.”
“What?!” The burly man flew into a rage, storming over to the woman in two strides. “You bitch, you looking to die?”
“Are you going to kill me?” the fashionable woman smiled. “I have a feeling that if you kill me, even fewer people will dare to partner with you.”
“What…?” The burly man slowly raised his hand, seemingly hesitating whether to slap her.
Qi Xia had a feeling that even if the man didn’t kill her, he would definitely make her suffer.
“Hey, that’s enough,” a young man in his early twenties suddenly appeared, stepping between the burly man and the woman. “This is a game where cooperation is the only way to escape. You don’t want to turn everyone against you, do you?”
Qi Xia glanced up at the clock on the wall.
The game had only been going on for fifteen minutes, and already so many people were losing control of their emotions?
He shook his head, ignoring the noisy crowd, and instead walked over to the thin man.
The man, who had just been robbed of his fans, was still sitting on the ground, clutching his torn fan and weeping bitterly.
“Hey, stop crying,” Qi Xia said.
“Huh?” The man looked up, tears streaming down his face.
“What character is on that torn fan of yours?”
What exactly is “luck”?
Qi Xia couldn’t help but wonder.
As a person, how unlucky do you have to be to have all three fans say “Sorrow”?
The current situation was extremely tricky. No matter who Qi Xia partnered with, he could only produce two “Sorrow” fans. In other words, anyone who teamed up with him would be unable to escape.
If the rules dictated that each person had to produce two folding fans, then whoever partnered with Qi Xia would absolutely be unable to complete the set of “Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness.”
So what should he do next?
Qi Xia furrowed his brows and pondered for a moment. Assuming his luck was exceptionally good, and half an hour later, when the fans were replenished, he ended up with another “Sorrow”…
“Hey, buddy!” A square-faced man patted Qi Xia on the shoulder from behind. Qi Xia immediately tucked away his fan.
“What are you doing here?” the man asked.
“I…” Qi Xia turned his head and slipped the fan into his pocket. “I was just checking the characters on my fan.”
“So? What characters do you have?” the square-faced man pressed.
Qi Xia didn’t understand why this person was being so straightforward about asking for his hand.
If word got out that “this guy has three ‘Sorrow’ fans,” who would be willing to partner with him?
“Aside from ‘Joy,’ I have the other three characters,” Qi Xia replied.
“Oh, really?” The square-faced man thought for a moment. “Well, I have ‘Joy’—two of them, actually! It looks like we could form a complete set of ‘Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness’ together!”
“So, you want to get out quickly?” Qi Xia asked.
“Of course…” The square-faced man nodded vigorously. “People die in this place. Who wouldn’t want to get out as soon as possible?”
“Oh…” Qi Xia responded indifferently, then changed the subject. “I can agree to ‘partner’ with you, but you’ll need to give me one of your ‘Joy’ fans.”
“No problem,” the square-faced man nodded. “When the time comes, I’ll produce one ‘Joy’ and one ‘Anger,’ and you’ll produce the other two.”
“You misunderstood me,” Qi Xia shook his head. “I said I want a ‘Joy’ fan for myself.”
“What…?” The square-faced man was stunned for a moment. “Buddy… did I hear you right?”
“You did,” Qi Xia shook his head. “If you want to cooperate with me, you’ll need to give me the remaining fan in your hand.”
“Why should I?” The square-faced man looked at Qi Xia with displeasure. “Even though I said I’d cooperate with you, it’s not like I have to, right?”
“Of course,” Qi Xia nodded. “You can go find another teammate, but my principle remains the same. If you want to cooperate with me, I want the third fan in your hand.”
“You’re insane.” The square-faced man waved his hand and walked away.
Di Yang glanced around at the crowd, then stood in front of the central table and announced, “Ten minutes have passed. The game will now begin.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd began to stir.
Qi Xia let out a deep sigh and, holding his fan, slowly observed the scene.
