Chapter 30: Bypassing the Rules

Not long after, the others began to wake up one after another.

They went to the hall individually, ordered different foods, and gathered in small groups to chat.

Fu Chen first sought out Cai Zhiyuan.

After a brief moment of thought, Cai Zhiyuan stood up and called for Li Renshu and Cao Haichuan, leading them to a small meeting room off to the side of the hall.

There were many small compartments of various sizes within this building, each with a different layout, as if to encourage people to use them for different purposes.

Lin Sizhi was the last to be summoned.

"I want to discuss with everyone whether there is any way we can help Uncle Ding."

Fu Chen didn't beat around the bush; he explained the problem Ding Wenqiang was facing in a concise and clear manner.

"The reason I didn't speak about this in public is mainly because this matter involves Uncle Ding's privacy to some extent. I'm afraid he might lose face and refuse our goodwill.

"Besides, discussions get chaotic when there are too many people.

"So, I'd like to ask everyone to discuss this privately first and come up with a rough plan. If it's feasible, we will then go and persuade the others."

Fu Chen looked at the other four people present.

Cai Zhiyuan shook his head. "I don't think it will work.

"It is strictly forbidden for players to engage in any direct or indirect trading involving visa time; this is a fundamental rule of the community.

"In other words, suppose I buy a portion of fried rice, pretend to leave it aside, and then Uncle Ding eats it—that would also be a violation.

"Depending on the severity of the violation, the penalty ranges from a deduction of visa time to direct expulsion from the community.

"I think it's best not to dance on a minefield."

Clearly, Cai Zhiyuan possessed an extremely rational personality.

When considering anything, he prioritized feasibility and probability, even unconsciously filtering out human emotional fluctuations.

Perhaps this was a certain occupational hazard of being a programmer?

However, Lin Sizhi had always felt that although Cai Zhiyuan possessed certain programmer-like traits, he was completely different from the "clumsy and honest" stereotype usually associated with them.

Fu Chen looked at Cao Haichuan. "Officer Cao, what do you think?"

Cao Haichuan spread his hands. "You've asked the wrong person. I'm a rough man; aside from solving cases and handling petty conflicts, I don't know anything else.

"I think, if you can avoid breaking the game rules, you should try your best not to.

"Next time the Corridor opens, if one of us is lucky enough to be grouped with Ding Wenqiang, we can just give him a hand."

Li Renshu, on the other hand, kept her head down with a furrowed brow, not offering a conclusion as quickly as Cai Zhiyuan or Cao Haichuan.

"Although I can't think of a good way for now, I believe it is very necessary to establish some kind of community social security system as soon as possible.

"This isn't just for Uncle Ding; it's for ourselves as well.

"Right now, Uncle Ding has the shortest visa time, but what about later?

"Who can guarantee they will never lose all their visa time in a game? Or get injured?

"The Corridor is very likely to feature extremely dangerous games, and any one of us could become a burden to the community.

"If we can find a way to solve the problem of food, it is equivalent to establishing a basic safety net within the community. In the long run, it actually strengthens the entire community's ability to resist risk."

Cai Zhiyuan fell silent for a moment before saying reluctantly, "Hmm, that makes sense."

Clearly, he acknowledged Li Renshu's "logic"—meaning he believed that if such a security mechanism truly existed, it could indeed take care of the weak and enhance the community's overall resilience.

But he did not believe he would be that weak person.

Everyone present fell into silence. Clearly, what lay before them was something that *should* be done and would be beneficial if done, yet it seemed almost impossible to achieve.

Fu Chen looked at Lin Sizhi. "Lawyer Lin, what is your view?"

Lin Sizhi considered it for a moment. "I think that although the community rules seem very rigid, there might not be a lack of ways to bypass them."

As soon as these words were spoken, a glimmer of hope flashed in Fu Chen's eyes. "Really? Can you elaborate?"

The other three were also somewhat surprised, because in their eyes, Lin Sizhi had always been a reliable person who wouldn't speak nonsense; his words likely carried some weight.

But rules were rules.

Lin Sizhi paused slightly. "Do you all remember when we encountered people from the 3rd Community in the game?

"The reason Jiang He and the others suffered such heavy losses at first was because the four players from the 3rd Community had already formed a very tight organization.

"But thinking about it afterward, this is actually illogical.

"In the game, even players from the same community do not possess much of a basis for cooperation. This is because there is only one winner at the gambling table, and it is difficult to distribute the winnings to others.

"In other words, there is the issue of 'dividing the loot.'

"Yet in the game, the other three players were willing to cooperate and lose their chips to Lu Xinyi."

Cai Zhiyuan thought for a moment. "Perhaps it was something like PUA or psychological control?"

Lin Sizhi shook his head slightly. "That is unlikely.

"I am more inclined to believe that the players of the 3rd Community mastered some method of distributing visa time among their own members.

"Only in this way could their interests be tied together to build a more stable alliance."

The group fell into deep thought. Clearly, this specific example was quite persuasive.

Lin Sizhi continued, "The prohibition of any direct or indirect trading regarding 'visa time' is written in the community's fundamental rules, so it certainly cannot be violated.

"However, we might be able to find a way to circumvent it.

"First, the only thing that can counter a fundamental rule is another fundamental rule, so we should look for solutions within other fundamental rules.

"Second, we need to be precise with our wording. As long as the method we devise is not considered a 'trading behavior,' then it is not a violation of the rules."

Li Renshu was lost in thought. "Not a trading behavior, but still able to distribute our surplus visa time to those with less time..."

Cai Zhiyuan still didn't quite understand. "Is there really such a way?"

Li Renshu and Cao Haichuan looked at each other; clearly, the two of them had guessed the answer at the same time.

"There is."

Li Renshu said seriously, "Before money is distributed into everyone's hands, if it is first deducted at a certain ratio and then redistributed collectively, it is not regarded as a trading behavior. In real society, we generally call this taxation and social welfare."

Cai Zhiyuan understood instantly.

Taxation and welfare are things that already exist in real society; it was just that after arriving in this so-called "New World," he had temporarily overlooked them.

Conceptually speaking, taxation and welfare indeed do not count as trading behavior, and they can indeed provide the most basic livelihood security for low-income groups, which perfectly aligned with their motives.

At this point, everyone almost simultaneously thought of what method to use.

"Propose a motion under the second article of the Community Fundamental Principles!"

When the fundamental rules were being introduced earlier, this method had actually been mentioned.

In short, anyone can submit a motion to the community. Once it passes the review, it is put to a vote by all community members.

When the votes exceed a majority—meaning at least 7 people must agree—the motion can then be implemented.

Fu Chen nodded slightly. "In other words, we can propose a motion regarding 'Community Minimum Guarantee.'

"However, this motion obviously cannot be proposed arbitrarily, because it must first pass the community's review.

"It cannot violate the fundamental rules of the community, and at the same time, it must possess a certain level of feasibility."

Cai Zhiyuan had a sudden thought. "What if we propose that the community grants each of us ten thousand minutes of visa time every day?"

Officer Cao shook his head. "It probably wouldn't pass the review. We can most likely only distribute our own existing visa time; trying to use this rule to fleece the community is clearly wishful thinking."

Cai Zhiyuan agreed. "Yeah, I suspect that's the case too. But we can try; even if the review fails, at least there's no overt loss."