Survivorship Bias

Chapter 12: First come first served

An Wujiu’s temperament changed dramatically, like a bomb with its fuse lit.

But just as it was about to explode, it extinguished the sparks on its own.

All the prolonged patience and concessions weren’t for seeking a way out for oneself, but more like nurturing a dark sense of self-satisfaction and arrogance within Yang Ming, as if nurturing a group of hidden creatures. They grew like balloons, becoming larger and more buoyant.

At this moment, Yang Ming stood still, his face turning iron blue.

With his role as a “capitalist” and his reliable two generals, he had almost established a dominant position in this game. The other opponents were scattered, finding it difficult to form teams for duels, mostly just watching from the sidelines. But not them – the combined health bars of these three amounted to 14, making it a trivial matter to kill someone.

Originally, Yang Ming wanted to torment An Wujiu a bit, depleting two of his health bars, making him struggle with his last bit of health, living in scarcity, watching him win in the end, and then ending his life at the last moment.

Originally, everything was proceeding smoothly according to the plan. He thought An Wujiu had become a completely spiritless waste. As he saw his health bars disappearing one after another, Yang Ming’s excitement and satisfaction reached their peak.

But An Wujiu’s sudden turnaround caught him off guard.

Using the same methods against him, it was almost like holding a sharp knife and stabbing straight into Yang Ming’s heart.

Once the balloon exploded, his sanity scattered in all directions.

In the midst of this stalemate, among the crowd, the quiet Wu You was the first to step forward.

“I’m in, I need the money.”

He stood before An Wujiu without making eye contact, extending his index finger without hesitation to sign his name on the projected contract.

An Wujiu still sat cross-legged, hands supporting him from behind as he looked at the crowd, not asking anyone to make deals. “So now it’s just the kids, huh? Congratulations then. After this round, you’ll be taking all my money.”

He was brimming with confidence, his tone certain, as if everything would indeed unfold as he said.

Others also began to stir.

Lao Yu stepped forward, saying, “I wasn’t planning on challenging you to a duel in the first place, but signing may put your mind at ease.”

“Of course,” An Wujiu nodded, smiling as he watched him sign his French name, “Congratulations, your kindness allows you and Wu You to share these points.”

Zhong Yirou didn’t hesitate for too long. Although she was well aware that An Wujiu was a time bomb and there might be deceit involved, the more chaos, the better for her.

“Of course, anything related to making money definitely can’t go on without me.” She walked over in high heels.

Zhong Yirou signed her name like a female star and extended her hand toward the seated An Wujiu. An Wujiu shook her fingertip with a smile, then glanced at the remaining few.

Initially, Liu Chengwei, who had been helping Yang Ming, now seemed to have completely forgotten that he was the one who had injured An Wujiu to the point of not being able to stand. He approached with a smiling face, “Count me in too.”

Liu Chengwei wrote his name quickly, as if afraid of being rejected. He spoke lightly about the beating he had given An Wujiu, “You won’t take offense at what happened before, right? I can share some of my supplies with you. We can consider ourselves acquainted now, right?”

“Sure,” An Wujiu smiled, friendly and beautiful, “How could we not count that?”

Ueno, who had always gone with the flow, surprisingly held out until the last three amidst such great temptation.

His hands were tightly clenched together, his brow furrowed, showing clear struggle.

An Wujiu knew why.

“It’s time,” he stood up, adjusting the cloth strip wrapped around his wrist.

Ueno, who hadn’t acted until now, blurted out immediately, “You didn’t mention a time limit just now!”

“I’m that capricious kind of person,” An Wujiu raised an eyebrow, “So, are you going to sign or not?”

Ueno was struggling. He turned his head to look at Yang Ming, who remained silent. Liu Chengwei, who had betrayed first, coughed twice without fear, clearly hinting to Ueno.

“If you don’t join, that’s fine too. This way, the few of them will get a bigger share,” An Wujiu said.

In the end, Ueno walked towards An Wujiu and made the agreement.

Of course, he was enticed by the points. After all, it might be an amount he couldn’t earn even if he fought for his life. But his choice to sign was also due to his clear understanding that once the majority on the field reached an agreement with An Wujiu, it would mean he became part of the minority. Whether An Wujiu would resort to other means for cooperation later remained unknown, so it was better to be compliant now and leave some room for maneuver.

At the same time, hearing An Wujiu’s final words, he felt a trace of unwillingness. They could take this money, so why shouldn’t he?

From start to finish, Shen Ti had been staring at An Wujiu’s pretty face, inwardly marveling at this guy’s psychological tactics.

Being in the most disadvantaged position, the more confident and arrogant someone behaved, the easier it was to instill self-doubt in the minds of other competitors, making them believe that there was a real chance of a comeback.

Coupled with An Wujiu’s continuous psychological hints of “first come, first served” and “few people, more money,” along with his attitude of offering the option to withdraw promises at any time, under this kind of pressure, anyone could waver.

An Wujiu stood in place, lazily drawing out his words, “Anyone–else—here?”

