Chapter 16: The Perfect Solution

“A perfect solution?” Qin Yao and Su Xiucen were both somewhat surprised. “Are you saying there is a way to win money consistently?”

Jiang He shook her head slightly. “Consistent winning is impossible, but we can achieve consistent minimal losses.

“As long as the losses for everyone at the gambling table are far less than ten thousand, that would be a happy ending for all.”

Qin Yao thought about it but still couldn't figure out how to achieve this.

Jiang He looked toward the four players from Community 3. “Of course, to achieve a 'perfect solution,' we will also need their cooperation.”

As she spoke, Qin Yao noticed the other four players had finished their discussion and were walking toward them.

The game rules stipulated that to open a multiplayer gambling table, there must be at least one player from each of the two communities. Therefore, interaction between the two communities was inevitable; it was only a matter of when.

“Hello. Since we are all in the same game, why don't we discuss a strategy together? By pooling our wisdom, perhaps we can come up with a better way.

“Let me introduce ourselves. The four of us are from Community 3. My name is Lu Xinyi.”

The leader was a young and beautiful-looking girl with shoulder-length hair. Although she wasn't wearing much makeup, her fair skin and faint smile radiated a certain youthful vitality.

She looked somewhat pale, likely due to blood loss, but her spirits seemed fine.

The other three consisted of two men and one woman, ranging in age from twenty to forty.

Jiang He instinctively glanced at Qin Yao and Su Xiucen, quickly realizing that she was the only one who could step forward. She took a step ahead. “Hello, my name is Jiang He, from Community 17.”

The two shook hands. Although they were strangers, the friendly attitude helped bridge the gap between the two groups.

After all, this was everyone's first time participating in a life-and-death game within the Corridor, which often created a psychological phenomenon similar to the "suspension bridge effect."

“Time is tight, so I'll get straight to the point.”

Lu Xinyi chose to skip the pleasantries. “After our discussion, the four of us have reached a consensus: this game is a very dangerous trap that could potentially lead to death.

“But as long as we remain rational, we can survive very safely.”

Jiang He nodded imperceptibly, waiting for her to continue.

Lu Xinyi didn't keep them in suspense. After a brief pause, she continued, “I wonder if you have analyzed the games in the Corridor within your community?

“I believe the most representative of these games should be the highest-rated one, 'Redemption Roulette.' Naturally, that is also my most highly regarded game.”

Jiang He nodded. “Yes, we focused our analysis on that game as well.”

Lu Xinyi was pleased. “Great, that should make it easier for us to reach a consensus.

“Simply put, I believe all the judgment games in the Corridor share a common characteristic: they test certain flaws in human nature.

“And once you fail the test, you pay a heavy price.

“'Redemption Roulette' tests a player's 'selfishness.' If a player is extremely selfish, they will die in the game.

“As for 'Blood Poker,' in my view, it tests everyone's 'greed.'

“If you are excessively greedy, you will certainly die in the game.

“The lethal trap in this game is actually only one: the blood extraction machine.

“The rules force us to take a seat at the gambling table and compete against people from other communities for ten rounds; otherwise, ten thousand minutes of visa time will be deducted.

“But once we are at the table, our greed is triggered. After losing, we want to win it back; after winning, we want to win even more.

“After ten rounds, everyone's chips will be reshuffled, and those driven to desperation by losses will likely choose to continue trading their blood for chips to make a comeback.

“Once you lose your rationality, you are highly likely to lose consciousness or even die from excessive blood loss.”

Jiang He nodded repeatedly as she listened.

Clearly, what Lu Xinyi said aligned perfectly with her own thoughts.

In particular, the analysis of "Redemption Roulette" was entirely consistent with the previous analysis by the people of Community 17, which proved that Lu Xinyi was a smart person.

And collaborating with smart people was always a pleasant experience.

Even more valuable was that, as a smart person, Lu Xinyi also held the philosophy of "nine losses in ten gambles, winning by not gambling," which meant their values were quite similar.

