Team One, Chi Wei’s team, and Team Two, led by King of Hearts, reached an agreement to cooperate.
Chi Wei’s plan was for the two teams to take turns making a “Prediction” against Silver-Masked Woman’s Team Three.
“Even if a ‘Prediction’ fails, the other team will still have the right to act, and the prize money will keep accumulating. Reaching the final goal of 12.5 million will just be a matter of time.”
Chi Wei meant that Team One would take the lead. The next time it entered the Lottery Room, starting with its first visit, it would “Predict” that Team Three would choose “Betray.”
That meant there was a very good chance Team One would fail its Prediction the second time it entered the Lottery Room, and would be punished by losing its voting rights and Prediction Right for that turn.
At that point, Team Two would make a “Prediction” against Team Three on its second visit to the Lottery Room.
It would also predict that Team Three would choose “Betray.”
“On odd-numbered visits to the Lottery Room, Team One will handle the ‘Predictions.’ On even-numbered visits, Team Two will ‘Predict’ against Team Three,” Chi Wei explained. “That way, we’ll always have Team Three under surveillance. They’ll have only two paths left.”
“First, they can accept ‘Cooperate’ and keep cooperating for all twelve rounds. The prize money will reach 12.5 million, and the average payout for our three teams will be over four million each.”
“The second path is that if Team Three still chooses ‘Betray,’ their share of the prize money will go to one of our two teams.”
“Senior, suppose Team One wins the prize money through a ‘Prediction.’ In Round Three, we’ll tell you how many times they chose ‘Betray,’ and your team can ‘Predict’ in advance and take the prize for yourselves. That work for you?”
Under Chi Wei’s plan, as long as Teams One and Two cooperated, the prize money they received individually would be guaranteed to exceed a third of the total prize for Round Two.
Most likely, the prize would be split three ways at 12.5 million. Hearts Girl thought that meeting the conditions for safe passage first sounded like a good, cautious choice.
Hearts Girl replied, “All right. If we win the ‘Prediction’ prize, we’ll do the same for you in Round Three. Let’s work well together.”
They shook hands and reached an agreement that would benefit them both.
If they kept making seamless Predictions against Team Three, Team Three would have no chance to “Betray” them again. Any plan to pocket the whole prize would be impossible.
The only downside was that the penalty period would limit the daily prize increase to no more than two million.
That wasn’t a big deal. It didn’t matter if the game took a little longer. If victory was only a matter of time, patience was the key to winning in the end.
After Chi Wei reached an agreement with Hearts Girl at the bar, she returned to the hotel elevator and happened to run into Silver-Masked Woman.
She gave the other woman a very friendly “Hi,” but all she got in return was a frosty stare.
They didn’t even manage to exchange a word. The elevator felt cold and empty.
Cold as ever, Chi Wei thought. Keep hiding. Let’s see how long you can keep it up. I’ll see your true face sooner or later.
“Bye.” When the elevator stopped, Chi Wei hurried out first, deliberately giving her the cold shoulder.
The game began on the second day, and it seemed as though everyone had forgotten the previous day’s grievances overnight. The cruise ship was peaceful once more.
By the end of the day, all three teams had chosen “Cooperate,” and the Lottery Pool had grown from 500,000 to 3.5 million.
On the third day, the Lottery Pool eventually reached 5.5 million.
After Team Three left the Lottery Room at six that evening, Silver-Masked Woman returned to her room.
There was a quiet quality about her. She disappeared into the crowd, and no one spoke to her.
Aside from Chi Wei, Ink in Water, and Hearts Girl, it seemed that none of the other players paid her any attention.
Once Team Three had left, Ink in Water and Hearts Girl shook hands outside the Lottery Room and said to each other, “Let’s work well together.”
Then, as Ink in Water walked alone with Chi Wei toward the second-floor lounge, she asked, “Do you think this method will make the game easier?”
“Not enough,” Chi Wei answered honestly.
Ink in Water nodded. “What else are you thinking? As long as it benefits everyone, I’ll support you.”
Chi Wei thought for a moment, then asked, “Have you noticed that this game is a little like majority rule?”
Ink in Water considered it briefly. “I understand. Do you need help?”
Chi Wei smiled and took two slips of paper with players’ names written on them from her pocket. “Thanks. These two will do.”
“So you’d already planned ahead. All right. No problem.”
……
That evening, in the bar area—
Silver-Masked Woman and Hearts Girl sat at the same bar.
Four stools separated them. Hearts Girl was enjoying her drink alone, while Silver-Masked Woman sat nearby, unmoved.
They hadn’t exchanged a word.
But Silver-Masked Woman did nothing. There wasn’t even a drink in front of her. She just sat there, oddly enough, waiting for something.
Why come to a bar if you weren’t going to drink?
Hearts Girl thought she looked like a statue someone had hauled in. It was a little irritating, and every so often she glanced at her out of the corner of her eye.
“If you have something to say, why not just say it?” Hearts Girl muttered with a scornful laugh.