In a game with so many people, the first round was essentially a process of separating the wheat from the chaff. The timid, the lost, or those who had second thoughts would escape in large numbers, leaving behind the true “participants” of this game.
Some people had already started talking to each other, and a few were even showing their fans to others.
Everyone was smiling, and the atmosphere was relaxed and cheerful.
Qi Xia knew that his purpose for being here was different from everyone else’s. Besides surviving, he needed to acquire as many “Tao” as possible.
But how was he supposed to take the first step with three “Sorrow” fans?
Contrary to Qi Xia’s expectations, after a full ten minutes, only two teams had managed to escape.
Those four people, after successfully identifying their sets, walked up the stairs leading to the upper floor.
It seemed Qi Xia had been too optimistic. Human greed was more terrifying than he had imagined.
Since Di Yang would replenish the fans after half an hour, the remaining players would each have at least four fans. After pairing up, they would have two left over, and the final reward would increase from five “Tao” to ten “Tao.” Therefore, escaping right away wasn’t the wisest move.
But Qi Xia had a bad feeling. After all, Di Yang was capable of lying.
Had he lied about the rules?
As Qi Xia wandered around the room, he suddenly heard a commotion in the corner. Turning to look, he saw human nature revealing itself.
A burly man was trying to snatch a folding fan from a thin man.
“What are you doing…?” The thin man looked extremely nervous. “Referee! Someone’s stealing!”
Di Yang’s gaze slowly drifted toward the two of them, but he made no move to intervene.
“You… you’re not going to do anything?” The thin man was so frightened that his glasses fell to the ground.
To everyone’s surprise, Di Yang slowly closed his eyes.
Seeing Di Yang’s reaction, the burly man felt even more emboldened.
“Damn it… hand it over!”
He reached out and yanked hard, snatching two fans.
The thin man clung desperately to his last fan, refusing to let go. The burly man gave him no time to react, roughly pulling at him.
Within seconds, there was a sharp tearing sound—the third fan was ripped in half.
The burly man picked up the torn fan and examined it. The broken fan now resembled a pair of scissors, with one end drooping when the other was lifted.
Uncertain whether the fan was still usable, he thought for a few seconds before tossing it back to the thin man.
“Leave some room for reconciliation—you might need it later,” the burly man said with a laugh. “Here, you can have this one back.”
The thin man looked furious but didn’t dare to fight back. The dozens of people nearby watched coldly, none stepping in to stop it.
But the atmosphere among the crowd clearly shifted at that moment.
“I have a proposal,” a fashionable-looking woman suddenly announced loudly. “None of us should partner with this bad man. Let him stay here and wait for death.”
“What?!” The burly man suddenly flew into a rage, striding over to the woman in two steps. “You bitch, are you looking to die?”
“Are you going to kill me?” The fashionable woman smiled. “I have a feeling that if you kill me, even fewer people will dare to partner with you.”
“What…?” The burly man slowly raised his hand, seemingly hesitating whether to slap the woman.
Qi Xia had a feeling that even if he didn’t kill her, he would definitely make her suffer.
“Hey, that’s enough,” a young man in his twenties suddenly appeared, stepping between the burly man and the woman. “This is a game where cooperation is the only way to escape. You don’t want to provoke public anger, do you?”
Qi Xia glanced up at the clock on the wall.
The game had only been going on for fifteen minutes, and already so many people were unable to restrain themselves?
He shook his head, ignoring the noisy crowd, and instead walked over to the thin man.
The man, who had just been robbed of his fans, was sitting on the ground, clutching a torn folding fan and weeping bitterly.
“Hey, stop crying,” Qi Xia said.
“Huh?” The man looked up, tears streaming down his face.
“What character is on that torn fan of yours?”
What exactly is “luck”?
Qi Xia couldn’t help but wonder.
As a person, how unlucky do you have to be to draw three fans in a row, all marked with “Sorrow”?
The current situation was extremely tricky. No matter who Qi Xia partnered with, he could only produce two “Sorrow” fans. In other words, anyone who teamed up with him would be unable to escape.