Jiang He immediately nodded in agreement. “Exactly, that's what I was thinking!

“But we can't simply refuse to gamble. After all, the rules mandate that we must take a seat at the table once, and once we are at the table, there will always be winners and losers.”

Lu Xinyi nodded. “Yes, that is exactly the problem that's troubling us.

“If we don't take a seat, everyone loses ten thousand minutes of visa time, but if we do, we have absolutely no experience...”

Jiang He's eyes lit up; this was exactly the situation she had been hoping for.

“It seems the situation in our two communities is quite similar.

“I actually have a proposal.

“In fact, there is a 'perfect solution' to this game. Each of us can maximize the amount of chips we take out.”

Lu Xinyi was somewhat surprised. “Really? You should each have about 18,000 in chips, right? Can that many chips really be taken out?

“Converted, that's about two weeks of visa time. If we can secure that, it would be quite good.”

Jiang He glanced at the countdown on the large screen. “Time is pressing, so I won't beat around the bush.

“The rules only require us to complete ten rounds of the game, but they don't place any restrictions on how we play.

“Why must we gamble seriously and fight to the death?

“As long as we take turns being the dealer and take turns winning, the money stays within the group. After ten rounds, each of us can still retain roughly our original amount of chips.”

Su Xiucen was shocked. “That actually works?”

Jiang He nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Of course, why wouldn't it? The rules don't say we can't do that.

“In these games, 'anything not forbidden is permitted.' Being able to exploit loopholes in the rules is also a form of ability.”

Qin Yao carefully re-read the text on the large screen and found that there indeed were no restrictions placed on such a scenario.

Lu Xinyi thought seriously for a moment. “It... does seem feasible. But there are seven of us. If everyone wins one round, what happens to the remaining three rounds?”

Jiang He said, “There's no way around that; the minimum bet is 1,000, so we can't divide it perfectly.

“I think we'll just have to leave it to luck.

“The rules at the table state that the dealer for the first round is random, and after that, the winner becomes the dealer.

“Our initial seating is random. We can just ensure that the person to the dealer's right wins every time. As for which specific three people win an extra round, that will be entirely up to luck.”

Lu Xinyi pondered. “Hmm... leaving it to luck is fair enough.”

Qin Yao was somewhat worried and whispered, “But... Sister Jiang He, what if someone changes their mind? Your method doesn't seem to have any binding force, does it?”

Lu Xinyi looked up at her and smiled. “That is also a concern of ours.

“However, thinking carefully, that risk is still within a controllable range. I assume you've considered this as well, Sister Jiang He?

“Changing your mind during a hand is actually not a wise choice.”

Lu Xinyi paused slightly before continuing, “First of all, you three and we four come from the same community. After we exit this game, we will still run into each other within the community.

“If I were to break the agreement—for example, by not folding when I should—I would lose the trust of those three, and even the trust of all the other players in Community 3.

“In other words, I would suffer 'social death' in Community 3.

“The same logic applies to your side.

“And paying such a price wouldn't necessarily yield much profit. Even if you won a round, you'd only be winning everyone's minimum bet; the gain wouldn't be proportional to the cost.

“Furthermore, someone who breaks the agreement during a hand would immediately become our common enemy, besieged by the remaining six.

“The rules state that the dealing at the table is absolutely fair. Each person only receives three cards; no matter how lucky one person is, they cannot win against the other six.

“Moreover, even in the worst-case scenario—where the seven of us completely lose trust in each other and play individually—we would simply revert to the original situation without any additional losses.

“So, looking at it comprehensively, I believe any rational person would choose to keep their promise. Because that is the choice that maximizes profit.

“It's like... buying insurance. We all share the risk.

“It might not be the best choice, but it is certainly the least bad one.”

Jiang He nodded approvingly. “Exactly, that's what I was thinking. Working with smart people is convenient; it requires very little explanation.”

Qin Yao lowered her head and thought for a moment, unable to find any major flaws in the plan.

(End of Chapter)