Lin Jie silently covered his identity card, trying hard to compose his expression.
Yet his sister's next words still gave him a jolt:
"Brother, did you get... the little ghost?"
Lin Zhi looked at him with worry written all over her face.
Lin Jie thought he had hidden it well enough, but she had still seen through him.
He and his sister had spent over a decade together. They knew each other too well.
Since Lin Jie could tell at a glance that Lin Zhi had drawn Human, that also meant-
Lin Zhi could tell at a glance that Lin Jie had drawn Little Ghost.
He patted Lin Zhi's head, pretending to be relaxed.
"What are you thinking? Your brother's always been lucky. How could I possibly draw the little ghost?"
Lin Zhi's gaze dimmed, her thoughts unknown.
She said softly, "Brother, I'll help you."
White Rabbit presided over the game. "Now that all players have received their identities, the first round of the summoning ritual is about to begin."
"All players, please choose one type of talisman paper and cast it into the fire within five minutes."
Everyone exchanged looks, seemingly waiting for someone else to cast their talisman paper first.
Chen Li disliked the silence and spoke up first:
"Hey, since the humans are all on the same side, why don't we discuss this together?"
"What color talisman paper do you want to cast?"
"Let's agree beforehand so everyone knows what to expect."
Zhao Tian responded bluntly, "How could we agree beforehand? Remember, we cast our talisman papers one after another."
"Those who go later can clearly see the colors cast by those who went first."
"Those going later can change their colors at any time, but those who went first can't take theirs back."
"If you ask me, we should all vote at random and play it by ear."
Chen Li was just as blunt. "That's even more bullshit! If you ask me, we need to plan our votes beforehand to avoid mistakes. Voting randomly will give the little ghost an opening! Don't tell me you're the little ghost?"
Zhao Tian bristled. "I'm just discussing the facts. How does that make me the little ghost? You're so eager to cast suspicion on me, I'd say you look more like the little ghost!"
The two glared at each other, neither willing to give an inch.
Meanwhile, Lin Jie, who had been silent for a long time, kept considering his chances of winning.
He had to admit that in this game, the little ghost's chances of victory were minuscule.
Because the voting was transparent, the summoning ritual was almost impossible to complete.
Past experience told him that in such a perilous situation, there was only one way to survive-
Win through the unexpected.
What exactly did he need to do to win?
After all, everyone could clearly see the talisman paper each person cast.
To achieve matching colors, every human would have to willingly and obediently help the little ghost complete the summoning ritual.
Suddenly, a thought emerged.
Lin Jie chuckled inwardly.
Who says the little ghost can't win?
I, Lin Jie, will make every last one of you willingly help the little ghost complete the summoning ritual!
He spoke up, breaking the deadlock.
"There's no need to argue. In this game, who the little ghost is doesn't matter at all."
Everyone turned to look at him.
Zhao Tian, the short, stout man, asked in surprise, "Rookie King, what do you mean? Shouldn't we actively try to find out who the little ghost is?"
"Or have you figured something out about this game?"
A mysterious smile appeared on Lin Jie's face. "I've done more than just figure something out."
He paused, his voice firm:
"In this game, the humans have a guaranteed winning strategy!"
"Not only that, but with my approach, every human can become a Human Hero, receive the theoretical maximum prize money, and get a double lifespan reward!"
An uproar swept through the group.
Lin Jie's words were undeniably enticing.
Chen Li stopped what he was doing and looked at him in surprise. "Every human can get double lifespan?"
Zhao Tian also stared wide-eyed and urged him on. "Is there really something that good? Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and tell us your plan!"
Unhurriedly, Lin Jie picked up a branch from the ground, writing and drawing as he explained:
"Let me ask everyone a question first: in one round of the summoning ritual, what's the theoretical maximum prize money all the humans can receive in total?"
Chen Li answered quickly. "Do you even need to ask? Only multicolored talisman paper earns prize money. If all six people cast multicolored talisman paper, it's obviously six million yuan."