If the rules dictated that each person had to contribute two folding fans, then whoever partnered with Qi Xia would absolutely be unable to complete the set of “Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness.”
So what should he do next?
Frowning, Qi Xia pondered for a moment. Suppose his luck was so incredibly bad that half an hour later, when the fans were replenished, he drew yet another “Sorrow”…
“Hey, buddy!” A square-faced man patted Qi Xia on the shoulder from behind. Qi Xia immediately tucked away his fan.
“What are you doing here?” the man asked.
“I…” Qi Xia turned his head, slipping the fan into his pocket. “I was just checking the characters on my fan.”
“So? What characters do you have?” the square-faced man pressed.
Qi Xia didn’t understand why this person was being so straightforward about asking for his hand.
If word got out that “this guy has three ‘Sorrow’ fans,” who would ever be willing to pair up with him?
“Aside from ‘Joy,’ I have the other three characters,” Qi Xia replied.
“Oh, really?” The square-faced man thought for a moment. “Well, I have ‘Joy’—two of them, in fact! It looks like the two of us could form a complete set of ‘Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness’!”
“So, you want to get out quickly?” Qi Xia asked.
“Of course…” The square-faced man nodded vigorously. “People die in this place. Who wouldn’t want to get out as soon as possible?”
“Oh…” Qi Xia responded indifferently, then abruptly changed the subject. “I’m willing to partner with you, but you’ll need to give me one of your ‘Joy’ fans.”
“No problem,” the square-faced man nodded. “When the time comes, I’ll contribute one ‘Joy’ and one ‘Anger,’ and you can contribute the other two.”
“You misunderstood me,” Qi Xia shook his head. “I said I want one ‘Joy’ fan for myself.”
“What…?” The square-faced man stared blankly for a moment. “Buddy… did I hear you right?”
“You did,” Qi Xia shook his head. “If you want to cooperate with me, you’ll need to hand over that extra fan you’re holding.”
“Why should I?” The square-faced man looked at Qi Xia with displeasure. “Even though I said I’d work with you, it’s not like I have no other options, right?”
“Of course,” Qi Xia nodded. “You can go find another partner, but my condition remains the same. If you want to work with me, I want that third fan in your hand.”
“You’re insane.” The square-faced man waved his hand dismissively and walked away.
The Earth Sheep glanced around at the crowd, then stepped up to the central table and announced, “Ten minutes have passed. The game will now begin.”
As soon as the words were spoken, the crowd began to stir.
Qi Xia let out a deep sigh, tucking his fan away as he slowly scanned the room.
In a game with so many participants, the first round was essentially a process of separating the wheat from the chaff. The timid, the lost, or those who had second thoughts would escape in large numbers, leaving behind the true “participants” of this game.
Already, people were starting to converse, and some were even showing their fans to each other.
Smiles were everywhere, and the atmosphere was relaxed and cheerful.
Qi Xia knew his purpose here was different from everyone else’s. Besides surviving, he needed to acquire as many “Dao” as possible.
But how was he supposed to take the first step with three “Sorrow” fans?
Contrary to Qi Xia’s expectations, after a full ten minutes, only two teams had managed to escape.
Those four people, after successfully identifying their sets, walked up the staircase leading to the upper floor.
It seemed Qi Xia had been too optimistic. Human greed was far more terrifying than he had imagined.
Since the Earth Sheep would replenish the fans after half an hour, the remaining players would each have at least four fans. After pairing up, they would have two left over, increasing the reward from five “Dao” to ten “Dao.” Therefore, escaping right away wasn’t the wisest move.
Yet Qi Xia had a sinking feeling. After all, the Earth Sheep was capable of lying.
Had it lied about the rules?
As Qi Xia wandered around the room, he suddenly heard a commotion in the corner. Turning to look, he saw human nature laid bare.
A burly man was trying to snatch a folding fan from a thin, frail man.
“What are you doing?!” the thin man cried out nervously. “Referee! Someone’s stealing!”
