Chapter 249: Deception Begins

The man slowly lowered his head and carefully opened the fan in his hand, revealing a torn "Nu" character in the middle, which looked particularly ironic.

"It's Nu..." the skinny man cried even more sorrowfully, "It's probably no good now... What am I going to do... What am I going to do?!"

Qi Xia thought for a moment and said, "How about I trade with you?"

"Trade...?" the man was stunned.

"I've got three fans here. I'll just pick one at random and trade it with you," Qi Xia said. "I guarantee mine isn't broken."

Qi Xia's idea was simple. From the earlier demonstration with the Yang, all the fans were folded and put into the machine, which meant the machine wasn't recognizing the words on the fan but the fan itself. So, as long as the torn fan wasn't missing any parts, it should still work.

"But... why would you trade with me?" the skinny man asked again.

"That's my own business," Qi Xia replied. "Your fan is broken, and keeping it is just a hassle. If you secretly trade it to me, then next time you get a new fan, you'll have two complete ones and can still 'pair' with someone else."

The skinny man became cautious upon hearing this.

He hugged his torn fan tightly, his gaze full of suspicion.

"That doesn't seem right?" the skinny man thought for a bit. "Everyone wants to stay far away from a broken fan, so why would you trade with me? What's your angle?"

"What?"

"You must be up to no good..."

Qi Xia fell silent for a moment, thinking how ridiculous human nature could be.

"I must have given you too much face," Qi Xia sneered. "You don't dare stand up to the one who robbed your fan, but now you're suspicious when I want to trade for the broken one. Forget it, I'm backing out. You can just wait here to die."

Qi Xia knew there were still over forty people around, and it was very likely someone else had three fans with the same content as his. As long as they were willing to trade, he didn't need to risk it for this broken fan.

"Ah?! Don't go!" The skinny man suddenly rushed over and grabbed Qi Xia's arm. "I was just asking casually... How about we trade after all, since this fan..."

"I said I'm backing out," Qi Xia said coldly. "Opportunities in this world don't wait for people who hesitate."

Although Qi Xia wanted to exchange his folding fan, he knew he didn't have to beg this man, so he shook off his hand and left.

Now, everyone knew this man had a broken fan, which was even worse than having three "Ai."

Twenty minutes passed, and while no new participants had escaped, quite a few people had formed teams.

It seemed the remaining people were planning to get the next batch of folding fans before escaping, so they could at least earn ten "Dao."

As Qi Xia was observing the crowd, the fashionable woman he had seen before walked over to him.

"Hello," the woman said softly. "Do you have a teammate yet?"

Qi Xia shook his head and looked at her.

"Want to team up?" the woman said. "You seem pretty smart. How about we work together and make a big profit?"

"Make a big profit?" Qi Xia sized up the woman. Her makeup was impeccable, and she had a strong scent of perfume. She was wearing a tight-fitting dress that showed off her decent figure.

"Yes," the woman nodded. "I have a solid plan, but I need a man to help me out."

Qi Xia found the woman in front of him quite intriguing. Her proposal wasn't about "escaping," but about "making a big profit."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Just protect me," the woman said. "Otherwise, I feel like I might get beaten up."

"Then... what's in it for me?" Qi Xia asked.

"You won't be left out," she replied.

Qi Xia smirked slightly. "So, what's your plan?"

"Um..." The woman thought for a moment. "Come with me."

Qi Xia followed her, feeling like he might be the enforcer in some kind of setup.

Soon, the woman targeted a middle-aged man. He had been looking around, seemingly searching for a suitable teammate.

"Hey, uncle!" the woman called out. "Want to team up?"

"Team up...?" the uncle was taken aback. "For what?"

"You want to get out, right? I'll pair with you," the woman said with a sweet smile. "What fans do you have?"

The middle-aged man's eyes shamelessly lingered on a few private areas of the woman's body before he slyly asked, "You first—what do you have?"

The woman nodded and directly pulled out her three fans, unfolding them for him to see.

"I've got Xi, Nu, and Ai," the woman said, glancing at the man. "As long as you've got 'Le,' we can pair up successfully."

The middle-aged man thought for a while, then took out two folding fans from his pocket and slowly opened them.

They were "Le" and "Xi."

"Great," the woman said with a smile and a nod. "I'll put in 'Nu' and 'Ai,' and you put in 'Le' and 'Xi.' Deal?"

The middle-aged man looked suspiciously at the woman's face and legs before asking, "You're not trying to trick me, are you?"

"Of course not, uncle. Why would I trick you?" The woman directly grabbed the uncle's arm. "If you're worried, we can go to the 'Pei Dui Ji' right now."

The middle-aged man glanced suspiciously at Qi Xia behind the woman, then lowered his head to think.

Qi Xia was curious about what the woman was up to and just quietly watched the two without speaking.

"Alright," the uncle nodded, his eyes fixed on the woman's fair thighs as he said, "Girl, I'll pair with you."

"Awesome!" The woman smiled sweetly, as if she hadn't noticed, and said, "Then let's find a 'Pei Dui Ji'?"

She led the big man to a corner, an isolated spot that was clearly chosen on purpose.

Qi Xia followed closely behind the two. Although he hadn't agreed to be the woman's "enforcer," this kind of secluded area made things more convenient, no matter what happened.

The fashionable woman went up to the "Pei Dui Ji," reached out, and pressed the button on the left side. Her photo appeared on the screen, with three smiling faces below.

A line of text lit up: "Waiting for teammate..."

"Uncle, your turn," the woman said with a smile to the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man nodded, reached out, and pressed the button on the other side. In the next second, his photo also appeared on the screen, and the text began to change.

"Two participants ready, beginning pairing."

"Uncle, you don't seem very proactive," the woman said with a smile. "I've already pressed the button—aren't you going to show some initiative? Afraid I'll trick you?"

"Well... not really," the middle-aged man shook his head and smiled. "It's my fault; I should be more proactive."

He pulled out his two fans from his pocket and showed them to the woman—they were indeed "Le" and "Xi."

The woman nodded, then watched as the middle-aged man inserted the two fans into the slots.

"There we go! I've put mine in, girl. Now it's your turn!" The uncle looked up at the woman. "Where are your 'Nu' and 'Ai'?"

The woman smiled, crossed her arms, and slowly stepped back. "Sorry, uncle, I've changed my mind."