Chapter 50: Never Sounding for a Pantomime

"Stupid dog! Clueless dog!"

Sophia was furious, standing with her hands on her hips and scolding him.

She wasn't angry because Igor had lost the game, but rather because his dejected appearance made her feel utterly humiliated.

The words that had initially been on the tip of her tongue—"We magic wolves are indomitable, a setback like this is nothing!"—suddenly transformed into:

"That fellow is weaker than a goblin! And yet you lost to him?! What a completely useless, super-stupid dog!"

"I am sorry, Lady Sophia."

Igor's voice was hoarse and low as he groveled on the ground.

The twin-tailed girl took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and lightly kicked her butler.

"Hey! Get up off the floor, you hear me!"

Sophia tossed her twin tails, crossed her arms, and turned her head away.

"A loss is a loss. Bever and Lillian lost too, anyway. If you had won, it would have just seemed disrespectful to your betters."

"But," Igor said, remaining on the ground with his head lowered, "if Mister Guy truly harbored ill intentions toward you, he would have discovered me before I could even get close. There wouldn't have been enough time..."

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Sophia grabbed the wolf butler by the ear, laughing out of sheer exasperation.

"Do you really think that fellow has that kind of capability? Or are you looking down on me? Ha? Ah?!"

"I did not mean that, Lady Sophia."

Forced to stand up, Igor allowed the young lady to pull his ear without offering any resistance, speaking in the quiet tone of a chastised child.

The twin-tailed girl let out a cold snort and released her grip.

At that moment, Pinocchio spoke up with a look of eager anticipation:

"Guy, Guy! Surely it's my turn now, right?"

Wang Xi withdrew his gaze from Sophia, turned to look at the dark-haired, porcelain-doll-like boy, and smiled gently.

"What would you like to play?"

"Hmm..." Pinocchio pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know. Why don't you decide, Guy?"

Wang Xi glanced at Pinocchio's hands.

"Are you skilled at shooting?"

"Ah, you're so clever, Guy."

Pinocchio raised his arm, splayed his five fingers, and smiled.

"That's right. The body my father designed for me relies on shooting for most of its offensive methods."

"Since you're skilled at it, let's compete in this."

Wang Xi nodded.

Pinocchio's eyes lit up, and feeling touched by Guy's thoughtfulness, warmth flooded his heart.

Of course!

Looking back at the previous games, Guy had always chosen fields that his opponents were not good at. But this time, he alone, as a friend, received special treatment...

He cares about me!

Pinocchio broke into a radiant smile, thinking to himself that he must return the favor. Later on, he would intentionally hold back a bit and engineer a tie!

"Miss Bever, would you be so kind as to use magic to create moving targets? The smaller the size and the faster the speed, the better."

Wang Xi turned and bowed slightly to the pink-gowned witch.

Bever gently swirled her wine glass and accepted with a light smile:

"Of course, no problem."

With that, she lifted her hand and gave it a gentle wave.

Accompanied by a rustling sound, a brilliant flurry of colorful powdered sugar filled the air. Two pink dragonflies, formed entirely of syrup, materialized, beating their translucent scaly wings as they darted rapidly across the room.

Swish! Swish!

Pinocchio's gaze sharpened.

Within his dark, glossy eyes, a fine, pale-blue grid seemed to appear. The trajectory of the two pink sugar dragonflies was instantly captured and predicted.

Whish—

The boy raised his hand and extended his index finger.

A spiral aperture opened at his fingertip, instantly bursting with a flash of fire.

Bang!! f

A crisp gunshot rang out.

A tracer bullet cut a straight line through the air, striking down one of the pink dragonflies. Pinocchio turned around triumphantly, only to see Guy holding a hunting crossbow, aiming with intense focus.

Thwack—

The trigger was pulled, and the crossbow bolt flew forth.

The arrow sliced straight through the air, piercing the other pink dragonfly and pinning it firmly against the biscuit wall.

"Apologies, Miss Bever, I ruined your wall."

Wang Xi offered an apologetic smile to the sugar witch behind him.

"It's nothing." Bever waved her hand nonchalantly, giggling as she said, "Being able to witness Mister Guy's exceptional crossbow skills makes it entirely worth it."

Beside her, Sophia huffed and puffed.

She seemed displeased by this differential treatment.

When she had crushed the carpet, she was about to get beaten. But when that fellow ruined the wall, not only was Bever not angry, she even praised him.

Sophia pulled her red hood down lower and muttered venomously:

"Stupid Bever, she'll be tricked by a man sooner or later, and then ravished—"

Clang!

Sophia cried out in pain once more.

"Miss Bever, it seems to be a tie... Please create another target. This time, make it smaller in size and faster in speed, otherwise it will be difficult to determine a winner in this contest."

Wang Xi placed a hand over his chest, bowed, and requested.

Hearing this, Pinocchio made a series of exaggerated facial expressions, looking anxious.

Guy...

What are you doing?

If you keep playing like this, you're going to lose face completely!

From Pinocchio's perspective, he didn't understand the realm of magic, but when it came to shooting, he was truly powerful.

Forget about Guy not being able to win; not a single master archer across the entire Stag Kingdom could possibly win against him!

Wang Xi acted as though he hadn't noticed Pinocchio's various expressions and subtle gestures, keeping his eyes fixed on the pink-gowned witch.

"Since Mister Guy has made a request, I will naturally fulfill it."

Bever wore a lingering smile.

Everyone's interest had been piqued.

Even smaller and faster...

Could anyone actually hit it?

