Chapter 59: The Prisoner's Dilemma

Hua Sheng stared straight at the stranger in front of him who claimed to hold the power over their lives.

His eyes were bloodshot, burning with a fury akin to facing a long-lost enemy bearing a deep, irreconcilable grudge.

Without a moment of hesitation, the words spilled from his lips.

"Since you bastard want to take a life, you might as well take mine! That is my choice!"

In his heart, Hua Sheng knew he could never bring himself to choose an innocent girl. At the same time, perhaps he should have vanished from this world long ago.

He had endured countless trials in Shengpingning, yet his guilt toward Weiyu weighed on him like the bottomless abyss of the sea.

Time and again, that crushing helplessness and self-reproach had echoed and beaten against the walls of his heart.

Every time he recalled the look in Weiyu's eyes at the very end, it felt as though he were plunging deeper down into an ocean trench, only to discover that his inner remorse was far greater than he had ever imagined.

This realization drove him to roar aloud at that moment: "The one who is going to die is me! If you have the ability, come and get me!"

Since one of them—he, Miecang, or Jane—had to die, Hua Sheng could not, under any circumstances, allow a young girl to be used as a scapegoat.

Jane was two years younger than him, and her departure from the magic academy was directly tied to him.

As for Miecang, it went without saying; over the past two days, she had practically sacrificed everything for him.

No one knew the true extent of the magical power wielded by the white-robed man standing before him. Given that, whether it was driven by impulse or a desire for release, he might as well simply sacrifice himself.

In response to Hua Sheng's reply, the white-robed man merely let out a dry chuckle.

"No need to be in such a rush. Since I said this is a game, there are rules to be followed. You chose to die, but you might not be the only one who dies!"

Hua Sheng glared at the man before him in stony silence.

The man continued, "You must give this careful thought; it is not decided by just one person alone. Who ultimately dies depends on the choices made by the other two."

The tone of the white-robed man made it impossible to glean any information. No one could guess what was running through his mind.

He said, "Though I only wish to kill one, if all of you insist on sacrificing yourselves, I will simply have all three of you die!"

People do not necessarily kill others out of hatred. Selfishness or self-preservation can serve as reasons just as easily.

Yet ending one's own life is both difficult and simple, sometimes serving as nothing more than a comforting form of escape.

If you had to choose in order to preserve your own life, or the life of someone important to you, would you choose to kill another person? Even if that person were your friend.

Death was unattainable. Survival was equally out of reach.

The white-robed man standing before them possessed infinite patience.

"The rule is, if all of you choose yourselves to die, then all three must die. You must make a choice. If even one among the three refuses to choose, I will kill all three of you."

He looked at Hua Sheng like a cruel cat toying with a captured mouse. The cat felt no rush to sever its prey's throat, preferring instead to torment it in its paws until death claimed it.

Some killers derived pleasure not from the instant thrill of slaughter, but from the intoxicating control over another's life and death.

Hua Sheng narrowed his eyes. Within this game of death, his choices were actually quite simple.

Either all three of them died, or a single life was sacrificed.

Miecang possessed nine souls fused into one. Before she lost consciousness earlier, the one who had manifested was likely Xiao Wu, who possessed virtually no physical strength. Yet it was clear that as long as Miecang's physical body was destroyed, no matter which sister was currently in control, the remaining eight would perish alongside her.

Therefore, Hua Sheng felt that if he could not break free from these bonds, he had no choice but to make a selection.

Gritting his teeth, he demanded, "How is this murder game supposed to be played?"

"There is no need to be impatient. Each person may choose one target they wish to kill. If you want to survive, listen carefully to the rules."

The man spoke in a measured, unhurried cadence:

"First, if two or three people choose the exact same person, that person dies, and I will release the remaining two.

Second, if two people receive votes, the one with the higher number of votes dies, and the remaining two are released.

