Chapter 612: A Great Hero

The crowd, who had originally been somewhat tempted, showed expressions of difficulty again after hearing Ren Hou's words.

Many people had already handed over one Dao, and now they would have to hand over another. Even if they won back two, it would just break even, right?

It seemed to turn into a contest between Xiao Cheng and Ren Hou, and the crowd had no idea which side to take.

Xiao Cheng pondered for a few seconds and said,"It's okay! Everyone! We can guarantee that we'll win this game! So even if the ticket price increases, we're still making a profit!"

"This..."

The crowd looked at each other, and Xiao Cheng knew that some of them didn't understand what he was saying at all—they would just follow the crowd.

As long as most people chose to play again, the others would develop a herd mentality.

But Ren Hou was too cunning; he had spoken at just the right moment, leaving all the "participants" hesitating.

"I don't think that's right..." At that moment, a man in his thirties suddenly realized something. "You're just lying, aren't you, kid?"

"Lying...?" Xiao Cheng didn't understand what the other meant at first. "Didn't I already explain the solution to everyone just now?"

After saying that, Xiao Cheng pointed to Zheng Yingxiong beside him and said, "If you had all listened to this child's suggestion from the start, we would have won the first time! The winning strategy has already been given, so how could we be deceiving you?"

"The problem is with this child!" a middle-aged woman spoke up. "Look at the color of the light on his head—he was in the wrong position just now!"

"He was in the wrong position...? Oh!" Xiao Cheng nodded quickly after hearing this and said, "Everyone, let me explain... When he went upstairs, the formation was already messed up, so he didn't really need to..."

"How do we know?" Another middle-aged woman suddenly interrupted Xiao Cheng. "Who knows what the situation was when he came up? I, for one, didn't get into the wrong position just now."

"That's right, how could someone bring a kid to play this game? It's just causing trouble!"

"I had a feeling that child would mess things up... Sigh..."

Voices of doubt grew louder in the crowd, with people talking over each other in a sarcastic tone, trying to shift the blame, as if everyone was ready to pin the failure of the game on Zheng Yingxiong.

Tiantian quickly pulled Zheng Yingxiong behind her and lifted her eyes, filled with pity, to confront the crowd.

She had always known that human nature was like this.

When something happened that harmed their interests, most people would immediately find someone to blame rather than reflect on their own shortcomings.

Now, Zheng Yingxiong was everyone's scapegoat, and if it wasn't controlled, it could lead to unpredictable consequences.

"You guys are out of your minds!" Xiao Cheng couldn't hold back any longer and cursed. "This child is better than all of you! He was the first to figure out the game's solution—what were you all doing back then?!"

"No matter what solution he said, he was in the wrong position, and that's that!" A man who looked about thirty argued. "We only care about the results. If we follow his suggestion and end up all in the wrong positions, what then?!"

"Are you brainless?!" Xiao Cheng shouted. "Can't you think for yourself whether the solution is right or wrong?!"

His voice was very loud, overpowering the man in his thirties in terms of presence.

Tiantian felt a bit more at ease at that moment. She recalled how Xiao Cheng had stood up to those two middle-aged men before—this young man might be young, but he could tell right from wrong and dared to speak out at critical times.

"It's okay!" Zheng Yingxiong's childish voice suddenly came from behind Tiantian. "Everyone, don't argue."

As soon as Tiantian heard the voice, she turned around to stop him, but Zheng Yingxiong shook his head at her with a calm expression and whispered, "I can handle this."

"But..."

"Don't." Zheng Yingxiong immediately raised his small hand and gently covered Tiantian's mouth. "Sister, you don't need to get involved. I won't let this happen again."

"What...?"

He stepped around Tiantian and stood in front of the crowd, speaking in a loud and confident voice: "There's no need for all of you to argue because of me! If you have anything to say, you can say it to me!"

The crowd was stunned that this child would suddenly say such things, leaving them momentarily speechless.

"There's no need for any debate on this matter!" Zheng Yingxiong said seriously. "It's my fault—I didn't protect everyone properly! You don't need to blame anyone else or even yourselves. If you have any grievances, direct them at me. Even if you kill me, I won't complain!"

As soon as he finished, everyone fell silent.

"I won't dodge or run away, and I won't hold any grudges!" Zheng Yingxiong shouted firmly. "If someone in this world has to bear the mistakes, then let it be me—it's for the best! But you must not argue because of me. The purpose of everything we do is to escape from here!"

After Zheng Yingxiong finished speaking, he carefully removed the newspaper crown from his head and placed it on the ground beside him. Then, he knelt down halfway and bowed his head, like a great knight.

"My head is right here—you can chop it off anytime." Zheng Yingxiong said in a deep voice. "But you all must promise me: use my death to gain your unity, and then I'll feel that my death was worthwhile!"

Zheng Yingxiong's words left several people at the scene looking bewildered.

It was just losing a game, after all, but what the child said was far too serious.

"Well... it's not that bad." The man in his thirties said. "Talk about killing—who cares about one Dao? I can afford to lose it."

The crowd nodded in agreement: "Yeah, let's just forget it."

Xiao Cheng and Tiantian exchanged glances, unsure of what had come over the child, but they only heard the crowd murmuring for a while before everyone gradually left Ren Hou's game area.

It seemed they didn't want to pursue the matter further or play another round.

As Zheng Yingxiong watched the crowd leave, a look of loneliness appeared on his face. He then glanced at the crown beside him and murmured to himself,"Sister, I can do it now."

Xiao Cheng quickly stepped forward to help Zheng Yingxiong up, and Tiantian picked up the crown and put it back on his head. The three of them didn't know what to do next.

Tiantian looked toward Ren Hou in the distance and whispered, "Xiao Cheng, are you still planning to join this game again? We already handed over one Dao, and if we win, we could get six."

"No..." Xiao Cheng shook his head helplessly. "Though it might not be the right time to say this, the game is just too simple. It doesn't give me that 'brainstorm' feeling."