Bever opened her palm and blew gently forward.

Hoo—

Brilliant powdered sugar fluttered in the air.

A golden candy, no larger than a finger, materialized. The ruffled candy wrappers on its sides flapped like wings, buzzing loudly as they left behind a blurred afterimage.

Swish—

The moment the candy moved, it traced dozens of golden paths across the room. Even Sophia found her eyes struggling to keep up.

"Hey, Igor, could you catch that?"

The twin-tailed girl turned her head and muttered softly.

The wolf butler stared intently at the trajectory darting through the air like golden lightning, and said in a deep voice:

"If I reveal my magic wolf form..."

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I have a twenty percent chance."

"Only twenty percent..."

Sophia sighed in disappointment.

She cast a gloating look at the two black-haired fellows, as if waiting for them to make fools of themselves.

She would definitely mock them mercilessly later!

"Wow! So fast!"

Pinocchio watched the golden light flying all over the room, letting out a cry of exclamation.

The pale-blue grid within his dark eyes continuously analyzed and captured the target, but locking onto it remained exceedingly difficult.

Originally, he had wanted to take the opportunity to hold back and save some face for Guy, but the current situation far exceeded his expectations.

Forget about holding back; even if Pinocchio went all out, he probably couldn't guarantee a hundred percent hit rate on that golden candy!

"Pinocchio, do not intentionally yield just because I am your friend... Since it is a game, we must play to our heart's content. Please use your full strength!"

Wang Xi's sincere words reached his ears.

Pinocchio couldn't help but freeze.

Guy...

He is truly so gentle.

Instantly, the boy was filled with fighting spirit, his expression turning solemn.

Since Guy had strongly requested that he take it seriously, he would no longer hold back, pouring his entire focus into the space before him.

His dark, glossy eyes darted left and right, locking onto the target with a speed that far exceeded what ordinary beings could achieve.

Bang!!

A gunshot rang out without warning.

A flash of fire bloomed at the tip of Pinocchio's index finger.

Time seemed to freeze for a fraction of a second.

Everyone's gaze converged—

A tracer beam flashed, intersecting with the golden line darting through the air, producing a faint frictional sound.

Clack!

"He hit it?!"

Sophia glanced in surprise at the handsome-looking iron man, seemingly unaware that this fellow possessed such skill.

However, Bever shook her head and said softly:

"He didn't hit it fully, he only grazed the edge."

As the creator of the golden candy, she had access to far more information than what Sophia could perceive.

Swish, swish, swish—

The golden light in midair merely paused for a single instant before flashing once more, seemingly largely unaffected.

"I didn't bring it down..."

Pinocchio's finger retracted, and he hung his head in dejection.

He thought to himself that since the result was already like this, he might as well take the opportunity to concede defeat, which would help preserve Guy's dignity.

With that thought, Pinocchio broke into a smile once more, feeling that Guy achieving victory was far more important.

"Guy, I surren—"

Slap!

Wang Xi covered his mouth with his hand.

"Cough." Wang Xi took a deep breath, filled with emotion. "Pinocchio, you are always like this, always wanting to yield the glory of victory to your friends... But please allow me, as an ordinary human, to see this game through to its absolute end with you."

"True friendship should not find its victory in the charity of another, right?"

Wang Xi's tone was gentle.

Pinocchio's dark, glossy eyes flickered.

Guy...

He would rather lose to me than compromise this game symbolizing our friendship.

It is truly my honor to have met him.

Father! You must be proud of me as well!

I have made such a noble friend!

"What you said is right, Guy!"

Wang Xi removed his hand, and Pinocchio nodded like a chick pecking at grain, his delicate facial features overflowing with a touched expression.

"It was my redundancy; I almost ruined our friendship. Please finish your final performance, and regardless of the outcome, you will always be my best friend."

"Thank you."

Wang Xi breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

He had saved Pinocchio for last precisely to force him to go all out... Because according to the rules provided by Chaos, the methods of defeat and the varying levels of difficulty would directly impact the capture of the cards.

Although this inherently involved a degree of utilizing the other party, causing a pang of guilt in Wang Xi's heart, in order to enhance his own strength without harming his friend, this was the best possible outcome.

"Hmph, putting on a show."

Seeming to disdain this lack of genuine capability paired with pretentious posturing, Sophia spoke up without the slightest bit of politeness.

However, Bever shot her a sideways glance.

Lillian maintained a calm expression, silently watching the two of them. Her small hands clenched tightly beneath the table, and deep within her sapphire-like eyes, a trace of envy flickered.

Swish, swish, swish—

The golden candy continued its tireless flashing.

Wang Xi took a deep breath, raised his head, and stared upward.

In truth, given his actual abilities, he couldn't see the golden trajectory clearly at all, let alone shoot it with a hunting crossbow.

However, he still held a trump card in his hand.

——"Chekhov's Gun"

A unique Black Card!

This was a guaranteed-hit firearm, sufficient to seal the victory of this contest!

Wang Xi raised his hand, and a matte revolver of a deep, pitch-black hue suddenly materialized in his palm.

"Doctor Anton, I leave it to you."

He whispered politely.

To Wang Xi's astonishment, almost in the very next second, a cultured male voice seemed to echo beside his ear.

The voice was elegant and low:

"In the third act where the gun is already loaded, the bullet will naturally seek its poetic eye... 'Chekhov's Gun' never sounds for a silent play."

Wang Xi felt as though he had received a divine revelation.

Lowering his eyelids, he raised his hand and pulled the trigger.

Bang——