"Exchange that playing card for the lives of everyone on this plane," the Magician said with a smile.
Xu Huo watched him without expression, then raised his right hand and made a "please, go ahead" gesture.
The Magician smiled again. "If that won't work, I can give everyone on the plane a choice."
"I'll tell them in advance what's about to happen to this plane, then explain that this is all happening because you boarded it. Whoever stabs you gets to leave alive. If a child stabs you, their whole family gets to leave alive."
Xu Huo actually laughed when he heard that. "You think I don't care about people's gratitude, but I care a lot about their resentment."
"Maybe," the Magician said. "Usually, people who help others without expecting anything in return care more about the hostility of the ignorant than anything else. Only the hostility of the ignorant can ruin their sense of fulfillment at having rescued people from desperate situations."
Xu Huo chuckled. "There are hardly any people in this world who give to others without limits. The kind of do-gooder you described might become even colder after feeling betrayed."
"One more thing: for your hypothetical to work, there's one prerequisite—you have to assume I won't kill anyone."
"We can play this game in reverse, too. Whoever dares to kill you, I'll save."
"How does that sound?"
They stared into each other's eyes, both understanding that the other wasn't joking. The plane had already fallen quiet. They hadn't made any effort to keep their conversation from the others, so the passengers had been watching them since the two finished breakfast. When the Magician threatened Xu Huo with the lives of everyone aboard, the pilot had already sent a distress call to the ground. The Conductor had returned