Chapter 181: Chapter 169 Dice Game Six Chapter 181: Chapter 169 Dice Game Six (Read first, I haven’t checked it yet, I’ll correct any typos later)

Someone said yesterday that deciding the victor with a “Dice Game” might be too rash.

My answer was… not at all! And I’d add:

“You simply don’t understand what ‘game’ means!”

Of course, many people don’t understand.

Only those who have experienced it can comprehend why a few cards, a handful of dice, such simple rules, can drive so many people to rush like moths to a flame, to be crazy about it.

Actually, the focus of a game is not the “rules of the game,” but the “stakes.”

Even for games as simple as “high-low,” as soon as you tie them to money, life, or beliefs, they immediately transcend beyond the realm of mere rules.

Moreover, the rules of this “Dice Game” are not at all simple.

Essentially, it’s a game about: can you “position yourself.”

In a team, during a mission, in the brief journey of life, in different situations, everyone has to play their role.

Those who “abstain” are the calculators, the opportunists; such people must be smart, take stock of the situation, as blind concealment will lead to the rapid collapse of the collective.

Those who cast “1 point” are the reservists, the self-preservers; these people don’t just pin their hopes of victory on others, but rather, while accumulating their own strength, they are key in pushing the whole group forward.

Those who cast “2 points” are the hard workers, the desperate fighters; these people have no choice but to drive the collective, or they’re already cornered with no retreat: to not advance is to perish, yet overextending often leads to being the first to turn to ashes.

Those who cast “3 points,” well…either they are the autocrats or fools.

In any case, in each round, players must continually switch roles, maintaining the collective’s advancement while carefully ensuring that their own power is not too heavily compromised, otherwise, they will soon become stepping stones for others.

And, of course, those who survive in this ever-changing, all-enemies environment are rightfully called winners.

…

…

The water’s ready, now let’s get back to the match.

Indeed, the Black Team cast three points.

In this crucial “win-or-lose” moment, the entire team only cast 3 points.

No one dared to cast even one point more.

This showed that everyone was guarding against their own teammates!

But regardless, they won this round anyway.

…

Now let’s talk about the White Team…

The White Team’s total points turned out to be…just 1 point.

Well…

If you think about it carefully, you can understand why, despite a 4 to 3 advantage, there would be three people who chose to abstain altogether.

Because… the White Team has cast too many points.

Now let me help you recall:

The first round, the whole team 3 points

The second round, the whole team 4 points, among which 1 point is certain to have been cast by “Gorilla”.

The third round, the whole team 3 points

…

See, in the first and third rounds, there was always one person who abstained.

Oh, someone might ask here, why “one person” instead of “two people”? It’s possible that one cast two points and two abstained.

To those asking this… well, didn’t you see the text about the water above? This “silent contribution without seeking reward” is hardly seen even in fiction these days. If someone did really cast two points, he would definitely make a fuss about it like “Short Hair,” demanding something from his teammates, such as the right to “abstain from a round.” Otherwise, who would do such thankless, strenuous work?

…

This led to the White Team’s initial advantage of winning “two rounds” swiftly turning into a disadvantage, because winning one more round would end the game, so in this round, all those who had no confidence would abstain and drag the match to a 2-2 tie, using this do-or-die situation to stimulate their teammates to cast points…

But… why did someone still cast one point?

We’ll talk about that later…

At that time… since the start of the second round, “Short Hair,” who had been consistently abstaining, let out a helpless sigh…

“Sigh, during the second round, I thought I had won the bet, but it seems… I’ve lost,” he said indifferently.

The members of both the Black and White Teams glanced at him, none addressing him.

Indeed, after reaching 2-2 in the fourth round, it announced his defeat,

since the White Team now had no one who cast more than four points… not even three.

That means unless the “short-haired man” also abstains this round, and his own teammate rolls a one or higher at the same time… otherwise… he is absolutely not going to win.

He… has already lost.

…

Suddenly

“Hehehe…”

A grating laughter rang out.

Without even thinking, it must be Chen Xiao up to his antics again. He twisted his head towards the last girl who had entered, in a very awkward manner…

And she was evidently startled by his sudden glare.

“Wha… what are you doing?” she stuttered.

Chen Xiao grinned, leaned his body forward on the table, and crept closer. His facial expression was unpleasant to look at. “Oh, nothing, I just suddenly wanted to ask, hmmm… out of the eight people here… who was the first one to come through the door?”

The girl was stunned for a second before responding with a perplexed look: “How would I know that? I was the last one to enter!”

