The tattooed man actually had no choice.
Agree, 50% chance of survival; disagree, 100% chance of death.
Anyone would make this choice. When there is no hope, people can have great courage to drag others down with them.
But once there is hope, the decision to die becomes extremely difficult to make.
In fact, all Yutu needed to do was present this choice, and the tattooed man would have no option.
As for everything Yutu had set up earlier, it was just to avoid any potential missteps, to increase the tattooed man's illusion of hope, and to eliminate the last bit of courage for a shared death.
"I... agree!"
The tattooed man took the four balls from Yutu, placing two of them into his own bag and tightly gripping the remaining two in his hand.
The glasses man laughed loudly, his hands behind his head as he leaned back in his chair, even humming a tune.
He understood now: Yutu had five balls left. If he gave balls three and four to the tattooed man, the tattooed man would live; if he kept the balls for himself, the old man would survive.
Either way, he and Yutu were guaranteed to live.
The glasses man couldn't help but admire. This was a brilliant strategy. The rule of exchanging coins made the tattooed man believe he had no choice in the final swap.
And the tattooed man had no choice; between certain death and a possible survival, there was only one option.
As the glasses man hummed his tune, the other three also understood the situation and stared at the three remaining balls in Yutu's hand.
The old man was the most anxious; Yutu's choice would decide his and the tattooed man's fate.
The older woman, kneeling on the ground, hugged Yutu's leg.
"Give me those three! Look at me, I'm the same age as your mom! Think about your mom!"
The fashionable woman even took off her last piece of underwear, grabbing Yutu's hand:
"Give it to me! Give it to me! I'm yours, not just here, but even outside! Please, give it to me!"
They all knew that even if Yutu gave them the balls, there was still the final challenge with number six.
But at least they would have a chance!
Yutu shoved the fashionable woman away, kicked the older woman hugging his leg, and laughed loudly.
"Hehe, do you know? I don't have a mom! Hahahaha! And I hate women like you who are so promiscuous!"
The tattooed man finally realized something was wrong and screamed, "You lied to me! You lied to me!"
Then, the tattooed man immediately softened, pleading:
"Give Balls three or four! There's no benefit for you if I die!"
Yutu looked at the tattooed man and sneered:
"Hehe, remember? Earlier, you kicked me! Why did you kick me?"
The tattooed man seemed to recall something and immediately took off his pants, lying down on the table.
"I was wrong! Kick me to vent your anger! Kick me however you want! Just do it!"
Yutu looked at the tattooed man with no pants and the fashionable woman with no top, feeling an inexplicable sense of satisfaction!
Then, without hesitation, Yutu turned to glasses man number six and said,
"Six, I'll trade my three balls for zero of yours. Do you agree?"
The glasses man couldn't be bothered to look at anyone else. He laughed loudly and grabbed the balls from Yutu's hands: "I agree!"
Yutu gave one last glance at the three desperate people and shouted toward the ceiling:
"Ball exchange finished!"
"Ball exchange for number five is complete; number six begins exchange. Exchange time is ten minutes."
The fashionable woman and the older woman immediately rushed to the glasses man, begging him to save their lives.
They used the same lines they had used on Yutu earlier.
As for the tattooed man, he had no more chances left, lying hopelessly on the table without moving.
The glasses man was even more decisive than Yutu, not bothering to say a word to the fashionable woman or the older woman, not even looking at them. He turned to the ceiling and said,
"Ball exchange finished!"
A mechanical voice came from the ceiling: "Ball exchange complete! Final ball distribution: 3, 4, 0, 0, 2, 3; those holding 4 and 0 will die!"
Upon hearing the word "death," the tattooed man threw the glass ball at Yutu, letting out one final scream:
"I curse you..."
Before he could finish, the tattooed man's head exploded in an instant, red and white splattering all over the table.
Some of it even splashed onto Yutu's face.
Yutu reflexively dodged the glass ball thrown by the tattooed man, then stared blankly at the headless body of the tattooed man.
The tattooed man's death was something Yutu had orchestrated himself.
The impact of the tattooed man's head exploding was far more shocking than when the large man died!
The fashionable woman's and the older woman's heads exploded at the same time. Unlike Yutu, who was in a daze, the glasses man paid no mind to the blood on his legs, smiling at Yutu and giving him a thumbs-up.
The old man, leaning back in his chair, was gasping for breath, rubbing his chest with force.
