Du Lai came back to himself and slowly drew back his hand…

But his eyes never left the doll on the coffee table.

Bai Youwei raised an eyebrow slightly, a flicker of puzzlement in her mind. Many people wanted to get their hands on the doppelganger doll, but Du Lai’s demeanor compared to everyone else… he had the look of someone who needed it — specifically this, and nothing else.

That was strange.

But she was never one to pry into other people’s business. As long as Du Lai could produce the puzzle pieces, she would honor the deal.

Du Lai’s hoodie had a wide front pocket in the center of the garment, open on both sides. He reached into the pocket and began pulling out puzzle pieces, setting them on the coffee table one by one.

One, two, three… six, seven.

That was it.

Bai Youwei gave him a cool look. “Hey. We agreed on ten puzzle pieces.”

“I know, ten puzzle pieces.” Du Lai’s expression didn’t change. He said slowly, “Ten… used puzzle pieces. But what I’m giving you is six used puzzle pieces, and one… unused puzzle piece.”

Bai Youwei’s heart gave two sharp beats.

The others in the room also showed expressions of shock.

Tan Xiao blurted right out, “Are you out of your mind?! Why wouldn’t you keep an unused puzzle piece for yourself? Why spend it on trading for an item?”

The doppelganger doll only prevented injury. A puzzle piece could pull a player directly out of a game — by that comparison, a puzzle piece was clearly more valuable.

Take the simplest example:

In “The Final Bride,” what would happen to a player caught by the Duke if they used the doppelganger doll? For a period of time they could certainly avoid harm — but then what? After that window closed, a player strapped down to a torture device would still die. Unless another player managed to clear the game within that window.

Seen in that light, Du Lai’s behavior was all the more irregular.

Bai Youwei stretched out her hand and moved along the puzzle pieces on the coffee table, touching them one by one.

She paused when she reached the seventh.

It was indeed an unused puzzle piece — touching it caused information to surface in her mind.

She looked at Du Lai, her eyes narrowing slightly. In her silent gaze there was scrutiny, and there was doubt.

“You don’t need to question my motives.” Du Lai curved his lips in a smile — there was something of the rogue about it, and something cool. “A puzzle piece lets a player escape a game. But a puzzle piece can’t help a player win a game. And what I want is to win.”

Bai Youwei’s index finger lightly tapped the coffee table twice.

She looked over at Shen Mo.

Shen Mo considered for a moment, then said to her, “In any transaction, integrity is paramount.”

Bai Youwei nodded slowly, thoughtful. “Mm… integrity is indeed paramount.”

She picked up the doll from the coffee table, took it back, and said: “I’m not making the trade.”

Du Lai’s expression nearly cracked!

“Not making the trade?” he asked, bewildered. “Didn’t you just say integrity is paramount?!”

“Exactly, that’s why I’m not making the trade.” Bai Youwei was perfectly composed. “We originally agreed on ten puzzle pieces for the doll. But you only have seven pieces.”

“Among those seven pieces there’s one with immunity rights!” Du Lai said through gritted teeth. “Just that one piece alone is worth ten used puzzle pieces!”

“That’s not how it works.” Bai Youwei shook her head lightly. “You just said your goal is to win. I have my own goal too. My goal is to collect puzzle pieces — the more the better. Others may see that one piece as incredibly precious, but to me it’s still just one piece. Because of that one piece, I end up short by three. That I cannot accept.”

Du Lai looked from Bai Youwei to Shen Mo, then pointed at them and said, “You’re playing me?!”

This wasn’t a transaction at all.

This was deliberately picking a fight!

“Not at all~” Bai Youwei sat on the sofa, leisurely indifferent. “You can take that piece and trade it for three used ones, get your total up to ten, and come find me again. You’re welcome anytime~”

—