Chapter 113: The Truth of the World and Lines of Code

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In the middle of a desolate field, four or five people opened their eyes.

The first was Wu Hongfu. He rubbed his eyes, the long-absent light clearly stinging them. His clothes were yellowed by the sun and caked in grime.

Next to him was a woman in her thirties, adorned with heavy, chunky gold jewelry on her ears, neck, hands, and wrists.

Then came an old man, gaunt and bony, wearing a dark shirt so faded that his brown skin showed through the fabric.

After him was a college student. He seemed utterly bewildered by the scene, and as he scanned his surroundings, a look of breakdown began to appear on his face.

The last was a man dressed in strange, ill-fitting clothes. He looked at the others, who had already opened their eyes, and asked in confusion, "Where... where is this?"

Hearing his question, the group frowned. No one answered; each was harboring their own secret agenda.

"I don't know," Wu Hongfu said after a long silence. "How did you get here?"

The old man grinned, revealing a few remaining teeth. "Heh. Some fool is willing to spend money on charity—who doesn't love a fool like that?"

The college student blinked and nodded. "Same here... someone wanted to give me something... but there was a price."

"Hard to believe... you're so young and you need this?" The old man scratched his crotch, his face twisted into a lewd smirk. "Heh, I really should thank that fool. If not for this, what would we do about my family line dying out? Isn't that more important than a bit of money?"

The college student opened his mouth to speak, but the voice of Bai Ci descended from the sky, echoing across the empty expanse: "Welcome, everyone. Welcome to this game, to this gamble.

To ensure your experience in the coming game, I will provide a brief explanation.

Three hundred meters ahead of you lies a village, and within it, something of immense value is hidden. Whatever it is, and by whatever means necessary, as long as you can seize it and hold it when the game ends—then congratulations. The one with the highest value wins, and the one with the lowest loses everything. As for the rest... well, it is as agreed."

Hearing the voice from above, their previously relaxed expressions turned tense. They stared at one another, eyeing each other with covetous intent. The old man had already pulled out a three-centimeter blade from somewhere, while the woman began removing her jewelry, tucking it into the most intimate parts of her undergarments.

The remaining three, however, seemed somewhat indifferent.

"Aren't you going to prepare?" the college student asked.

"Prepare for what?" Wu Hongfu sneered, sweeping a disdainful gaze over the group. "Idiot."

The college student stiffened and said no more. He retreated to the edge of the circle and pulled a portable camera from his pocket.

Watching each other’s every move, they began to walk toward the village Bai Ci had mentioned.

The three-hundred-meter distance, a span that seemed so short at a glance, left all five of them drenched in cold sweat. The vigilance they felt at the start now seemed trivial.

When they reached the village entrance, something was written in red ink on black paper along the dirt road. Beside the document stood a large LCD screen. It looked bizarre against the backdrop of the rural wilderness.

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Both sides of the road were rice paddies, illuminated by the glow of LEDs.

As they approached, they realized the document contained detailed information about the five of them.

"Wu Hongfu: Owes a massive debt, requires a large sum of cash."
"Ai Yangyun: ...Killed one person, needs a cleanup."
"Zhao Yang: Offspring are infertile, needs to procreate."
"Bao Manmei: Desires to consume the blood of kin."
"Feng Ping: Craves to watch the look on others' faces before they die."

They didn't have time to dwell on the text before two figures appeared on the screen leading to the village. They were extremely thin; the older one looked as if he hadn't touched oil or salt in decades, while the young child was chewing on his hand, the flesh at his fingertips raw and red.

"You all came to our village—are you here to play?" the old man on the screen chuckled. "Our village... playing is fine, but sightseeing? That’s not so good."

"Play? Play what?" Wu Hongfu asked.

"Whatever you like. You can play 'anything'."

He asked again, "Since we're playing... shouldn't we bet something?"

"Bet? Of course we have to bet! What's the point of playing without a wager?"

The old man nodded in immediate approval. "Exactly! What’s the fun if you don't bet something!" He looked back at his companions, whose faces wore varying expressions.

"What are we betting? Count me in," Ai Yangyun said, stepping toward him.

