“Even if you’d forgotten about it, I wouldn’t,” Feng Bujue replied lazily as he leaned back in the chair.
“Hue hue hue… Then…” Mr. Yoo snapped his fingers, and Feng Bujue’s seat and the panel before him started to move. These two things were connected to the floor, but when the seat moved, the white-and-black patterned floor disappeared like it was merely a projection before reappearing again when Feng Bujue moved into place. It was not affected at all.
“The second part of the Death Quiz… consists of Multiple-Choice Questions,” Mr. Yoo explained. “Here are the rules. The participants will come forward to give their answers one by one. One participant will be able to answer seven questions at most, and at the very least, they will have to answer one question.”
He retrieved another stack of question cards from his pocket. The pattern printed on the back of the cards was identical to the ones before. “After I finish reading the question, the participant can choose the answer by pressing the button on the panel. Once the choice has been made, the answer cannot be changed.”
“In other words, once the person gets the question wrong, no more questions will be asked?” Feng Bujue confirmed.
“Yes, and the mysterious advantage you gained from the first part is…” Mr. Yoo paused again at the crucial moment. A drumroll began in the studio like he was going to make some huge announcement, causing people’s hearts to beat in anticipation. “In the second part, you can choose a random question to skip, but it’ll be treated like you’ve answered the question correctly.”
“Is it still the one with the lowest score who will enter the coliseum this time?” Feng Bujue fired off another question.
“He he… In the second part…” Mr. Yoo smiled wickedly. “The participant with the highest score at the end of this part will pick the participant who will enter the coliseum.”
“Oh.” Feng Bujue nodded. “I get it now. Let’s start the game.”
“Okay, please listen to your first question…” Mr. Yoo held the question card. “The question is worth… ten points. The question is… When is Einstein’s birthday? A, 13th March; B, 14th March; C, 15th March; D, 13th April.”
When he finished reading the question, he turned his face to the camera. “As we all know, the second part is a very crucial segment of the game. If the participant can answer all seven questions correctly, they will carry on with a very big advantage in terms of score…”
Feng Bujue was silent with an expressionless face for several seconds before interrupting Mr. Yoo. “I choose to skip this question.”
A palpable gasp travelled through the crowd.
Mr. Yoo smiled. “Really? Participant No. 1, you wish to use that advantage on the first question? You have to understand that the questions will only get harder.”
“I understand,” Feng Bujue replied very calmly.
“He he… Add his points!” Mr. Yoo burned the question card. In front of Feng Bujue’s panel, the score shown changed to sixty.
“Participant No. 1, do you mind sharing with us why you chose to use this advantage so early in the game?” Mr. Yoo asked. “Our previous participants tried their best to hold onto this advantage for as long as possible.”
“Because I don’t know this question,” Feng Bujue answered simply.
“Then why didn’t you attempt a guess?” Mr. Yoo asked. “It was only a ten-point question.”
“Because of simple math,” Feng Bujue replied. “Assuming I don’t know all of the questions, if I start to guess from the first question, if my guess is correct, my score will go up to sixty points, but if I get it wrong, my score will lower to forty. But now, if I guess the answer correctly, the score will rise to eighty, and if I get it wrong… the result will be same as if I got the first question wrong, forty.
“The probability for both cases is twenty-five percent. The risk is the same, but the possible reward for the later question will be higher, so naturally, I have to use this advantage as soon as possible to ensure that I advance to the second question.
“Besides… what if I know the second question? Then I won’t have to guess.”
Mr. Yoo was stunned by the explanation. The audience was silent for several seconds before erupting into cheers and applause.
“Phew… Haha. It looks like Participant No. 1 is very collected even if he does not know the answer,” Mr. Yoo commented with good humor. Laughter came from the crowd.
“It is called making use of the rules in a logical way. Carry on with the questions.” Feng Bujue placed his hands behind his head, looking as cool as possible.
“Alright, Participant No. 1, starting from this second question, you can choose to answer it or not…” Mr. Yoo pushed the round glasses that sat on his nose. “The points for the second question are twenty. If you get it right, you’ll get twenty points, but if you get it wrong, twenty points will be deducted. Based on your earlier theory, you will hazard a guess even if you don’t know the answer, right?”
“Naturally,” Feng Bujue answered.
“This is your question!” Mr. Yoo looked at the question card. “On April 30th, 1943, a famous con was kickstarted in history. It is known as Operation Mincemeat. The question is, what is the real name of the person who was disguised as the Captain of the Royal Navy? A, William Martin; B, Samuel Jackson; C, Glyndwr Michael; D, Charlie Sheen.”
Feng Bujue pressed C without hesitation.
“Participant No. 1,” Mr. Yoo warned, “once you have chosen the answer, it can no longer be changed.”
“Oh, I know,” Feng Bujue said.
The heart-pumping background music began again in the studio. Mr. Yoo looked at the camera with a serious expression. “And the real answer is…”
“Why are you dragging this unnecessarily out? B and D are names of actors, so they can be directly eliminated. William Martin is the name used by the disguise in Operation Mincemeat, right? Even for someone who does not know about the operation, the choice is between A and C. Even an idiot could have guessed which one sounds more like a real name,” Feng Bujue grumbled.
