Ten Day Ultimatum

"You’re out of your fucking mind..." Ole Lu’s voice trembled as he struggled to stay on his feet. "I only won ten {Dào} from you! Is it really worth going this far?"
"Do you think I enjoy being stuck here, living like a pig, scraping by on luck every day?"

Mortal Pig reached up to touch the grotesque snout of his mask. Though the mask bore no expression, it exuded a dark, unsettling malice.
"None of you understand," Mortal Pig muttered, his voice low and unstable. "The only way life holds any meaning here is by {staking my life}—gambling everything—against those with true strength."
Mortal Pig’s gaze locked onto Qi Xia, sending a shiver of realization down his spine. It was as if the man had been hiding behind a facade all along—pretending to be a pig, simply biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment to prey on a tiger[1].

"A lunatic, through and through..." Ole Lu muttered, clearly unnerved. He glanced at Qi Xia, torn between guilt and frustration. The situation had spiraled beyond control—Mortal Pig had cornered them into a life-or-death challenge, and it was far too late to back out now.
"Mortal Pig," Qi Xia spoke after a pause, his voice steady, "let’s alter the terms. I’ll stay and stake my life with you, but those two don’t need to be involved."
"Huh?" Ole Lu and Lin Qin blinked in stunned unison.

"Are you out of your mind, punk?" Ole Lu sputtered, disbelief etched across his face. "I dragged you into this game, and now you want to stand alone and gamble your life? What the hell’s the point of that?"
Qi Xia’s gaze lingered on Ole Lu, noting the unexpected reliability the man displayed in such a precarious moment. His initial impression of Ole Lu as reckless and self-serving began to shift. Still, the situation remained dire, and every second counted.
"Mister," Qi Xia addressed Ole Lu, his tone calm but firm, "the more people stay here, the greater the danger. If I fall, it’ll be up to you to take my friend and find that man and woman."

Lin Qin shook her head, her voice steady but filled with resolve. "No, Qi Xia. Have you forgotten what I told you before? I’m not leaving you."
"I won’t fucking leave either," Ole Lu interjected, shaking his head with determination. "Mortal Pig’s after you, punk, so by all logic, this girl and I should be safe. And don’t worry—if you die, I’ll make sure to bury your body myself."
Qi Xia scratched his head in exasperation. Ole Lu’s loyalty was a welcome surprise, but his way of expressing it… left much to be desired.

"That’s quite a grim sentiment," Qi Xia sighed. "But if that’s how you two feel, I won’t try to change your minds." He turned his attention back to Mortal Pig, his expression sharpening. "You mentioned a new way of playing. What is it?"
Mortal Pig’s eyes lit up with twisted excitement as he slid two pairs of strange glasses across the table. “Come, put them on! Put them on!” he urged, his voice quivering with anticipation.
Lin Qin and Ole Lu hesitated briefly, their instincts screaming caution. But with the weight of the situation pressing down on them, they reluctantly complied, sliding the peculiar glasses onto their faces. The moment the glasses were in place, a soft, mechanical whirring followed by an ominous {click} echoed in the room. Two mechanical arms extended from the temple tips, circling behind their heads and fastening with a metallic snap.

Lin Qin immediately felt an overwhelming sense of dread. She reached up instinctively to remove the device, but it was already too late. The glasses had transformed into a contraption, gripping her head tightly like the infamous Golden Headband that bound Wukong[2].
"What’s going on—"
Lin Qin’s confusion was evident, but Mortal Pig cut her off, his tone almost playful, yet menacing. “Miss, I’d advise you not to speak too freely,” he said with a crooked smile. “From now on, your safety depends entirely on following my rules.”

"Rules..."
"Your glasses have already begun to {take effect}," Mortal Pig continued, his words deliberate and menacing. "One of you will start to feel the glasses grow cold, while the other will sense warmth. During the game, the one feeling cold may only speak lies. Conversely, the one feeling warmth must only speak the truth."
Qi Xia's eyes narrowed, unease creeping over him. This game felt eerily familiar—a twisted echo of something he’d encountered before.
Mortal Pig’s smirk deepened as he tapped the center of his forehead. “If you harbor any treachery or speak out of turn before the game begins…” His finger lingered ominously. “This will be pierced. Understand?”