"Oh? A murderer is so decisive?" He looked at the other man’s chilling expression, his own tone unwavering. "I’ll tell you this: no matter what you end up with, you have to give me half. Otherwise, I’ll report you to the police the moment I get back."

Ai Yangyun’s eyes darkened with a flash of malice, but he nodded. "I won't share with you. At most, we’ll both die. If I don't survive, I’ll make sure to drag you down with me. But... cooperation is fine. At least it's better than that old, useless cripple."

"Fine. At least until the end, that proposal works," he laughed, casting a glance at Bao Manmei. "There are only four men here... excluding the old geezer who can't get it up. If you're willing, the three of us would be just right. Want to team up?"

Bao Manmei calculated the odds, and her expression shifted. "Help is help... if we end up in the same bed, you can help me get rid of that lover of mine after we get out. Wouldn't that be nice? We could even try someone new."

Hearing the three of them, Zhao Yang and Feng Ping remained silent.

Before they could continue, the villager’s voice spoke from the giant screen: "Since you've all come to play, please, come in. At the entrance of our village stands a wild god. I must trouble you to pay your respects and say: 'One-Thought Fire Buddha, Your Eminence, protect me.'"

Hearing this, Wu Hongfu was delighted. He hurried forward and saw the shrine standing at the exit of the village entrance. The dilapidated shrine was covered in a piece of red cloth, so old and faded that only its thickness remained to hide what lay beneath.

"Your Eminence!" He knelt down, knocking his forehead against the ground with a loud thud.

"One-Thought Fire Buddha! Your Eminence, protect me!" He kowtowed violently until blood stained the ground, but he showed no sign of distress as he stared at the shrine.

He fumbled through his clothes, pulled out a cigarette from nowhere, and lit it before the shrine.

After he finished, the others took turns approaching. Ai Yangyun touched the red cloth on the shrine; it felt greasy. Zhao Yang laughed, scratched his crotch, sucked the grime off his fingertips, and quietly stole the fruit left beside the shrine.

Only Feng Ping and Bao Manmei stood back with arms crossed, unmoved.

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But this was merely a small interlude. After the cigarette burned out, Wu Hongfu became exceptionally agitated. He took the lead, guiding the others through the village path.

Once inside, they found an old locust tree in the village center. Beneath it sat a long bench, surrounded by all the men of the village—two children, four men, and an old man.

Beyond them, the villagers' houses encircled the area.

They walked toward the table, where exactly five seats remained. They sat down, one by one.

Watching the travelers take their seats, the old man spoke: "I am the village chief. Unfortunately, my word carries some weight here. Since you've arrived, you have to play a few rounds with us. You can't leave unless you play."

He smiled, and children who appeared from nowhere began spreading straw across the road.

"Oh, they're drying grain," he said, though the stalks were devoid of kernels.

"It's fine, it's fine."

"Good," the old man nodded. "Have you all played Texas Hold'em?"

The group nodded.

"Two cards dealt, five community cards. One card revealed each round, and only those who match the bet can participate in that round."

They nodded again.

"But here, we’ve changed the rules," the old man chuckled, pointing to himself. "I proposed this. I don't think Texas Hold'em is exciting enough. After the fifth round, if any player continues to raise, an additional card can be dealt. There is no limit to the raise. If two people continue to raise infinitely, the betting round will be forcibly ended once one side runs out of chips, and we go to a showdown. If it's a draw, the pot is split among those who participated, and the portion taken by the house for that round is returned."

"That works. But we don't have any money... what are you betting?" Wu Hongfu frowned, mentally calculating his win rate.

"It's fine, it's fine. It's just a game~ Our village gives everyone 100 chips as a starting pot. If you run out... we'll talk about it then."

Hearing this, Wu Hongfu was overjoyed.

"Which casino isn't like that? Which one doesn't say 'we'll talk about it later'? Once you run out of chips, that's when they start demanding this and that, cutting off heads and tails."

The village chief beamed and placed a stack of chips in front of them.

The old man calculated, the young man held his camera, the woman loosened her cuffs and opened her collar, and Wu Hongfu touched the cards as familiar memories flooded back.

Only one person looked at the chips in front of him, a strange, peculiar smile playing on his lips.

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