(NT: Idiom used to describe an action that inadvertently alerts an opponent or enemy, causing them to become cautious)

 

Mu Ba said with a cold expression, "How did you guess it was me? "

 

Xing Ye looked at Yan Hebi and said, "No need to be so frustrated. Didn’t you agree to meet them at 3 PM? Going this early won’t help. Why not come with me to deal with the traitor instead?"

"Huh?" Yan Hebi exclaimed in surprise. "You already know who it is?"

Xing Ye replied, "I don’t know, but we’ll find out by trying."

With that, he took Yan Hebi to the casino. It was 10 AM, and the casino wasn’t very crowded yet. However, Shao Lin was already there, eating ice cream.

"Eating sweets this early?" Xing Ye didn’t avoid Shao Lin but spoke to him directly.

Shao Lin said, "I think the best part of this game world is that you can eat sweets without worrying about your health. With only seven days, of course, I’m going to indulge."

"Fair point," Xing Ye said, looking at Shao Lin. "How did you eliminate Liu Yi?"

Shao Lin replied, "How would I know? After losing to me, Liu Yi avoided dueling me altogether. He couldn’t have challenged me, right?"

He leaned closer to Xing Ye and whispered, "Maybe there’s a traitor in your team who’s willing to betray their teammates for money. Isn’t that what you’re thinking too? Who do you think the traitor is? Yan Hebi and Ning Xinyao seem pretty close. Maybe it’s him."

Xing Ye said, "Thanks for helping me eliminate one option."

Shao Lin’s smile stiffened slightly. "I didn’t expect you to trust Yan Hebi so much. If it were me, after discovering a traitor in the team, I’d probably suspect him first. After all, he’s the most likely to have contact with our team, isn’t he?"

Yan Hebi, who was standing behind Xing Ye, panicked and said, "It’s not me! I didn’t do it! Don’t make baseless accusations!"

He was genuinely afraid that Xing Ye would suspect him, worried that Shao Lin’s provocation might succeed.

Xing Ye patted Yan Hebi on the shoulder and turned to Shao Lin. "If you want me to suspect Yan Hebi, then provide evidence."

Hearing the word "evidence," Shao Lin smiled slightly and was about to speak when Xing Ye added, "I don’t need the evidence you’ve prepared. It’s probably something designed to leave no room for defence. Just tell me how I won against Lin Si yesterday. Can you explain that?"

Xing Ye had never hidden his methods from his teammates. After returning yesterday, he had told Yan Hebi how he had made Lin Si act foolishly. Yan Hebi, who had known Xing Ye since the mixed-world game, was aware of his  Repainting Brush skill, which allowed him to copy QR codes. This was Xing Ye’s biggest advantage in the casino world. If Yan Hebi were to betray Xing Ye, the first thing he would have told Shao Lin about was this skill.

"Can’t explain it, can you?" Xing Ye said, seeing Shao Lin freeze. "There’s an even easier way to prove yourself. Why do you think I’d be fooled by such a clumsy argument?"

Hearing this, Yan Hebi quickly handed his phone to Xing Ye and said, "This is the points breakdown I received this morning. It matches what I told you yesterday. If I had dueled Liu Yi, the points would have changed."

Xing Ye took the phone, glanced at Shao Lin, and said, "See? Proving yourself is such a simple thing."

With that, he ignored Shao Lin and took Yan Hebi to find their teammates, Song Er and Mu Ba. Since the casino was still relatively empty, Xing Ye didn’t avoid others and directly addressed the two: "I’m your teammate, Xing Ye. Although we haven’t interacted much, you should know me. Let’s skip the formalities. Liu Yi was eliminated yesterday, and the only method I can think of is that he was caught cheating. But he only duelled the two of you, so the one who betrayed him must be either one or both of you. Do you have anything to say to me?"

Song Er and Mu Ba were completely caught off guard by Xing Ye’s directness. Shouldn’t uncovering a traitor involve some undercover investigation first, confirming suspicions before taking action? And why accuse two people at once? Wasn’t Xing Ye worried about hurting the other person’s feelings and damaging team unity?

