Chapter 59

"Oh?" The man-pig was a bit puzzled. "I don't understand what you mean."

Lao Lü was also a bit confused: "Kid, what are you talking about? Is there a 'surefire way' to win this game?"

"I wouldn't dare to claim a surefire way," Qi Xia shook his head. "But the 'pig game' is definitely not a 'luck-based' game; it is thoroughly a 'probability study.'"

"What do you mean?" Lao Lü was a bit lost. "No matter how you distribute them, there are fifty black and white stones, which means the probability of drawing any stone is one in two."

"Is that so?" Qi Xia shook his head noncommittally. "It's precisely because of this that the game appears to be luck-based."

"Let me tell you the truth, kid," Lao Lü leaned in close to Qi Xia's ear and whispered, "The first time, I put the black and white stones in separate bowls. If I could pick the bowl with the black stones, I would win. Unfortunately, I lost. The second time, I evenly distributed the black and white stones between the two bowls, but I still didn't draw a black stone. My luck was really bad."

Lao Lü stroked his chin and continued, "If you think about it, if the ratio is broken and each bowl has a different number of black and white stones, it would actually be more disadvantageous for me to draw a black stone. So, there's no way there could be a surefire way to win."

Qi Xia nodded: "This game can't be 'surefire,' but I can try to increase my chances of winning."

"Hmm? You have a plan?"

Qi Xia didn't answer but instead said to the man-pig, "I'm ready, let's start."

The man-pig chuckled and extended his hand, making a gesture to invite him: "Start distributing."

Qi Xia looked at the two identical bowls and the black and white stones that felt the same in texture, then silently grabbed a handful of stones and placed them in one of the bowls.

Lao Lü watched Qi Xia silently, not knowing how he planned to arrange the hundred stones.

Qi Xia kept grabbing stones and throwing them into the bowl, seemingly not counting the number of black and white stones.

"Hey... will this work?" Lao Lü asked hesitantly, "Do you want to count how many you've put in?"

Qi Xia didn't speak, just kept throwing stones into one bowl.

Lao Lü and Lin Ping exchanged glances, not knowing what Qi Xia was doing.

Finally, when Qi Xia had thrown all the stones into the same bowl, he stopped.

The man-pig looked angry: "Hey! That's a foul! You have to distribute them between the two bowls!"

"I know," Qi Xia nodded. "The distribution isn't finished yet."

He then picked up a black stone from the bowl and threw it into the other bowl.

"My distribution is complete," Qi Xia lifted his head and looked at the man-pig calmly.

"What?!"

Everyone present was taken aback.

What kind of distribution is this?

One bowl has one black stone, and the other has the remaining ninety-nine stones?

Lao Lü looked at the two bowls on the table, his pupils dilating. After a long pause, he said, "Brilliant... brilliant..."

He understood Qi Xia's strategy.

Originally, no matter how Lao Lü distributed the stones, the 'optimal distribution' for both bowls was fifty-fifty.

This way, he could ensure a fifty percent chance of drawing a black stone.

But Qi Xia broke this balance.

He made the probability of drawing a black stone from one bowl one hundred percent, while the probability from the other bowl was as close to fifty percent as possible.

Since the initial choice of a bowl was random, Qi Xia had a high chance of directly selecting the bowl with the black stone, thus winning without needing to draw a stone.

Even if he had bad luck and chose the other bowl, the probability of drawing a black stone was still close to fifty percent, after all, it was forty-nine percent.

He had essentially given himself a hidden 'insurance' for winning.

The man-pig's eyes behind the mask turned noticeably colder.

"Are you trying to outsmart me?" The man-pig's tone changed, no longer sounding childish but rather cunning.

"Outsmart?" Qi Xia found it a bit amusing and raised an eyebrow. "Everything I've done hasn't violated the rules, so how is it outsmarting?"

The man-pig pulled out a blindfold from his pocket and slowly handed it to Qi Xia, saying, "I know a lot of smart people, and most of them have very bad luck."

Qi Xia nodded and took the blindfold. "I can't argue with that, after all, smart people rarely rely on luck."

"But in the end, we're gambling," the man-pig said in a low voice. "The most important thing in gambling is 'strong luck.' You're very smart, but what about your luck?"

"I don't know," Qi Xia replied. "But we'll find out soon."

Qi Xia slowly put on the blindfold and placed his hands on the table, not moving.

The man-pig took the two bowls and began to shake the stones inside.

This rule was originally to prevent cheaters who would place white stones at the bottom and black stones on top to make it easier to draw.

But now, for Qi Xia's strategy, this rule was completely ineffective.

The man-pig knew that no matter how he shook the stones, the man in front of him would choose one without hesitation.

After all, he had already done everything he needed to do, and now he was ready to leave everything to his 'luck.'

Thinking of this, he shook the bowls casually, then rearranged them, placing one on the left and one on the right.

"Hey, which bowl will you choose?" the man-pig asked, "The one on your left... or the one on your right?"

"I..." Qi Xia lowered his head and was silent for a moment before speaking, "Left, I choose the left."

Lin Ping and Lao Lü were both startled, sensing something was wrong.

Because the bowl on Qi Xia's left was the one with ninety-nine stones!

The man-pig's eyes suddenly lit up: "Very well, now please choose a stone from it."

He pushed the bowl in front of Qi Xia with a mocking tone, as if watching a joke.

Qi Xia's lips curled slightly, and he said, "Aren't you trying to test my luck? This bowl is perfect for that."

"W-What...?" The man-pig was taken aback. "You, you knew this bowl was the 'wrong' one?!"

"More or less," Qi Xia slowly reached into the bowl and said, "Choosing 'left or right' is like playing rock-paper-scissors. It seems to be an even probability, but it's often skewed by human psychology."

"What do you mean?" Lao Lü asked, puzzled.

"Like how most people choose scissors first in rock-paper-scissors, the probability isn't actually even," Qi Xia explained. "Paper opens the palm, making one feel insecure, while rock tightens the palm, making one feel constrained. So, scissors become the most neutral choice. Similarly, when choosing left or right, the subconscious tends to think 'left is safer.' After all, most people are right-handed and use their right hand more often, which is more prone to injury. So, when choosing a safe direction, 'left' is often chosen."

"You... are not an ordinary person," the man-pig said.

"There's no need to praise me, because you understand these principles too," Qi Xia said. "You didn't place ninety-nine stones on my left by accident, did you?"