The Earth Sheep’s gaze drifted slowly toward the two but made no move to intervene.
“You… you’re not going to do anything?” The thin man was so frightened his glasses fell to the ground.
To everyone’s surprise, the Earth Sheep slowly closed its eyes.
Seeing this, the burly man grew even more emboldened.
“Damn it… hand it over!”
He reached out and yanked hard, snatching two fans away.
The thin man clung desperately to his last fan, refusing to let go. The burly man gave him no chance to react, roughly pulling at it.
Within seconds, there was a sharp tearing sound—the third fan had been ripped apart.
The burly man picked up the torn fan and examined it. It now resembled a pair of scissors, with one end drooping when he held the other.
Unsure if the fan was still usable, he thought for a few seconds before tossing it back to its owner.
“Leave some room for reconciliation—we might meet again,” the burly man said with a laugh. “You can have this one back.”
The thin man was visibly furious, but he didn’t dare fight back. The dozens of people nearby watched coldly, not one stepping in to stop it.
But the atmosphere among the crowd had clearly shifted.
“I have a proposal,” a fashionable-looking woman suddenly announced loudly. “Let’s all refuse to partner with this awful man. Leave him here to die.”
“What?!” The burly man flew into a rage, storming over to the woman in two strides. “You bitch, you looking to die?”
“Are you going to kill me?” The fashionable woman smiled. “I have a feeling that if you kill me, even fewer people will want to partner with you.”
“What…?” The burly man slowly raised his hand, seemingly hesitating whether to slap her.
Qi Xia had a feeling that even if he didn’t kill her, he would definitely make this woman suffer.
“Hey, that’s enough,” a young man in his early twenties suddenly appeared, stepping between the burly man and the woman. “This is a game where cooperation is the only way to escape. You don’t want to turn everyone against you, do you?”
Qi Xia glanced up at the clock on the wall.
Only fifteen minutes had passed since the game began, and already so many people were losing control.
He shook his head, ignoring the noisy crowd, and instead walked over to the thin man.
The man, who had just been robbed, was still sitting on the ground, clutching his torn fan and weeping bitterly.
“Hey, stop crying,” Qi Xia said.
“Huh?” The man looked up, tears streaming down his face.
“What character is on that torn fan of yours?”
So what now?
What exactly is “luck”?
Qi Xia couldn’t help but wonder.
As a person, how unlucky do you have to be to have all three fans say “Sorrow”?
The current situation was extremely tricky. No matter who Qi Xia partnered with, he could only produce two “Sorrow” fans. In other words, anyone who teamed up with him would be unable to escape.
If the rules required each person to produce two folding fans, then whoever partnered with Qi Xia would absolutely be unable to complete the set of “Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness.”
So what should he do next?
Qi Xia furrowed his brow and pondered for a moment. Suppose his luck was so incredibly bad that half an hour later, when the fans were replenished, he ended up with another “Sorrow”…
“Hey, buddy!” A square-faced man patted Qi Xia on the shoulder from behind. Qi Xia immediately tucked away his fan.
“What are you doing here?” the man asked.
“I…” Qi Xia turned his head and slipped the fan into his pocket. “I was just checking the characters on my fan.”
“So? What characters do you have?” the square-faced man pressed.
Qi Xia didn’t understand what was going on with this person. How could he so bluntly ask about someone else’s hand?
If word got out that “this guy has three ‘Sorrow’ fans,” who would ever be willing to pair up with him?
“Besides ‘Joy,’ I have the other three characters,” Qi Xia said.
“Oh, really?” The square-faced man thought for a moment. “Well, I have ‘Joy’—two of them, in fact! Looks like the two of us could form a complete set of ‘Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness’!”
“So, you want to get out quickly?” Qi Xia asked.
“Of course…” The square-faced man nodded vigorously. “People die in this place. Who wouldn’t want to get out as soon as possible?”
“Oh…” Qi Xia responded indifferently, then abruptly changed the subject. “I can agree to ‘pair up’ with you, but you’ll need to give me one of your ‘Joy’ fans.”
