The Blue-Haired Gambler

Before she could think further, a single sentence disrupted Xiang Qi’s train of thought.

“Alright, everyone still standing here has played at least three rounds, haven’t they?” A blue-haired young man drew everyone’s attention. “No need for further pleasantries. How about we all introduce ourselves?”

The atmosphere grew awkward. Not a single person acknowledged him.

Xiang Qi, still trying to make sense of the situation, decided to remain silent, adhering to the principle that ‘loose lips sink ships.’

Yet, she clearly sensed the unusual atmosphere, which only strengthened her resolve to stay quiet.

Two women and three men—this was the current configuration of those still standing.

“Don’t be like that. The rules for this round don’t necessarily dictate mutual opposition.” The blue-haired young man, having met with a soft rebuff, chuckled awkwardly, seemingly oblivious to the prevailing mood.

“Perhaps we could even be teammates. There’s no harm in getting to know each other beforehand.”

‘Mutual opposition?’ Xiang Qi’s eyes sharpened as she keenly extracted this keyword from the young man’s words.

‘Not necessarily mutual opposition’ implied that mutual opposition was still a possibility, didn’t it? Although she didn’t understand the exact mechanisms, logically, wouldn’t revealing one’s information in such a situation simply invite others to target them?

No, it was also possible he was intentionally leaking false information. Regardless, doing so would increase others’ scrutiny of him, which wasn’t necessarily a good or bad thing.

Xiang Qi mused, needing more information to make a judgment. However, the blue-haired man had certainly raised her guard.

Judging by their behavior and expressions, these few individuals were all wary of each other. For this blue-haired man to suddenly step forward and initiate conversation indicated either immense self-confidence in his abilities or sheer recklessness.

One must be prepared to face the consequences of disrupting the balance.

This world, however, was never so simple; those who underestimated others generally didn’t last long.

Therefore, Xiang Qi preferred to believe this person possessed genuine capability, raising her vigilance against him rather than suffering a critical misstep due to underestimation.

Ultimately, the lack of information gave Xiang Qi a headache. She was completely ignorant of this game’s mechanics, forced to rely on subjective speculation, which inevitably led to various errors and omissions.

This could prove fatal.

‘Someone, anyone, please leak some information to me. Anything at all.’

As if her prayer had been answered, someone indeed lost their composure.

“You say we might be teammates, and that makes us teammates?” A middle-aged man extinguished the cigarette in his hand, glaring at the blue-haired young man with ill intent. “What if we’re in opposing factions? If something happens and people die, will you take responsibility?”

‘A cigarette?’ Xiang Qi was startled. Only then did she realize that all the strange trinkets she‘d been carrying had vanished. Aside from the clothes she wore, she hadn’t brought anything else into this place.

So, where did that uncle’s cigarette come from? Xiang Qi observed the situation while simultaneously pondering this.

Multitasking was not difficult for her; she could even manage three tasks at once. Her observational skills would diminish slightly, but in these uncertain circumstances, it wasn’t a significant issue.

Naturally, Xiang Qi missed the subtle curve of the blue-haired young man’s lips.

Yes, this fellow was fishing, and aggressively so.

As an experienced player, the blue-haired young man easily made a preliminary assessment of the people before him. While he couldn’t pinpoint the masters, he certainly had some thoughts about the obvious rookies.

‘With all due respect, there isn’t a single competent player in this low-tier match.’

This was his thought. His arrogance, though blatant, was indeed backed by a certain level of skill that allowed him to play this way.

He had identified at least two complete novices among these so-called ‘veterans,’ and through his fishing, he had just ‘blown up’ another.

With five players and four accounted for, only the woman who had been watching the show from the sidelines posed a slight threat.

Adding in the pure newcomers on the ground, the blue-haired young man felt he had a significant chance of winning, regardless of the game mode.

‘Why? Let me analyze it for you.’

For seasoned veterans who had spent considerable time in the game, they clearly understood that the preparation phase was absolutely safe. During this time, no one could harm another, so there was no need to be overly cautious.

This period was for exploration. Before the rules were revealed, nothing was excessive. Many even began forming groups, deliberately releasing a barrage of smoke bombs, a mix of truth and falsehood, making it impossible to discern the real situation.

Thus, the two individuals who were cautious to their very core could be directly eliminated from consideration.

Only newcomers would be so naive, suspicious of everything. Of course, it wasn’t impossible for someone to be naturally paranoid, but such individuals, after being battered by the game, would gradually become more reserved, at least on the surface, so others wouldn’t notice.

Being labeled as cunning was not a pleasant thing; it easily led to being targeted by everyone else.

The seemingly beautiful girl had made precisely this mistake.

Yes, he was referring to Xiang Qi.