Chapter 701 - 4: Where Did You Bring Me This Time?

Chapter 701: Chapter 4: Where Did You Bring Me This Time?

While Ding Yuwei was turned away to help Lin Wei, Shen Xin glanced over at Philips.

Their eyes met.

Shen Xin quickly threw Rock.

With a slight smile, Philips threw Paper.

Shen Xin gasped.

’This is just plain weird.’

Shen Xin was starting to suspect the guy could read his mind. How else could he predict his move every single round?

Refusing to give up, Shen Xin shot Philips a look, signaling for another round. Philips, however, just shook his head slightly and leaned in, curiously watching Lin Wei direct the staff as they unloaded the cages one by one.

"Shen, can you give me one of your ravens?" Philips asked, curiously sizing up each of the police birds.

They were all, without exception, Ravens.

He had done his research, so he had a rough idea about the police birds.

For instance, Dian Nan had been the first to deploy police birds, so there were already related news reports in China, some even detailing successful operations.

From what Philips had gathered, these police birds didn’t just understand human speech and follow commands to complete specific tasks—most importantly, they could also talk.

A bird that could talk and communicate was the absolute coolest thing.

Shen Xin thought for a moment. "It’s not out of the question," he said. "But first, you have to tell me how you keep beating me. I don’t believe in mind reading, so you must have a trick."

Philips immediately extended his hand. "Deal."

Shen Xin shook his hand. "Of course, you’ll have to buy it," he added.

’Curiosity or not, there’s no way I’m giving one away for free.’

’It wasn’t a big deal whether he could give one away or not, really.’

’After all, it wasn’t some kind of classified weapon.’

’Besides, the bird itself isn’t what’s important. The person handling it is.’

"Of course," Philips replied instantly. He was sure the FBI would be more than willing to pay for a bird like that.

Then he quickly explained his method.

"I can’t read minds, but I am observant. Of course, the first few rounds are difficult. You have to guess, bet on luck."

"But generally speaking, most people throw Scissors first. Plus, the way you make a fist—it’s hollow. That also supported my hypothesis."

"So the key is observation and reaction time. And once I won the first round, I’d already established a baseline model. I could predict your moves based on your tells."

"For example, when you throw Rock, you raise your arm higher because you’re trying to throw it with more force. Psychologically, you associate the fist with power."

"I also quickly realized you’re a smart guy. You try to counter-play me, to think one step ahead. But you only think *one* step ahead. You can’t instantly predict two or three steps into the future."

"Furthermore, anyone on a losing streak will let their emotions dictate their moves. So the more you lost, the easier it was for me to predict your throw."

"So, are you satisfied with that answer?" Philips asked.

Shen Xin furrowed his brow.

’The reason he won, to put it bluntly, was just quick reactions and keen observation.’

’It sounded simple, but actually doing it—winning that many rounds in a row—was obviously no easy feat.’

Shen Xin suddenly shot his hand out, throwing Paper.

Philips’s reaction was just as fast; he instantly threw Scissors.

"Damn it!"

’A surprise attack like that... it can’t just be fast reactions, can it?’

Philips smiled. "You were going for a surprise attack. Of the three moves, Rock has too big of a wind-up. Only Scissors and Paper can be thrown with a quick motion."

"Scissors still requires you to curl your fingers. As a subconscious reaction, throwing Paper is the smoothest and most natural move. You wanted to launch a surprise attack, so I gambled that you’d throw Paper."

Shen Xin shot him a thumbs-up. "Damn, you’re good. You win."

"I’ll give you one before I leave."

A bet’s a bet, and Shen Xin wasn’t one to welsh on a deal.

He couldn’t help but marvel internally. ’This guy’s IQ must be off the charts.’ He found himself asking what it was.

Philips smiled. "Those tests are pretty meaningless. Of course, I’ve taken one. Somewhere over 160."

Shen Xin gave him another thumbs-up.

Just then, Philips’s eyes lit up. He stared at Teddy and said in disbelief, "Is that a Hunting Falcon? A pure white one?"

Shen Xin nodded. Hearing Teddy screeching, he went over and opened the cage.

The falcon had been restless on the plane, so Shen Xin had kept him caged the whole time.

He immediately hopped out of the cage and landed on Shen Xin’s shoulder. He gave his feathers a good shake and looked around, dazed.

’Where the hell did you bring me now?’

He wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

Sergeant cowered at the entrance to the plane’s cabin, cautiously peeking outside.

"So cool." Philips’s eyes gleamed with envy. A one-in-ten-thousand albino, and it could even interact with people and understand them. If you took this to the Middle East, those Princes would go absolutely insane for it.

The transport vehicles had already been arranged; two large trucks pulled up.

York came forward and said he had already found a place to house the animals. He asked Shen Xin if they needed some time to acclimate.

"No need."

Shen Xin shook his head, holding down Teddy, who was about to take flight, and put him back in his cage.

’This is an airport, not a place for you to be flying around. You’ve stretched your wings, that’s enough.’

With that, they loaded all the animals onto the trucks and set off immediately.

Leaving Salt Lake City, they headed west along Interstate 80, which stretches across the United States.

They passed the Great Salt Lake, and after driving for nearly an hour, they arrived at the world-famous Bonneville Salt Flats.

Up ahead on the highway stood the majestic, snow-capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Beside the road, the salt flats stretched out as far as the eye could see.

There was no end in sight; sky and earth blended into one, a breathtaking vista.

Even Lin Wei took out his phone to record a video.

And at that moment, inside the cargo compartments of the trucks, the air was filled with the sound of barking dogs and ceaseless bird calls.