Chapter 11: For the Future |
A fifty-fifty chance.
A gamble of life and death.
Ming Po did not interfere with the results in any way—he did not persuade the others to abandon this absurd gamble that used his life as collateral, nor did he check what they wrote inside their masks, let alone attempt to manipulate Fish's vote.
The moment the Host announced the result, Ming Po had already closed his eyes.
At that moment, he had fully prepared himself to be impaled by the giant sword.
The oncoming death whistled past like a violent gale, yet to him, it felt like nothing more than a cool summer breeze.
It was not until Ming Po heard Fish let out a heart-wrenching scream, until he heard the deafening crash and felt the ground and round table vibrate... until the room fell silent once more, that Ming Po gradually breathed a sigh of relief, relaxed his clenched fingers, and opened his eyes.
"I survived... That's good."
Ming Po sighed, murmuring to himself.
Even for Ming Po... facing death in such extreme proximity was not without pressure. It felt like a heavy truck roaring past less than ten centimeters from his face—the sensation of surviving a disaster filled him with an intense wave of happiness and exhilaration.
It was as if a pair of glasses had been wiped perfectly clean; the entire world suddenly became bright and vivid.
Even Ming Po's tone softened considerably, and the smile on his face grew more genuine: "Mr. Fox, it will be your turn in a moment."
"Yes."
Fox's attitude toward Wolf could almost be described as deferential.
It was completely different from his demeanor when he had first reached out to grab Wolf's sleeve.
Raccoon also slowly raised her head, her expression filled with wariness and hostility as she looked at Fox.
—Just a minute ago, they had formed a tacit and united understanding to eliminate Fish, yet at this moment, they had instantly turned into bitter enemies.
Because it was glaringly obvious.
From this moment on, it was a life-and-death duel between Fox and Raccoon—
There were three voters remaining, which meant someone would definitely die this round.
Either a minority voter would perish, or the narrator would.
Under the current circumstances, Raccoon was practically doomed.
Her only chance of survival now was to cooperate with Wolf and Rabbit to send Fox away first, and then beg Wolf and Rabbit to show mercy and spare her in the final three-player layout.
At least in Raccoon's view, this possibility was not zero.
Wolf and Rabbit had always maintained a friendly attitude toward her, and the difference in rewards between having two survivors versus three survivors shouldn't be very large...
Under these conditions, it could actually be understood as "Wolf and Rabbit using the extra portion of chips they could have originally gained" to trade for a trustworthy teammate like her.
As the saying goes, charity in time of need is better than superfluous embellishment—to be pardoned while at an absolute disadvantage was precisely a life-saving grace.
If such an opportunity truly arose, Raccoon swore she would find any way possible to repay this kindness...
...But the problem now lay in how she could make Wolf believe her resolve.
"You didn't answer Mr. Fish's question earlier. Can you tell me the answer now?"
Ming Po leaned against his chair, looking as relaxed and peaceful as if he were leaning against a pillow reading a book.
He spoke softly, "Why did you choose me in the second round?"
"Naturally, because..."
Fox kept his posture extremely low.
He said respectfully and politely, "I am considering the 'games that follow.'"
Right at that moment, the Host announced,
"The fourth round begins."
At a time when only Fox was permitted to speak, he did not look at anyone else, focusing his gaze entirely on Wolf.
Fox rose from his chair and bowed slightly to Wolf.
Then, maintaining his standing posture, he looked around at the remaining three survivors with a straight back and spoke earnestly:
"Everyone, let me reintroduce myself. My name is Chen Bingwen. I am a lawyer who just entered the profession, a legal consulting streamer, and simultaneously, a commercial intelligence consultant."
...Oh, so that was it.
Ming Po smiled faintly.
He happened to know about this profession—to put it nicely, they were think tanks; to put it bluntly, they were information brokers.
Through legal means such as web scrapers and big data models, or through other unspeakable gray channels, they systematically gathered various kinds of commercial intelligence, organized it, and sold it to different enterprises.
This was considered a legal profession in itself, except it skirted the edge of getting locked up at any moment, much like an accountant.
No wonder he knew Fish's secret.
As an ordinary salaried lawyer, he indeed lacked the qualifications to access intelligence on that level. But if he had learned legal knowledge specifically to evade the possibility of breaking the law, and just worked as a lawyer on the side, then it made perfect sense.
"During the narration of the second round, when the narrator Rabbit was besieged by everyone and fell into an absolute disadvantage, you were the one who stood up to resolve her predicament."
Chen Bingwen spoke slowly, saying seriously, "From that moment on, I knew you had likely formed some sort of hidden alliance. Back then, to muddy the waters, you didn't hesitate to make yourself the focus of attention... At that time, I knew you were a reliable teammate.
"—I also believe that was precisely where Fish was most foolish.
"He didn't hesitate to repeatedly betray others just to eliminate as many people as possible... exactly like what Bear did. However, in this game, there explicitly exists a path that allows eleven people to survive.
"Since it exists, there must be a reason for it.
"Just as the Host mentioned, there is a category among the Titles called Virtue. I believe that might refer to morality, conduct, or character... It should belong to the Domain of reputation or persuasiveness.
"I don't know how Titles take effect, but since it's a Title and not an ability or an item, I believe it should at least be visible to others.
"Then, for the exact same armistice agreement, if it is issued by a player holding a high-level Title of Slaughter versus a player holding a high-level Title of Virtue, the effect will be entirely different.
"Therefore, I believe that in a game, one must not only consider the victory or defeat of this specific game itself, but should place greater consideration on the 'games that follow.' If one ruins their reputation too much, it will only hinder their popularity and ability to form alliances in subsequent games. Unless one plans to quit immediately after finishing this game... but with just these current chips, I am afraid it's fundamentally not enough.
