Silent Ark

Chapter 37: The Bet

"Bet: Yao Chong survives," Odin said.

The third one is pull.

"Shen Ruozhi," La said.

"reason?"

"Rationality." Ra's voice was like the surging plasma on the surface of the sun—scorching, yet with an unsettling sense of order. "Of all the humans observed, her decision tree is the narrowest. Not because she's stupid—it's because she only takes the optimal path, and those people survive the longest in chaos."

“Reason cannot save her,” Hera said. “If the laws of physics themselves disappear, reason is the first instrument to fail.”

"The laws of physics don't disappear," La said, "they're just replaced. And the rules that are replaced still need to be understood. Understanding is the realm of reason."

Hera snorted but did not refute.

The fourth is Isis.

"Zhou Muyuan."

"That old professor?" Zeus frowned. "He's sixty-one."

"Age is not a variable," Isis said, her voice like the Nile flood—slow, unstoppable, carrying silt and life.

"He discovered an anomaly in Chen Dunli's notes—the initial condition of the decay curve was infinity. This meant that Chen Dunli's calculations were not based on the framework of human physics."

"so?"

"So he's the only human who realizes that the existing rules are no longer sufficient. Only those who realize that the rules are insufficient will seek out new rules."

"Bet: Survival."

The fifth is Loki.

Loki remained silent.

He sat in the corner—not because he was unassuming, but because his position was right in the blind spot where all the gods' eyes met.

This is no coincidence.

Loki never sits in a coincidental position.

"I choose..." Loki drawled, like a snake deciding where to bite, "I'll choose myself."

"What do you mean?" Odin asked.

"You've all chosen those who are already at the table," Loki said, a smirk playing on his lips that made all the gods uncomfortable—not a smile, but a premeditated one. "I want to choose someone who hasn't even sat down yet."

"The rules of the game are to choose a human, not to become a human," Hera said.

"I didn't say I wanted to be human; I said I wanted to choose for myself."

"you--"

"When will the betting end?" Loki asked.

"The water stains have completely disappeared," Odin said.

"I have plenty of time." Luo Ji stood up. "You guys continue, I'll go first."

He disappeared.

It wasn't teleportation—it was disappearance.

It's like a sentence being cut off halfway through, leaving no echo behind.

Zeus glanced at Odin.

Odin's single eye showed no change in expression.

But Fokin and Wuni took off at the same time.

The remaining gods continued to place bets.

The sixth, Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction: "Shen Qingci".

"reason?"

"She's the captain of the Ninth Section's Third Field Operations Team." Shiva's voice was like the Ganges River—a calm surface concealing a power capable of overwhelming everything. "Every day she faces events where the laws of physics are 'abnormal.' She's already adapting to the new rules. While others are still using the old rules to understand the world, she's already living by the new rules."

"Bet: Survival."

The seventh, Hera: "Lin Fan."

"reason?"

"Pragmatism," Hera said. "No idealism, no heroism, no self-pity. Pragmatic people live the longest."

"Are you praising him or criticizing him?" Zeus asked.

"I'm stating the facts, you try it."

The eighth, Anubis, the Egyptian god of death: "Chu Chen".

"reason?"

"His rebuttal to Zhou Muyuan's statement—'The laws of physics are changing, so are your calculations still valid?'—demonstrates that he understands something that other humans haven't yet grasped: rules are fluid. Those who can maintain skepticism within fluid rules will not be easily swallowed up by any single rule."

"Bet: Survival."

The ninth one is Thor.

Thor scratched his head.

He's not very good at things that require thinking.

"Um..." Thor said, "Isn't there someone named Lin Xiaohe? Zhou Muyuan's assistant?"

"Yes," Foggin said.

"I choose her."

"reason?"

Saul scratched his head again: "She... precisely controls her demeanor in every situation."

All the gods looked at him.

"How did you know?" Zeus asked.

"I've been observing for a long time," Saul said.

There was a seriousness in his tone that surprised the other gods—not the usual Thor seriousness of "let me solve everything with my hammer," but a deeper, quieter seriousness.

"A person who can control their state in any situation is not because they have no emotions. It's because they know when to let their emotions out and when not to. These are the people who survive the longest in the apocalypse."

"...Alright then," Zeus said.

The tenth, Tarot, the Egyptian god of wisdom: "Chen Dunli".

silence.

"He is dead," Hera said.

“Death does not change the information carrier,” Tarot said, his voice like ink on papyrus—quiet, enduring, and indelible. “His code is still in Eden’s core registry. His consciousness has been integrated into the system. From an information theory perspective, he did not die. He simply changed his mode of existence.”

"The rule of the game is 'humanity'," Zeus said. "Is he still considered human?"

"Define what 'human' means," Tarot said.

Zeus opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"I'm betting on survival," Tarot said, "but not in a human way."

The eleventh, Amaterasu: "Yao Chong".

"It's a repetition," Zeus said.

"I know," Amaterasu said, her voice like dawn—not sunrise, but the few minutes before sunrise when the sky begins to brighten.

Quiet, irreversible, and full of commitment: "But I'm not gambling on his survival."

"So what are you betting on?"

"I bet he'll make a choice that will surprise all the gods."

"What choice?"

"I don't know," Amaterasu said, "but I know that choice will change the outcome of the gamble."

"This doesn't count as betting," Hera said.

"Yes," said Odin.

The gods looked at Odin.

"She's not betting on the outcome," Odin said, "but on the variables. Variables are more valuable than outcomes."

Amaterasu nodded slightly.

The twelfth one, there is no twelfth one.

Because Loki has already left.

"How is Loki's share calculated?" Thor asked.

"He'll finish it when he gets back," Odin said.

When is he coming back?

"When did Loki come back?"

China.

Beijing suburbs.

3:17 PM.

Yao Chong stood by the roadside, waiting for a taxi.

He had just come from the Ninth Division's temporary base.

Today's meeting focused on the progress of Project Silent Ark—the theoretical model of the warp drive has completed its second round of revisions, but the materials problem remains unsolved.

Zhou Muyuan said that an alloy is needed that can "maintain structural integrity even when the physical laws are unstable," and that all materials known to mankind will undergo phase transitions to varying degrees at the edge of the "dry region."

Shen Ruozhi said he should rest.

He said he didn't want to rest.

Shen Ruozhi said that "not wanting" and "not being able" are two different things.

He said he knew.

Then he came out, intending to go back to his apartment in Beijing first.

He stood at the nearest bus stop.

Because the bus doesn't go directly there, he hailed a taxi using his mobile app and then stood there waiting for one.