Chapter 357: Everyone Feels They Have "Winned" the Deal
——【Notice, notice.】
[Team 629 and Team 971 worked together to complete the strategy for Labyrinth Node 11 and received the corresponding reward.]
When the notification that another maze node had been captured sounded, most of the candidates had no reaction at first.
A small number of candidates who were behind in the reward points inevitably complained, but most magical girls just buried their heads in their work. After all, the assessment had been going on for a long time, and although good things like "strategy nodes" were enviable, they were no longer so novel.
However, this tense silence did not last long. Soon, the entire maze became restless because of the next sentence in the notice:
[There is only one node left in this test. Please hurry up and answer the questions as soon as possible. ]
Just one sentence made this huge building, which seemed to have no boundaries, buzz.
Some candidates breathed a sigh of relief, just because the test, which had lasted for nearly a whole day, or even almost a day and a night, was finally coming to an end; some candidates felt fortunate, just because the intensive search of the maze and puzzle solving had consumed too much of their energy, and the end of the test meant that their advantage in scores could be established.
However, more candidates are caught in an anxious mood as if "the exam is about to end, but the test paper has not been completed yet."
No matter if they were solving puzzles, getting lost, or secretly confronting other teams... everyone spontaneously sped up their progress.
This naturally includes summer coolness.
——"What do you mean, you mean when they sold you the information, they even attached a survey map?"
At this time, Xia Liang was pretending to be surprised while chatting with three strange magical girls in front of him. He looked quite friendly and natural, even with a bit of innocence: "Why don't I have it? Did they forget?"
"They didn't give it to you?"
The unfamiliar candidate in front of her was stunned when she heard this: "How did you find this place without a map?"
"They pointed me in a direction and told me to just keep walking in that direction..."
Xia Liang looked frustrated, and after slightly modifying his true situation, he explained, "I didn't even have time to solve the puzzle. I was rushing all the way and only got here now."
"Wow, that's too perfunctory."
The strange candidate who was amused by Xia Liang's "unlucky experience" couldn't help laughing, but he didn't doubt him: "It seems that you have been cheated by a profiteer, sister."
It was no wonder that she was not alert to Xia Liang's words, because in her opinion, Xia Liang was just a "buyer of export information" like herself.
Previously, Xia Liang had originally planned to "avoid everyone and leave after recovering her magic power." However, when she learned about the so-called "exit," she hesitated again and again and finally changed her mind.
Even though this news sounded like a strong suspicion of fraud, it was related to export after all, and she couldn't just turn a blind eye to it.
Just as stated in the notice, the assessment was nearing its end and she had no time to waste. If this was really the "exit", then after all the nodes were breached, this would be the first place to leave the maze.
It was theoretically possible to continue moving forward as she had originally planned, and to leave the maze by walking straight through the wall. But at the moment, she couldn't even confirm her position in the maze. What if the direction she chose happened to be the longer side? She might still be struggling to get through the wall when the exit was opened.
In the end, she chose to use the information she had overheard, pretending to be a candidate who "bought the export information", and came into contact with a team of seemingly serious magical girls.
Although the other party was very alert at first and even wanted to bypass Xia Liang to leave, Xia Liang took the initiative to reveal the existence of the "exit". She also used her usual good eloquence and soon started chatting enthusiastically with these strange magical girls.
During this period, she inadvertently asked a few questions and confirmed several facts:
First, this so-called "export" information was leaked from the same team.
Second, this team seemed to have some kind of high-speed movement method with low magic consumption. After mapping most of the map, they determined several possible exit points through map distribution and magic concentration. Xia Liang was currently in one of them.
Third, although this team had such ability, after internal discussion, they felt that they could not continue to anchor the exit location. In the end, any of the remaining points were very likely, and they could no longer eliminate the candidates. Therefore, in the end, they chose a way to cash in on the information gap: intelligence trading.
As for the transaction method, it is also very simple: directly find the teams that are solving puzzles, and use the exported information to buy the right to solve the puzzles from them.
This is certainly not a deal that everyone agrees to, but the progress of the teams in the maze varies, and many teams are already just one puzzle away from the points. Compared to a puzzle with a fixed reward that may not be solved smoothly, information about the exit, and even half of the maze map, is a more attractive option.
Therefore, after signing a simple contract agreeing not to actively resell second-hand information, many teams reached deals with this "surveyor" team.
Judging from the number of teams Xia Liang had encountered before, if the location she was in was just "one of the possible points", then there must be quite a few teams that had made this transaction. A rough estimate is that there must be more than ten or twenty teams. Based on this estimate, the team that surveyed the map must have received a lot of rewards for the puzzles. Even if half of the puzzles could not be solved, they had already reaped a lot of rewards and were among the top in points.
It's really enviable... no, it's really admirable.
Feeling a little dissatisfied in her heart, Xia Liang originally planned to continue chatting with the team for a few minutes and then leave. After all, a "possible location for the exit" was not what she wanted. If she couldn't be sure that this was the exit, she might as well act according to her original plan.
But soon, she suddenly realized something.
——If the team that mapped out the map had the same ability to pass through walls as me, wouldn’t they have been able to sneak out of the maze on their own long ago?
So, if I get that map now, does it mean that the power is in my hands?
When she thought of this, she felt like she could hardly walk.
"Um, sorry, could you lend me the map?"
After a moment of hesitation, half pretending and half sincere, Xia Liang asked, "Although this is a little unfair to you, I feel that I have lost money in this business..."
"Well, for this..."
Several unfamiliar candidates looked at each other, and the one in the lead looked embarrassed: "Although it sounds like you have a difficult time, don't blame me for saying something unpleasant. We are now competitors. It's okay to joke around, but if I really let you see the map in vain, that would be a bit..."
The other two people beside her looked a little apologetic, but it was obvious that they meant the same thing.
"Haha, that's right."
Xia Liang smiled bitterly and scratched her cheek innocently, as if she was really a good girl who didn't know much about the world. But before the other party could say anything else, she made an expression as if she had made up her mind: "Well, what if we also come to make a deal? I have some news here, maybe you will be interested."
"trade?"
The leading candidate muttered the word, and his expression suddenly became more serious: "What is it?"
"I wonder if you have seen the so-called 'big shot list'."
Xia Liang also seemed to be serious and said: "If I say that I know the detailed ability information of the fourth place, will it be helpful to you? Or, although I don't know who her enemies are, if I am willing to sign a contract with you, I will not disclose this information to anyone else. Can you sell this information for a better price?"
Her words made the candidates opposite her look at each other in bewilderment again.
Xia Liang had no intention of asking whether these people communicated with each other through eye contact or lip language. She was only responsible for playing her harmless role. Although she knew that after proposing the "resale of other people's ability information", the other party would definitely sense some bad intentions. But it didn't matter. The most important thing was that she must not let anyone know her trump card.
And soon, the team communicated the results.
"Interesting, you have found the right person."
The leading magical girl smiled, but unlike the previous enthusiastic smile, this smile was full of the shrewdness and playfulness of a "businessman":
"Tell me more?"
(End of this chapter)
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