"Old Dog, you're quite clever."
A'mu's expression instantly darkened.
"Of course... I'm very clever at critical moments."
Old Lu forced a hideous smile.
"I do hope your teammates get to see this face of yours."
A'mu pulled four beads of 'Dao' from his clothes and scattered them on the ground as if feeding pigeons. Old Lu hurriedly got on the ground and picked up the 'Dao' bead by bead, then put them into his pocket.
"Heh heh... My teammates will understand me."
Old Lu patted the dust off his hands.
"I reminded them long ago that 'I'm very clever at critical moments.' It's not my fault they didn't expect me to betray them."
A'mu put on a smile that didn't reach his eyes and handed the locked box, along with the golden key, to Old Lu.
"Then I'll leave the rest to you." ...
In the 'Receiver' room on the other side. Qi Xia was sitting on a chair with his eyes closed, resting his mind.
"The Prisoner's Dilemma?" he muttered to himself.
"No, it should be the Law of the Bucket..."
"The weakest member of the team will determine the team's overall strength..."
Qi Xia's fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop as he timed things in his head.
"Just which 'plank' belongs to our bucket..."
"The 'Spies' from both sides should have met with the 'Sender' by now."
He kept his eyes closed, simulating the scene of their meeting in his mind as best he could.
"About ten minutes have passed, and our 'Spy' hasn't delivered the letter yet, which means Lin Qin's persuasion failed. After all, a woman in love has no reason to personally kill her own lover."
"As for the other side..."
Qi Xia opened his eyes and reached out to play with the silver key on the table.
"There's a high probability that Old Lu has already defected."
His expression gradually turned cold as he said, "From now on, the other side will have the help of two 'Spies' at the same time. Things are developing in the worst possible direction."
"The good news is that the 'Law of the Bucket' is officially null and void. There is no longer a weak link in our team."
A cold smile slowly appeared on Qi Xia's face.
"Next up is the 'MiG-25 Effect'."
Just then, a voice suddenly came from the doorway.
"When the former Soviet Union was building the MiG-25 fighter jet, even though all its parts were inferior to those from America, it could still become a world-class fighter by enhancing its overall performance. That's the 'MiG-25 Effect', right?"
Qi Xia turned his head to see the 'Spy', Jiang Ruoxue, standing just outside the door, looking at him expressionlessly. She was holding a box in her arms, and the box was locked.
"Do you think the 'MiG-25 Effect' is correct?"
Jiang Ruoxue asked.
"I'm not so sure," Qi Xia said, equally expressionless.
"I wasn't sure if my current 'parts' were any good, but the moment you appeared, all my doubts vanished."
"My appearance gave you an epiphany? Then you must truly be a once-in-a-century genius."
Jiang Ruoxue placed the box on the table in front of Qi Xia with a hint of mockery.
"Now, please use your 'MiG-25 Effect' to open this box."
Qi Xia carefully examined the box. A golden lock held it firmly shut. He tried the silver key in his hand, but it wouldn't open at all.
He picked up the box again and gave it a gentle shake, and as expected, he heard a rustling sound from within. There was a letter.
"What's your name?"
Qi Xia asked.
"Jiang Ruoxue."
"Jiang Ruoxue, did you happen to crush a key just now?"
Qi Xia asked.
"Do you think your teammate would give me the key?"
Jiang Ruoxue crossed her arms, as if watching a good show.
"For someone like you who thinks he's so clever, can't you open the box without a key?"
"She didn't give you the key? That's great."
The corner of Qi Xia's mouth lifted as he said to Jiang Ruoxue, "Did you hear that just now?"
"Hear? Hear what?"
"Footsteps," Qi Xia said.
"The soundproofing in this old hotel isn't great. Before you set out, you should have heard footsteps, right?"
"So what?"
Jiang Ruoxue pursed her lips.
"The only people who can move around in this whole building are me and that old man. It's not surprising to hear footsteps."
"Then why did he set out earlier than you?"
Qi Xia tapped the table, looking at Jiang Ruoxue with a profound gaze.
"Why did our 'Spy' set off at the first possible moment?"
"You..."
Jiang Ruoxue's expression faltered, as if she had thought of something.
"What do you think your chances of survival are in this game?"
Qi Xia tapped on the table incessantly, trying to break through her psychological defenses with his words.
"If your team cooperates with our 'Spy', do you still have a chance of winning?"
"I get it."
Jiang Ruoxue's eyes grew cold.
"You can't open the box, so you're turning your attention to me? Isn't that a bit too childish?"
Qi Xia nodded and said, "You saw right through me?"
"Don't even think about trying to sway me."
Jiang Ruoxue took a step back.
"I will absolutely never believe you."
Qi Xia stopped talking. Instead, he looked down at the fingers he was using to tap the table.
"It's about time..."
His expression turned cold as he muttered to himself, "Let me verify if the 'parts' are any good..." Before Jiang Ruoxue could understand what he meant, a clamor of shouts suddenly erupted from another corridor. It sounded like people were fighting.
It was just a bit too far away to make out the specifics.
"Very good. They're 'superior parts'."
Qi Xia's fingers stopped tapping the table. He slowly stood up and said, "Miss Jiang, if you had agreed to cooperate with us just now, the outcome would have been completely different. But now, there's no chance. you're just a 'spare part'."
"Heh, how interesting."
Jiang Ruoxue shook her head helplessly.
"Then I'd like to see how you're going to get the letter."
Qi Xia made no attempt to open the lock. Instead, he picked up his own silver lock and fastened it onto the box as well. Now, the box had two locks on it at the same time.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Jiang Ruoxue asked.
"Adding another lock, are you hoping for two negatives to make a positive?"
"I've lost my mind? That's a real possibility."
Qi Xia picked up the box and thrust it at Jiang Ruoxue.
"Excuse me, please help me return this to the 'Sender'."
"What?!"
Jiang Ruoxue was stunned. Return this box with two locks to the 'Sender'?
"So that's how it is..."
Her face paled in an instant as she immediately understood Qi Xia's plan.
"You... you wait a minute..."
Without waiting for her to finish, Qi Xia pushed her out of the room and locked the door. The moment Jiang Ruoxue stepped into the hallway, a countdown timer on the wall lit up.
Three minutes.
Her expression was complicated as she clutched the box. If I had known he was this kind of person, I should have pretended to agree just now... Out in the corridor, the sounds from the other hallway became clear and audible.
Jiang Ruoxue came to her senses and slowly leaned against the wall to listen. After a moment, her expression grew solemn. A'mu sounded furious.
He was yelling, "You old dog, you actually destroyed the key?" A friendly reminder: The website is about to be updated, which may result in the loss of reading progress. Please save your "Bookshelf" and "Reading History" in a timely manner (it is recommended to save them with a screenshot).
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