Only then did Silver-Masked Woman turn to look at her.
Silver-Masked Woman’s cold laugh came closer along with her.
“I’ve been waiting a long time, King of Hearts. Your greed is starting to stir. Now it’s coming out.”
Hearts Girl tightened her grip on her glass and frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“Am I wrong? You’ve already teamed up with Team One and found a way to guarantee victory. Why would you have any reason to entertain me… unless you know that playing both sides is the way to find more room for profit? That’s why you’re waiting for me—or perhaps hoping I’ll speak first.” Silver-Masked Woman laughed softly, as though she understood everything. “I was only waiting for you. Waiting until you needed me, then coming over at the right time.”
And that time had come.
A hairline crack had opened in the wall of her desire. Her resolve was beginning to waver.
Hearts Girl mocked her. “I was only curious about what you were doing here. That’s all. You’re reading a lot into it. You have an awfully high opinion of your own insight.”
But Silver-Masked Woman thought she was only being stubborn.
“Desire is always in flux. If I sit here for a moment, alone with you, you’ll keep wondering whether working with me again could bring you more. After all, there’s no one else here. Only the two of us would know what passed between us. That thought will keep tearing at you until it draws out the desire you’ve buried. Because you’re a thinking creature. I mean that as a compliment.”
She paused, then gave Hearts Girl a compliment that seemed to come from nowhere.
“Now you’ve offered me this friendly hand. I’m only accepting your invitation.” Silver-Masked Woman smiled.
“After all, you know the rewards from working with just one team aren’t that great.”
Hearts Girl stared at her. Her clear eyes had grown wary.
“What cooperation are you talking about?” she asked, playing dumb. She wasn’t sure whether Silver-Masked Woman was bluffing.
The woman was observant, no doubt about it.
Too observant to trust.
As those eyes fixed on her, Hearts Girl suddenly felt like a silver snake had her in its sights. The air in the bar turned still and cold.
“Of course. The cooperation that someone thinks is flawless, when in reality it’s full of holes.”
Silver-Masked Woman spoke slowly.
“Ever since Round Two began yesterday, all the players from Teams One and Two have been unusually calm. Almost as if they already knew how things would turn out. That can only mean one thing: you arranged something in advance, and you’re fairly satisfied with the result you expected.”
“And today’s increase of two million told me what your arrangement was.”
Silver-Masked Woman stated her conclusion with certainty. “Today, someone from Team One lost their voting rights because their Prediction against Team Three failed.”
“So you’re taking turns making Predictions against Team Three, thinking that will keep Team Three in the palm of your hand. Am I right?”
The answer was simple, obvious, and easy to figure out.
Hearts Girl watched her and took another sip of her drink.
“So?”
Chi Wei had expected Silver-Masked Woman to figure out what Teams One and Two were doing.
The night Hearts Girl agreed to work with her, Chi Wei had already said—
The moment Team Three figures out what Teams One and Two are doing is when the plan really succeeds.
“Because the point of cooperation is for everyone to win,” Chi Wei had said then.
For everyone to win?
Yes. Once Team Three knew there was nowhere left to run and no chance to “Betray” anyone, it would naturally give up on “Betray” and choose “Cooperate” like everyone else. That was how they would all win.
So the plan had always included letting Team Three see the cards.
But when Hearts Girl asked, Silver-Masked Woman gave a knowing smile.
“When Team One ‘Predicts’ us, that’s your chance to ‘Betray’ them.”
Hearts Girl froze.
Right. Even though Team Three could no longer “Betray” anyone, there were plenty of chances for Teams One and Two to “Betray” each other.
With one sentence, Silver-Masked Woman had pointed out the blind spot. Somewhere inside Hearts Girl, an unseen bridge quietly gave way.
“You…” Hearts Girl frowned at the way Silver-Masked Woman was trying to sow discord.
“Shh.” Silver-Masked Woman suddenly hushed her.
From somewhere in the distance came the faint rumble of plastic wheels rolling over the floor.
The sound grew closer and louder, accompanied by the gradually clearer tune of a children’s song:
“I’m smart and brave and strong. I’m so jealous of myself…”
Chi Wei drove a little pedal car toward them, turning its tiny steering wheel. The car’s flashing lights and music filled the bar.
Her long legs were folded up in the little car. She wore a half-face black cat mask, but the smile on the lower half of her face was pure delight. She looked completely at ease.
Chi Wei drove past the bar and lifted a hand to greet Hearts Girl and Silver-Masked Woman.
“Hi, good evening, you two.”
“Round head, round body, round belly—inside is the meaning of life…”
The toy car’s music continued, circling around them in three dimensions.
Whatever Hearts Girl had been about to say to Silver-Masked Woman caught in her throat.
Chi Wei smiled at them as she drove back and forth through the bar, one hand on the tiny steering wheel.
Silver-Masked Woman gave a cold laugh and ignored her. She turned to Hearts Girl.
“How about a game?”
