Although it was only 2 PM on the seventh day, and there were still several hours until 9 PM on the final day, Xing Ye’s victory was already set in stone.

With 300,000 chips from passengers — such an enormous fortune in his hands — even if the system wanted to resort to some crooked tactics, there was nothing it could do.

Yan Hebi, who had assisted in Xing Ye’s strategic planning, played a significant role, whether it was using a ruse to severely defeat Shao Lin, or winning a huge sum in the external betting field.

Yet even now, he still felt as if he were dreaming. He couldn’t believe Xing Ye had actually managed to win so many chips from the casino.

"It’s okay," Xing Ye said, "they’re just numbers."

“They’re not just that!” Yan Hebi said excitedly. “If you convert the chips in your hand into money, that’s three billion! No, that’s not even counting the 9,000+ chips you previously won from other passengers, plus your own — it adds up to over 3.1 billion! Even just the spare change is more than most people can imagine earning in a lifetime!”

Xing Ye said, “I actually think this money can’t be exchanged.”

“Why not?” Yan Hebi asked, confused.

Even someone like Xing Ye couldn’t help but be tempted by 3.1 billion — he simply had stronger resistance to money than most people; it wasn’t that he didn’t love money.

But this little bit of calmness was enough for him to think clearly: if he really cashed out 3 billion, where would the system get the money?

“Wool comes from the sheep’s back. This is a zero-sum game. The system has its own rules; it won’t violate the laws of real-world economics,” Xing Ye said. “So if I withdraw this money, it means the system will have to frantically extract cash from other players to cover my bill. Do you know what will happen then?”

Yan Hebi shook his head blankly.

Xing Ye continued, “The difficulty of the free-for-all world will drop, points earned will increase, and a flood of players will rush into the advanced world. At the same time, the difficulty of that advanced world will skyrocket. Countless players will have to spend real money just to borrow points to survive, leading most of them to ruin their lives in the real world. My one huge withdrawal would throw the game world into imbalance.”

Yan Hebi looked greedily at the box of chips and said, “Being able to calmly think this through when facing such an amount of money is impressive. A lot of people, even if they realized it, wouldn’t care about the lives of other players. It’s like the stock market — everyone knows the money they make comes from the blood and sweat of countless investors. In the early days, many even jumped to their deaths because of it. Yet people still rush into it, because… well, it’s not like they personally caused it.”

Xing Ye smiled and said, “That’s not the only reason. I’m also considering a second thing.”

“What is it?”

Xing Ye said, “Greed. That’s the strongest impression this cruise has left on me — not just the players’ greed, but the system’s too. It makes me wonder if the whole idea that points can be exchanged for money is actually a massive trap. Anyone who exchanges their points out of greed might lose their qualification to challenge the final level.”

He was only able to think of this because of his brother’s reminder.

In the world behind the door, his younger brother Xing Shuo had used his initial mirror skill to record a personal QR code for Xing Ye. After scanning it, Xing Ye discovered that his brother had over 1 million points — and had never once exchanged them for money.

Over a million points — that’s 100 million yuan in real money. Even if Xing Shuo wasn’t short on money, he should have been tempted. But Xing Shuo hadn’t even exchanged 100 yuan. He didn’t even try — he just gave up the opportunity.

Little Mirror hadn’t exchanged game money either. Lu Mingze had 4.75 million points. Even if his family was wealthy, that was 400 million yuan — still a terrifying amount.

Both players who had once challenged the final level had chosen not to exchange for money. That raised Xing Ye’s suspicions.

He said to Yan Hebi, “The system is cunning — and malicious. Since we started playing, it’s constantly used malice to test human kindness. It tempts players to choose ‘evil,’ telling them it’s the easier path. But at the very end, it opens the final door only to those who chose ‘good,’ and tells those who chose ‘evil’ that they never had a ticket in the first place.

“I’ve already guessed what would happen if I exchange for money. If I still go ahead and do it, ignoring the consequences for other players, then I’ve succumbed to human greed. The moment I make the exchange, I lose the qualification to leave the game.”

“That’s… so deep,” Yan Hebi muttered. “Can you really resist all that money?”

Xing Ye said, “I think I’ll manage. I’m not exactly short on cash in real life.”

Yan Hebi: “…”

He really wanted to punch someone.

Xing Ye then said to him, “You played a major part in winning these 300,000 points. You can take half. Whether you want to exchange them is your decision.”

Yan Hebi was silent for a long time before slowly saying, “Don’t give them to me yet… I need to think this through.”

With that, he left Xing Ye’s room, mind filled with thoughts of 1.5 billion, wandering aimlessly around the cruise ship like a ghost.

When he came back to his senses, he realized he had somehow walked to Mrs. Lin’s door.