"Newbie trial, game over!"
Yutu felt a flash of white light before everything—the iron shed, the table, the blackboard—disappeared, replaced by a screen resembling a game shop.
"Congratulations, you have successfully survived the game and earned 33 exchange coins."
"Congratulations, your performance has earned the gods' approval, and you have received the special god-level talent reward: God-given Time.
" Heavenly Talent: [God] God-given Time.
Talent Level: 1
Talent Effect: Each time you participate in a game, you can learn the game rules one minute in advance."
"You now have ten minutes of exchange time. After ten minutes, you will exit the game. Unused exchange coins can be redeemed after the next game ends!"
Yutu looked at the screen in front of him, where there were only two items available for exchange:
Ten Days of Life: 10 exchange coins
Ten Thousand Cash: 1 exchange coin
At the very bottom of the screen, there was a line of large text: More items are yet to be unlocked.
Without hesitation, Yutu exchanged for thirty days of life, then exchanged for thirty thousand cash, leaving not a single exchange coin behind.
"Exchange completed, exiting the game. Countdown: 3, 2, 1."
When the countdown ended, Yutu lost consciousness in an instant.
———
When Yutu woke up again, he found himself back in an ICU ward.
"Doctor, doctor, Bed 6 is awake!"
Both the doctor and the nurse were surprised by Yutu's awakening. To them, Yutu was supposed to have only a breath of life left.
"How miraculous. Your lung cancer hasn't been cured; it has just stopped spreading. However, your various indicators now show that you're almost like a normal person, as if the cancer cells can coexist with your body."
Yutu was transferred to a general ward. The previous ball game seemed like a dream, but the scenes in that dream felt so real.
Moreover, his body didn't lie—he no longer felt any pain or nausea.
Most importantly, Yutu's bank account balance had mysteriously increased by thirty thousand yuan.
Yutu was very clear about his bank balance. Since being diagnosed with lung cancer, his bank account had become his only lifeline.
His father had died in an accident years ago, and his mother abandoned him. His grandmother had held on to her health to fight his mother in court, securing part of his father's compensation.
It was this compensation that had become Yutu's lifeline now.
Yutu had just graduated from university, but before he could take care of his grandmother, her health gave way.
After struggling in the city for three years, working 20 hours a day, he ended up with terminal lung cancer.
In just three months, his father's compensation was exhausted.
His girlfriend, with whom he'd been in a relationship for two years and had planned to buy a house and marry, had only visited him once after he was hospitalized. After that, she cut off all contact.
She deleted him from her WeChat, blocked his phone number, and didn't even bother to send a breakup notice.
Yutu no longer knew the meaning of living, so the night before, he took off his hospital gown, changed into his own clothes, and was preparing to jump from the top floor.
Just as he was about to say his final goodbye to the world, he saw an ad. He clicked it absentmindedly, then passed out.
After that, he found himself in the so-called "God Cage."
"Is this a miracle brought by a dream, or is there really something like a 'God Cage'?"
As Yutu lay in the hospital bed, wondering, he suddenly felt a slight burning sensation on his chest.
Looking down, he saw a blood-red handprint on his left chest.
He didn't have any tattoos, so where did this handprint come from?
Yutu tried placing his right hand on the handprint, and the two seemed to match perfectly, aligning exactly!
At that moment, a mechanical voice suddenly echoed in his ears: "Would you like to immediately enter the God Cage game? To activate, please say, 'Enter now'."
Yutu was startled by the sudden voice and immediately withdrew his hand.
He quickly tore open his shirt and went to the bathroom mirror to get a closer look at the blood handprint.
However, in the mirror, there was no bloody handprint on him!
Looking down, the blood-red handprint on his left chest was still there.
The mirror was different!
Yutu checked with another patient in the room to confirm if there was anything on his chest.
However, he was met with the elderly woman's disdainful look, as though she were looking at a madman.
It seemed that the blood handprint was visible only to him.
So, this was all real!
Excited, Yutu sat on the hospital bed, his excitement building as he thought about the thrilling experiences in the God Cage.
Those few minutes were more exciting than the past twenty years of his life!
After all, he had nothing left to lose, and he was going to die anyway!
Surviving in the God Cage was a win, and dying wasn't a loss!
With only thirty days left to live, Yutu didn't hesitate. He immediately proceeded with his discharge procedures!
From now on, every extra day he lived would be a gain!