Cheng Xu had considered that after securing second place in the mid-term rankings, Shizhu, as the only team with a Chinese name among the top three, should have received more votes than less.
However, he had not anticipated so many, and although it was only a drop in the ocean compared to Clinton, everyone was clearly shocked by the astonishing number of bets.
A heated discussion broke out on the public chat. The high probability of China achieving high rankings in these three limited-time events was reminiscent of watching an Olympic Games leaderboard.
"Damn it, our entire organization voted for Clinton. We've lost out."
"Are you stupid? Just get a few people together and place bets separately. Then everyone can split the prize. Don't put all your eggs in one basket!"
"Our family of four placed bets on all four of the top four teams in the midterms, so we feel at ease."
"Of course we'd vote for Shizhu! Isn't it obvious that it's the Chinese team?"
"Actually, it sounds a bit like an island nation..."
"Thank you to the country, thank you to Shizhu. I've never won at betting on football before, but this time I finally won!"
"Voting Clinton wasn't so bad. Even if you come in second, you'll still get something, so it's a break-even point."
"Do you know how much less the prize pool is for the second-place team in the mid-term rankings compared to the first? Besides, Shizhu's votes are lower than Clinton's, so betting on Shizhu will definitely net you a lot!"
"How much smaller is the second-place prize pool than the first-place one, bro? You tell me! We shouted until we were hoarse in the chat, but nobody said anything! Did you bet on Shizhu in the first round?"
"Hey, you found out, bro! Actually, I saw this name by chance and took a gamble."
"Wow, blind betting, amazing!"
"You bet! But several of my teammates bet on Clinton, using a high-risk + low-risk double guarantee, and they actually won!"
"What great luck... Let me absorb some of your good fortune!"
"I bet on that X11, and... can't this scammer give me a refund?!"
"However, didn't any of you notice anything amiss? When the midterm election results came out, Shizhu was criticized for a long time, wasn't she? I thought you all understood?"
"What the hell did you understand?"
"?"
"Yeah, that's hilarious. Everyone's reasoning was so obvious back then, we were just one step away from the final step, what happened to you guys? Did your internet go down?"
"What does this mean? I only remember that I was talking about Tao at the time. The pronunciation of '拾箸' sounds like '石柱' or '十柱' (stone pillars, ten pillars). The meaning of '拾箸' is that it means to pick up chopsticks. In short, it doesn't make any sense..."
"Yes, and the 'hour pillar' in their birth charts—the old Chinese person is definitely real, but I never expected them to beat Clinton..."
"I only gambled because I'm an older Chinese person; Chinese people don't cheat other Chinese people!"
"Me too, I'll fight for my pride rather than steam buns."
So why was it named Shizhu (拾箸)? Sallyman, who was browsing the public chat, couldn't help but look at Xi Xi.
Xi Xi chuckled and explained that it originated from the poem: "Silver chopsticks fall on the frosty terrace, suddenly startling the mountain moon. Bending down to pick up the clear shadow, I pick out the jade light that returns."
The idea was first proposed by Li Jinshao, and the reason for specifically choosing these two words depends on everyone's abstract associative abilities...
"But we have to be subtle! What if everyone bets on us?" Cheng Xu was very concerned about the prize pool to be divided among the bettors, and he kept refreshing his email. "Anyway, this trick can only stop some bandwagoners, oh right, and some foreign-worshippers. Truly patriotic people will definitely still bet on us without hesitation when they see Chinese characters."
Sallyman couldn't help but nod, then looked back at the chat. To her surprise, someone quickly solved the problem.
"Damn it, I'm so angry! I should have bet on chopsticks too. The runner-up prize package was delivered, and all I got was a handful of scallions..."
"I got a toothbrush..."
"I am, um, a sock... not a pair, just one."
"There's nothing we can do, too many people are betting on Clinton..."
"Clinton, pshaw! I'm so angry! I thought the prize pool was huge and I could win if I bet, but look what they did! What's the meaning of this?!"
"What should we do then? Let me show you the gift packs we received from throwing the chopsticks "
"Here's a screenshot of the light screen. Who told you not to support the Chinese team?"
"Frog Fun, so much food and supplies... even pork and beef?!"
"Holy crap, this can't be fair! How can you win so much by betting on the champion?!"
"I'm not very good at handling lamb in the section. Is there anyone willing to trade me beef for it? Please!"
"Hey girl, do you sell your diving goggles? I really need them."
"Not going out."
"The champion betting package even includes vehicle diving enhancements? Holy crap, who's betting on me?! I can bid up the price!!"
"I posted a screenshot of the light screen, and I got two diving enhancements."
I've sent you a private message!
"I hate Clinton, damn it, he has no talent but he flaunts himself on the public screen every day."
"So why don't you throw in the chopsticks?"
"Isn't it because no one claimed responsibility for picking up the chopsticks? Everyone on the servers was shouting about it for ages, right?"
"Yeah, what does this team mean? It's quite amusing to make fun of your fellow countrymen, isn't it? If you had just said something, not so many Chinese people would have voted for Clinton."
"Ugh...Are you guys out of your minds? You lost the bet, why are you blaming your fellow countrymen?"
“I told you many people didn’t see the good intentions behind Shizhu’s actions. I’ll leave that at that. If they had revealed their hand, who knows how many Tom, Dick, or Harry would have voted for them! By remaining silent, only the Chinese would have voted for them.”
"That's right, otherwise how would we have gotten so many supplies?"
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