Chapter 357: Giving Up?

"So, can we join the session?" Su Shan asked. "Your game doesn't take a long time, does it?"

"That won't be the case." Di Gou shook his head and sighed. "But it's really tiring. I've already taken care of a batch today. Can we do it tomorrow instead?"

"You've taken care of a batch...?" Zhang Lu Shi looked uneasy.

"Yeah, I'm a bit worn out. Let's schedule it for tomorrow, okay?" Di Gou yawned lazily. "I'm afraid I'll fall asleep in the game if we start now."

Qin Ding Dong turned to Su Shan: "Are you really set on joining?"

"What about you all... Are you prepared?" Su Shan countered.

Qin Ding Dong sighed after hearing that.

"Lin Geng and I are both 'Hui Xiang Zhe.' Participating in this kind of game isn't a big pressure for us, since we'd keep our memories even if we lose. But what about you two?" Her gaze shifted between Su Shan and Zhang Chen Ze. "If you die before the 'Hui Xiang,' you'd forget all these experiences."

"I..." Zhang Chen Ze paused. "Actually, I don't mind. I don't retain memories anyway. If it weren't for you all explaining the rules here earlier, I'd really think I just arrived."

Everyone turned their attention back to Su Shan.

"I'm not afraid of failure," Su Shan said. "The more painful the failure, the more it sparks my 'Hui Xiang.'"

Di Gou scratched his ear with his pinky finger, sensing things were getting complicated: "Hang on, you four... Are you all veterans?"

"No," Su Shan shook his head. "To be precise, only two of us are veterans. The other two are newcomers."

"Even two is troublesome..." Di Gou pouted. "Can we switch to another place? I do want to take you on, but I'm really tired today."

"That's strange..." Su Shan looked puzzled at the skinny dog-headed figure. "Can you 'Sheng Xiao' actually refuse us from joining the game?"

"I can't refuse." Di Gou frowned. "If I could, I would have already."

"This..." Su Shan was confused. "If you can't refuse, why are you suggesting we go somewhere else?"

"Because I'm stalling for time." Di Gou leaned back against the wall and propped his arms behind his head. "Maybe if I drag it out a bit longer, I can clock out."

"That won't work." Su Shan shook his head. "I've made up my mind. We have to join your game today."

"Sigh..." Di Gou slowly closed his eyes. "It's not that I'm saying this, but veterans are just too hard to deal with..."

After hearing that, Qin Ding Dong, Lin Geng, and Zhang Chen Ze exchanged glances. A moment later, Qin Ding Dong spoke: "Xiao Shan, since he doesn't want to host us, maybe we should just forget it. It's getting late anyway..."

Su Shan glanced at Qin Ding Dong and said, "Why don't you go rest first? I think time is too precious to waste on sleeping."

"Ah?" Qin Ding Dong hadn't expected such a flimsy reason from Su Shan.

After that, Su Shan turned to Di Gou: "May I ask how many people are needed for your game?"

Di Gou looked at the group with a dejected expression and replied quietly, "It's my bad luck—exactly four people."

Zhang Chen Ze nodded after hearing that: "Su Shan, I'll join you. Gathering intel will help me make better judgments."

"Oh?" Su Shan looked at her and nodded approvingly.

Lin Geng and Qin Ding Dong didn't seem very motivated and were thinking about leaving.

"Su Shan..." Lin Geng called out. "As someone who's been through this, I'll tell you that in this place, the people who die first are often the ones who are eager to join games."

"Does that mean the ones who drown are the ones who know how to swim?" Su Shan looked at Lin Geng with unusually bright eyes. "But the whole world here is flooded. We either learn to swim right away or slowly drown. Which do you choose?"

Lin Geng thought for a moment and then nodded.

"'Zhong Yan Zhi Di' only feels alive because people like you keep showing up."

"Old Qin, what do you say?" Lin Geng turned and asked.

"Sigh... What can I do?" Qin Ding Dong sighed. "Who asked me to be Xiao Shan's good friend?"

"Good." Lin Geng extended a hand. "Zhang Lu Shi, Su Shan, for safety's sake, let's shake on it."

"Shake hands?" They both looked puzzled.

"That's right." Lin Geng said. "As long as you're willing to shake my hand, Old Qin and I will join you in the game."

Su Shan reached out without hesitation and shook Lin Geng's hand. Then Lin Geng let go and looked at Zhang Chen Ze.

Zhang Chen Ze eyed Lin Geng cautiously and said, "I'll pass. Unless it's a critical moment or a medical situation, I don't want anyone touching me otherwise."

Hearing that, Lin Geng remembered that Zhang Lu Shi had said the same thing during the previous game with Di Gou.

"I don't know why you're so averse to being touched, but shaking hands will give you a higher chance of 'Hui Xiang,'" Lin Geng said. "Are you sure you don't want to?"

Zhang Chen Ze thought it over and finally extended her hand, lightly touching Lin Geng's hand back.

"Is this okay?"

Lin Geng nodded and said, "It's a bit forced, but it'll do."

The four turned back to Di Gou, their expressions now serious.

"Come on..." Di Gou felt like he was on the verge of breaking down. "When did you 'participants' get so intense? I just wanted to hide in a corner and be invisible, and now I've had to deal with two groups today."

"Since you've opened up shop, you were bound to have days like this." Su Shan laughed. "How do we pay the entry fee?"

"Well... um..." Di Gou pulled a coin from his pocket. "How about we play a coin-guessing game? If you guess right, I'll give your team a 'Dao,' and we'll call it a day."

"What do you think?" Su Shan asked.

Di Gou's face turned cold at that. He put the coin back in his pocket, slowly stood up, straightened his head, and said with a yawn, "In my life, I hate two kinds of people... First, those who slack off, and second, those who stop me from slacking off."

"Doesn't that mean you hate yourself?" Su Shan asked.

"Exactly." Di Gou nodded. "Entry fee is three 'Dao' per person. If you win, each gets ten."

"Not bad," Su Shan said. "As expected of a 'Di Ji.' We've been busy all day and only earned three or four 'Dao' each, but your game lets us earn seven."

"I don't want to either." Di Gou shook his head. "It's just that us slacking 'Sheng Xiao' ended up with a few super intense disciples. Now I'm all conflicted—if I don't put in a little effort, they'd look down on me."