Zhao Tian pursed his lips and finally spoke. "This is only round seven, not the final round."
"That means, for the next two rounds, we'll have to keep putting in red and blue talisman papers, while they can still put in multicolored talisman papers without any pressure."
"They'll get another two million yuan for free, and we won't earn a single cent."
"Even then, you're willing to accept that?"
Yu Ze nodded firmly. "Of course!"
Zhao Tian looked at his friend and saw unwavering conviction in his eyes.
He suddenly felt ashamed of his earlier thoughts.
He was clearly human, yet he had nearly joined the little ghosts just to cling to life.
Besides, there was another reason he had wanted to put in a multicolored talisman paper.
He had doubted Yu Ze.
He had worried that if he insisted on putting in a red or blue talisman paper, Yu Ze would put in a multicolored one instead.
Then he would become the biggest clown of all.
But Yu Ze's words filled him with guilt.
His friend had so much backbone. What reason did he have to back down?
Zhao Tian turned toward Lin Jie and gritted his teeth fiercely.
Lin Jie remained silent, his expression unreadable.
Zhao Tian made up his mind.
Fuck it! Who's afraid of whom!
He closed his eyes, picked up a blue talisman paper, and hurled it into the fire.
Blue smoke instantly rose from the fire.
Zhao Tian let out a soft breath and stepped away from the fire.
At that moment, however, Lin Zhi's expression turned exceptionally grim.
What was going on? Why would someone put in a red or blue talisman paper?
Didn't that put her brother in danger?
She cast a questioning look at Lin Jie.
Yet Lin Jie's face remained calm.
He gave his sister a reassuring look.
[It's all right. Everything is under control.]
In Lin Jie's view, although the plan had encountered a minor mishap, it was of little consequence.
Because he understood human nature all too well.
Seeking gain and avoiding harm was only human.
Self-interest was an instinct etched into human DNA.
Lin Jie's coexistence plan had given everyone two choices.
One option carried no risk: choose it, and they would survive and receive money.
The other benefited others rather than themselves, and succeeding would be extremely difficult.
Normally, anyone would choose the first.
If someone behaved contrary to reason, there was only one explanation.
That person was acting.
Lin Jie looked toward Yu Ze.
Everything was going according to plan.
Now, please begin your performance.
Best actor Yu Ze.
After watching Zhao Tian throw in the blue talisman paper, Yu Ze's expression suddenly turned inscrutable.
Seeing that expression, Zhao Tian grew uneasy. "Hey, Yu Ze, I listened to you and put in a blue talisman paper. You'll put in a red one, right?"
Yu Ze did not answer. He slowly walked toward the fire.
Yu Ze's silence suddenly made Zhao Tian panic. "Hey, say something! What's that silence supposed to mean?"
He tried to follow and get a clear answer, but an arm blocked his way.
"Please wait here. You may not disturb others while they are putting in talisman papers."
White Rabbit's cool voice held no emotion.
Zhao Tian could only stop where he was and call out to Yu Ze's retreating back:
"Put in a red talisman paper! Don't get it wrong!"
Yu Ze still did not answer. He stood before the fire, silently recalling something.
The firelight cast mottled colors across his face.
He slowly reached up, took off his glasses, and threw them into the fire.
Then his eyes suddenly snapped open, their previously confused look turning sharp and vicious.
He spoke, but his words were entirely unrelated:
"Zhao Tian, do you still remember the 729 Incident?"
Zhao Tian was utterly bewildered. "The 729 Incident? Why are you suddenly bringing that up?"
"Yu Ze, what's wrong with you? Why did your expression suddenly turn so ugly?"
His eyes suddenly widened. "Wait... your face... could you be?"
His face suddenly filled with terror. "Impossible... impossible!"
"On July 29, I clearly killed that entire family!"
Yu Ze slowly looked back, the corners of his mouth lifting.
"We died in the real world at the same time. Guess why?"
"Don't tell me you think it was an accident?"
"We've always been taking part in the same death game. Guess why that is?"
"Every time you take part in one of these games, your life hangs by a thread. Don't tell me you think it's just bad luck?"
"Unfortunately, every time, you manage to survive by sheer luck."
