"Perfect solution?" Qin Yao and Su Xiuqin were slightly surprised. "Are you saying there's a way to consistently win?"
Jiang He slightly shook her head, "Consistently winning is impossible, but we can consistently lose less.
"As long as all of us at the table don't lose more than ten thousand, that's a happy ending for everyone."
Qin Yao thought about it but still couldn't figure out how to achieve that.
Jiang He looked at the four players from Community 3. "Of course, achieving a 'perfect solution' would also require their cooperation."
While speaking, Qin Yao noticed the other four players had already finished their discussion and were approaching them.
The game rules stated that to start a multiplayer table, there had to be one player from each community. So communication between the two communities was inevitable, just a matter of sooner or later.
"Hello, since we're all in the same game, why not discuss strategies together? By pooling our wisdom, maybe we'll come up with a better solution.
"Let me introduce ourselves; we four are from Community 3, and my name is Lu Xinyi."
The one leading was a young, pretty girl with shoulder-length short hair. Although she wasn't heavily made up, her fair skin and gentle smile exuded a certain youthful vitality.
Perhaps from blood loss, her face was a bit pale, but her spirit was quite decent.
The other three were two men and a woman, ranging in age from twenty to forty.
Jiang He instinctively glanced at Qin Yao and Su Xiuqin, quickly realizing that only she could step forward right now, so she took a step forward. "Hello, I'm Jiang He, from Community 17."
The two shook hands. Although they were strangers, the friendly attitude brought the two groups a bit closer.
After all, it was everyone's first time participating in a life-or-death game in the Walkway, which created a certain "suspension bridge effect" illusion.
"Time is tight, so I'll first share my thoughts."
Lu Xinyi chose to get straight to the point, "After our discussion, we unanimously believe this game is a very dangerous trap that could be deadly.
"But as long as we stay rational, we can survive safely."
Jiang He nodded calmly, waiting for her to continue.
Lu Xinyi wasn't coy, taking only a brief pause before continuing, "I don't know if your community has analyzed the games in the Walkway?
"I think the most representative of these games should be the highest-rated 'Wheel of Redemption.' Of course, it's also the game I highly recommend."
Jiang He nodded. "Yes, we also focused our analysis on that game."
Lu Xinyi was pleased. "Great, then we should be able to reach a consensus more easily.
"Simply put, I believe there's a characteristic common to the judgment games in the Walkway, which is to test certain flaws in human nature.
"And if one fails the test, they will pay a heavy price.
"The 'Wheel of Redemption' tests the player's 'selfish heart.' If a player is extremely selfish, they will die in the game.
"And 'Blood Poker,' in my view, tests everyone's 'greedy heart.'
"If one is overly greedy, they are bound to die in the game.
"The only lethal trap in this game is really the bleeding machine.
"The game rules force us to go to the table to play, and we must bet against people from other communities and complete 10 rounds. Otherwise, we'll lose ten thousand minutes of visa time.
"But once we sit at the table, our greed will be aroused. After losing, we want to recover, and after winning, we want to win more.
"After ten rounds of games, everyone's chips will be reshuffled, and some who are desperately losing might choose to continue using their blood to exchange for chips to make a comeback.
"And once you lose your sanity, you're likely to pass out or even die from excessive blood loss."
Jiang He nodded frequently while listening.
Obviously, what Lu Xinyi said matched her thoughts perfectly.
Especially the analysis of the 'Wheel of Redemption,' which was entirely consistent with previous analyses by people in Community 17, showing that Lu Xinyi was a smart person.
And collaborating with smart people always feels pleasant.
Even more valuable, as a smart person, Lu Xinyi even entertained a "ten bets nine losses, no gamble is a win" thought, which showed they were quite close in values.
Jiang He immediately nodded in agreement. "That's right, I think the same!
"But we can't not gamble, after all, the game requires us to hit the table at least once, and as long as we do, there will always be wins and losses."
Lu Xinyi nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what we're struggling with.
"If we don't hit the table, everyone loses ten thousand minutes of visa time, but if we do hit the table, we are completely inexperienced..."
Jiang He's eyes lit up; this was exactly the situation she was hoping for.
"Given this, the situation in our two communities looks quite similar.
"I actually have a proposal.
"In fact, there's a 'perfect solution' to this game. We can maximize the chips we each get out with."
Lu Xinyi was somewhat surprised. "Really? You should all have about 18,000 chips, right? Can that many chips all be taken out?
"Converted, that's about 2 weeks of visa time, which would be quite good to pocket."
Jiang He glanced at the countdown on the big screen. "Time is tight, so I'll get straight to the point.
"The game rules only ask us to complete ten rounds but don't restrict our way of playing.
"Why should we earnestly gamble, fighting to the death?
"As long as we take turns being the dealer and winning, it's all in the pot. After ten rounds of games, we each still largely retain our original chips."
Su Xiuqin was shocked. "Is that even allowed?"
Jiang He nodded matter-of-factly. "Of course, why not? The game rules don't say we can't do this.
"In these games, 'what is not forbidden is allowed.' Exploiting loopholes in the rules is also a skill."
Qin Yao read the words on the big screen carefully again and indeed found no restrictions on this kind of situation.
Lu Xinyi thought it over seriously for a moment. "It seems... indeed feasible. But we have 7 people, if each wins one round, what about the remaining 3 rounds?"
Jiang He replied. "There's no way around it, the minimum bet is 1000, so it can't be completely evenly split.
"I think we'll just leave it to luck.
"The rules at the table state the dealer for the first round is random; after that, the winner deals.
"Our initial seating is random, so just have the person to the right of the dealer win each time. As for which three people win an extra round, it's all down to luck."
Lu Xinyi thought about it. "Mmm... leaving it to luck seems fair."
Qin Yao was a bit worried, softly saying, "But... Jiang He, what if someone changes their mind? It seems your plan has no binding force, right?"
Lu Xinyi looked up at her with a smile. "That's also our concern.
"But thinking it over, the risk is still manageable. Jiang He, you surely considered this from the start, right?
"Breaking the agreement in the card game is not a wise choice."
Lu Xinyi paused briefly and continued, "First, you three and we four are from the same community. After leaving this game, we'll still meet in the community.
"If I don't stick to the agreement, refusing to fold when I should, I would lose the trust of the other three and potentially all other players in Community 3.
"In other words, I would face 'social death' in Community 3.
"It's the same on your side.
"And the cost for such a decision is unlikely to yield significant gains. Even if one wins a round, it's merely winning the pot, making the cost and gain disproportionate.
"Moreover, anyone going back on their word in the game immediately becomes our mutual enemy, attacked by the remaining six.
"The rules state that card dealing is utterly fair. Everyone gets only three cards, and no one's luck is good enough to beat the remaining six.
"Plus, even in the worst scenario—where we seven completely lose trust in each other and each plays for themselves—it merely reverts to the beginning, with no extra loss.
"So overall, I believe rational individuals will comply with the agreement. Because that's the choice that maximizes benefits.
"It's like... buying insurance, where everyone shares the risk.
"It might not be the best choice, but it is definitely the least bad one."
Jiang He nodded appreciatively. "Exactly, I think the same way. Working with smart people is convenient; not much explanation is needed."
Qin Yao bowed her head to think for a moment but couldn't find any major loopholes.