Chapter 47: Rewards (Extra chapter for Alliance Leader He Guang Cheng Tong)

According to the game rules, for every prisoner the King executes, every betting spectator receives an additional 30,000 minutes of visa time.

Not to mention that after winning the game, they can also split the visa time bet by the prisoner-side spectators, which averages out to another 50,000.

In other words, for a spectator like No. 1, frequent tipping is still profitable as long as it doesn't exceed 80,000, provided they win the game.

All these factors encouraged the spectators betting on the King's side to tip more frequently.

However, the spectators on the prisoner side did not have a "the more you work, the more you get" incentive. As long as at least three prisoners were alive when the game ended, they would receive a guaranteed reward.

More surviving prisoners did not result in extra rewards.

Therefore, even though they had chosen the prisoner side, these spectators were reluctant to waste their visa time on tipping.

Someone like Spectator No. 3, who was willing to spend 1,000 minutes of visa time just to send a single word, was already considered quite compassionate.

But clearly, the impact of that single word was negligible.

...

【Spectator No. 2 tips Ding Wenqiang 6,000 minutes of visa time, with the message: Cell No. 4, ten thousand.】

【Spectator No. 8 tips Ding Wenqiang 4,000 minutes of visa time, with the message: No. 4, ten thousand.】

The spectators betting on the King's side had all realized this.

They knew this wasn't a fair trial, but for the sake of the visa time rewards, they still hoped Gao Zhankui would die quickly.

Ding Wenqiang was also somewhat surprised.

Was Gao Zhankui... really that loathsome?

In truth, looking purely at the crimes disclosed on the videotape, Gao Zhankui was not the most heinous.

Was it because people naturally felt more hatred toward a sycophant who acted as an accomplice to a predator?

Ding Wenqiang did not know the rules regarding the spectators, nor did he know why they kept tipping him.

He could only continuously receive very simple and blunt messages: these spectators were tipping massive amounts of visa time just to see him ruthlessly judge Gao Zhankui.

Coincidentally, among the four prisoners, Ding Wenqiang hated Gao Zhankui the most.

However, seeing Gao Zhankui covered in blood, Ding Wenqiang fell into hesitation again; he was not psychologically prepared to kill.

Even if these were the rules of the game, even if he didn't have to do it personally, crossing this threshold was still not easy.

Zhang Peng lowered his voice: "Uncle Ding, what are you still considering?

"You can't just think about the immediate moment. If you don't do as the spectators say, they might stop tipping altogether."

This sentence instantly served as a warning to Ding Wenqiang.

These spectators were indeed tipping enthusiastically, but these tips were clearly conditional.

Spectators generally gave 4,000 or 6,000 minutes of visa time first; only after Ding Wenqiang actually met their demands would they give the remaining time.

And once Ding Wenqiang ignored their requests, they would certainly stop providing visa time.

In that case, what Ding Wenqiang would lose was not just these few thousand, but the majority of the visa time that might have been tipped later—an amount that could reach tens of thousands.

Gritting his teeth, Ding Wenqiang walked toward Gao Zhankui's Cell No. 4 once more.

...

Through the glass, Lin Sizhi watched the scene below in silence.

As expected, once the slippery slope begins, it is hard to stop.

Five spectators could use this unique killing mechanism to obtain vast amounts of visa time, and by distributing a portion of that time, they could easily manipulate Ding Wenqiang's actions.

But the spectators on the prisoner side had almost no equivalent countermeasure.

Although they could also tip Ding Wenqiang, because they could not gain any profit from his actions, their tips would most likely go to waste.

Even if one or two people were willing to pay out of their own pockets to advise Ding Wenqiang not to make things harder for Gao Zhankui, their voices would easily be drowned out by the five spectators on the King's side.

Thus, the prisoner-side spectators were not tipping because they realized the action was meaningless.

At this rate, the prisoner side was doomed to lose.

After a moment of consideration, Lin Sizhi pressed the tipping button on the desk.

...

Ding Wenqiang arrived at Cell No. 4 again, but just then, he heard a new broadcast.

【Spectator No. 5 tips Ding Wenqiang 8,000 minutes of visa time, with the message: Zhang Peng is the one who beat you.】

Ding Wenqiang froze, momentarily failing to understand the meaning of the sentence.