He raised his hand to knock, but didn’t know what to say, so he let it drop. Just then, the door opened, and Mrs. Lin smiled and said, “Why not come in?”

“I came to thank you,” Yan Hebi said. “If you hadn’t helped convince those gamblers, they wouldn’t have agreed to sign the betting agreement with us.”

Mrs. Lin smiled and said, “Actually, we should thank you. It’s true we’re not short on money, but nobody dislikes having more. Making a big profit like this — even just for pocket money — is quite nice.”

Pocket money… so rich…

“Not coming in to sit for a bit?”
A lock of Lady Lin’s hair slipped from behind her ear and fell onto her shoulder, adding a touch of allure to her already graceful demeanour.

When Yan Hebi came back to his senses, he realized he had already walked inside, and a cup of coffee had been placed in front of him.

“Coffee’s not really suitable for the evening, but it’s fine in the afternoon. Do you want sugar, milk, or salt?” Lady Lin asked.

“Sugar and milk, I can do it myself.” Yan Hebi fumbled to take the sugar, visibly flustered and unsure of himself.

“Sugar, huh… you’re really cute,” Lady Lin said as she sat beside him, watching as he clumsily poured a big pile of sugar into the coffee.

“Lady Lin…” Yan Hebi opened his mouth, unable to keep his thoughts in.

Lady Lin suddenly said, “Actually, you should call me Miss Lin or Ms. Lin. I just got divorced recently, and I’m here on this cruise for a little break. My ex-husband and I had the same last name, so the staff got used to calling me ‘Lady Lin.’ I’ll have them change that soon.”

The moment he heard she was single, Yan Hebi’s face turned even redder. “I’m sorry, I misunderstood.”

“You seem troubled,” Lady Lin said.

Yan Hebi nodded. “My teammate wants to give me 150,000 passenger chips.”

“As he should,” Lady Lin said. “You contributed a lot to his victory.”

Yan Hebi shook his head. “It’s not about the points. It’s that I know once I have them in my hands, I won’t be able to resist converting them into money. But that money shouldn’t belong to me. My teammate — he’s someone who’s extremely strict, both with himself and others. I know that if I exchange those points for money, he’ll no longer see me as a teammate. He doesn’t want someone who gives in to greed.

“And I also know that if I take that money, many people will be financially ruined because of me. But I still can’t bear to give it up. It’s 1.5 billion right in front of me. Why should I care about other people’s lives? As long as I have the money, I can buy a car, a house, never worry about food or clothing for the rest of my life, never have to work hard again. Why… why should I care about them?”

“But you didn’t take it immediately,” Lady Lin said gently. “Instead, you stumbled in here, looking for someone’s opinion. That means there’s someone here who wants the money — but can’t silence his conscience.”

“I know I’m trying to act righteous while being tempted by greed. It makes me look hypocritical — like I want to be praised from both sides and please neither. But I…” Yan Hebi clutched his hair, clearly in anguish.

Greed and reason were struggling inside him.

Lady Lin quietly watched him. Once he calmed down, she placed a hand on his back and said softly, “I understand. In this world, it’s easy to live without a conscience. I faced a situation like that when I was young.”

“What did you choose?” Yan Hebi asked, hair still a mess from his own hands.

Lady Lin revealed a serene and content smile. “I chose conscience — and gained the best friend of my life. She helped me summon the courage to get divorced this time. She’s now my personal lawyer and the person I trust the most. I’m really thankful that I chose not to hurt her back then.”

“I understand now,” Yan Hebi said, looking at the depth of her calm gaze. Suddenly, he knew what he needed to do. “I’ll ask the big guy to just give me enough points to get by in the advanced world. That’s all I need. As for the rest, I don’t have the willpower to hold onto it — it’s better if I let him handle it. That way, I’ll feel at peace!”

He chose to give up — and to choose conscience.

“You’re a good kid,” Lady Lin said as she gently touched Yan Hebi’s face.

Yan Hebi held her hand and said, “Thank you for helping me. I… If I could stay here, I really wouldn’t be able to stop myself from loving you. You’re the most beautiful and wise person I’ve ever met. But I’m destined to leave, so I can’t let myself fall.”

“You players are always so troublesome,” Lady Lin said, withdrawing her hand. “Go on, then. My room doesn’t need a boy who hasn’t grown up.”

Yan Hebi stood and prepared to leave. Just as he was about to go, Lady Lin suddenly said, “My name is Lin Jingxue. At the very least, remember that.”

Yan Hebi turned around and saw her leaning back on the sofa, smiling at him — a stunning smile.

His heart blossomed like a flower. He locked the beautiful memory away in his heart and left Lin Jingxue’s room.

 

Translator : DarNan