Redeemer

"You're not the 'Sheep' after all," Qi Xia said to the Pig-Man. "When we first met the Sheep, it put us through a lot of trouble. You thought adding a lying mechanism to your game would increase your odds of winning, but you didn't expect that this choice would lead to your downfall."

After hearing this, the Pig-Man was silent for a while, then he reached up and removed the mask from his head.

Underneath the dirty and foul-smelling mask was a man with a well-proportioned face, who appeared to be in his forties, with a look of wisdom in his eyes.

"I can walk out of here with dignity now," he said.

Upon hearing this, Qi Xia's eyes flickered, and he immediately asked, "Pig-Man, what exactly does 'with dignity' mean?"

The Pig-Man paused, looked at the young man in front of him again, and realized that he resembled his younger self.

"Qi Xia, have you ever made a mistake?" he asked.

"A mistake?" Qi Xia thought seriously for a moment. The word "mistake" was not easy to understand. In some ways, his profession was a mistake, but in other ways, he had no choice but to continue.

"I'm not talking about 'the law,'" the Pig-Man continued. "I'm talking about a mistake that could change your entire life trajectory, one that fills you with remorse and regret."

After hearing this, Qi Xia's brows furrowed intensely, and something deep in his mind began to pound furiously.

"What do you mean?" Qi Xia asked coldly.

"We are all sinners..." the Pig-Man said with a bitter smile. "Indeed, sinners cannot obtain the 'Way.' I will die here in the end..."

"Sinners cannot obtain the 'Way'?" Qi Xia felt like he had heard this phrase before.

"Qi Xia, do you know? The business world is like a casino," the Pig-Man said slowly as he stood up and walked over to a drawer, searching for something. "I once gambled all the group's liquid funds on a 'hope.' Now, it seems that it was no different from gambling with my life. At the time, my odds of winning were less than fifty percent, and the other shareholders on the board were opposed. But I knew that I was only gambling with liquid funds, which would not lead to the group's bankruptcy. Instead, it brought a glimmer of hope for future development. However, no one expected that a global pandemic would suddenly break out, causing a severe blow to the group's profits. Later, due to insufficient liquid funds, it was difficult to manage, leading to continuous losses."

The Pig-Man looked at Qi Xia with a look of despair in his eyes. "I thought I was gambling for a ticket to heaven, but I ended up in hell."

After speaking, he continued to carefully clean the barrel of the gun.

"So, you think this place is hell?" Qi Xia asked.

"Who knows?" The Pig-Man shook his head. "It was a group that I built with my own hands, but in the end, I was expelled by the board of directors. As the chairman, I lost my power. To pay off debts, I had to sell my shares at a low price. My wife and I started from scratch, but in the end, we couldn't afford the money for her treatment. My daughter, who was studying abroad, couldn't continue her studies due to lack of funds and ended up becoming a well-known prostitute at her school. Compared to the real world, this place is my paradise. I don't need to worry about anything here; I just need to figure out how to make you die."

The Pig-Man's tone gradually became uncontrollable. "I often wonder what would have happened if I hadn't gambled with a fifty percent chance of winning that time?"

Qi Xia was silent for a long time before finally uttering four words: "Live with the consequences."

"Ha, ha..." The Pig-Man suddenly seemed to lose his mind and laughed bitterly. "Yes, live with the consequences."

"But there's still one thing I don't understand..." Qi Xia said again.

The Pig-Man raised his deep eyes, looked at Qi Xia, and then said slowly, "I've answered too many of your questions, which is very unfair to the other participants."

"What?" Qi Xia was a bit confused. "Can't this information be told to us?"

After hearing this, the Pig-Man opened the cylinder of the revolver, spun it quickly, and then flicked his wrist to load it into the chamber.

Then, he slowly raised the pistol and pressed it against his temple.

"Leave everything to 'luck,'" the Pig-Man said. "For each question you ask, I will pull the trigger once. As long as the gun doesn't go off, I will answer you."

Qi Xia sighed helplessly after watching and said, "You were once the chairman of the group. Don't you want to leave with dignity?"

"Dignity..." The Pig-Man smiled helplessly. "I've been wearing this stinking, dirty pig head for so long. What dignity is there to talk about?"

"In that case..." Qi Xia nodded, "Then I apologize, sir. Why did you volunteer to become the 'Pig-Man'?"

Click!!

The Pig-Man pulled the trigger without hesitation, not even blinking. The gun didn't fire.

"Because I want to 'atone,'" the Pig-Man replied. "Someone told me that as long as I wear the mask and use the game to send participants to their death, one day I can atone."

"What do you mean by 'atone'?"

Click!

The gun didn't fire.

The Pig-Man sighed, "So-called atonement means being able to change one's past and make up for the mistakes made. After all, all the 'Zodiacs' are 'sinners.'"

Qi Xia connected the fragmented clues in his mind, feeling somewhat incredulous. He organized his language and asked again, "So, you had the opportunity to leave, but you didn't, and instead chose to stay here to 'atone'?"

Click!

The Pig-Man's expression was complex as he said, "I'm not sure if I can leave, but I stayed. I hope none of you have made mistakes, otherwise, you will eventually, like me, choose to stay here voluntarily. After all, staying here gives a glimmer of invisible hope."

Qi Xia slowly moved closer and asked very seriously, "So, what is the quickest way to get out of here?"

Click!!

The Pig-Man closed his eyes, shuddered, but the gun still didn't fire.

"I'm not sure," the Pig-Man said. "The thirty-six thousand 'Ways' are obviously the slowest method. Even with the mask on, there are still many things I don't know. After all, I am still a 'human.' If you want to survive in this place, first, do not provoke 'Heaven,' and second, do not confront the 'Dragon.' The 'Heaven, Earth, and Man' of the Three Talents of the Zodiac are arranged from top to bottom, all led by the 'Dragon.'"

The Pig-Man's four answers indeed made Qi Xia's thoughts much clearer. It seemed that escaping from this place was not as difficult as he had imagined.

He no longer had any questions for the Pig-Man, but the latter still held the gun, his expression very complex.

Qi Xia knew that the chance of death on the fifth shot was fifty percent, and on the sixth shot, it was one hundred percent.

The scene in front of him seemed familiar, as if he had just returned to the moment when he was gambling with a fifty percent chance of life.

Qi Xia stood up, turned, and walked towards the exit. Lin Qin and Old Lu, not knowing what was happening, slowly followed.

Just as they were about to leave, Qi Xia turned and asked a fifth question: "Sir, do you feel regret?"

After asking this, Qi Xia did not wait for the Pig-Man's answer and left with Lin and Old Lu.

The vast chess club now seemed empty, with only the Pig-Man sitting alone in the center.

He pondered for a long time before slowly uttering three words: "Thank you."

A loud gunshot echoed, and the Pig-Man dead.