Chapter 50

Cai Zhiyuan pushed the horizontal bar with great effort, his teeth clenched and his face contorted in a grimace.

Wang Yongxin's situation was even worse. During the second round of the "Hanging Streetlight" judgment game, the game time would increase by 5 minutes.

While this time didn't seem long, it was added directly to the end. Extending the time by another 5 minutes when one is already exhausted would cause the danger index to skyrocket.

If Wang Yongxin's body suddenly lost strength and completely lost its support, the entire weight of his body would press down on his neck. He would suffocate and lose consciousness in a very short time, a situation beyond even the help of gods.

The only good news was that the two of them had rested long enough, so they could still hold on.

Ding Wenqiang's expression was complicated. It was hard for him to imagine how he would face the two of them once they returned to the community.

There was no choice; these were the game rules. I only did what most players would do.

The others in the community... they should be able to understand, right?

Just then, the broadcast rang out again.

【Viewer No. 1 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 5,000 minutes of visa time, with the message: Kill them both, and it's 100,000.】

...

Those simple five words exploded in Ding Wenqiang's mind like a clap of thunder.

Kill them both, and it's 100,000!

One hundred thousand minutes of visa time was approximately 70 days, a massive sum Ding Wenqiang had never seen since entering the New World.

But if he killed Cai Zhiyuan and Wang Yongxin, how could he face the others upon returning to the community?

In this "King's Judgment" game, there were viewers from Community 17 watching the entire process.

Even without viewers, the players of Community 17 would inevitably look up information regarding the game; by then, all of Ding Wenqiang's actions would be laid bare.

It was impossible to hide.

Then... what if he didn't hide it?

What if he said the game mechanics killed them, that the game designer killed them, and that he was simply helpless?

After Cai Zhiyuan and Wang Yongxin completed this judgment game, there would be only two judgment games left out of the ten.

The three of them had already undergone two judgment games; the third would carry an extremely high risk of death.

In other words, there was a high probability that two people would die.

Picking one unlucky soul between Cai Zhiyuan and Wang Yongxin to die in a judgment game seemed like something that would be difficult to explain to others upon returning to the community.

Furthermore, judging by their current injuries, it was uncertain if they would even survive the trip back to the community.

In that case, why not just go all the way?

Ding Wenqiang's hands were already stained with the life of Zhang Peng; at this moment, he felt somewhat of a "burn the boats" mentality.

But he quickly shook his head.

No, that won't do. There is a difference between one death and two. If one of them—either Cai Zhiyuan or Wang Yongxin—died, he could at least try to argue it was a matter of game mechanics. But if both died, there would be no way to explain it, no matter what.

To trade his social life in Community 17 and be eternally isolated by other players for 100,000 minutes of visa time was not worth it.

He might participate in similar group games in the future, and the survival probability of a lone wolf player would be infinitely compressed.

However, just as Ding Wenqiang finally finished his internal struggle and decided to reject Viewer No. 1's proposal, more broadcast voices rang out.

【Viewer No. 1 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 5,000 minutes of visa time, with the message: Kill them both, and it's 100,000.】

【Viewer No. 7 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 5,000 minutes of visa time, with the message: Kill them both, and it's 100,000.】

【Viewer No. 2 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 5,000 minutes of visa time, with the message: Kill them both, and it's 100,000.】

【Viewer No. 8 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 5,000 minutes of visa time, with the message: Kill them both, and it's 100,000.】

【Viewer No. 3 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 2,000 minutes of visa time, with the message: Calm down!】

【Viewer No. 9 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 4,000 minutes of visa time, with the message: They are lying!】

Various tips and messages began to flood the screen, sending Ding Wenqiang's mind into chaos once again.

If all five viewers made the same promise, that would be 500,000 minutes of visa time.

That was nearly a year!

From the current situation, it seemed that in the Corridor, only judgment games targeting sinners were mandatory; all others were voluntary.

During that year, Ding Wenqiang could live a life of leisure without participating in any dangerous Corridor games, enjoying life peacefully in the community.

He could buy whatever he wanted.

To indulge in luxury and revelry in the safe zone while watching others struggle in death games—the taste of that kind of security was indescribable.

This might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; once missed, it might never come again.

If he could truly obtain a full year of visa time, what would it matter if he were isolated by the entire community?

Judging by the frequency with which the Corridor launched judgment games, could the people of Community 17 even survive a year?

If these people died one after another throughout the year, who would even remember what he had done now?

Ding Wenqiang was indeed moved.

But on second thought, he felt something was wrong.

Because the 100,000 minutes of visa time promised by these viewers were still just empty checks.

According to the game mechanics, these viewers could tip Ding Wenqiang and attach messages at will, but such promises were not actually bound by the rules.

In other words, they could change their minds completely.

They could agree on 100,000 minutes of visa time, but if they didn't pay in the end, Ding Wenqiang would be powerless.

Although these viewers had been very credible so far, having quickly paid the remaining balance of the 10,000 minutes they had previously promised, who could guarantee they wouldn't renege this time?

After all, it was 100,000 minutes.

Ding Wenqiang vaguely suspected that the viewers might have some special game mechanics that allowed them to earn a lot of visa time, and a large portion of that profit was predicated on the collective death of the prisoners.

That was why the viewers were being so extravagant.

They were like a flock of vultures circling in the sky, waiting to descend and feast on the fresh carcasses after a brutal war.

But the problem was, Ding Wenqiang didn't know exactly how much profit these viewers could gain, so he naturally couldn't determine the credibility of their empty checks.

If the viewers could earn 200,000, then a 100,000 bounty was reasonable.

If the viewers could only earn 50,000, then a 100,000 bounty was pure deception.

Although Viewer No. 9 had sent the message "They are lying," was that message necessarily true?

These viewers were merely numbered from 1 to 10; Ding Wenqiang had no way of knowing who they actually were, and thus could not determine whose words were more trustworthy.

Moreover, what did it matter if he listened to the viewers or not? He was the King; ultimately, all decisions had to be made by himself.

When he was a worker, he had to listen to the boss; now that he was King, did he still have to listen to the viewers? Was he destined to be someone else's puppet for the rest of his life?

Should he take the gamble?

As long as two or three of these viewers kept their promises, the proposal was incredibly tempting.

...

Seeing Ding Wenqiang lost in thought, his face flickering with expressions of conflict, Wang Yongxin's heart sank rapidly.

If he could, he wished he could scream right now, offering to transfer all the visa time he had earned from his last game to Ding Wenqiang just to buy his own life.

But unfortunately, he could neither transfer visa time nor scream.

As his physical strength drained away, he felt his body growing heavier, and the noose around his neck was gradually tightening.

He could make no sound; he could only pray in despair.

...

In Lin Sizhi's room, new broadcasts rang out one after another.

【Please vote on the fairness of the King's actions.】

【Voting results: ××××√×√×××】

【Viewer No. 5 has been deducted 10,000 minutes of visa time.】

【Final fairness rating: -60】

【Thank you for your evaluation!】

【Please vote on the fairness of the King's actions.】

【Voting results: √×××××√×××】

【Viewer No. 1 has been deducted 10,000 minutes of visa time.】

【Final fairness rating: -60】

【Thank you for your evaluation!】

Judging by the pattern of the votes, more and more viewers were inclined to cast opposing votes.

This caused the fairness rating to drop lower and lower.