Just as the “rules” stated, Man-Monkey was the victor of rock-paper-scissors, and he could designate who would go “first.”

“I’ll go first myself,” Man-Monkey said. “You designate the box.”

Qi Xia lowered his head in thought for a moment, then said, “The box with ten ‘Dao.'”

Upon hearing this, Man-Monkey’s expression darkened, his pupils actually trembling for a moment. He felt that an extraordinary person had arrived at his venue.

Had this man before him already found the method to crack the game… or was this unintentional?

After pondering for a moment, Man-Monkey stood before the box with ten “Dao” and removed one “Dao” from it.

Now the two boxes had become twelve pieces and nine pieces.

Seeing that Man-Monkey had only taken out one, Qi Xia’s expression also shifted slightly.

“One piece…? You’re no fool either.”

The psychological battle between the two was already filled with flashing blades and clashing swords, yet their expressions remained calm.

Qiao Jiajin watched for quite a while, trying to look knowledgeable, then asked Yun Yao in a low voice, “Is this game really that difficult?”

“Do you think it’s very simple?” Yun Yao crossed her arms and said softly, “Every step Qi Xia is taking now is brilliant, including his deliberate loss at rock-paper-scissors—all for the sake of ‘designating the box.'”

“What?” Qiao Jiajin was stunned. “That liar boy did it on purpose? But even if you lose at rock-paper-scissors, can you win the game?”

“Let’s simulate it,” Yun Yao said. “Right now, one box has nine pieces and the other has twelve. Which box would you choose, and how many would you take?”

“Hmm…” Qiao Jiajin thought for a moment. “I’d probably take all twelve.”

“Then I would take all nine from the other box, and I’d win,” Yun Yao said with a smile.

“What if I leave one piece in the box and only take eleven?” Qiao Jiajin asked again.

“Then I’d also leave one piece in the box and only take eight. In the next round, I’d still win.”

“Hiss—” Qiao Jiajin sucked in a breath, discovering that no matter what, he couldn’t win. “Does this mean the next person to take ‘Dao’ is guaranteed to lose?”

“No, Qi Xia wouldn’t make decisions like you do,” Yun Yao said. “The person I like isn’t a fool.”

“That’s true…” Qiao Jiajin was about to agree when he suddenly realized something. “Damn, are you saying I’m a fool?”

Qi Xia walked to the box with twelve “Dao,” thought for a few seconds, then reached in and pulled out three pieces.

Now both boxes had nine pieces.

Man-Monkey’s eyes were like a stagnant pond, as if he was calculating something.

“Monkey, is this acceptable?” Qi Xia asked. “If you concede now, I’ll leave you a few ‘Dao.'”

After the last gambling match with Man-Pig, Qi Xia was especially careful now. He was worried that after losing all his “Dao,” the opponent would choose to gamble with his life in a desperate last stand.

Man-Monkey didn’t speak. He simply silently pulled out one “Dao” from the box in front of him.

Qi Xia shook his head and also pulled out one “Dao.”

It seemed the rules didn’t allow “conceding,” otherwise Man-Monkey would have no need to persist.

Man-Monkey took out two more “Dao” from the box, and Qi Xia also took out two “Dao.”

The game that followed became garbage time.

No matter how many Man-Monkey took from the box, Qi Xia would only take out the same amount.

By doing this, he could ensure he would always be the last one to take “Dao.”

Even if there were ten thousand “Dao” in the box, Qi Xia absolutely couldn’t lose.

The simple gambits at the beginning had gradually placed him in an invincible position.

“Damn… I think I understand now,” Qiao Jiajin’s eyes widened. “Doesn’t this mean he’s basically won?”

“Yes,” Yun Yao nodded. “When the same number of ‘Dao’ remain in both boxes, the second player is guaranteed to win.”

“You truly are formidable…” Man-Monkey murmured to himself. “But you’ve been careless…”

“Careless?” Qi Xia frowned, feeling somewhat puzzled.

In this game that was almost certain to win, could Man-Monkey still have a trump card?

Qi Xia looked at the “Dao” in front of both sides. Man-Monkey had five pieces in front of him, while he himself had six. The numbers were already so obvious, could it still…

Wait. Qi Xia’s entire body stiffened.

Why were there five pieces in front of Man-Monkey?

He had taken from the box three times in total, one piece, one piece, and two pieces.

Qi Xia had seen it clearly—how had it become five pieces?

When did this happen?

On the surface, the box in front of Man-Monkey now had five pieces remaining, and the box in front of Qi Xia had six pieces remaining.

And now it was Man-Monkey’s turn to select.

He came before Qi Xia and took one piece from the box with six “Dao.”

Qi Xia’s brow furrowed deeply. In just a brief instant, the positions of both sides had actually been reversed.

Now it appeared that five pieces remained in both boxes. From now on, no matter which box Qi Xia took from or how many he took, Man-Monkey would only take the same amount as him. The person who would take the last “Dao” had become Man-Monkey.

As Yun Yao had said, when the number of “Dao” in the boxes was the same, the second player was guaranteed to win.

Had Qi Xia lost?

“Hey, cheating means cutting off your pinky finger,” Qiao Jiajin saw through the deception and stepped forward fiercely, saying, “You stinking monkey, did you steal the balls?”

“Yes,” Man-Monkey answered without reservation. “I cheated. What are you going to do about it?”

“I…” Qiao Jiajin hadn’t expected the other party to admit it so readily, and for a moment he lost his temper.

Seeing the uncertain expressions on everyone’s faces, Man-Monkey slowly reached his hand toward the “Dao” on the table.

He pinched one piece with two fingers and lifted it gently, and immediately two “Dao” disappeared from the table.

He turned his hand over to show everyone, and only then did they discover he was holding another “Dao” in his palm.

“This is called ‘palming’—the most basic technique in magic,” Man-Monkey said with a smile. “Shouldn’t you be grateful you didn’t gamble your life with me?”

Qi Xia revealed a bitter smile.

That’s right—who said cheating wasn’t allowed?

When Man-Monkey took “Dao” at one point, it appeared he had taken one piece, but in reality he had taken two.

“Such a fatal move, yet you didn’t notice it,” Man-Monkey played with the two small balls in his hand. “It seems you underestimated me.”

“Yes, I did underestimate you,” Qi Xia nodded helplessly. “Let’s end the game.”

Next, Qi Xia pulled out all five “Dao” in one go and threw them on the table. Yun Yao also revealed a complicated expression at his side.

Qi Xia had actually given up in despair. Had this always been his personality?

Man-Monkey smiled slightly and also pulled out five “Dao” from the box.

The game was over.

Tiantian and Qiao Jiajin also looked at each other helplessly, their expressions complicated.

For them, what did ten “Dao” represent?

Everyone had experienced four rounds of death games and had only obtained four “Dao,” yet now they had lost ten in one breath.

Man-Monkey gathered all the “Dao” on the table before him.

“I didn’t expect someone to deliver so many ‘Dao’ so early in the morning. I’m truly grateful,” Man-Monkey said with a smile.

“I also didn’t expect someone to help gather them in advance for me. Equally grateful,” Qi Xia said.

“Yes, you…” Man-Monkey paused slightly. “What?”