Zhang Peng? Beating him?

He instinctively looked toward Zhang Peng, only to see that Zhang Peng had instantly become nervous, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"You seem to know something. What does this mean?" Ding Wenqiang asked.

Zhang Peng swallowed hard. "Uncle Ding, I don't know what that means. We've never met before."

With a dark expression, Ding Wenqiang raised his scepter. "Are you going to talk or not!"

With a "thud," Zhang Peng knelt down, holding his hands high. "Uncle Ding, I really don't know what to say!"

Ding Wenqiang frowned deeply. He felt Zhang Peng was lying, but for a moment, he couldn't piece it together.

Just then, a coughing sound came from Cell No. 2.

"Cough! Cough, cough!"

Wang Yongxin sat on the ground, rubbing the bruise on his neck, and said in a raspy voice

"Uncle Ding, don't you understand yet?

"The five of us were assigned to this trial game because there is actually a deeper connection.

"I didn't realize it at first either, since you, me, Cai Zhiyuan, and these two didn't know each other.

"But in reality, the connection between the five of us is much tighter than we imagined. There is an invisible thread that ties us all together.

"It's that delivery man.

"He was a rider for Speed Delivery, I am the CEO, and Gao Zhankui is a station manager. As for Cai Zhiyuan, the algorithm he developed was sold by his company to many platforms, including, of course, my Speed Delivery.

"In other words...

"In this trial game, the five of us are responsible for that delivery man's death.

"If that's the case, isn't it strange for this unemployed blonde guy to have mixed in here? On the surface, he has absolutely nothing to do with the delivery man's death.

"However, a hidden thread was buried in your videotape and his.

"The reason you accidentally ran over and killed the delivery man wasn't just because of drowsy driving, but also because you had just been beaten, which limited your field of vision.

"And him?

"The videotape said: robbery, brawling—his malice was like the flapping of a butterfly's wings, turning into an innocent person's undeserved disaster.

"And in the final file, it was written as 'unjudged.'

"Obviously, a piece of scum like him, who has been in and out of trouble so many times, couldn't possibly be that lucky every single time and avoid being caught, right?

"So, 'unjudged' doesn't mean he never faced any trial, but specifically means that, like me and Cai Zhiyuan, he did not face trial in this 'delivery man death' case.

"And judging from your reaction, the time he beat and robbed you must have also ended without consequence, without the case being solved, right?"

Wang Yongxin spoke fluently. The thought of Zhang Peng's subtle words getting him sent to Cell No. 2 just now made him angry; now that he had found an opportunity, he naturally wanted to retaliate mercilessly.

All of this was within the permitted scope of the game rules.

Ding Wenqiang's hands gradually tightened, his veins bulging.

Zhang Peng's face turned deathly pale. He could feel the murderous intent in Ding Wenqiang's eyes and began to feel helpless.

Ding Wenqiang's voice was somewhat raspy. "You recognized me from the very beginning, didn't you?

"At the time, you were wearing a mask and a hat, but I wasn't.

"Thanks to you, my left eye was swollen for a week before it went down.

"If it weren't for the blind spot in my left eye, I wouldn't have run over that delivery man at all."

Terrified, Zhang Peng fell to his knees with a "thud," clutching Ding Wenqiang's leg. "Uncle Ding! I was wrong, I'm sorry! I had no money to spend at the time, I was confused, it was a momentary impulse, I was truly wrong!

"Let me into Cell No. 3, let me atone! Uncle Ding, I promise, I'll smash all ten of my fingers! I'll definitely smash them all!

"If I don't smash them, you can electrocute me to death with your staff!"

Ding Wenqiang pointed at Cell No. 5. "Get in."

Zhang Peng was crying uncontrollably. "Uncle Ding, even if I'm judged for robbery or brawling, it would only be two or three years in prison. My crime doesn't deserve death, Uncle Ding!

"How was I supposed to know that something like this would happen after I hit you!

"The delivery man's death really has nothing to do with me!"

Ding Wenqiang kicked him away. "Get in! I don't want to say it a second time!"

"Fine, fine, fine, I'm going, I'm going."

Zhang Peng scrambled into Cell No. 5, and Ding Wenqiang slammed the cell door shut with a loud "clang."