“Participant No. 1.” Mr. Yoo turned his face around with dissatisfaction. “How about you host the show instead?”
“Sure, let’s swap places. I’ll be sure to send you into the coliseum,” Feng Bujue replied.
“Oh? Now that’s interesting. If Mr. Yoo is entering the coliseum, the executioner should be selected from the three of us.” Pestilence revealed a bemused smile.
Miss Pride concurred. “That is an idea I can get behind.”
“You’re trying to get me killed!” Mr. Yoo groaned. “Stop changing the subject. I’m announcing the answer here!”
“The answer is C.” The audience booed like they had been exposed the ending to a story.
“Fine… since you already know that.” Mr. Yoo gathered his emotions. “Your answer is correct! You gain another twenty points!”
The score on Feng Bujue’s panel turned to eighty.
“Hmm… Looks like that question didn’t present any difficulty to Participant No. 1 at all.” Mr. Yoo waved his hand, and the question card ignited. “But the next question is worth… forty points.”
He purposely paused for few seconds. The camera panned to Feng Bujue, but Brother Jue did not give any special response.
“Now, do you feel regret for having used your special advantage so soon, Participant No. 1?” Mr. Yoo asked to fill in the time.
“Based on the rules so far… the scores for each consecutive question will double?” Feng Bujue ignored Fatty Yoo and mumbled to himself.
“Hue hue hue… Who knows?” Mr. Yoo added to the mystery.
“Humph…” Feng Bujue scoffed coldly and answered his previous question. “If I might regret it, I wouldn’t have done it; since I’ve done it, there will be no regret.”
Mr. Yoo whistled, and the screen split into two to give both of them a close-up. “Then… Participant No. 1, do you wish to answer this third question or not?”
“I do,” Feng Bujue said.
“Please listen carefully!” Mr. Yoo looked at the question card. “Which of the following is not… a skill of Qi Tian Di? A, God’s Flame; B, God’s Light; C, God’s Hand; D, God’s Punishment.”
This question was rather confusing. Qi Tian Di’s skills all started with God’s something. Feng Bujue could not give his answer instantly because he needed to search through his memory.
“There is no need for the participants to panic. There is no time limit for this second part. But normally, if you still cannot come up with an answer after three minutes, I will start a countdown of ten seconds to make you randomly select an answer.”
Mr. Yoo said that before turning his face to the center of the stage. “How about we make use of this time to see what other participants have to say about Participant No. 1’s performance so far? Of course, if any of you know the answer, do not try to provide any hints, or he will be disqualified immediately.
“Participant No. 2, how many questions in total do you think Participant No. 1 will be able to answer?”
Xiao Tan lowered his head as he observed his left hand. Currently, there was no conspicuous change to his hand. When he was addressed by Mr. Yoo, he answered without lifting his head, “I don’t know, but I have confidence in Brother Jue. I believe he will be able to answer all the questions correctly.”
“Participant No. 2, Participant No. 1 is currently in the lead. If he answers all the question correctly, the participant with the highest score for the second segment will have been decided. What if he makes the decision to send you into the coliseum?” Mr. Yoo tossed out a rather hard question.
“Huh?” Xiao Tan raised his head to look at Mr. Yoo. “Then, I’ll go. If Brother Jue picks me, he must have his reason.”
“Hehe… Looks like Participant No. 2 has immense faith in Participant No. 1’s strategy,” Mr. Yoo commented before turning to Passing Rain. “Then… what about Participant…”
“Pass.” Before Mr. Yoo even finished, Passing Rain used a ’too lazy to talk to you’ type of attitude to answer Mr. Yoo.
“Er…” Fatty Yoo laughed awkwardly as he turned to Laughing Soul. “Then… Participant No. 4, do you have anything to say?”
“Leader, if you can really answer all the questions, then please choose Xiao Tan to go into the coliseum.” Her comment was meant for Feng Bujue, but Laughing Soul made sure to turn to Xiao Tan to toss him a wicked smile.
“Exactly what I have I done to deserve this?” Xiao Tan pouted innocently.
“After losing your left hand, and without any luck with the ladies, looks like you’ll have to spend the rest of your life with your right hand…” Feng Bujue chose that moment to slide in this mocking comment weakly. From the way he reacted, it appeared like he already had the answer.
Mr. Yoo’s eyes glowed, and he said, “Oh, Participant No. 1, what you said is quite interesting? Do you mind if I borrow it in the future?”
“Suit yourself…” Feng Bujue shrugged. “I’ve already selected the answer.”
Mr. Yoo bent over to glance at the button pressed by Feng Bujue. It was D.
“Okay, Participant No. 1’s answer is D, God’s Punishment…” Mr. Yoo continued to use his typical hosting skill, pausing intermittently at the crucial moment without finishing the sentence. He would pause for as long as he was permitted. “This answer…”