Zhao Tian responded scornfully, "Completely wrong. If all six people cast multicolored talisman paper, that meets the matching-color condition, and the little ghost wins outright. All the humans are finished. What prize money would there be?"
Lin Jie nodded. "Exactly. If the humans want to earn the most prize money while ensuring the summoning isn't completed, they need to meet two conditions:"
"First, the six talisman papers must contain different colors."
"Second, as many of the six talisman papers as possible must be multicolored."
"That leaves only one optimal combination:"
"Red, blue, multicolored, multicolored, multicolored, multicolored."
"In any order."
Everyone quickly caught on. "I see! As long as one red and one blue appear in a round of casting, the summoning ritual won't succeed."
"Any more red or blue among the remaining four talisman papers would be a waste. So those can simply all be multicolored."
Yu Ze nodded admiringly. "As expected of the Rookie King! You think fast!"
Xia Qu was also calculating beside them, then raised her head. "This does seem to be the theoretically optimal color combination."
Although Chen Li was a little slower to catch on, seeing everyone agree, he chimed in:
"In that case, let's cast our papers using that color combination!"
Yet Zhao Tian still frowned and raised an objection:
"That's not right. There's still a problem with this!"
The others looked at him. "Oh? What's the problem?"
Yu Ze asked in confusion, "This casting method ensures different colors while also maximizing the number of multicolored talisman papers and the profits."
"It feels like the best casting method."
"Do you have an even better color combination?"
Lin Jie held out a hand, signaling for Zhao Tian to continue.
Zhao Tian also drew on the ground with a branch:
"One red, one blue, and all the rest multicolored. I have no objection to that color combination."
"I can also see that this is indeed how the humans can earn the most prize money in a single round."
"What I disagree with is this claim: that this combination gives all the humans the highest prize money."
As he spoke, Zhao Tian raised his head and arched his eyebrows questioningly at Lin Jie.
"It's true that with this plan, the humans can earn four million yuan in one round."
"But only the four people who cast multicolored talisman paper will each receive one million yuan. As for the two who cast red and blue talisman paper, those two..."
"Won't earn a single cent, will they?"
"So how can you say everyone can earn the maximum prize money and become a Human Hero?"
Zhao Tian's analysis was not without reason.
With this casting method, only the four people casting multicolored talisman paper could earn prize money.
In other words, those casting red and blue talisman paper would effectively sacrifice their own opportunities for everyone's safety.
After finishing his analysis, Zhao Tian spoke up first. "Let me make this clear beforehand. If we're really following this plan, I want to be one of the people casting multicolored talisman paper!"
Yu Ze immediately responded, "Me too."
Chen Li looked displeased. "Why should you two get to cast multicolored talisman paper just because you say so? I want to cast multicolored talisman paper too."
When their own interests were at stake, none of them would yield an inch.
In truth, the people casting red and blue talisman paper were the ones actually stopping the summoning ritual.
Yet those who could truly contribute to the human team would receive no prize money.
Instead, those casting multicolored talisman paper would further the summoning ritual, yet receive prize money and become Human Heroes.
No one was willing to sacrifice themselves for the human team.
This was human nature.
Seeing the men about to fight over the multicolored talisman paper slots, Xia Qu tried quietly to persuade them:
"Everyone... please stop arguing. Let's find a solution together..."
But her voice was too quiet and was drowned out by the argument.
"All of you, shut up!"
A loud female voice rang out, interrupting everyone.
Anger filled Lin Zhi's eyes. "My brother said he'd let everyone get the maximum prize money, so he can definitely do it!"
"Instead of fighting over it here, shut your mouths and listen patiently!"
Lin Zhi was small, and her voice was soft and delicate, but somehow, her words carried considerable force.
The men who had been fighting flushed red, shut their mouths, and quieted down.
Lin Jie's face remained as calm as still water, a smile on his lips.
"Since I said I'd let all humans receive double rewards, I can definitely do it."
"Instead of rushing to raise objections, why not be patient and hear me out?"