“If not, let’s call it a day.”

“Here–” Shen Ti raised his left hand high, mimicking An Wujiu’s tone.

An Wujiu looked at him, his lips curling with a subtle curve, “Seeing you not coming out for so long, I thought you’d become addicted to fighting me?”

In the heat of the battle, he hadn’t paid attention, but now that he was looking closely, he noticed that Shen Ti’s earring on one side had two pieces, totaling four strings, swaying and colliding with each other.

At the upper edge of the earring was a thin golden hook that pierced through his earlobe, and the golden thread passed through three beads. Two smaller carved white beads clung to the ends of the thread, sandwiching the oval, translucent red coral in the middle.

The earring swayed with Shen Ti’s movements, exuding a sense of elegance and grace.

So, it was this thing that had been making noise back then.

Shen Ti tilted his head left and then right, “A bit addicted indeed… but I’m tired.” He swung his dislocated hand towards An Wujiu, as if flicking a piece of eraser, “It’s quite taxing on the body.”

Seeing him showcase his misdeeds, An Wujiu felt nothing, and he even felt a bit amused.

Shen Ti walked towards him with a smile, exerted a bit of force with his left hand, and simultaneously put his dislocated right hand back in place manually.

He halted his steps, extending his index finger covered in gloves, smilingly saying, “After a fight, you don’t cause trouble and even give money. You truly are a kind person.”

And just like that, the entire field was left with only Yang Ming.

Everyone, for various reasons, had chosen to trade, even those who had previously been in line with him. Only he stood alone on the opposite side.

For the sake of his pride and dignity, of course, he could choose not to sign. At the very least, he had two health bars, while An Wujiu only had the last one left. He could directly challenge An Wujiu, causing him to die, and it would be a real death.

No, this won’t work. Yang Ming furrowed his brow. If he really initiated a duel, what would An Wujiu do? He’d rather sacrifice the gains of this round to secure safety. He wouldn’t give up easily.

He would definitely try to persuade others to join his side, just like he was doing now. An Wujiu had won so many rounds, exchanging some points for cooperation wasn’t difficult at all.

Yang Ming deflated; he understood that such impulsiveness might very well end up causing him harm.

Seeing Yang Ming so torn, Wu You was the first to speak up, “If he doesn’t sign, let it be.”

An Wujiu glanced in his direction, paused for a few seconds, and then smiled at Yang Ming, “You can choose not to sign, but I believe you’ve already thought about the consequences of not signing.”

“How about this? Let’s be straightforward and discuss this openly. Let’s make this game clearer.”

An Wujiu walked towards him, along with the virtual contract in front of him, step by step, until he stood right in front of him.

“Here’s the deal.” An Wujiu leaned in close to his ear and whispered, “I won’t switch your red-black lines.”

Though Yang Ming tried to restrain himself, his eyes couldn’t hide his astonishment.

An Wujiu patted his shoulder, “They’re just not challenging me to duels. You’ll get one more benefit than others. Isn’t that a good deal?”

He stared at Yang Ming’s expression, and he probably already knew what was on his mind. It was just easier to sign and have other ways to kill him.

But his speculation about Yang Ming was absolutely accurate.

If Yang Ming wasn’t satisfied with his own red-black lines, he wouldn’t be this arrogant, feeling everything was in his control.

Given this alliance, his red line probably had something to do with Liu Chengwei and Ueno, and the black line was likely a character with high survival value. Coupled with his own survival value, only this way could he securely hold the balance of power and win the game without suspense.

If it was the case, he definitely wouldn’t want to switch lines.

Seemingly discussing, An Wujiu was actually indirectly threatening with luck.

Yang Ming stared at the string of names on the contract and moved his dangling finger.

He could never fully believe what An Wujiu said.

But now, it might be better to sign the contract, deceive him into letting his guard down, and use curses and supplies to kill him just as well.

In the end, everyone signed the contract and made a deal with An Wujiu.

As they left the duel threshold, An Wujiu walked last. As if they had silently agreed, everyone dispersed, not walking together with anyone.

An Wujiu’s abrupt change in temperament had made their already precarious public trust even more fragile, shattered with a single blow.

He noticed that Wu You’s steps were slow too, walking ahead of him. Wu You’s gait seemed unnatural, a bit nervous.

“Are you waiting for me?” An Wujiu brushed past him, standing to his right, his left arm draped over Wu You’s shoulder. Although Wu You was somewhat prepared, he still shivered in surprise.

“No, not at all.”

“Oh. My mistake then,” An Wujiu’s smiling expression was either innocent, making people momentarily believe he was the same person from before, or like a madman. Now it was clearly the former, giving Wu You a slight illusion of luck, wondering if he might be someone trustworthy as well.

“Hey, kid,” An Wujiu’s casual remark interrupted Wu You’s reverie.

Wu You turned his head slightly, looking up, gazing at the relaxed expression on the guy’s face beside him. Unlike him, An Wujiu faced forward directly, his tone certain.

“Your cursed target is Yang Ming, right?”