chapter 45
“Have the two Survivors made their decision?”
A Staff Member walked up beside them.
Jiang Li nodded. “Yes.”
“Then I will reveal the cards.” The Staff Member smiled politely and, with his gloved hand, turned over the two Skull Cards in the center of the table.
“Congratulations! Both of you chose ‘Split Evenly.'”
The Staff Member offered his congratulations.
He divided the Points on the table into two portions and pushed them in front of Jiang Li and Liang Jie.
A flash of surprise appeared in Liang Jie’s eyes.
But after figuring out Jiang Li’s little strategy, he couldn’t help but smile:
“Haha… You set me up. Your acting’s pretty good!”
Jiang Li pocketed the Points. “You’re too kind.”
Liang Jie put away his Points, then leaned in curiously and asked, “Are you really so afraid I’d trick you? What if I really meant to Split Evenly?”
Jiang Li raised her eyebrow. “Is that so? Who knows? I certainly don’t.”
Liang Jie curled his lips. “You’re interesting. When you got on the train and told the person occupying your seat that you had a mental illness, I noticed you then.”
“Don’t get too friendly. Maybe I really do,” Jiang Li replied coolly.
As the two spoke, a commotion broke out a few tables away.
A man slammed the table with a loud “smack” and stood up. “Damn it! We agreed to Split Evenly, and you tricked me?! What do you mean by picking ‘Take All’!?”
The man opposite him stood up too, unwilling to show weakness. “Didn’t you also pick ‘Take All’? You mean you didn’t try to trick me?”
The two of them spat angry words at each other, both pulling out their Kitchen Knives, pointing them at each other’s faces, ready to fight.
Game Rules, Rule Two:
[During the game, you may not kill the other party.]
So the Staff Member quickly intervened and separated them.
“What a pity! Both of you chose ‘Take All,’ so your Points for this round are reset to zero. But please maintain discipline and keep quiet!”
The two men sat down, grumbling.
Those watching the commotion all understood: these two were doomed.
Xia Xiaoqiang withdrew her gaze and focused back on her own cards.
The man across from Xia Xiaoqiang was growing impatient.
He tapped the table irritably, urging, “Play your card, play your card! Didn’t we agree? Split Evenly! Half each.”
Xia Xiaoqiang thought for a moment, then took out her ‘Split Evenly’ Skull Card and placed it on the table.
But she didn’t let go.
Xia Xiaoqiang calmly looked up at the man across from her. “Do you remember the rules? Before the game ends, you can’t kill the other party.”
The man across from her looked nonchalant. “So what if I remember? Just play your card.”
He reached out to grab the Skull Card from Xia Xiaoqiang’s hand.
Xia Xiaoqiang’s expression was icy, and she didn’t let go:
“If you trick me, I will kill you after the game ends! If you dare deceive me, then we’ll die together!”
There was unmistakable, deadly intent in Xia Xiaoqiang’s eyes.
The man across from her had indeed witnessed Xia Xiaoqiang alone, dragging a Large Machete, blocking the Carriage door and slashing at anyone who approached!
This woman looked delicate, but when she went berserk, she was ruthless.
After her final words, Xia Xiaoqiang let go and placed the Skull Card in the center of the table.
The man across from her swallowed hard.
“Have you both made your decisions? May I reveal the cards now?”
A Staff Member with white gloves politely stepped forward and asked.
The Staff Member’s hand slowly landed on the backs of the two Skull Cards.
“Wait!” the man opposite suddenly interrupted.
He quickly withdrew his original card and swapped it for another Skull Card, placing it in the center of the table.
“You can reveal them now!” The man glanced guiltily at Xia Xiaoqiang, then signaled the Staff Member.
The Staff Member gave a slight smile. “Alright, sir, I’ll reveal your cards now.”
With gloved fingers, the Staff Member gently lifted the two cards.
“Congratulations! Both of you chose ‘Split Evenly.'”
Seeing the result on the table, Xia Xiaoqiang let out a deep breath, feeling a weight lifted from her shoulders.
As she held the Points in her hands, the moment still felt unreal.
If she hadn’t threatened the man across from her with death, she would have died in this round!
Such a vicious man-thank goodness she hadn’t believed him.
At the same table, the other two Survivors immediately decided to copy their answer after seeing the outcome.
The pair beside them started arguing:
“We’re both picking Split Evenly. If you try to cheat me, I’ll get you when the game’s over!”
“Yeah, Split Evenly. If you lie to me, I’ll make sure you go down with me!”
When they revealed their cards, it was two ‘Split Evenly’ as well-everyone was satisfied.
Ten minutes passed quickly.
Some were happy, others upset.
Those who managed to get 200 Points through dirty tricks were overjoyed!
In the Dining Car, the sound of gunshots-bang, bang, bang-echoed constantly.
By the end of the round, out of 39 Survivors, only 18 remained-less than half.
Some pairs tried to deceive each other, both choosing ‘Take All’, and ended up dying together.
Others were convinced to pick ‘Split Evenly’, but their partner chose ‘Take All’-the honest one died, the liar survived.
Now, in the Train, aside from a handful of people who could exploit loopholes in the rules, there wasn’t a single good person left.
The Staff Member announced the final results, which appeared on the electronic display:
6 people-100 Points
12 people-200 Points
Xia Xiaoqiang put away her Points and went back to Jiang Li. “Sister Jiang, are you alright?”
Jiang Li nodded. “Mm, I’m fine.”
Wang Qiang, who had been sitting across from Xia Xiaoqiang, also returned.
“Hey! Looks like everyone made it!” Wang Qiang flopped down with a playful grin.
“Jiang Li and I both got 100. How about you two?” Liang Jie asked Xia Xiaoqiang and Wang Qiang.
Xia Xiaoqiang answered without hesitation, “100! Same as you.”
“Me too, 100,” Wang Qiang replied with a big, honest smile. “Everyone at our table played fair-we’re not the cheating type.”
As Wang Qiang said this, Jiang Li noticed him instinctively hiding the pouch behind his back.
Did he really only get 100?
Jiang Li lowered her lashes, concealing the suspicion in her eyes.
“Survivors, please take a short rest. The next round of the game will begin after sunrise tomorrow. You may listen to music, buy some snacks, and pass the time.”
The Administrator stood in the center of the Carriage, gave a small bow, and then left.
As soon as the Administrator left, the 18 remaining Survivors in the Dining Car all wore different expressions.
A chill ran down Jiang Li’s spine.
They said, “The game will begin after sunrise tomorrow,” but in reality, that statement was already a sign that the next game had started.
According to the rules, anyone with fewer than 1,000 Points by sunrise tomorrow would be doomed.
Right now, there were six people with 100 Points and twelve with 200 Points in the Dining Car.
All the Points in play only added up to 3,000.
That meant, at most, only three people could survive-each with 1,000 Points-before sunrise tomorrow.
So what would happen while everyone slept tonight? Deep down, everyone knew the answer.
Surviving until sunrise… wouldn’t be easy!