Chapter 246: Fraud Game

Qi Xia held the five Dao that Qiao Jiajin had given him and officially set off for Di Yang's game venue.

Qiao Jiajin insisted on walking Qi Xia part of the way, and no amount of persuasion could stop him.

Although ground-level games always carried significant risks, Qi Xia knew his chances of dying were very low.

Even if he couldn't win the game, he should be able to survive.

But if something unexpected happened...

"Fist..." Qi Xia turned his head and said, "If I forget everything next time, remember to tell me 'Yu Dongdong says dong dong dong'... That way, I'll believe what you say."

"Don't be so pessimistic, Deceiver." Qiao Jiajin patted Qi Xia on the back. "If you dare forget me, I'll give you a full set of takedown moves as a gift—beat you until you snap out of it."

"This..." Qi Xia shook his head helplessly, "If I have no memory, and you suddenly attack me, I might end up fighting you for real..."

"Forget the fight then." Qiao Jiajin stretched lazily and said, "I'll just do as you asked. What was it Yu Dongdong said again?"

"Yu Dongdong...?"

It took three repetitions for Qi Xia to get Qiao Jiajin to remember that simple phrase, but Qi Xia still felt it wasn't reliable.

Fortunately, Qiao Jiajin was a decent person, so even if Qi Xia lost his memory, they should be able to get to know each other again.

After walking for about half an hour, they arrived at the bar that Di Hu had mentioned.

A person with a black goat's head was standing at the door, surrounded by over a dozen others—it looked like a large-scale game.

"Deceiver... do you really not need me to go with you?" Qiao Jiajin looked at the group in the distance and asked, "They're all joining in."

"Fist, Yang represents deception." Qi Xia turned and said, "If we end up on the same team, that's fine... but if it's an individual battle, I don't want to deceive you."

"It's okay if you deceive me." Qiao Jiajin replied with a straight face.

"What kind of logic is that?" Qi Xia frowned and said, "I can choose not to deceive you, so why would you insist on going in and getting deceived by me?"

"Oh, you're right." Qiao Jiajin nodded reluctantly, "Do you have a good chance then?"

"I probably won't die." Qi Xia said, "But winning all of Di Yang's Dao will depend on the rules."

"Then... be careful on your own."

Qiao Jiajin still glanced worriedly at the group in the distance. Even in a one-on-one deception game, he wasn't sure he could win, let alone with over a dozen people deceiving each other... It was terrifying to think about.

This game wasn't suited for him.

"You go back first." Qi Xia said, "After it's done, I'll find you at Tian Tang Kou."

After saying goodbye to Qiao Jiajin, Qi Xia slowly approached the crowd.

Di Yang's sleek, black short fur glistened in the sunlight. He twitched his nose and looked at Qi Xia.

"How much for the entry fee?" Qi Xia asked.

"Five." Di Yang replied.

"Five...?" Qi Xia nodded slightly. In most cases, ground-level entry fees were this amount—Qiao Jiajin had really helped out.

He took out his five Dao and tossed them to Di Yang.

"How many more people are needed?" Qi Xia looked around at the dozen or so men and women and asked, "When can we start?"

"The game requires fifty participants." Di Yang's voice was flat, with no emotion detectable. "We're far from that number now."

"What?" Qi Xia was stunned. "Fifty people?!"

The sheer number made Qi Xia feel a bit uneasy.

"What are we playing?" Qi Xia asked again.

"Rules will be known once the number is met."

Hearing that, Qi Xia could only slowly join the crowd. No wonder everyone looked so serious—they were all overshadowed by this unknown fear.

A deception game with fifty people.

No matter the rules, the difficulty was excessive.

What's more, Yang would start lying right from the rule explanation. Could these people break through it?

Qi Xia found a spot by the roadside, sat down slowly, and waited for the remaining participants.

Fifty people was an enormous number. Qi Xia and the others waited from morning until midday, and only then did they reach around thirty-plus.

The previous Di Niu game only needed twenty, but Di Yang required fifty...

Could he really handle a game this large?

"Hey..." A middle-aged man in a suit asked, "What happens if we don't get enough people?"

Di Yang turned calmly and said, "Then the game is canceled."

"Canceled?!" The middle-aged man couldn't take it anymore. "Are you kidding? We've all paid!"

"What do you want then?" Di Yang's voice remained flat, sounding like a very rigid person. "Do you want to cause trouble here?"

The middle-aged man lowered his head slowly and fell silent.

Qi Xia looked at the group and noticed that most of them seemed quite calm—probably many had already gained Resonance before.

People participating in ground-level games on the first day were either Resonators or complete newcomers, which could make the game even more intense.

The thirty-plus participants standing on the street drew a lot of attention, quickly attracting onlookers. Some dropped out midway, while others chose to join.

What intrigued Qi Xia was that about four or five people in the crowd were carrying small handbags, looking like gangsters in a movie making a deal.

After waiting another two hours, until Qi Xia felt parched and hungry, the last person finally paid the entry fee.

The street was now packed with participants.

Qi Xia scanned the crowd—there were men, women, elderly, and children. This was Qi Xia's first time seeing an elder in a game. A couple of people looked vaguely familiar, probably members of Tian Tang Kou, but Qi Xia had no connections with them.

It seemed there were a huge number of participants wandering around every day.

"Good, everyone has waited long enough. Please follow me." Di Yang turned, opened the bar door, and led the crowd inside.

The bar was completely abandoned, with tables, chairs, and stools scattered everywhere.

Without pausing, he walked straight to the bar counter, pushed open a small door beside it, revealing a staircase leading down.

"Please watch your step, be careful not to fall to your death." Di Yang said softly, then led the way down.

The line was long, and Qi Xia was toward the middle back, shuffling forward slowly with the bustling crowd.

"Hey, brother." A square-faced man behind him patted Qi Xia on the shoulder.

"What is it?" Qi Xia turned and asked.

"Don't know what we're playing, but want to team up for a bit?"

"Oh?" Qi Xia sized up the square-faced man, finding it interesting. "You want to team up with me?"

"Yeah." The man nodded. "This is a Yang deception game, right? If we plan ahead and deceive others together, we'll have the upper hand!"

"Sure." Qi Xia nodded. "Let's team up then."

He watched the man in front of him with interest. In a deception setting, seeking a partner—who knew if he was a fool or an expert?