The threat wasn’t lost on Lin Qin. Her mouth snapped shut as the gravity of the situation settled in. She could feel a subtle pressure behind her brows—an ominous sign that something inside the glasses was primed to activate. Whether it was a hidden bowstring or a laser mechanism, she couldn’t tell, but the deadly potential was unmistakable.
Ole Lu’s complexion turned ashen, understanding the stakes had just escalated. He knew all too well that {the more one speaks, the more likely they are to err}. One slip of the tongue could trigger the device—and they had no way of knowing which words would cross the line.
Seeing the two fall silent, Mortal Pig turned his attention back to Qi Xia. “The rules for our game will be similar to last time, but with a twist. This time, I’ll handle the allocation.”

Qi Xia studied the stone pieces on the table, a thoughtful frown creasing his brow. “So after you ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) allocate them, I’ll make my choice?”
“Precisely.” Mortal Pig nodded with a smirk. “Does that seem unfair to you?”
“Unfair, no doubt.” Qi Xia acknowledged, though he remained wary, recognizing the game’s {rules} were far from fully revealed. He knew better than to believe the only twist would be the allocation. The {truth} and {deception} rule still loomed, sure to complicate things further.

“So, in a gesture of mercy,” Mortal Pig said, his voice dripping with satisfaction, “I’ve added another rule for you. After you make your choice, you can ask one of these two to confirm the color of the piece. But—you only get one question.”
With that, he addressed Lin Qin and Ole Lu. “To keep things fair, you two may only respond with {black} or {white}. Any objections?”
Both Lin Qin and Ole Lu shook their heads vehemently, anxiety etched across their faces.

Qi Xia, analyzing the new rule, understood its cunning design. Now, discerning the truth would be even harder. He’d have to weigh whether Lin Qin or Ole Lu would tell the truth or lie, further complicating his strategy.
‘Segal’s law…’ Qi Xia closed his eyes, murmuring to himself, ‘When a person has only one watch, they know the time exactly. But with two watches showing different times, uncertainty reigns…’
“Are you ready, Qi Xia?” Mortal Pig asked with unsettling calmness.

Qi Xia took a deep breath, meeting his gaze steadily. “I could ask you the same. This is life and death—are you ready?”
“Life and death?” Mortal Pig’s lips curled into a mocking smile before he erupted into a fit of laughter. “Life? Hah! We exist here, but this isn’t living… It’s only in {death} that I truly feel alive.”
Qi Xia nodded, understanding that Mortal Pig’s long stay in this place had warped his sense of reality beyond repair.

With that, Qi Xia reached for the blindfold, pulling it over his eyes.
Mortal Pig continued methodically arranging the stone pieces.
Lin Qin and Ole Lu, watching from the sidelines, were gripped with anxiety. Despite the life-and-death stakes, Qi Xia and Mortal Pig remained poised—their calm a stark contrast to their own trembling legs.

"Do you ever think about escape?" Qi Xia’s voice cut through the tension.
Mortal Pig, still engrossed in his task, responded without looking up. "What are you implying?"
"Beyond the prospect of dying here," Qi Xia pressed, "have you ever thought about escaping this place?"

Mortal Pig's hand hovered midair for a moment before responding. "Escape to where?"
"To where you came from," Qi Xia, still blindfolded, replied with measured seriousness. "Don’t you want to go back?"
Mortal Pig hesitated, his thoughts visibly stirring. "If I didn’t want to go back, why would I have become a {pig}?"

Qi Xia stiffened. That answer felt like a significant clue.
"But I don’t intend to {escape}, Qi Xia," Mortal Pig continued, his tone growing somber. He finished allocating the stone pieces, straightening with quiet resolve. "I plan to leave this place justly—and with honor."