Chapter 442: Two Leaders

“Ah… this…” Bai Jiu pulled on Qiao Jia Jin from behind. “Qiao Ge, something doesn’t seem right… I heard that for Di Ji games, you can’t know the rules without paying the entry fee.”

“Ah? Is that how it works?” Qiao Jia Jin glanced at Di Tu again. “Hey, big rabbit, I’m worried about getting scammed. Can you explain the rules first?”

“Sure thing.” Di Tu nodded firmly. “Of course.”

“Hey! You’re not so bad after all!”

“Well, I hate trouble too,” Di Tu said. “Once I explain the rules, if you think it’s not for you, just leave quickly and don’t waste time.”

“Of course, of course.” Qiao Jia Jin nodded. “If it’s a physical or combat type game, I’d go in no matter what.”

“That might disappoint you.” Di Tu shook his head. “Behind me, there’s a building with a total of sixteen rooms, arranged in a square grid—four rooms per row, and four rows in total.”

“Uh…” Qiao Jia Jin nodded. “And then?”

Seeing that Qiao Jia Jin was interested, Di Tu squatted down and sketched a rough diagram on the ground, looking like a chessboard from afar.

“Each room has four doors, one on each side.” Di Tu continued, then pointed to the top-left room. “All participants will enter from this room.”

Next, he pointed to the bottom-right room. “The goal is to escape from this room. In other words, as long as you can get from the top-left room to the bottom-right room, you win the game.”

“Oh…?” Qiao Jia Jin felt he could grasp the game overall, but something still felt off. “How do we move? Just run straight through?”

Behind him, the one called Jian Mo, Yun Shijiu, spotted the issue right away. “That’s not right… If you could just run straight, the room setup wouldn’t mean anything.”

“Yes.” Bai Jiu nodded. “Are there rules for moving between rooms?”

“Ah?” Qiao Jia Jin nodded along with everyone. “Is that how it is…?”

“Of course.” Di Tu looked at the sketch on the ground and said, “Everyone acts in turns. The game has ‘participant turns’ and ‘Sheng Xiao turns.’ Participants can open one door and move once per turn, while Sheng Xiao can open two doors and move twice per turn.”

Bai Jiu stared at the sketch for a long time before asking, “What happens if you get caught?”

“I’ll tear you apart,” Di Tu said. “You’ll die on the spot.”

“I see…” Bai Jiu and Yun Shijiu both nodded. “This is a strategy game… The seven of us have to choose our routes and avoid the Sheng Xiao to reach the end.”

The other five nodded as well. “I see…”

Qiao Jia Jin looked awkwardly at Bai Jiu and Yun Shijiu, then at the other five team members. “What do you mean, ‘I see’? You all get it?”

“Yes, Qiao Ge.” Bai Jiu nodded. “The game shouldn’t be too hard, but there will definitely be casualties. If you think it’s okay, we can pay the entry fee now.”

“Uh… this… I mean…” Qiao Jia Jin scratched his head. “I suddenly have a new idea.”

“A new idea?”

The members of the “Mao” team and Di Tu all turned to look at him.

Di Tu seemed to realize that the man in front of him was the leader. Was he thinking of raising the stakes?

“Everyone…” Qiao Jia Jin smiled, glanced at Di Tu, and said, “I’ve decided to switch to a different game.”

“Ah?”

The members of the “Mao” team hadn’t expected Qiao Jia Jin to say that, and no one knew how to respond.

“Qiao… Qiao Ge…” Bai Jiu asked beside him, “Do you think this game is too hard?”

“Ah?” Qiao Jia Jin was stunned. “Hard? Hard for me, maybe…”

“Is there some hidden rule we haven’t noticed?” Bai Jiu asked seriously. “I knew this wasn’t an ordinary strategy game… Di Ji games are getting tougher these days…”

“Yeah, Qiao Ge, did you spot something?”

“Ah, no… How could you say that?” Qiao Jia Jin chuckled naively. “I just feel that if we join this game, as the leader, I’d be like a total fool, not contributing anything…”

“What do you mean?”

“Ah, never mind.” Qiao Jia Jin finished and walked up to pat Di Tu’s hard, muscular shoulder. “Big rabbit, sorry to bother you. Your entry fee is just too expensive, and we’re short on cash, so we’re heading elsewhere.”

Even Di Tu hadn’t expected the man to leave so decisively.

He led his team away without a second thought, as if they’d never been there.

“Wait…” Di Tu suddenly looked upset. “At least ask how many Dao the tickets cost…”

Before he could finish, another team appeared from the other end of the street.

Strangely, this team looked a lot like the previous one.

“I’m seriously done with this…”

A lazy voice drifted closer.

“You all don’t even know where the Di Ji Sheng Xiao are, right…? Is our main agenda today just ‘sightseeing’?”

A man who looked carefree, leading a group in black leather jackets, wandered aimlessly down the street.

“We don’t participate in games much anymore.” One of the men in black leather said. “So let’s just look around.”

In no time, this team bumped right into Di Tu.

“Whoa!!!” The leader shouted at the sight of Di Tu. “Song Qi, Song Qi, Song Qi—look!”

Song Qi shook his head helplessly. “What is it?”

“A huge fat rabbit!” The leader grinned mischievously. “I’ve hit the jackpot today—never seen such a plump rabbit before.”

Di Tu sensed that the man in front of him was a bit too flippant. If he knew the game’s content, he’d probably turn and run like the previous leader.

But what kind of day was this?

Why were there so many people in black leather jackets roaming the streets?

“Hey…” Di Tu said, “Want to join my game?”

“Yeah.” The leader replied.

“Alright, let me first explain the rul—”

“Open the door.” The leader said. “Whatever the cost in Dao, my people will pay it all. You’re in luck today—you’ve run into a big spender.”

“Ah?” Now it was Di Tu’s turn to be confused. “Hold on… I can tell you the rules in advance. Do you want to hear them fir—”

“No need.” The leader waved it off and headed straight for the building behind Di Tu. “My life motto is ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way’—we’ll figure it out as we go. That’s that.”

“Wh-what?” Di Tu looked puzzled at Song Qi.

“Uh, well…” Song Qi smiled bitterly and shook his head. “Our leader’s just like that. Please bear with him.”