Chapter 172

Chapter 172

As soon as Mr. Huo finished speaking, he turned, carried the table out of a room, and placed it at the center of the stage.

Then he had everyone sit around it.

Mr. Huo dealt two cards to each person.

“Very well. I will now explain the rules of the final wager. You see the cards in your hands, yes? One reads **Take It All**, and the other reads **Next Level**.

“I am sure you have all played a trust game before. Ours is very similar. Only if every one of you chooses Next Level will you be able to leave this place. If anyone chooses Take It All, that person may bring all the money and items they obtained here back to the real world!

“Furthermore, anyone who chooses Take It All will receive every possession belonging to those who selected Next Level.”

Everyone grew excited at those words. They had obtained a great many treasures here. If they brought them into the real world, they could immediately rise into the upper class and become fabulously wealthy. They would be free to spend the rest of their lives in pleasure.

They even regretted not earning more the day before.

“Wait. What happens if everyone chooses Take It All?” Zhang Ru asked calmly.

“Simple. If everyone chooses Take It All, you may hold a vote. One person will remain behind, while everyone else returns to the real world with all their spoils. If some choose Take It All and others choose Next Level, then those who chose Take It All will leave, while those who chose Next Level will remain here forever.”

A meaningful smile appeared on Mr. Huo’s face.

“Think about it. By abandoning just one person, you can gain tremendous wealth and a wonderful future. Isn’t that an excellent bargain?”

“That’s right! We can all choose Take It All, then vote to leave Liu Ye behind. He was acquitted and released anyway. Wouldn’t that let everyone else get out?” Wang Weiwei shouted excitedly.

She felt very clever. What a wonderful solution she had found!

Zhang Ru covered her head in agony. Another headache was coming on. Why had she ever become best friends with this woman?

Had someone put a curse on her? Back then, she had not thought Wang Weiwei was stupid. She had found her muddleheaded, silly manner adorable.

“Could there be something wrong with my brain too?”

Zhang Ru grew frightened and even began doubting herself.

Seeing her distress, Zhang Shun immediately objected.

“Your suggestion won’t work. He already said that anyone left behind after this game can never leave. Even though Liu Ye was acquitted earlier, once he enters the game, he has to abide by its rules.”

Wang Weiwei felt a pang of unease. She turned to Liu Ye apologetically.

“Brother Liu, I didn’t mean it. You’re not angry with me, are you?”

“Of course not. I’m a magnanimous man. Besides, I’m the one who brought you into this game, so I have to take responsibility for all of you!”

Everyone suddenly shuddered.

Somehow, they felt as though something terrible was about to happen.

“By the way, if we choose Next Level, then all these things…”

“Of course you can’t take them with you! They are gifts reserved for those who choose Take It All.” Mr. Huo shrugged.

The group fell silent.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you have half an hour to discuss your choices.”

Mr. Huo placed an hourglass on the table. As the sand slowly trickled down, tension tightened around everyone’s hearts.

“What should we choose? Whatever happens, I support Liu Ye. I owe him a debt, after all.”
Big Gold Tooth’s words astonished everyone. Wang Weiwei found herself thinking that he was surprisingly loyal.

“I’ll choose Next Level too. I feel as though I’ve been through this before, and choosing Take It All did not end well,” Zhang Shun said.

Zhang Ru and Wang Weiwei immediately declared their choices as well. Wang Weiwei did possess one advantage: she had no opinions of her own and very little sense. When everyone else said they would select Next Level, she simply followed the crowd and agreed.

Only Li Wei and Zhang Yanyan were deeply conflicted. Choosing Take It All would let them leave safely, while choosing Next Level carried far too much uncertainty.

Zhang Ru saw through them at a glance.

“You may be able to use the things here to resurrect yourselves, but think carefully. Where will you be when you come back to life?”

Their faces went deathly pale.

Of course. Both of their bodies were in terrible locations. If they returned to the exact same places, resurrection would be meaningless.

“Damn it!”

Li Wei struck the table. Then, gritting his teeth, he said he would choose the blue card. A dejected Zhang Yanyan made the same choice.

“Time is up. Ladies and gentlemen, place both hands over your cards.”

Everyone obeyed. The moment that would decide their fates had arrived.

“On the count of three, reveal your choices. One, two, three…”

Everyone moved at once. Big Gold Tooth darted a glance around. Seeing that the others had all chosen Next Level, he immediately roared with excitement.

“Hahaha! Mine… It’s all mine! You idiots actually chose Next Level! Hahaha!”

Overwhelming happiness engulfed Big Gold Tooth. The thought of the wonderful life awaiting him outside made his entire body tremble.

“You can stay here and regret it for the rest of eternity! Hahaha!”

Big Gold Tooth looked around triumphantly, only to find everyone staring at him with peculiar expressions. Wang Weiwei cautiously raised a hand.

“Um… the card you chose is blue too.”

“Are you joking? I checked it very carefully before choosing. You think you can fool me? Hah! Just look at-at… this…”

Big Gold Tooth abruptly fell silent. He stared at the card on the table in disbelief. It was unmistakably blue.

“Impossible! I clearly remember taking the red card! This is impossible!”

Big Gold Tooth flipped over his other card. That one was blue as well.

“Mr. Huo, there’s something wrong with these cards! Someone switched mine!” Big Gold Tooth shouted, his eyes bloodshot.

No one could bear watching a fortune already within their grasp vanish.

The others turned over the cards remaining on their tables and discovered that all their original red cards had become blue.

Everyone was speechless.

Only Zhang Ru and Liu Ye knew what had happened.

Three days earlier, when Zhang Ru had been unable to find a solution, Liu Ye had come up with one.

“We’ll just swap the cards.”

“How? They’ll inspect them,” Zhang Ru said.

Before she had even finished speaking, Liu Ye was already studying the table from every angle with a screwdriver in hand.

“On TV, whenever someone slaps a table, the card changes. There must be a mechanism inside. We can just modify it ourselves.”

As soon as he said that, Zhang Ru saw the table begin trembling visibly. Then a faint, quavering voice emerged from it.

“Please, you must let me handle the card switching!”

Zhang Ru was speechless.

That worked too?