Yu Ze's voice suddenly rose, and his expression grew somewhat deranged:
"Heh! Hahahaha!!"
"It took so much effort to kill you in the world of the living!"
"But when I opened my eyes, I found that I'd come to this damned place with you!"
"Luckily, I won your trust!"
"And I kept trying to enter the same game as you, then look for a chance to kill you!"
"Every time, you had such ridiculous dogshit luck! Your life hung by a thread, but you always managed to cling to it!!"
"But today, I finally found my chance!!"
He turned toward Lin Jie, his mouth stretched wide and his eyes crazed. "Thank you, Lin Jie! If it weren't for those plans of yours-the complete human victory plan and the coexistence plan for everyone-I wouldn't have had such a good opportunity to kill my enemy with my own hands!"
Lin Jie watched him coldly without responding.
He turned back toward Zhao Tian:
"I've been acting for so long! I can finally relax!!"
"Haha! Zhao Tian, you really are an idiot!"
"How could you believe anyone would willingly give up their chance to survive to pursue some elusive human victory?"
"Besides, pursuing human victory would let those ungrateful bastards reap the rewards without lifting a finger!!"
He pointed at the other humans one by one.
Xia Qu lowered her head in shame, while Chen Li glared back, refusing to be outdone.
Yu Ze spread his fingers and swiftly grabbed a multicolored talisman paper.
Zhao Tian dropped to his knees with a thud:
"Please! Please! Yu Ze! We can talk this out! I'll give you anything you want!"
"Do you need money? Do you need status? I have some influence. Once we return to the world of the living, I can give you all of that!"
Yu Ze held the multicolored talisman paper above the fire, glaring fiercely as his voice rose:
"All I want is-"
"Your life!!!!"
With that, he let go.
The multicolored talisman paper drifted through the air, slowly descending.
Zhao Tian knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face, his expression shattered.
"No, I don't want to die!!"
When the multicolored talisman paper touched the flames, just as before,
a dazzling burst of multicolored light erupted.
This was the last talisman paper.
This talisman paper fulfilled the matching-color condition.
Yu Ze suddenly turned and asked Lin Jie, "Did you figure out long ago that I would put in a multicolored talisman paper?"
"Did you already know that Zhao Tian and I were only brothers on the surface?"
Lin Jie smiled faintly. "Oh? What makes you say that?"
Yu Ze frowned. "You've looked like you were watching a show this whole time."
"When I persuaded Zhao Tian to put in a blue talisman paper, you weren't nervous at all."
"When it was my turn, your plan would have failed if I'd put in a red talisman paper."
"But you still didn't say a word. You just kept watching me with that mocking expression."
"Most importantly, to betray Zhao Tian, I had to meet one condition-"
"I had to put in my talisman paper immediately after him."
"Originally, that wasn't possible. In the initial order, Zhao Tian was last."
"For a while, I even thought I'd miss my chance to kill Zhao Tian again."
Yu Ze pursed his lips and said hesitantly, "But you actually switched our order!"
"Don't tell me you hadn't planned that in advance!"
Lin Jie sneered inwardly.
He had not expected Yu Ze to be quite so observant.
Rather than answering directly, he slowly strolled over to the fire.
Then he spoke slowly. "Does that question matter?"
By then, enough talisman papers had been placed in the fire to complete the ritual. It shook, sparks flickering constantly.
White Rabbit also began to announce emotionlessly, "This game has ended..."
Lin Jie smiled:
"After all, we've both achieved our respective goals."
"You achieved your goal of killing your enemy with your own hands."
"And I, too, have reached the final outcome of my plan-"
Lin Jie suddenly paused there.
The fire shook more and more violently, as though something were about to burst forth.
Finally, amid a violent tremor and a strange noise, the fire suddenly erupted with towering rays of light.
This firelight was ten thousand times more intense than any before it.
Multicolored flames shot straight up to the ceiling,
and brilliant multicolored light illuminated the entire room.
At the same time, Lin Jie spread his arms.
White Rabbit spoke, finishing the words Lin Jie had left unsaid:
"...the sole winner of this game-"
"Lin Jie."