<h4>Chapter 1286: Only One Piece of Meat Away from Victory</h4>


    The beach fell silent for a few seconds. Senping leaned close to Greene and whispered a few words to her. Then, the pregnant woman spoke, "I need to make a decision now, or can I think about it first?"


    From the expressions of the people, it seemed that, except for Ji Shanqing, no one thought this question was a big deal—anyone would need to think about it, right? However, when Lin Sanjiu nced at the grand prize, she noticed him smiling bitterly and whispered, "Oh dear, this is not good."


    "You can think about it first," the chef said as he bent over to pick up a piece of meat. His round bottom wobbled behind the grill, and his voice came from below, "I''ll start roasting, but once it''s on your te, you can''t throw it away."


    With those words, the chef''s response practically helped Senpingplete his alliance. Everyone realized the significance of Greene''s question without Senping having to exin it further. Even Ito couldn''t help but curse, "What a cunning guy!"


    The chef had stated that a person couldn''t consecutively collect two ''chances'' of meat. However, he didn''t say someone couldn''t consecutively collect two ''pieces'' of meat. Though it was just a one-word difference, it had a world of difference in meaning.


    During the previous test, Li Xing and Ge could continue collecting meat in the next round because two people simultaneously stood on the marker, invalidating the entire round. However, if only one person stood on the marker, the round wouldn''t be invalidated since itplied with the rules. But if Greene had decided to throw away the meat just before it arrived, that unfortunate person couldn''t continue standing on the marker and had to wait for the next piece of meat.


    Thinking about it this way, would Greene throw away her ally''s meat?


    "I''ll join," the previously quiet woman suddenly shouted, walking quickly towards Senping''s group. She looked to be in her early thirties, wearing an ordinary short-sleeved shirt and jeans, but she gave the impression that she should be wearing an apron. Amidst the diverse and unique women in the doomsday, it was rare to see someone like her, as if she felt something was missing without holding a child or carrying adle. She always looked absent-minded, living one day at a time.


    "We still need two more people," Senping shouted, his gaze shifting to Lin Sanjiu''s group.


    Ito seemed like he had swallowed a pack of roundworms. He paced around anxiously, sweat forming on his forehead. He wanted to join the side with the advantage, but the grand prize''s earlier reminder made him feel like a thirsty person looking at the sea, anxious but powerless.


    "Count me in, too," Crane immediately shouted.


    "Okay, what about you guys?" Senping called out to the small group on the other side.


    The young man hesitated for a while and then waved his hand. Ji Shanqing looked around but didn''t answer. Suddenly, he noticed another person standing not far away on the beach, silent like a ghost—"Huh? Why aren''t you going over?"


    The eleventh vi owner, the man with a gray face that looked as if it had been smeared with lead, stood there like a ghost in the night, easy to overlook if one wasn''t paying attention.


    "I won''t go," he said, seeming like he wanted to smile, but the smile didn''t reach his face and quickly faded away. "I think you guys shouldn''t go either."


    Senping didn''t expect to be one ally short. However, he appeared calm, nodding and averting his gaze. It was the other six people who kept ncing at Lin Sanjiu and her group.


    After Li Xing left, Ge quickly stepped onto the yellow marker without hesitation. At Senping''smand, the other five formed a human wall around the yellow marker, effectively preventing the other four vi owners and their items from getting close. Their intention was clear: no one else could approach the yellow marker before they gathered four pieces of meat.


    "What should we do now?" The young man started to panic, unable to stand still as he walked a few steps. "How can we get the meat now?"


    Ji Shanqing, on the other hand, showed no signs of urgency. He even grabbed Lin Sanjiu''s hand and found a spot where they could see everyone clearly as if they were preparing to watch a show. The other three vi owners followed suit. For a moment, the beach seemed to form two opposing factions, onerge and one small.


    "He knows how to win," Ji Shanqing said nonchntly. "Let''s see how he ensures everyone gets the same roasted meat and learns from it."


    "Done roasting!" At this moment, the chef lifted amb leg high and eximed, "Here you go!"


    Although no one could clearly see Ge''s expression, they could all see the te in his hand. In the previous round, he had gotten amb leg and a beef rib, and now he had anothermb leg. When he turned around, his excitement almost burst out. He stretched out his hand from mid-air and patted Senping on the shoulder, saying, "Here''s yours!"


    "He really knows!" Ito straightened his back and eximed, "Two consecutive people have collected two pieces of meat each!"


    Ji Shanqing nced at him expressionlessly, and Ito immediately retorted, "Then tell me, how do you exin this?"


    "It''s a long story," the grand prize mumbled quietly, leaning against his sister.


    Based on Lin Sanjiu''s previous observation, she felt that even Senping didn''t expect Ge to collect twomb legs. However, that trace of surprise disappeared from Senping''s face instantly. He turned to Li Xing and instructed, "Eat yourmb leg."


    "Eh? What if the next piece is also amb leg...?"


    Senping didn''t show any impatience as he exined, "If you collect two chicken sausages and twomb legs, a total of four pieces of meat, you won''t be able to collect the fifth. So, no matter what, you have to split them into pairs. Eating themb leg now doesn''t cause any loss, right?"


    Li Xing eximed, "Oh," and picked up themb leg to eat.


    Ji Shanqing stood up slightly and smiled at the other camp, saying, "Tall guy and Li Xing each collected a pair. Now, tell me, why didn''t Senping ask the tall guy to eat the remaining beef rib but instead ask Li Xing to eat the remainingmb leg?"


    He didn''t conceal his words, and his clear voice reached the other camp''s ears, making several people turn to look. The dark-skinned woman thought momentarily before answering, "Then, why do you think he did that?"


    At this moment, the chef removed another piece of meat from the bag and ced it on the grill. He seemedpletely indifferent to their discussion. Senping nced over, deep in thought.


    "I actually guessed what he''s nning," Ji Shanqing whispered in Lin Sanjiu''s ear during the exnation. Even the gray-faced man, the young man, and Ito had to crouch down and press their ears to the back of their heads to hear the rough idea.


    "At present, we haven''t seen three or four consecutive appearances of the same roasted meat, right? In fact, if we include the invalidated round, there have been 26 roasted meat, and only two times did the same meat appear in consecutive rounds. There have also been two instances where different meat appeared in between, likemb, chicken,mb... These two situations each ount for one-thirteenth of the total urrences. Apart from these, there''s a cycle of four different roasted meats repeating."


    Everyone except Lin Sanjiu looked somewhat surprised. The gray-faced man even questioned, "Do you remember what roasted meat has been cooked every time until now?"