I Want To Play A Game

"Jack Li... I can only lie... don't believe me..." Taylor screamed internally, praying for a miracle that could transmit her thoughts. Terror gripped her - Jack Li's trust might become his death warrant. "Never trust me..." she repeated like a mantra.

Jack Li paused contemplatively, then produced a black stone instead. Taylor's brow furrowed. Regardless of color, she'd have to give the opposite answer.

As Jack Li raised the ebony piece to Taylor's eye level, her hands flew to her mouth. The compulsion to declare "white" warred with her desire to protect him.

"Stay calm," Jack Li's steady voice cut through her panic. "Keep thinking. It's not over."

After ensuring Taylor's breathing stabilized, Jack Li posed his question: "Taylor, what color would Old Lü say this stone is?"

Simultaneous gasps echoed through the room. Taylor's mind raced - her chilled lenses confirmed she must lie. If Old Lü's glasses emitted heat, his answer would be truthful "black". But compelled to falsify...

"White." The word tore from Taylor's throat like poisoned honey. She'd become truth's executioner, twisting reality through forced deception.

Old Lü groaned, envisioning their doom. The Human-Pig's masked face twitched with predatory interest.

"White, hmm?" Jack Li's lips quirked. He set aside the black stone, selecting its white counterpart instead. "My choice." He pressed the alabaster piece into the Human-Pig's trotter. "This is your death."

As Jack Li removed his blindfold, the Human-Pig's entire body trembled. "This... joke..."

"Life gambles aren't humorous." Jack Li gestured at the others. "Release them. Honor your loss."

A remote control emerged from the drawer. With defeated keystrokes, mechanical clasps disengaged. Taylor and Old Lü hurled the cursed glasses away like venomous serpents.

"Jack Li! You lucky son of a bitch!" Old Lü's backslap echoed. "Lottery-winning luck!"

"Not luck." Jack Li adjusted his collar. "Our porcine friend underestimated me."

The Human-Pig removed his mask, revealing sharp features that contradicted his porcine persona. "Flawless victory... How?"

"Simple psychology." Jack Li juggled stones like a street magician. "By suggesting your choice informed mine, I manipulated you into balanced selection. Had you trusted instinct with two whites, I'd be dead."

The ex-CEO's eyes widened with dawning horror. Jack Li continued, "Asking about Old Lü's answer bypassed your truth/lie trap. Regardless of lenses, 'white' revealed the real color."

Taylor gasped, reconstructing the logic - by querying what Old Lü would say rather than direct color, Jack Li circumvented the deception matrix.

"You're no ram." Jack Li's gaze hardened. "Adding lies to your game created fatal loopholes."

The unmasked man produced a weathered revolver, spinning its chamber. "Three questions. Russian roulette answers."

Through four clicks of empty chambers, revelations spilled - this purgatory for atonement, 3,600 Dao escapes, warnings against challenging Celestial-tier opponents.

As Jack Li turned to leave, his final question hung like smoke: "Regrets?"

The gunshot's thunderclap answered after they'd exited. In the echoing silence, three whispered words lingered where the Human-Pig fell:

"Thank... you..."

The trio emerged from the chess club with lingering unease. Though the fallen had been called "Human-Pig," he remained undeniably human - neither monster nor madman, just another trapped soul. 

Jack Li walked deep in thought, Taylor shadowing his steps. Old Lü kept glancing back, less concerned with the corpse than potential spoils. 

"What's wrong?" Jack Li finally asked.

"Not to sound crass..." Old Lü rubbed his hands nervously, "but winning a life gamble means his Dao becomes ours."

"Foolish." Jack Li shook his head. "Those ten Dao he lost were his last."

"No way!" Old Lü's jowls quivered with denial. He barged back inside, avoiding the body as he ransacked drawers. When only empty containers clattered to the floor, he stormed out cursing. "Cheating bastard! Risked nothing!"

"He risked everything." Jack Li watched crows circle overhead. "His life was the wager."

Old Lü made a perfunctory prayer gesture toward the corpse before resuming his scavenger hunt. His eyes lit upon the discarded swine mask. "Treasure!"

"Leave it." Jack Li blocked his path. "Impersonating Zodiacs invites worse than death."

"Bah! Just a prop!" Old Lü hid the mask beneath broken floorboards regardless. "Insurance never hurts."

As they navigated crumbling streets, Old Lü suddenly asked, "Why pick the girl over me earlier?"

"Frankly?" Jack Li arched an eyebrow. "She's smarter."

Taylor's muffled laughter earned a glare from Old Lü. "I shine under pressure!"

"Like cowering behind trash cans?" Jack Li countered.

Their banter died when Taylor noticed the aluminum pot. "Why didn't Liam eat the bear meat?"

Old Lü's face darkened. "Liam's dead."

"What?!" Both froze mid-step.

"Died in sleep." Old Lü kicked a pebble. "No wounds. Just... stopped."

Jack Li's jaw tightened. Two key survivors eliminated in as many days - this reeked of systematic purging. 

As Old Lü led them through tagged alleyways, Jack Li pressed about their organization. "Twenty members in two days? How?"

"Ethan's doing." Old Lü described the charismatic leader who'd united survivors. "Paradise Port's our base. Liam was third-in-command."

Jack Li's suspicion grew. Any group drawing Zodiac ire needed scrutiny. When they passed cryptic "SZ" graffiti, Old Lü dismissed it as district numbering.

"Almost there." Old Lü quickened his pace toward a skeletal high-rise. Rusted fire escapes clanged in the wind like death chimes. Somewhere above, answers waited - and perhaps fresh dangers.