Chapter 64

"You are not a 'sheep,' after all." Qixia said to the man-pig, "The first time we encountered a human-sheep, it gave us a hard time. You thought that adding a lying mechanism to your game would increase your chances of winning, but you didn't expect that this decision would end up killing you."

The man-pig fell silent for a moment, then reached up to remove the mask from his head.

Beneath the dirty, smelly mask was a man with regular features, looking to be in his forties, with wise eyes.

"Unfortunately, it was just a little bit off," the man-pig said. "A little bit more, and I could have walked out of here with dignity."

Qixia's eyes flickered, and she asked, "Man-pig, what does it mean to walk out with 'dignity'?"

The man-pig was taken aback, then re-evaluated the young man in front of him, finding him very similar to his younger self.

"Qixia, have you ever made a mistake?"

"A mistake?" Qixia thought seriously for a moment. The word "mistake" was hard to understand. In some ways, his profession itself was a mistake, but from another perspective, he had no choice but to do it.

"It's not about 'law,'" the man-pig continued, "but a mistake that can change the course of your life, one that makes you deeply regret it, one that you spend the rest of your life paying for."

Qixia's brows furrowed deeply, and something in his mind was stirring wildly.

"What do you mean?" Qixia asked coldly.

"We are all sinners..." the man-pig said with a bitter smile, "Indeed, sinners cannot attain the 'Way.' I will ultimately die here..."

Sinners cannot attain the 'Way'?

Qixia had heard this before.

"Qixia, do you know? Business is like gambling," the man-pig slowly stood up and walked to a drawer, searching for something. "I once bet all the group's liquid funds on a 'hope.' Now, it seems no different from betting my life."

After searching for a long time, he finally found an old revolver in the drawer.

He blew off the dust on the gun, opened the cylinder to check the single remaining bullet, and continued, "At the time, my chances of winning were less than fifty percent, and the other shareholders on the board were against it. But I knew that I was only betting the liquid funds, which wouldn't lead to the group's bankruptcy, and it would bring hope for future development. But no one expected... a global infectious disease to suddenly break out, severely impacting the group's revenue. Later, due to insufficient liquid funds, the group suffered continuous losses."

The man-pig looked at Qixia with a desperate gaze, "I thought I was betting on a ticket to heaven, but I ended up in hell."

He continued to carefully clean the barrel of the gun.

Qixia felt that the man-pig's words had slightly clarified his doubts, "So you think this place is hell?"

"Who knows?" the man-pig shook his head, "I built the group myself, but I was eventually fired by the board. As the chairman, I lost my power. To pay off my debts, I sold my shares at a low price. My wife, who started the business with me, couldn't afford the money to treat her illness. My daughter, who was studying abroad, couldn't afford to continue her education and became a well-known prostitute at her school. Compared to the real world, this place is my heaven. I don't have to think about anything every day; I just need to find ways to make you die."

The man-pig's tone gradually lost control, "I often think, if I hadn't bet on that fifty percent chance, what would the result have been?"

Qixia was silent for a long time before finally saying, "Willing to bet, willing to lose."

"Ha, ha..." the man-pig suddenly seemed to lose his mind, laughing bitterly, "Yes, willing to bet, willing to lose."

"But there's one thing I still don't understand..." Qixia said again.

The man-pig raised his deep eyes and looked at Qixia, then slowly said, "I've answered too many of your questions, which is unfair to the other participants."

"What?" Qixia was confused, "Can't you tell us this information?"

The man-pig opened the revolver's cylinder, spun it quickly, and then snapped it back into place.

He slowly raised the gun and pressed it to his temple.

"Let's leave it to 'fate,'" the man-pig said, "For every question you ask, I will pull the trigger. If the gun doesn't fire, I will answer you."

Qixia sighed helplessly, "You were once the chairman of the group. Don't you want to leave with dignity?"

"Dignity..." the man-pig laughed helplessly, "I've been wearing this stinky, dirty pig head for a long time. What dignity is there to talk about?"

"Since that's the case..." Qixia nodded, "I'll offend you, Uncle. Why did you voluntarily become a 'man-pig'?"

"Click"!!

The man-pig pulled the trigger without hesitation, not even blinking.

The gun didn't fire.

"Because I want to 'atone,'" the man-pig answered, "Someone told me that as long as I wear the mask and send participants to their deaths through the game, I can eventually atone."

"What does 'atone' mean?"

"Click"!

The gun didn't fire.

The man-pig sighed, "Atonement means being able to change the past and make up for the mistakes I've made. After all, all the 'zodiacs' are 'sinners.'"

Qixia pieced together the fragmented clues in his mind, feeling somewhat incredulous. He organized his thoughts and asked, "So you once had a chance to leave, but you didn't, and instead chose to stay here to 'atone'?"

"Click"!

The man-pig frowned, as he had said, Qixia had extremely strong 'luck,' and the gun didn't fire three times in a row.

"I'm not sure if I can leave, but I stayed," the man-pig continued, "I hope you haven't made any mistakes. Otherwise, you will ultimately end up like me, choosing to stay here voluntarily. After all, staying here offers a glimmer of unseen hope."

Qixia slowly moved closer and asked very seriously, "So, what is the fastest way to leave this place?"

"Click"!!

The man-pig closed his eyes, his body trembling, but the gun still didn't fire.

"I'm not sure," the man-pig said, "The three thousand six hundred 'Ways' are clearly the slowest method. Even with the mask, there are still many things I don't know. After all, I am still a 'human.' If you want to uncover the truth of this place, you need to win against 'Heaven' and 'Earth.'"

He paused and continued, "No... don't try to win against 'Heaven,' just win against 'Earth.' The 'Heaven, Earth, and Human' zodiacs are ranked from top to bottom, all led by the 'Dragon.' To survive in this place, first, don't provoke 'Heaven,' and second, don't face the 'Dragon.'"

The man-pig's four answers indeed clarified Qixia's thoughts. It seemed that escaping this place wasn't as difficult as he had imagined.

He had no more questions for the man-pig, but the other man still held the gun, his expression complex.

Qixia knew that the fifth shot had a fifty percent chance of death, and the sixth shot was a hundred percent.

The scene before him was familiar, as if he was back to the moment of betting his life with a fifty percent chance.

Qixia stood up, turned, and walked towards the exit. Linping and Old Lü, not understanding the situation, slowly followed.

Just as he was about to leave, Qixia turned and asked the fifth question, "Uncle, do you regret it?"

After asking, Qixia didn't wait for the man-pig's answer and left with Linping and Old Lü.

The large chess club now seemed empty, with only the man-pig sitting alone in the center.

He thought for a long time and slowly said three words:

"Thank you."

A loud gunshot echoed, and the man-pig fell down.