Xing Ye immediately understood their thoughts and said, "Liu Yi was eliminated on the first day. Now our team only has four people. If there’s a traitor, it’s a 3v5 situation. And today’s three duels haven’t started yet. The traitor might use this opportunity to eliminate another teammate, making it 2v5. At that point, the game would be unwinnable. So, I don’t have the luxury of time to investigate slowly. I need to settle this now. If I can’t determine who it is, I’ll treat both of you as traitors equally."

Mu Ba immediately retorted, "Why suspect us? Don’t the two of you have any doubt? We were just as shocked to see Liu Yi eliminated this morning! Right now, I suspect all three of you! I’m not daring to duel any of you three in today’s matches!"

Song Er, on the other hand, said, "It really wasn’t me. I went to rest after 12 AM last night. You can check the surveillance; I was in my room the whole time and didn’t interact with anyone."

Xing Ye smiled at Song Er. "No need to check. I don’t need such complicated methods. Both of you just need to duel me."

With that, he took out a duel card and placed it in front of Mu Ba. "I’ll only duel the two of you once today. After this, I won’t accept your duel cards again. If I’m wrong, I’ll apologize to you."

Xing Ye used the duel card, and Mu Ba couldn’t refuse. Soon, a dealer arrived and took the two to the duel room.

Mu Ba angrily said, "We’re teammates. Why are you treating me like this?"

Xing Ye calmly replied, "We’re competing fairly. You could win against me too. Why do you act like I’ve wronged you? If you want to prove your innocence, show me your points breakdown from this morning."

Mu Ba stubbornly said, "Why should I show you just because you asked?"

"Then let’s duel," Xing Ye said to Mu Ba. "You’re a Fate-defying Player, and I’m a  following Fate Player. Since I initiated the duel, the challenged has the right to choose the duel content. Pick one."

Mu Ba’s expression darkened. "You’re a following Fate Forward Fate Player?"

"Of course," Xing Ye said. "Otherwise, how could I have won 2,948 passenger chips in the casino? Speaking of which, after this morning’s settlement, the Green Team had over 1,000 passenger chips besides the nearly 3,000 I won. Who won those? Both you and Song Er are Fate-defying Players. You weren’t even in the casino before 12 AM. Where did those passenger chips come from?"

Mu Ba didn’t answer. He simply told the dealer that he wanted to play poker, comparing card values. The one with the higher card would win, best of three.

Outside the room, Yan Hebi and Song Er exchanged glances. They both noticed something was off. A Fate-defying Player challenging a following Fate Player in a luck-based game? Was Mu Ba trying to lose faster?

Yan Hebi knew that Xing Ye was actually a Fate-defying Player. Two Fate-defying Players competing in a luck-based game was like two amateurs fighting. But Mu Ba didn’t know that.

It seemed Mu Ba had no intention of winning and was planning to lose from the start!

Before the match, Xing Ye directly placed 500 passenger chips on the table. "I’m betting 500 passenger chips. You can bet 50 player chips or 500 passenger chips."

Mu Ba’s expression changed. He whispered something to the dealer, and soon, the dealer brought in a box. Mu Ba took out 500 passenger chips from it and said with a grim face, "I’ll also bet 500 passenger chips."

Xing Ye said, "It seems you’ve decided to stop pretending. After all, player chips are the most important. In this situation, risking 50 player chips is too much. No one would dare to bet 50,000 points. So, you could only use passenger chips, right?"

Mu Ba said coldly, "How did you guess it was me?"

Xing Ye replied, "When I suspected you and Song Er, you were the first to stir the pot, saying all four of us could be traitors. When someone is suspected, their first instinct is to clarify their innocence. But a real traitor would try to shift suspicion onto others.

"Of course, this doesn’t mean I was certain it was you. Betting 500 passenger chips was just a test. If you had actually used player chips, I wouldn’t have wanted to win my teammate’s points. I would have lost the passenger chips to you. Unfortunately, you didn’t dare to use your own points to gain my trust."

 

Translator : DarNan