The Ox's Gambit

Jack Li straightened up, his fingers still trembling slightly from the migraine's aftershocks. The metallic tang of blood clung to his clothes like a second skin.

"Next time your head decides to split open," Barrett grumbled, "give us warning, yeah? Nearly pissed myself thinking you were turning into one of those animal freaks."

Taylor's surgical mask bobbed as she spoke. "Cluster headaches can be triggered by stress or environmental factors. This place..." She gestured at the rust-colored skyline. "... is basically a migraine factory."

"Environmental factors?" Candy kicked a pebble across the cracked asphalt. "More like hell's waiting room."

Jack Li ignored their banter, studying the crumbling storefronts ahead. Shadows moved behind boarded windows - not the jerky motions of the mask-wearing gamekeepers, but the sluggish sway of the damned.

"Rules," he muttered. "Even hell has bylaws."

A skeletal figure shuffled toward them, arms laden with yellowed pamphlets. Its sunken eyes didn't register the living as it thrust a flyer at Barrett.

"'Heroic Sword God Grand Opening'," Barrett read aloud, crumbling the decades-old advertisement in his fist. "Bloody hell, even the spam's undead here."

Taylor tilted her head. "What's 'spam'?"

Three pairs of eyes locked onto her.

Barrett snorted. "Playing dense now, are we? Next you'll ask what oxygen is."

"Actually..." Taylor's brow furrowed behind her mask. "... what's a flyer?"

The question hung like a guillotine blade. Candy edged away, hand drifting toward the rusted pipe in her belt. Barrett's tattoos seemed to coil tighter around his neck.

Jack Li's voice cut through the tension. "Nineteenth century lithographic printing. Mass-produced advertisements. Commonly distributed in urban centers pre-Digital Age." His stare could've drilled through steel. "Any of this ringing bells, Dr. Taylor?"

The psychologist removed her mask, revealing an unsettlingly serene smile. "How fascinating! You mean like movable type? Gutenberg's invention?"

Barrett's switchblade clicked open. "Who the fuck are you really?"

"Hey! Buddy!" 

A sudden shout from across the road startled the group. They saw a shabbily dressed man with glasses waving at them: "Look here! Buddy!" 

This was their first encounter with other normal people in this place, making them instinctively tense. Friend or foe? 

"Are you calling me?" Jack Li attempted conversation. 

"Exactly! You're Liangren (decent people) too, right?" The bespectacled man grinned. 

"Liangren?" 

"Normal folks," the man explained. "Don't you use that term?" 

Jack Li paused before replying, "Do we look insane to you?" 

"Haha! Knew it!" The man chuckled. "We found a good game. Want to team up and earn some Dao?" 

He maintained a cautious distance throughout. Jack Li and Barrett exchanged glances, unsure whether to trust him. But considering the rules prohibited Dao theft, deception seemed the only possible threat. 

When it came to deception, Jack Li feared no one. 

"How do we earn Dao?" Jack Li pressed. 

"We found an ox-type game with massive Dao rewards, but it requires twenty participants. We're five short. Interested?" 

"Five short?" Jack Li blinked. "You've already gathered fifteen?" 

Seemed this place indeed had many participants. 

"Correct." The bespectacled man nodded toward a distant crowd. 

After brief consideration, Jack Li agreed: "Alright, we'll check it out." 

"Great! I'll wait for you there!" The man tactfully withdrew. 

"Oi!" Barrett protested. "Just follow strangers? What if it's a gang? Want me to show my moves?" 

"Impossible," Jack Li countered. "With nine-person room limits, forming large gangs is impractical. Even we from the same room don't fully trust each other." 

His glance at Taylor carried hidden meaning. The psychologist frowned, unaware her ignorance about "flyers" had aroused suspicion. 

Crossing dilapidated streets, they arrived at a massive building guarded by a buffalo-masked figure. Dozens of participants milled about, maintaining wary distances. Though strangers, their normalcy brought fleeting comfort. 

"Nice work Four-Eyes!" A middle-aged man clapped the bespectacled man's shoulder. "Four recruits at once!" 

Jack Li approached the ox-headed guardian: "Game rules?" 

"Ox-type game. One Dao entry fee per person. Requires twenty participants. Survivors receive Dao equal to final headcount." 

"Equal to headcount?!" Jack Li started. "If twenty remain, each gets twenty Dao?!" 

"Correct." 

Barrett gaped. "Holy shit! Four hundred Dao at once?!" 

"Too good to be true..." Candy eyed the guardian suspiciously. "Hey Human Ox, you'll honor this?" 

After a pause, the guardian corrected: "I am Earth Ox, not Human Ox. Mistaking us brings consequences." 

The group noticed differences - his pristine bovine mask seemed alive, tailored suit immaculate, mask's mouth moving with speech. 

Jack Li scratched his head. "Earth Ox... What's your game?" 

"Pay entry, learn details." 

Jack Li grimaced. Their four-Dao investment meant abandoning previous strategies for this high-risk venture. 

"Cheating Boy, what's ox-type games?" Barrett prodded. 

"Probably my least favorite - physical labor." Jack Li eyed Barrett's muscular arms. "Suits brutes like you." 

"Ha!" Barrett rolled up sleeves revealing tattooed biceps. "My time to shine... Wait, who're you calling brute?" 

"Wouldn't be here without the Dao incentive." 

"Call me Big Bro (Dai Lo), I'll carry you through!" Barrett grinned. 

"We're similar age, maybe 26-27. Why should I?" 

"Then state your birth year!" 

Jack Li sighed. "You first." 

"1979." Barrett smirked. 

"1979? Quit joking." Jack Li turned away. 

Candy chuckled at their antics. Barrett's levity lifted the oppressive atmosphere. 

As minutes passed, the count stuck at nineteen. 

"Where's the last?" The middle-aged man asked Four-Eyes. "Overslept?" 

"Not sure. Should I recruit another?" 

"Forget it. Nineteen's enough. Don't want mysterious deaths." 

Jack Li caught "death" and tensed. Before he could ponder, a lazy giant appeared - shirtless scarred torso, camouflage pants, yawning approach. 

"He's here!" Four-Eyes cheered. 

The 190cm buzzcut giant yawned at Earth Ox: "Cost?" 

"One Dao." 

He flicked a Dao orb effortlessly caught by Earth Ox. "Let's begin. Show me your tricks." 

Jack Li's group eyed the intimidating newcomer. Barrett remained unimpressed, having beaten similar street thugs before. 

With twenty gathered, participants queued to pay. Jack Li hesitated before committing their last four Dao. 

"Really doing this?" Barrett asked. "Our plan..." 

"Risky," Jack Li admitted. "But twenty-player games are rare. Worth trying." 

Earth Ox opened a basement door. "Enter." 

Descending stairs revealed a dim chamber with twenty chairs and two colored doors. 

"Sit," Earth Ox ordered. "Team assignment commences. Move prematurely face sanctions." 

Chairs lit with alternating yellow/green LEDs. Four-Eyes panicked: "Teams?!" 

Jack Li understood - divided teams favored the house. 

As Earth Ox pressed a button, armrest lights flickered chaotically. Jack Li's tension grew - physical challenges needed Barrett's strength, but random teams might separate them. 

Lights stabilized. Yellow and green groups formed. The gamble began.