See You in the Finals

Death Calamity Sea, Island 53. A toe-wrestling contest was underway. Yu Xian and Feng Mingge had wandered over to this island, and both looked toward each other. "Up for it?" Feng Mingge's competitive streak flared up again. Yu Xian shook his head. "No way. These people have stinky feet." "Fair point." Feng Mingge twitched his nose, his face quickly turning green as he spoke with a grimace. The two moved on and arrived at Island 52. This island was hosting a rock-paper-scissors tournament, and it was scrupulously fair: neither contestant could see what the other threw, and only the referee and spectators knew both players' hands. After all, some Transcendents had exceptional eyesight and could predict an opponent's move entirely by watching the micro-twitches of their muscles. "Up for it?" Feng Mingge eyed the competitors around them and asked once more. Well then. His mouth protested, but his body was thoroughly honest. In truth, Feng Mingge was fascinated by many of the games here. As a master of overachievement, his tryhard soul was already itching for action, burning with an urge to defeat everyone in sight—especially Yu Xian. "Let's do it!" Yu Xian also felt a spark of interest and nodded. The two promptly signed up, after which their respective matchups were arranged. "See you in the finals!" Feng Mingge declared to Yu Xian once the brackets were set. "Sure, see you in the finals!" Yu Xian smiled faintly, turned, and headed toward his bracket. He walked up to the regulation match table. It concealed both contestants' bodies, leaving only their faces visible so they could try to read each other's expressions to guess what move would come next. "Match begins!" the referee called out immediately after reciting the rules. It was best-of-three. Winning two rounds in a row secured advancement; a ten-win streak allowed a player to challenge other qualifying contenders, and an unbroken run of victories crowned them daily champion. Successfully defending the daily title for seven straight days made one weekly champion, followed by monthly champion, and ultimately annual champion. Even the daily champion received rewards, while the weekly champion's prizes were far more lavish, scaling upward accordingly. Yu Xian's opponent was a girl from the Fox clan. This competition relied on brains, drawing many clever contenders; nearly the entire Fox clan had entered, though quite a few had already been knocked out over the past few days. Once the match started, there was a one-minute preparation phase during which both sides could read each other's expressions to make their calculations. The Fox girl, Maliya, studied Yu Xian's face in deep concentration. Men generally leaned toward scissors, while women favored rock. This probability was something she had rigorously verified. The trouble was that if Yu Xian knew this as well, he would most likely throw paper. "..." Yu Xian's face was devoid of expression. No, that wasn't quite right. He was smiling, but it gave off a distinctly silly vibe, much like Zhang Buyao's smile. It radiated the innocence of someone who had never taken a beating from life—even though Yu Xian had actually been battered by life countless times, flipped over for another thrashing, and flipped back for yet another. Yet he spent so much time hanging out with Zhang Buyao and being carefree that his smile had gradually converged with hers. Maliya scrutinized Yu Xian's face with all her might, but she couldn't deduce a thing from it. The smile was simply too foolish. "Time! Contestants, throw your fists!" the referee shouted, looking at both of them. Without being able to see each other's hands, Yu Xian and Maliya struck at the same moment. In that split second, Maliya's brain spun at breakneck speed. Yu Xian was highly likely to anticipate that she knew the gender probabilities for rock-paper-scissors, meaning he would probably throw paper; therefore, she should throw scissors. Given Yu Xian's goofy expression, there was no need to overthink too many layers. One layer was plenty. Scissors! Maliya threw her hand out with supreme confidence. Then she glanced at the referee. After inspecting both hands, the referee announced, "Round one: Contestant Yu Xian throws rock, Contestant Maliya throws scissors. Contestant Yu Xian wins!" *Not good, he's on the second layer!* Maliya thought in alarm, gazing at the unchanging smile on Yu Xian's face. In truth, Yu Xian hadn't thought about anything at all. He had just heard the referee call out "throw your fists," so he casually threw a fist. First layer, second layer—he hadn't used a single brain cell. The effect of Identity Clarified destined him to become luckier the more he acted on whim. Consequently, when he acted with utter carelessness, he entered his strongest form—a force that Maliya could never overcome, no matter how hard she wracked her brain. For the second round, Maliya ran through over a dozen layers of simulations in her head, nearly breaking through the stratosphere. Since Yu Xian had anticipated two layers the first time, she reasoned, he would surely calculate even further this time: four layers, eight layers, maybe even sixteen. Finally, the referee spoke again: "Time! Contestants, throw your fists!" *I'll turn the tables on you!* *I refuse to believe you'll throw rock again! You'd never guess I'd throw scissors a second time!* Looking at Yu Xian's goofy face, Maliya steeled her resolve. Yu Xian couldn't possibly throw rock again; he would surely play scissors or paper. If scissors, it was a draw; if paper, she took the round. Either way, she couldn't lose! "Round two: Contestant Yu Xian throws rock again, Contestant Maliya throws scissors again. Contestant Yu Xian wins! Next contestants, please!" The referee glanced at their hands, paused in brief silence, and made the call. Maliya's eyes went wide as she stared at Yu Xian in utter disbelief. Since the match was settled and no third round was required, the competitors were permitted to speak. "Why did you throw rock both times?" she demanded, frustrated. "Weren't you afraid I'd throw paper?" "Because the referee said, 'Contestants, throw your fists.' I figured a fist sounded pretty good," Yu Xian replied, completely righteous and unapologetic. Maliya's pupils constricted violently, and a mouthful of blood sprayed from her lips. She had analyzed so many layers, only for the truth to be so brainless. She simply could not accept this reality. "Uh... are you alright?" Yu Xian hadn't expected Maliya to cough up blood over a single remark of his, and he asked with mild concern. It was only a game of rock-paper-scissors. Was there any need to take it so hard? "..." Maliya wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, gave Yu Xian another long, searching look, and turned away in silence. This time, she had learned an unforgettable lesson: never assume an opponent is too clever. Sometimes, they are just a certified idiot. "You won?" Feng Mingge walked over with an expressionless face, watched Maliya's retreating back, and asked. "Yeah, won. What about you?" Yu Xian nodded. Feng Mingge let out a sigh. "I thought I had seen through the human heart, but it seems I still have a long way to go." "So you lost?" Yu Xian stabbed the knife right into Feng Mingge's chest without hesitation. Feng Mingge said with utter solemnity, "The Great Dao is simple; the simpler something is, the more profound it becomes. Rock-paper-scissors may well embody the principle of the Dao giving birth to the One, the One to the Two, and the Two to the Three. It encompasses everything in creation. I still need to study it thoroughly." "So you lost?" Yu Xian stared at him. Slowly, Yu Xian's grin stretched into an exaggerated smirk. Chuckling mischievously, he drawled, "See you in the finals?" "..." Feng Mingge's face darkened, deeply regretting having talked so big just moments before.