“No problem,” the square-faced man nodded. “When the time comes, I’ll produce one ‘Joy’ and one ‘Anger,’ and you’ll produce the other two.”
“You misunderstood me,” Qi Xia shook his head. “I said I want a ‘Joy’ fan for myself.”
“What…?” The square-faced man stared blankly for a moment. “Buddy… did I hear you right?”
“You did,” Qi Xia shook his head. “If you want to cooperate with me, you’ll need to give me the remaining fan in your hand.”
“Why should I?” The square-faced man looked at Qi Xia with displeasure. “Even though I said I’d cooperate with you, it’s not like I have no other options, right?”
“Of course,” Qi Xia nodded. “You can go find another teammate, but my principle remains the same. If you want to cooperate with me, I want the third fan in your hand.”
“You’re insane.” The square-faced man waved his hand and turned to leave.
The Earth Sheep glanced around at the crowd, then stood in front of the central table and announced, “Ten minutes have passed. The game will now begin.”
As soon as the words were spoken, the crowd began to stir.
Qi Xia let out a deep sigh and, tucking his fan away, slowly observed the scene.
In a game with so many participants, the first round was essentially a process of separating the wheat from the chaff. The timid, the lost, or those who had second thoughts would escape in large numbers, leaving behind the true “participants” of this game.
Some people had already started talking to each other, and a few were even showing their fans to others.
Everyone was smiling, and the atmosphere was relaxed and cheerful.
Qi Xia knew that his purpose here was different from everyone else’s. Besides surviving, he needed to obtain as many “Tao” as possible.
But how was he supposed to take the first step with three “Sorrow” fans?
Contrary to Qi Xia’s expectations, after a full ten minutes, only two teams had managed to escape.
Those four people, after successfully identifying their sets, walked up the stairs leading to the upper floor.
It seemed Qi Xia had been too optimistic. Human greed was more terrifying than he had imagined.
Since the Earth Sheep would replenish the fans after half an hour, the remaining players would each have at least four fans. After pairing up, they would have two left over, and the final reward would increase from five “Tao” to ten “Tao.” So, escaping right away wasn’t the wisest move.
But Qi Xia had a bad feeling. After all, the Earth Sheep was capable of lying.
Had it lied about the rules?
As Qi Xia wandered around the room, he suddenly heard a commotion in the corner. Turning to look, he saw human nature laid bare.
A burly man was trying to snatch a folding fan from a thin man.
“What are you doing?!” the thin man cried out nervously. “Referee! Someone’s stealing!”
The Earth Sheep’s gaze slowly drifted toward the two but made no move to intervene.
“You… you’re not going to do anything?” The thin man was so frightened that his glasses fell to the ground.
The Earth Sheep slowly closed its eyes.
Seeing this, the burly man felt even more emboldened.
“Damn it… hand it over!”
He reached out and yanked hard, snatching two fans.
The thin man clung desperately to his last fan, refusing to let go. The burly man gave him no chance to react, roughly tugging at it.
Within seconds, there was a sharp tearing sound, and the third fan was ripped in two.
The burly man picked up the torn fan and examined it. The broken fan now resembled a pair of scissors—when he held one end, the other drooped down.
Uncertain whether the fan was still usable, he thought for a few seconds before tossing it back to the thin man.
“Leave some room for reconciliation,” the burly man said with a laugh. “I’ll give this one back to you.”
The thin man looked furious but didn’t dare to fight back. The dozens of people nearby watched coldly, not one stepping in to stop it.
But the atmosphere among the crowd clearly shifted at that moment.
“I have a proposal,” a fashionable-looking woman suddenly announced loudly. “None of us should team up with this bad man. Let him stay here and wait for death.”
“What?!” The burly man flew into a rage, storming over to the woman in two steps. “You bitch, you looking to die?”
“Are you going to kill me?” the fashionable woman smiled. “I have a feeling that if you kill me, even fewer people will dare to team up with you.”