Third, the best possible outcome for you is if all three of you choose someone else, yet each person happens to receive exactly one vote. In that case, all three can live, and I will let all of you go.

Finally, under any other voting scenario outside of these three conditions—such as someone failing to make a choice, or everyone choosing to kill themselves—I will kill all three of you!"

Upon hearing this, Hua Sheng flew into a rage and shouted, "When every single one of us becomes the person someone else wants to kill, you expect us to believe you will just let us walk away?"

"Isn't letting you walk away precisely what you desire?" the man replied. "That way, you can leave this place carrying your hatred with you."

Just as Hua Sheng was about to unleash a torrent of curses, he suddenly felt a tightness around his neck, and breathing became difficult.

Having gained experience from before, he held his breath, regulated his heart rate, and silently recited an immortal incantation, which allowed him to go without oxygen for an extended period.

Unexpectedly, however, the rope around his throat tightened further, sending sharp pains through his neck. He thought to himself that if it kept constricting like this, his neck would snap long before he actually suffocated.

Yet he made no attempt to struggle against the bonds tied around his hands!

Just as the pain reached a point where Hua Sheng's vision began to blur, the rope suddenly slackened.

The white-robed man let out a cold laugh and said, "It seems Jane in the next room has also figured out the pattern of this rope. Let us see what choice she makes next."

Hua Sheng gasped for breath while using his peripheral vision to survey the room, racking his brain for a way to escape.

Hearing the white-robed man mention Jane in the next room, he seized the opportunity to try and divert the man's attention away from him.

"You said someone next door has woken up. Aren't you going to go check on her?"

The white-robed man replied coldly, "I am already looking at her."

Hua Sheng was somewhat baffled, as there were no monitoring devices in this room capable of observing other areas.

"If you don't go and explain the rules of the game to Jane face-to-face, how is she supposed to make a choice?"

The man answered coldly, "I am right inside her room at this very moment."

His words were both perplexing and unsettling. Hua Sheng turned his head to look around the surroundings.

The room was not large, nor were there any hiding spots where a person could conceal themselves. Jane was certainly not in this room.

Yet why did the man claim he was inside Jane's room?

The white-robed man stated, "I am here, and yet I am not. I exist simultaneously in front of all three of you."

"A clone?"

The white-robed man emitted a strange, echoing laugh. "No, no, no! Clone techniques are far too crude. This is what is known as the Trinity. All three are me, possessing identical perception—consciousness guided and physical form extended."

Hua Sheng stared at the bizarre white-robed man before him. He had initially assumed the man was employing some form of duplication art, but if that were the case, a clone could not be directly controlled by the main body. Even previously, when Grand Supreme Master Xiaojun had transported Hua Sheng from different times to the exact same location, Hua Sheng's consciousness could not link across the same mind.

It was impossible for a single person to appear right here while simultaneously manifesting in the adjacent room.

This left him entirely in a fog.

Yet before Hua Sheng could fully comprehend his current predicament, he had to confront the life-or-death trap right in front of him.

The man was likely telling the truth; it was precisely because he, Miecang, and Jane possessed physical forms that he had been able to render all three unconscious using some unknown substance.

Had an immortal been present, perhaps they could have escaped this man's sorcery. If Grand Supreme Master Xiaojun were only here...

Hua Sheng forcefully suppressed the urge rising within his heart to seek help from others; right now, there was no one he could rely on. It was already a miracle that Grand Supreme Master Xiaojun had helped him escape the pursuit of Lü Dongbin and Tianjizi face-to-face.

Now, he had to rely entirely on himself, and not only that, he had to ensure Miecang's safety.

If Jane were to perish because she had been dragged into his mess, the weight of the guilt would become completely unendurable.

At that exact moment, the noose around Hua Sheng's neck tightened violently once more! Yet this time, it did not apply the heavy pressure Jane had faced earlier; instead, it alternated between tightening and loosening—not quite enough to completely cut off his breath.

He immediately realized it had to be Miecang.