Chapter 263: The Plan Begins

"So, you're cornering the market?" Song Qi also smiled. "Then you've really hit the jackpot."

"Huh?"

"Let's be friends. I'll trade you one 'Ai' and one 'Le' for one 'Nu'." Song Qi said. "Deal?"

Qi Xia never expected the trade to go like this.

"You still have 'Ai'?"

"That's right."

Qi Xia thought for a moment, then sighed helplessly. "Brother, you're not trying to pull a fast one, are you?"

"What's up, buddy?"

"Do you know the current situation?" Qi Xia asked. "The value of 'Ai' right now is absolutely more than ten 'Dao'. Why would you trade with me?"

"Of course I know," Song Qi nodded. "But, brother, what I want isn't 'Dao'. I just came to experience the feeling of 'Sheng Si Yi Xian', but it seems this game isn't for me."

"Oh?" Qi Xia furrowed his brow, sensing that this person might be here to seek 'Hui Xiang'.

"Here, it's all about escaping or just dying outright," Song Qi shook his head. "You can't really experience 'Sheng Si Yi Xian' at all. I'm planning to leave."

"Just like that?"

"That's right." Song Qi nodded, then glanced up at the time. "Time's running out. If you can make it out alive... let's chat outside."

Qi Xia paused slightly. "Alright."

He pulled out his 'Nu' and exchanged it with the other for two fans.

The man's actions were extremely decisive, without any hesitation, and he clearly had his own ideas.

Then, Qi Xia watched as Song Qi and another person in a black leather jacket both escaped.

The situation now was simply perfect.

This man named Song Qi, all on his own, had reduced the 'Ai' in circulation by two.

Based on the numbers, there were at most eleven 'Ai' in circulation now.

Yet, there were still twenty participants.

That meant the thirty people who escaped earlier could have taken at most one 'Ai' with them in total. Otherwise, with fewer than ten 'Ai' left, some of these twenty would definitely not escape.

But was that possible?

If each person took out an extra fan, and each fan had a one-in-four chance of being 'Ai', then the thirty people would have already taken about seven point five 'Ai'.

Subtract that from eleven, and theoretically, there were only three to four 'Ai' left in the field.

If luck was even better, there might not be a single one left.

If not now, then when?

Qi Xia nodded, packed up his stall, erased the words on the ground, and walked over to Di Yang's stall with his 'Le' and 'Xi'.

Since Di Yang had stated from the beginning that it was two for one, he hadn't made a single trade yet.

"I want to trade fans," Qi Xia said.

Di Yang frowned upon hearing this, sensing that something wasn't right.

"What?" Qi Xia said. "As a fair and strict 'referee', aren't you going to trade with a 'participant'?"

His words were forceful, and everyone present heard them.

Not only did this put moral pressure on Di Yang, but it also gave Qi Xia an extra layer of protection.

If someone came to trade and got killed... would there be any other customers?

After thinking for a moment, Di Yang nodded. "Please... feel free to pick."

Qi Xia snorted coldly, threw his 'Xi' and 'Le' to Di Yang, and picked up the 'Ai' from the table.

As expected, this was likely the last 'Ai' in the field that wasn't under Qi Xia's control.

The 'market monopoly' was now fully complete, and Qi Xia would dominate entirely.

The crowd was trapped in the next step of 'Zai Nan Pian Wu'.

What they didn't know was that trading two fans for one 'Ai' was already the best option available. Since Qi Xia had always stuck to one-for-one trades, it naturally led people to subconsciously think the fans weren't that expensive.

So, in the past half hour, no one had been willing to offer two fans for 'Ai'. They were all waiting for an 'opportunity' at Qi Xia's stall.

With the last 'Ai' in his pocket, Qi Xia let out a satisfied breath.

Next, he just needed to wait for the final resupply, and if things went as expected, it would be harvest time.

Time quickly reached ninety minutes, the last moment for everyone to resupply fans.

Di Yang set aside the three unwanted fans and pulled out a small bag, from which he took four more fans.

Again, one each of 'Xi', 'Nu', 'Ai', and 'Le'.

Now, there were seven fans on the table: two 'Xi', two 'Nu', one 'Ai', and two 'Le'.

Di Yang picked up the small blackboard and pulled out a half-piece of chalk from his pocket, carefully considering what to write.

A two-for-one trade was no longer realistic now, with this man clearly monopolizing 'Ai'... so how could he turn the situation around?

After thinking, Di Yang wrote: "One-for-one for each, 'Ai' price negotiable."

Seeing this, Qi Xia smirked. Di Yang's mistake was resupplying only every half hour, leaving him completely on the defensive.

"Everyone!" he called out, turning back.

His words made everyone stop in their tracks.

"I want to ask if anyone here has already formed a team?" Qi Xia asked loudly.

The crowd didn't know what this man was up to, so no one answered.

"It's like this..." Qi Xia slowly pulled out an 'Ai' and said to the crowd, "I accidentally ended up with an extra 'Ai'. Does anyone want it?"

This made many people's expressions change quickly.

"I'm only giving it to participants who have formed a team, so you can just leave directly," Qi Xia added. "Solo players, don't bother."

The crowd grew noisy, as if they were forming teams on the spot.

Since this 'Ai' was only for those in teams, who would want to be left alone?

In just one or two minutes, everyone had paired up and stood together.

"Brother! We've teamed up! Give it to us!" one group said.

"No, no! We've teamed up too, and we're just short one 'Ai' to get out!" another group said.

Several groups started arguing, and Qi Xia glanced at the crowd impassively before showing a troubled expression.

"So many people want the 'Ai'...?" he said hesitantly. "Then who should I give it to?"

"Well... how about this..." A young woman pulled out a fan and said, "The two of us can trade with you."

"Oh?" Qi Xia looked at the fan in the woman's hand, still appearing troubled.

This made everyone feel uneasy. If it weren't for the knife in this man's hand, the fan would probably have been snatched already.

"How about this..." an elderly man said, "We'll trade two for it!"