“What…?” The burly man slowly raised his hand, seemingly hesitating whether to slap the woman.
Qi Xia had a feeling that even if the man didn’t kill her, he would definitely make her suffer.
“Hey, that’s enough,” a young man in his twenties suddenly appeared, stepping between the burly man and the woman. “This is a game where cooperation is the only way to escape. You don’t want to provoke public anger, do you?”
Qi Xia glanced up at the clock on the wall.
The game had only been going on for fifteen minutes, and already so many people were losing control.
He shook his head, ignoring the noisy crowd, and instead walked over to the thin man.
The man, who had just been robbed of his fans, was sitting on the ground, clutching his torn fan and weeping bitterly.
“Hey, stop crying,” Qi Xia said.
“Huh?” The man looked up, tears streaming down his face.
“What character is on that torn fan of yours?”
“Hey! Buddy!” A square-faced man clapped Qi Xia on the shoulder from behind, startling him into swiftly tucking his fan away.
“What are you doing here?” the man asked.
“I…” Qi Xia turned his head slightly, slipping the fan into his pocket. “Just checking my fan.”
“So? What’s on it?” the square-faced man pressed.
Qi Xia was baffled. Why was this guy so bluntly asking about his cards?
What exactly is “luck”?
Qi Xia couldn’t help but wonder.
As a person, how unlucky do you have to be to have all three fans say “Sorrow”?
The current situation was extremely tricky. No matter who Qi Xia partnered with, he could only produce two “Sorrow” fans. In other words, anyone who teamed up with him wouldn’t be able to escape.
If the rules required each person to produce two folding fans, then whoever partnered with Qi Xia would absolutely not be able to complete the set of “Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness.”
So what should he do next?
Frowning, Qi Xia pondered for a moment. Suppose his luck was so incredibly bad that half an hour later, when the fans were replenished, he ended up with yet another “Sorrow”…
“Hey, buddy!” A square-faced man patted Qi Xia on the back, causing him to quickly put away his fan.
“What are you doing here?” the man asked.
“I…” Qi Xia turned his head and slipped the fan into his pocket. “I was just checking my fan.”
“So? What does it say?” the square-faced man pressed.
Qi Xia didn’t understand why this person was being so straightforward about asking for his hand. If word got out that this guy had three “Sorrow” fans, who would be willing to partner with him?
“Aside from ‘Joy,’ I have the other three,” Qi Xia replied.
“Oh, really?” The square-faced man thought for a moment. “I actually have ‘Joy’—two of them, in fact! It looks like the two of us could form a complete set of ‘Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness’!”
“So, you want to get out quickly?” Qi Xia asked.
“Of course…” The square-faced man nodded vigorously. “People die here. Who wouldn’t want to get out as soon as possible?”
“Oh…” Qi Xia responded indifferently, then changed the subject. “I can agree to ‘partner’ with you, but you need to give me one of your ‘Joy’ fans.”
“No problem,” the square-faced man nodded. “When the time comes, I’ll produce one ‘Joy’ and one ‘Anger,’ and you’ll produce the other two.”
“You misunderstood me,” Qi Xia shook his head. “I said I want one ‘Joy’ fan for myself.”
“What…?” The square-faced man was stunned for a moment. “Buddy… did I hear you right?”
“Yes,” Qi Xia shook his head. “If you want to cooperate with me, you need to give me the remaining fan in your hand.”
“Why should I?” The square-faced man looked at Qi Xia with displeasure. “Even though I said I’d cooperate with you, it’s not like I have to, right?”
“Of course,” Qi Xia nodded. “You can go find another partner, but my principle remains the same. If you want to cooperate with me, I want the third fan in your hand.”
“You’re insane,” the square-faced man waved his hand and turned to leave.
The Earth Sheep looked around at the crowd, then stood in front of the central table and announced, “Ten minutes have passed. The game will now begin.”
With those words, the crowd began to move.