"Based on the Host's meaning, once we resurrect, we shouldn't be able to participate in the Game of Deception anymore. For the chips we've already earned, using one means having one less. Therefore, I do not intend to resurrect... I will continue to participate in the games.
"Compared to Butterfly and Bear, I believe Rabbit and Wolf are teammates far more worth investing in."
As Chen Bingwen spoke, he looked toward Rabbit and Wolf beside him.
As if deliberately, he did not look at Raccoon.
Meanwhile, Raccoon's face flushed red; she wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.
"And precisely because of this... I hope you can spare my life."
Fox bowed to Wolf once more. "I am grateful for your kindness, and I am aware of your capabilities. If we can meet again in the future, I will definitely cooperate with you."
Those were truly sincere words.
Chen Bingwen had already tasted the danger.
Although it currently appeared to be a dead end for Raccoon... it was actually not the case.
Or rather, precisely because it was a dead end for Raccoon, she could only vote for the exact same option as them to exile Fox first. This was her only possibility of surviving. Under these circumstances, Rabbit, who was bound by the agreement, naturally wouldn't dare to change her vote either.
Death was the strongest constraint, far more effective than morality.
As long as the three of them cooperated, it would actually be Fox who would undoubtedly die.
And as the final person whose death was optional, Raccoon might actually be spared by Wolf.
The reason was exactly as Fox had stated—because this game wasn't a one-time event.
Even though Raccoon herself might not have realized it... she actually possessed quite a strong value.
—Because she appeared entirely non-threatening.
Unlike Lin Ya, who looked quite fashionable, resembling an urban white-collar worker or a young lady from a wealthy family, Raccoon's appearance belonged to the more common "cute" or "quiet" type.
To put it another way, Lin Ya possessed the aura of a working professional, whereas Raccoon looked like a clear-eyed female college student at a single glance.
If Wolf spared her, Raccoon would definitely feel heartfelt gratitude toward him. If they appeared in the same game in the future, she would continuously tell others about Wolf's trustworthiness and mercy.
If a dangerous fellow like Wolf said these things himself, absolutely no one would believe him, because clever people could detect his danger.
But if it came from Raccoon's mouth, it was highly probable that people would genuinely believe it.
In espionage, there was a technique called indirect control. That is, one did not directly contact the target, but instead used another individual whom the target could trust—such as a relative, colleague, or even family member—to steal their intelligence.
During this process, even the manipulated intermediary might not know they were being manipulated.
If Wolf had a proposal that required the support of others, then whether he handed it to someone like Fox—who clearly had a sharp mind—or proposed it himself, it would be inappropriate and easily arouse the vigilance and wariness of others.
Even someone like Rabbit, who appeared pure and harmless, wouldn't do.
Her performance carried too heavy a trace of acting, making it easy for others to see through.
Reality was the best acting.
There was no better method to portray a harmless idiot than being genuinely not very bright.
Having spoken up to this point, Fox looked toward the Host.
"Excuse me," although he didn't know if the Host would respond, Fox still asked, "Can we draw up a contract in the name of the organizer? I am willing to deliver half of my chips to Wolf, and promise that every time we encounter each other in subsequent games, I will absolutely never be the first to betray him."
"Regrettably, no such thing exists."
The mouth on the cat's back revealed a mocking smile: "Or rather, 'promises' and 'contracts' themselves are abilities belonging to Deceivers in the Domain of Virtue and the Domain of Balance.
"...Furthermore, this game does not have any organizer."
The Host uttered words that caused Ming Po to startle slightly.
[——What organizer? There is no organizer at all! What a load of nonsense!]
Ming Po recalled Butterfly's previous words.
When she was eliminated, she had also looked at Fish with an incredibly absurd expression, as if what he said was incomprehensible nonsense.
And now, the Host emphasized once more that this game did not have any organizer.
Could it be...
Fox glanced at Wolf, then turned back to look at the Host again, asking, "Excuse me... what is the meaning of this statement?
"If there is no organizer, how were our positions determined? Forgive my bluntness... the advantage gap between the front positions and the rear positions is far too vast. Is this truly..."
What he asked happened to be the very question that Wolf and Raccoon were anticipating.
Consequently, everyone directed their gaze toward the black cat.
"Hmph, slick bastard."
The 'mouth' hanging around the black cat's neck sneered, yet the corners of its lips curled upward with amusement: "By rights, you do not have the authority level to know about such matters yet, but... whatever, with your aptitude, you will soon come to know about this anyway.
"The Game of Deception has never had an 'organizer' in the strict sense; the entire system is self-perpetuating."
Self-perpetuating?
This strange term left everyone somewhat bewildered, but it also gave several of them a faint glimmer of inspiration.
However, the black cat did not continue speaking, so they did not know whether their conjectures were correct either.
"As for this game itself... it has already been stated, [the game is absolutely fair]. Because an unfair game cannot be established. If a game appears unfair, it either contains specific hidden rules, or its fairness lies somewhere outside the rules.
"The initial state of all games hides some sort of intelligence. For example, if a person naturally starts in a disadvantageous position, then it is highly probable that they are exceptionally strong, or possess a supernatural talent that makes it easy to clear this game; for instance, in an asymmetrical confrontation game, it is highly likely that the person responsible for killing is the one with the highest level in Strength or Slaughter.
"And in the initial selection tournament where no one possesses a Title or any abilities yet, the arrangement of seats naturally follows a rule as well.
"For example... 'sins.'"