“Oh! That’s right, haha.” Chen Xiao feigned realization, nodded slightly as if to apologize, and then “withdrew” his body back to its original position.

The short man had been annoyed with Chen Xiao from the get-go, so he cursed without any hesitation: “Damn cheater!”

…

Soon

——————————————

The fifth round began…

——————————————

Before the electronic voice finished

“Why did you ask that?” the guy with kidney failure on the white team suddenly asked.

“Huh?” Chen Xiao pretended to be confused.

“Why did you ask… who was the first person to enter this room?” the guy with kidney failure impatiently explained himself again.

“Oh~ You mean that question… hehehe.” As Chen Xiao spoke, he… stood up and tiptoed to a door. As expected, the electronic door opened in response.

“You see, this electronic door… opens just by getting close,” he said with a cheeky grin.

“So… what are you getting at?” asked the frail-looking woman from the white team, her expression turning serious, clearly sensing something from Chen Xiao’s words.

“What I mean is…” He turned around, wobbled into the doorway.

A moment passed… and the door closed.

But it quickly reopened, “Dang dang dang~” Chen Xiao spread his arms wide, struck a “grand entrance” pose, and bounced out with self-made BGM.

The gorilla-sized man watched his foolish antics in silence… but his expression grew exceptionally dark.

Chen Xiao, as if nothing was amiss, walked back to his seat under everyone’s gaze. Then, frowning, his eyes darted around as if he was deep in thought.

“Oh~ right,” he pointed in mid-air: “What do you think about the possibility that… the first person to come in talked with the second, and then one of them returned through the door, pretending to have come in later…”

“Are you… accusing me of cheating?” the last girl hesitated before asking.

Chen Xiao waved his hands… “No, no, no, of course not, because no one knew the rules of the game at that time, so even if two people reached an agreement of sorts, it wouldn’t necessarily apply to this match, right?”

“Yeah, even if two people discussed something, so what?” the guy who looked defeated simply spat out some smoke and asked.

Chen Xiao shrugged…: “Hmm… yeah, it can’t be helped, I was just making wild guesses. Like right now, I’m wondering, what if in this game, two people knew each other beforehand, or better yet, were teammates in the same little squad? Would they help each other out during the game? What if they were split into the ‘black team’ and ‘white team,’ what then?”

Hearing this, everyone froze for a moment, and then became silent, some listening, some contemplating, some growing angry.

Chen Xiao continued: “If that’s the case, then this game is pretty boring, because as long as these two people abstain every round, no matter which team wins, one of them will eventually be the victor…”

“Bastard!” Before Chen Xiao could continue his spiel, the gorilla-like man slammed the table and roared at him.

Chen Xiao glanced at him: “Ah, I didn’t expect the first person to come in was you… or should I say… the second?” With that, he completely disregarded the other’s anger and turned his head back to the girl, repeating his earlier question: “So tell me… who was the first one in?”

“You… are talking nonsense!” the girl said coldly, her demeanor shifted like magic, transforming from an innocent girl into a cold and venomous snake.

Of course, nobody present was particularly surprised by her change; in their world, even if someone stripped and turned into a stocky man, it would be understandable.

“Assuming… I mean, if they really did as you say, how did you notice it? You couldn’t have come up with this direction without any signs,” the frail-looking woman mentioned casually.

Chen Xiao licked his lips: “Oh, you’re asking about that, because… in the first round, someone chose to abstain in the second round despite knowing their team was behind… is that not essentially handing over two victories to the other side? It’s just too bold a move, isn’t it? Rather than thinking that person is an idiot, it would seem they simply don’t care about winning or losing.”

“Tch, what a bunch of nonsense, pure speculation,” the gorilla-like man muttered. He didn’t shout anymore, knowing the angrier he appeared, the more suspicious he would seem. Better say nothing and let others question him.

Sure enough, the now transformed “cold girl” said: “Oh~ Then, according to you, why did our team throw a four in the first round? Shouldn’t I have abstained? Are you saying that you kindly threw in two points?” She spoke with a mocking tone because if he said he threw two points himself, it was sure to be unbelievable.

“In the first round, you did indeed throw one point, but maybe at that time you hadn’t thought it through, and your ally…” he glanced at the gorilla-sized man: “conveyed some information through that rough act at the end of the first round. So, your plan started in the second round.”

“Hmph, maybe you’re just paranoid, say what you will,” the cold girl sneered dismissively.

Chen Xiao nodded: “Yes, hehe… these could all be guesses. However… what I’m curious about is why, aside from the second round, the white team’s total points were always three…”