Qi Xia let out a deep sigh and, holding his fan, slowly observed the scene.
In a game with so many people, the first round was essentially a process of separating the wheat from the chaff. Those who were timid, had stumbled into this place by mistake, or had second thoughts would escape in large numbers. Those who remained would be the true “participants” of this game.
Already, people had begun talking to each other, and some were even showing their fans to others.
Everyone was smiling, and the atmosphere was relaxed and cheerful.
Qi Xia knew that his purpose for being here was different from everyone else’s. Besides surviving, he needed to obtain as many “tao” as possible.
But how was he supposed to take the first step with three “Sorrow” fans?
Contrary to Qi Xia’s expectations, after a full ten minutes, only two teams had managed to escape.
Those four people, after successfully identifying their sets, walked up the stairs leading to the upper floor.
It seemed Qi Xia had been too optimistic. Human greed was more terrifying than he had imagined.
Since the Earth Sheep would replenish the fans after half an hour, the remaining players would each have at least four fans. After pairing up, they would have two left over, and the final reward would increase from five “tao” to ten “tao.” So, escaping right away wasn’t the wisest move.
Yet Qi Xia had a bad feeling. After all, the Earth Sheep was capable of lying.
Had he lied about the rules?
As Qi Xia wandered around the room, he suddenly heard a commotion in the corner. Turning to look, he saw human nature revealing itself.
A burly man was trying to snatch a folding fan from a thin man.
“What are you doing?!” the thin man cried out nervously. “Referee! Someone’s stealing!”
The Earth Sheep’s gaze slowly drifted toward the two but made no move to intervene.
“You… you’re not going to do anything?” The thin man was so frightened that his glasses fell to the ground.
To everyone’s surprise, the Earth Sheep slowly closed his eyes.
Seeing this, the burly man felt even more emboldened.
“Damn it… hand it over!”
He reached out and yanked hard, snatching two fans.
The thin man clung desperately to his last fan, refusing to let go. The burly man gave him no chance to react, roughly pulling at it.
Within seconds, there was a sharp tearing sound, and the third fan was ripped in half.
The burly man picked up the torn fan and examined it. The broken fan now resembled a pair of scissors—when he held one end, the other drooped down.
Uncertain whether the fan could still be used, he thought for a few seconds before tossing it back to the thin man.
“Leave some room for reconciliation,” the burly man said with a laugh. “I’ll give this one back to you.”
The thin man was visibly furious, but he didn’t dare fight back. The dozens of people nearby watched coldly, not one stepping in to stop it.
But the atmosphere among the crowd clearly shifted at that moment.
“I have a proposal,” a fashionable-looking woman suddenly announced loudly. “None of us should partner with this bad man. Let him stay here and wait for death.”
“What?!” The burly man flew into a rage, storming over to the woman in two steps. “You bitch, you looking to die?”
“Are you going to kill me?” The fashionable woman smiled. “I have a feeling that if you kill me, even fewer people will dare to partner with you.”
“What…?” The burly man slowly raised his hand, seemingly hesitating whether to slap her.
Qi Xia had a feeling that even if he didn’t kill her, he would definitely make this woman suffer.
“Hey, that’s enough,” a young man in his early twenties suddenly appeared, stepping between the burly man and the woman. “This is a game where cooperation is the only way to escape. You’re not trying to stir up public anger, are you?”
Qi Xia glanced up at the clock on the wall.
The game had only been going on for fifteen minutes, and already so many people were unable to restrain themselves?
He shook his head, ignoring the noisy crowd, and instead walked over to the thin man.
This man, who had just been robbed of his fan, was now sitting on the ground, clutching his torn fan and weeping bitterly.
“Hey, stop crying,” Qi Xia said.
“Huh?” The man looked up, tears streaming down his face.
“What’s written on that torn fan of yours?”
“Everything except ‘Joy,'” Qi Xia replied.
“Oh? Really?” The square-faced man rubbed his chin. “Well, I’ve got *two* ‘Joy’ fans! Looks like we could complete a full set together!”
