More than forty minutes had passed before Bawang finally came out of the bathroom looking all satisfied.
The bathroom door opened outward, and the rat leaning on the door stumbled back.
"Damn, and they say you're a rat—you really do act like one!"
Faced with Bawang's mocking face, the Rat was unfazed: "A rat like me naturally can't compare to you. I can only follow behind, right?"
Before Bawang could respond, a seductive voice called out from the bathroom, "Rat gege~~ won't you let me rest a bit?!"
The Rat rubbed his hands together, wearing a pervy grin: "Hehehe, time is tight and the mission is heavy!"
With that, he charged into the bathroom and shut the door behind him.
Bawang gave the bathroom a cold glance, snorted, then shot a look at Yu Tu before entering the last remaining empty room.
Staring at the now-closed bathroom door, Yu Tu furrowed his brows—something wasn't right!
Forget Bawang; he at least had the looks for it.
But the Rat…
Even if Bunny Ears was pretty loose, it didn't make sense for her to so willingly accept him, right?
Before he could think more, Xingchen and King Kong came out from one of the rooms.
King Kong, like Bawang, shot Yu Tu a cold glance before entering Bawang's room.
Xingchen, however, sat down next to Yu Tu with a cheerful smile.
"What's up? You want to go in too?"
Yu Tu knew this was yet another person trying to deceive him—he just didn't know what this guy's angle was yet.
He scratched his head and gave a sheepish smile: "Hehe, never seen anything like this before."
"It's nothing. Once you've played the game more, you'll get used to it. In this game, we fight between life and death. Lots of things become easy to let go."
"Sigh, who knows how many more games I'll survive! But whatever, every game I pass means one more day alive—that's a win in my book."
Xingchen patted Yu Tu on the shoulder. "Tie Zhu, how about we go in and have a chat?"
"Sure!"
Yu Tu followed Xingchen, giving one last glance at the wall of rules before re-entering the room where someone had died.
Xingchen pulled over a chair, carefully wiping the bloodstains off before sitting down.
Yu Tu didn't care at all—he sat on a chair covered in bloodstains and casually wiped off the dried black blood on the backrest.
"Brother Tie Zhu, you're a real laid-back guy. You've got potential. I'm sure you'll go far in this Divine Cage space."
Yu Tu rubbed his hands together: "I don't know much, just trying to follow the pros."
Xingchen adjusted his sleeves: "I won't beat around the bush. You've seen the rules of this game—classic Prisoner's Dilemma. I don't need to explain it, right?"
Yu Tu nodded: "I've gone over the Prisoner's Dilemma before. For both players, no matter what the other side chooses, picking 'Fight' is always the better option."
"This is your second game, so you might not know this. The controller of the Divine Cage space would never set a rule that guarantees death. So every rule has a loophole."
Yu Tu was intrigued: "Oh? You're amazing, I've thought about it a lot and still couldn't figure out how to break this rule."
"The solution is simple—just one thing needed. Something that makes both players too afraid to break their promises."
"Something that makes both sides afraid to break a promise? That kind of thing exists?"
Xingchen nodded and pulled out a small black box from his chest. He unfolded the box into a wooden board about the size of an A4 sheet.
"This thing is a contract tool you can exchange for with tokens in the Divine Cage shop. We use this to make a pact, and then we can't break the terms—or it counts as violating the Divine Cage rules."
"A tool?"
"Yep, a tool. Maybe your level is still too low, so you haven't seen the item exchange interface yet. Like King Kong's big sword and Bawang's iron chain—those are all tools they redeemed."
"How do you use it?"
Xingchen used his finger like a pen and wrote on the wooden board. His pale finger left behind streaks of blood-red script.
[In the upcoming 'Fight or Ally' game, both parties promise to always choose 'Ally.' Breaking this agreement will be punished with execution by the Divine Cage!]
After writing those simple lines, Xingchen pressed his thumb on a blank part of the board and pointed at another spot for Yu Tu to do the same.
Yu Tu hesitated slightly—who knew if this thing only bound him?
But eventually, he still placed his thumb on the board. Worst case, he just wouldn't play with Xingchen in the next game.
Just as Yu Tu's thumb touched the board, a mechanical voice sounded in his ear: "Agreement confirmed. Signatories: Star-Filled Sky, Tie Zhu. In this game, both must abide by the contract. Violators will be immediately executed!"
Xingchen nodded after hearing that and put the box away. "Haha, Brother Tie Zhu, Star-Filled Sky is my full name! With this contract in place, we're solid. Though really, I got the better deal!"
Yu Tu looked puzzled: "Why's that?"
Xingchen looked a bit surprised: "You don't know? You've got a 'Free Win' title. Anyone who helps you win gets bonus rewards."
"The Rat gege mentioned that rule to me earlier!"
When the Rat came up, Xingchen looked annoyed: "Tch, that filthy rat. Just look at his sleazy face—he's clearly bad news! Unlike us, you and he don't have a contract. You'd better watch out."
Yu Tu smiled: "Of course. A written agreement's way more reliable than just talking. Oh right, Xingchen da-ge, did you know them before this? You all seem really familiar."
Xingchen shook his head: "Nope. First time meeting. But once you've been in enough games, you'll see—it doesn't matter if you know someone or not. You can tell what kind of person they are just by their name or how they dress."
"I thought everyone was getting along so well because you already knew each other."
"Please. If this game allowed us to kill each other, King Kong and Bawang would've torn us apart already. No such thing as getting along."
"But if killing were allowed, wouldn't someone like Bunny Ears be in serious trouble?"
Speaking of Bunny Ears, Xingchen grinned lewdly: "That's not necessarily bad. Maybe she'd enjoy it…"
The two of them chatted like old friends, going on and on. After a while, they finally left the room.
Outside, the Rat was already sitting on the couch, looking like he'd been waiting a while.
Xingchen sneered: "Yo, Rat, that quick?"
The Rat chuckled: "That chick was wild!"
"And where is she now? Where'd she go?"
The Rat grinned wickedly and pointed at King Kong and Bawang's room.
"Damn, seriously? Three people? Two muscleheads?"
"No, Bawang went to another room."
"Still badass! You guys carry on—I'm going to chat with Bawang!" With that, Xingchen headed toward Bawang's room.
The Rat's eyes darted around: "You chill here for a bit, I'm gonna go talk to the Origami girl."
Yu Tu smirked inwardly. Looking at the three rooms, it was obvious—Bunny Ears, Xingchen, and the Rat were each using their own methods to strike deals with others.
He knew Xingchen's method already. But what about the other two?
The Rat's convince-by-creep method?
Bunny Ears' seduce-and-conquer method?
Neither seemed all that reliable.
And then there was Origami… what was her strategy?
Yu Tu walked over to the wall covered in rules. Running his fingers across it, he realized the red letters were actually written in blood.
Moans from Bunny Ears echoed from King Kong's room. Besides Xingchen and himself, Bunny Ears had already "experienced" all the other men.
Logically, she'd be coming for him next.
Yu Tu was filled with anticipation. He stuck his index finger in his mouth and bit down hard…
That dumbass move? He regretted it immediately.
Damn it, why didn't I just go into the room and grab some of that black blood?
How could I be so f**king stupid?
Mentioning Rat, Xingchen looked utterly disdainful. "Tch, that damn rat. Just look at his face—creepy as hell. No way he's a good guy! You and him don't have an agreement like you and I do. You better be careful around him."
Yu Tu smiled faintly. "Of course, a written agreement is definitely more reliable than verbal promises. Oh right, Xingchen, did you two know each other before? You seem pretty familiar."
Xingchen shook his head. "Never met. First time. But once you've played in enough games, you'll know—it doesn't matter if you know someone or not! Just by looking at their name and their outfit, you can figure out what kind of person they are."
"I thought everyone seemed friendly. Figured you all knew each other."
"Tch, if this were one of those games where killing's allowed, King Kong and Overlord would've torn us to shreds already. Friendly my ass."
"But if killing was allowed, wouldn't someone like Bunny Ears be in real trouble?"
Speaking of Bunny Ears, Xingchen smirked lewdly. "Not necessarily. Who knows, maybe she'd be enjoying it…"
The two chatted like old friends, talking about everything and nothing. After quite a while, they finally left the room.
Outside, Rat had apparently been sitting on the sofa for a while already.
Xingchen sneered, "Yo, Rat. That quick?"
Rat chuckled slyly, "That chick is something else!"
"Where'd she go then? Already off again?"
Rat grinned wickedly and pointed toward King Kong and Overlord's room.
"Holy shit, for real? A threesome? With two muscleheads?"
"Nah, Overlord went to another room."
"Still badass! You two carry on—I'm gonna go have a word with Overlord!" With that, Xingchen walked off toward the room Overlord was in.
Rat's eyes darted around. "You chill here for a bit. I'm gonna go chat with Origami Girl."
Yu Tu sneered internally, glancing at the three rooms. Clearly, the more active ones—Bunny Ears, Xingchen, and Rat—were all making their own deals with the others in their own ways.
He already understood Xingchen's approach. But what about the other two?
Rat's talking tactic?
Bunny Ears' sleeping tactic?
Didn't seem all that effective, honestly.
Then there was Origami. What was her strategy?
Yu Tu walked up to the rule-covered wall, dragging his finger across the surface. The red writing was, shockingly, real blood.
From King Kong's room, Bunny Ears' moans echoed out. Aside from Xingchen and himself, she had already "experienced" every other man.
Logically speaking, she'd be coming to him next.
Yu Tu was filled with anticipation, placing his index finger in his mouth and biting down hard...
He regretted that dumbass move instantly.
Damn it, wouldn't it have been smarter to just go into a room and dab on some black blood?
Why the hell was I so stupid back then?