Chapter 259: Not Enough

The square-faced man glanced around quickly and hurried to press the button.

The screen displayed his photo and showed, "Waiting for teammates..."

Qi Xia keenly noticed that this person had already lost one pairing opportunity.

If his guess was right, the man had deceived someone else and, fearing retaliation, was eager to leave.

But how many fans had he actually deceived?

"Brother, it's your turn!" the square-faced man said.

"Okay." Qi Xia nodded and pressed the button.

It was the first time Qi Xia's photo appeared on the "Pei Dui Ji," and he still had all three of his opportunities.

Seeing this, the man felt relieved. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two fans, opening them to show Qi Xia: one was "Ai" and the other "Le." After displaying them, he inserted them into the machine.

There were twenty-five "Ai" fans left on the "market."

Qi Xia nodded and inserted the "Xi" fan he was holding, then pulled another fan from his pocket and added it as well.

The square-faced man let out a sigh of relief and thanked Qi Xia repeatedly.

"Don't thank me yet—it's too early for that," Qi Xia said quietly.

"Identifying..."

A moment later, the text on the screen suddenly changed.

"Identification failed."

The screen went black.

The square-faced man was stunned.

"What's going on?!" Qi Xia shouted first, then quickly slapped the machine. "What do you mean 'identification failed'? What's happening?!"

After a moment of shock, the square-faced man instinctively started slapping the machine along with Qi Xia.

"Did the machine break...?" He paused, turned to Qi Xia, and said, "Brother... are you sure the ones you put in just now were 'Xi' and 'Nu'?"

A flicker of displeasure crossed Qi Xia's face.

"What are you implying?" Qi Xia said with feigned distress. "I lost two fans too! Who would joke around with their own fans?!"

The square-faced man knew Qi Xia had a point—even if he were trying to deceive someone, he wouldn't do it after putting in the fans.

So, was the machine really broken?

"How about..." Qi Xia hesitated before suggesting, "Let's try another machine?"

The square-faced man now had only one pairing opportunity left, and he was at a loss.

"Brother... I don't know if the machine is broken or not..." The square-faced man said with lingering fear, "But next time, make sure you check the fans before putting them in... I-I really can't afford to lose anymore..."

"I know... I know..." Qi Xia nodded quickly. "This time, I'll open the fans so we can both confirm before putting them in."

"Alright then..."

The square-faced man and Qi Xia moved to another machine. Trembling, the square-faced man pressed the button, using up his last opportunity.

"Brother... go ahead and get the fans..."

Qi Xia nodded, then felt in his pocket.

"Oh no!" Qi Xia suddenly exclaimed in alarm. "I don't have any extra 'Xi' left!"

"Ah?!"

"I just remembered, I only had one 'Xi'..." Qi Xia said apologetically. "The one you gave me earlier—I put that in too!"

"You!" The square-faced man hadn't expected this, but thinking it over, he recalled that Qi Xia had asked for a 'Xi' right from the start of the game, which proved he didn't have extras.

After pondering for a while, the square-faced man pulled out a 'Xi' and handed it to Qi Xia. "Use mine! But you have to give me a 'Nu' in return! Otherwise, I'm the one losing out big time!"

Qi Xia nodded and took the 'Xi.'

"No problem." Qi Xia said. "Let's put the fans in!"

"Um..." The big man nodded and inserted his "Ai" and "Le."

But the next second, he sensed something was off—he'd been too hasty. Qi Xia hadn't even pressed the button yet.

Qi Xia paused, put the 'Xi' into his pocket, and then opened the other three fans he was holding.

They were all "Ai."

"Brother, my bad—I got it wrong," Qi Xia said. "Turns out I only have three 'Ai' left, not even a 'Nu.'"

"You... you..."

A look of despair flashed across the square-faced man's face. He fell silent for a long time before saying, "You've dragged me into hell."

"Is that so?" Qi Xia replied. "If you just give me a 'Nu' now, we could both get out."

"Do you think I'd believe you?" the square-faced man snarled. "You're a fraud!"

"Thanks for the compliment," Qi Xia said. "But I'm not negotiating with you."

"What?"

Qi Xia slowly extended his hand and placed it on the button.

"Now you still have one way out—just stay here quietly and wait for someone else to be your teammate," Qi Xia said. "As long as another person comes and presses the button, putting in a 'Xi' and a 'Nu,' you can still leave with them."

"So what are you getting at?"

"It's simple," Qi Xia said. "Hand over all the fans you have right now, or I'll press the button and use up your last opportunity."

The square-faced man was stunned.

He knew that if Qi Xia pressed the button, they would start the "pairing," but since Qi Xia wouldn't put in any fans, all three of his opportunities would be wasted, and he'd be done for.

He realized this man was terrifying.

Though Qi Xia had only placed his hand on the button, it felt like he was holding a knife to his throat.

"Deal?" Qi Xia asked.

The square-faced man had never felt so cornered before. He'd used a similar tactic to deceive others, but not to this extent.

"Don't... don't press it..." The square-faced man gave in. "Don't press..."

Slowly, he pulled out all his fans—there were two of them. Clearly, he'd deceived someone else and taken theirs.

"After I give them to you... what will you do?" the square-faced man asked.

"Even though I've left you with nothing, my target isn't you," Qi Xia replied. "So at some point later, I might step in and save your life."

"Why take such a big risk?" the square-faced man asked, puzzled. "Even if you gather twenty fans, you'd get at most a hundred 'Dao,' but you'd make enemies of everyone... Can you even leave the game alive?"

"Offending everyone for a hundred 'Dao'?" Qi Xia smiled slightly. "You're underestimating me."

"What? You... how many do you really want?"

"A bit more than a hundred."

The square-faced man fell silent for a long time before finally handing over his fans to Qi Xia.

Qi Xia looked them over: "Nu," "Nu," and "Le."

Adding them to what he already had, he now had three "Ai," two "Nu," one "Xi," and one "Le"—a total of seven fans, enough to reach the level of a "rich person."

Though it was a small profit, it was far from enough for his goal of "winning all the 'Dao' from Di Yang."

True to his word, Qi Xia took the man's fans and left immediately.

Since the square-faced man couldn't stray far from the "Pei Dui Ji" he'd already activated, Qi Xia was relatively safe.

If the man tried to leave recklessly and someone else pressed the button, it would be like signing his own death warrant.

If he stayed put and behaved, Qi Xia could ensure his survival. But if he got any other ideas, he'd be on his own.

With two pairing opportunities left, Qi Xia's expression grew serious.

He needed to hurry—the second fan replenishment was coming.