“So you’re in a hurry to leave?” Qi Xia asked.
“*Obviously*,” the man nodded vigorously. “People *die* here. Who *wouldn’t* want to get out?”
“Hmm.” Qi Xia responded noncommittally before shifting gears. “I’ll team up with you—on *one* condition. Give me *one* of your ‘Joy’ fans.”
“No problem,” the man agreed. “I’ll play one ‘Joy’ and one ‘Anger,’ and you cover the other two.”
“You misunderstand,” Qi Xia shook his head. “I want a *separate* ‘Joy’ fan—just for me.”
“*What*?” The man blinked. “Buddy… you *can’t* be serious.”
“I am,” Qi Xia said calmly. “If you want to work with me, you hand over your *third* fan.”
“*Why the hell* should I?” The man scowled. “I *offered* to team up, but that doesn’t mean I *have* to work with *you*.”
“Of course not,” Qi Xia nodded. “Go find someone else. But my terms won’t change—if you want me as a partner, you surrender that third fan.”
“*Psycho*,” the man spat before storming off.
The Sheep, overseeing the game, scanned the room before stepping onto the central platform. “Ten minutes are up,” he announced. “The game *begins now*.”
The crowd erupted into motion.
Qi Xia exhaled deeply, pocketing his fans as he slowly surveyed the room.
In a game with so many players, the first round was just a *filter*—the timid, the lost, and the hesitant would flee, leaving only the *true* participants.
Already, people were negotiating, some even openly revealing their fans.
Smiles and laughter filled the air—a stark contrast to the tension thrumming beneath.
Qi Xia knew his goal here differed from the others. Survival wasn’t enough; he needed to amass as many “Tao” as possible.
But with *three* “Sorrow” fans… how could he even *begin*?
Contrary to his expectations, only *two* teams escaped in the first ten minutes.
The four victors ascended the stairs, leaving the rest behind.
Qi Xia had been *too* optimistic. Human greed ran *deeper* than he’d imagined.
Since the Sheep would replenish fans in half an hour, holding out meant more rewards—five “Tao” could become *ten* if they waited. Early escape wasn’t the smart play.
Yet a gnawing unease gripped him. The Sheep *lied*. Had he deceived them about the rules?
As Qi Xia wandered, a commotion erupted in a corner—human nature laid bare.
A burly man was *wrestling* a frail man for his fans.
“Stop it!” the thin man shrieked. “Ref! He’s *stealing*!”
The Sheep’s gaze slid toward them… but he did *nothing*.
“You—you’re not going to *intervene*?” The frail man’s glasses clattered to the floor.
The Sheep *closed his eyes*.
Emboldened, the brute *yanked* two fans free.
“Gimme that!”
The thin man clung desperately to his last fan, but the thug *ripped* it in half with a sickening *tear*.
The torn fan dangled like a broken pair of scissors.
The brute inspected it, then *tossed* it back with a smirk.
“*Leave a path for retreat*,” he sneered. “Here’s your *trash*.”
The thin man trembled with rage—but fear kept him silent. The crowd *watched*, unmoved.
The atmosphere *shifted*.
“I propose something,” a stylish woman declared loudly. “*Nobody* teams up with this *thug*. Let him *rot* here.”
“*WHAT*?!” The brute lunged at her. “*You bitch*—you *asking* for death?!”
“Go ahead,” she taunted. “Kill me. Then *nobody* will dare partner with you.”
His fist hovered—but hesitated.
Qi Xia knew violence was inevitable.
“Enough,” a young man in his twenties stepped between them. “This game *requires* cooperation. You *really* want to turn everyone against you?”
Qi Xia glanced at the wall clock.
*Fifteen minutes in*, and already, chaos reigned.
Shaking his head, he approached the weeping thin man—still clutching his *torn* fan.
“Stop crying,” Qi Xia said.
“Huh?” The man looked up, tears streaking his face.
“What’s written on your broken fan?”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage