Li Xiu looked at the black and white buttons, and with five seconds left on the countdown, he pressed the black button.
He chose the black button for the first question, since there was no way to determine the priority for this one, he decided to stick with the priority from the start of the trial, which was black.
Although Li Xiu and Fei hadn't made this agreement, Li Xiu believed that with Fei's intelligence, she would figure it out.
Of course, he could only hope Fei understood this. From what he knew about her, she was definitely not a foolish woman.
Staring intently at the screen, Li Xiu waited for the countdown to end.
"Three... two... one... countdown over. Answers match, proceeding to the next round of the trial..."
Having passed the trial unscathed, Li Xiu sighed in relief. If Fei hadn't figured it out and relied on luck to choose, they both would have been doomed.
Even if they didn't die this round, they would die in the next one anyway.
Because based on Li Xiu's judgment, the upcoming questions wouldn't allow them to cheat so easily.
Sure enough, the next question broke away from their agreed-upon plan.
"Do you believe in the existence of God? Press any button if you believe, don't press if you don't."
Because Fei said there was only one button, according to their previous agreement, questions where pressing or not pressing was optional required a button press.
But now there were two buttons, and if they had to choose one, it made the task even harder than before.
The best way was to choose not to press, which would be the easiest answer to agree upon; it's the most straightforward and also the way most people choose to resolve issues.
When faced with unsolvable difficulties, and there's a possibility to escape, most ordinary people tend to choose to avoid. Even knowing that the situation might become irrevocable, they still avoid taking the risks they should bear.
If both people think like this, they could easily reach a consensus.
However, Li Xiu did not choose not to press, because the agreement was the agreement. He believed Fei would also follow the agreement rather than wishfully thinking his partner would give up on a tough choice.
Li Xiu pressed the black button, still following the logic of the previous question, calculating the optimal choice from the start of the trial.
After pressing the black button, Li Xiu squinted his eyes at the countdown because he couldn't be sure whether Fei relied on luck in the previous question, or if she really thought of this method, or if she had other thoughts.
Time ticked by second by second, Li Xiu's heart beat faster and faster. Even the strongest minded person would find it hard not to be nervous at this moment.
Now, Li Xiu could only trust his judgment and his judgment of Fei.
The final digit, 1, on the light screen shattered and vanished, and the wristband on Li Xiu's hand didn't explode, making Li Xiu completely relax.
After this question, Li Xiu confirmed that Fei judged the same as he did; she wasn't someone who solved problems in a simple, brute-force way.
With this understanding, they resolved the remaining questions one by one, reaching a perfect consistency on all ten questions.
Through these questions, Li Xiu and Fei developed a sense of mutual understanding, and with this, one could even argue they understood each other better than anyone else in the world, transcending blood relatives or romantic partners.
The final question appeared on the screen, and the cold electronic voice read out each word of the question.
Reading the question, Li Xiu hesitated for the first time.
The question was very simple, and the choice was clear. Even two complete strangers could make a consistent choice, allowing both to survive and claim their reward.
By choosing the black button, both could complete the End of the World Trial and receive their deserved reward.
But besides this option, there was another choice.
If one person chose to press the white button and the other chose the black button, the person pressing the white button would receive double the reward, while the person pressing the black button would fail the trial.
Beyond this, there was no rule indicating what would happen if both pressed the white button.
Li Xiu looked at the black and white buttons but did not press decisively like before; such a simple choice was a hundred times more dangerous than the previous ones.
If following the agreement, Li Xiu should press the black button.
But Fei participated in The Ends of the Earth Trial for the first time, survived, and obtained the S-grade skill reward "Forfeit."
The Ends of the Earth Trial requires two people as a team to participate, meaning there must have been someone teamed with Fei during her trial.
So what happened to the other person? They must have reached the last step with Fei; otherwise, Fei wouldn't have received a reward.
But what about the person who teamed up with Fei? If they survived, they should also have obtained an S-grade skill, right? Why is there no mention of such a person in Abyss Base?
If such a person truly existed, Old Gu wouldn't have let him leave, just like he didn't let Fei go.
What is more frightening is that Fei told Li Xiu there were a total of ten questions, but now there was an eleventh, and this additional question involved such a choice.
Could it be possible that Fei originally knew there were eleven questions, and during her previous trial, faced the same choice where her teammate chose the black button, while Fei chose the white button?
Looking at the black and white buttons, Li Xiu remained silent.
If both people pressing the white button means failure in the trial, maybe someone as smart as Fei would choose the black button.
But the rules did not explain what would happen if both press the white button; perhaps they might both receive double rewards by pressing the white button.
This thought is dangerous, but it's possible, and it's precisely because of this slight possibility that someone who might have chosen the black button would switch to the white button, raising the probability.
Choosing the black button offers a fifty percent chance of dying, and even if surviving, grants only one reward.
Choosing the white button might not require dying, offering a fifty percent chance to get two rewards, perhaps even more.
The choices between angels and demons often find the demon side more alluring.
Li Xiu doesn't care about an extra reward, but what about Fei? After all, they had just known each other for half a month; Fei could still be someone with a questionable past.
"Four... three... two..." The countdown reached the last second; it was time to make a choice.
"S-grade difficulty truly lives up to its name; in the face of reality, the ugliness of human nature often triumphs over goodness. Fei, what will you choose?" Li Xiu looked at the two buttons before him, exhaled slowly, and reached out to press one of them.