Chapter 10: Death Game

Li Renshu showed an expression of admiration: "Exactly, that is precisely what I wanted to say.

"Anyone with a certain sense of justice and compassion can actually survive this game.

"Aside from the fifth shot, which is confirmed to be a blank, the player has five other opportunities to pull the trigger.

"If they fire two shots at the innocent and three at themselves, they can clear the game unscathed;

"If they fire three shots at the innocent and two at themselves, they will only suffer minor injuries.

"Only if they fire four or five shots at the innocent will they suffer severe traumatic brain injury or death."

Cai Zhiyuan spread his hands: "Doesn't that just reinforce my conclusion?

"My point is that the survival rate of this game is actually very high.

"Your explanation only further proves that the survival rate is even higher than I imagined.

"Those sensitive to language who can see through linguistic traps won't die;

"Those who understand a bit of probability and can make rational decisions won't die;

"Even those who don't understand anything, but simply possess a sense of reverence for life and compassion, won't die.

"Only those who are reckless and fire five consecutive shots at an innocent person will die.

"There has to be a limit to being a beast, right?"

Fu Chen pondered for a moment: "Perhaps the Gallery itself encourages 'tolerance'? The more tolerant the game, the higher the rating? That doesn't seem to make much sense, though."

Li Renshu looked at the large screen: "We could spend 24 hours of visa time to exchange for the player's profile and the result report of this case."

Cai Zhiyuan shook his head slightly: "Is that necessary?

"The game isn't complicated; we've already analyzed it well enough.

"24 hours of visa time is too precious. I doubt anyone would be willing to spend that wasted money to buy completely meaningless information.

"What if it turns out the player survived unscathed? Wouldn't that be a huge loss?"

Li Renshu countered: "And what if he died?"

Cai Zhiyuan was stunned: "Died? The probability of that is way too low, isn't it?

"And even if he did die, besides proving he's a beast, what else would that tell us?"

Fu Chen thought seriously for a moment: "Although 24 hours of visa time sounds like a lot, if the 12 of us split it, 2 hours per person to buy a piece of intelligence is barely acceptable."

Wang Yongxin was the first to object: "I don't agree."

Human Resources Manager Xu Tong also shook her head: "I don't agree either."

Wang Yongxin added: "I'm not disagreeing because I'm stingy; the key is that our current visa time is precious, and we must consider the return on investment when using it.

"Furthermore, there's no way to trade visa time here, so how would we split it?"

Fu Chen sighed silently. Clearly, a cost-sharing plan was basically impossible to implement.

Although one could propose a motion according to the rules, it would be difficult to get more than half the votes.

Li Renshu looked at Cao Haichuan again: "Officer Cao, do you think the player who participated in this game could have survived?"

Cao Haichuan toyed with his lighter, silent for a moment, then said: "Hard to say. But I'm inclined to think not."

Li Renshu pressed: "Why?"

Cao Haichuan spread his hands: "I can't give a good reason. Just intuition."

Li Renshu nodded: "Alright, that's enough."

She stood up immediately: "I am willing to spend my own 24 hours of visa time to exchange for the relevant information."

Cai Zhiyuan was stunned. He looked at her, but could only spread his hands: "Fine, it's your visa time; how you spend it is your business."

Li Renshu walked straight to the large screen: "I want to purchase the information related to 'Redemption Roulette'."

【Please proceed to any vending machine to deduct visa time.】

Li Renshu went to the nearby vending machine to swipe her visa. As the fee was deducted, the relevant information appeared on the large screen.

【Player Information:】

【Wei Xinjian, male, 37 years old.】

【Due to business failure, he was speeding on a road in the city center with a 40km/h limit, killing a couple on the side of the road instantly.】

【Verdict: Sentenced to 3 years in prison for the crime of causing a traffic accident. Has served his sentence and been released.】

【Game Process:】

【First, second, third, fourth, and sixth shots fired at the innocent.】

【Fifth shot fired at himself.】

【During the second and fourth shots, he hesitated and aimed the gun at himself, but changed his mind in the end.】

【Final Result: Death.】

"Huh?"

"This?!"

The crowd was in an uproar.

Clearly, this result was completely beyond their expectations.

Cao Haichuan slammed his lighter onto the table with a "clack," his usual nonchalant expression turning serious: "This intelligence was well worth the price. It seems many of our previous conclusions will have to be overturned."

As a criminal investigator, Cao Haichuan hadn't shown many serious expressions before, giving off a somewhat sloppy, even slightly greasy middle-aged vibe.

But when he became serious, he seemed to carry a special aura, his voice low and steady, giving people an inexplicable sense of security.

"Actually, our discussion just now wasn't wrong; the game in this case really doesn't have much lethality for ordinary people.

"Whether it's noticing the language traps, understanding a bit of probability, or just having a shred of compassion, it's all just a close call, not enough to die in the game.

"But this game seems specifically prepared for this man named Wei Xinjian.

"It is, in fact, a game where 'the selfish must die.'

"Perhaps this extreme targeting is one of the important reasons why it was rated S by the Gallery."

"A game where the selfish must die?"

Fu Chen carefully pondered this sentence, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

Cao Haichuan looked at Wei Xinjian's profile on the big screen.

"We were just wondering, what kind of beast could fire five consecutive shots at an innocent person?

"Clearly, this man is exactly the kind of beast we were talking about.

"Of course, using the word 'beast' is too broad; more accurately, this is a person who is extremely selfish and extremely indifferent to the lives of others.

"Otherwise, he wouldn't have been speeding in a busy downtown area, killing two people, and showing no remorse."

Cai Zhiyuan interrupted him: "Wait, Officer Cao, how do you know he showed no remorse? The profile doesn't seem to say that."

Cao Haichuan instinctively reached for a cigarette but restrained himself again.

"Because that is exactly what the game tested.

"Where is the key to cracking this game? Is it the language traps? Or probability?

"Actually, the key lies in the 'reverence for life.'

"Wei Xinjian is a criminal; he is the murderer who killed that couple.

"Sitting across from him in the game was an innocent person.

"If Wei Xinjian had sincerely repented during those three years in prison, he would have understood to place the innocent person's life above his own.

"In that case, both he and the innocent person could have been saved.

"But clearly, even with a 1/6 or 1/5 probability of death, he was unwilling to bear it, choosing instead to aim the gun at the innocent.

"The more a person is like this, the faster they die in this game."

The crowd nodded one after another.

Some even had expressions of "he deserved it" on their faces.

Cao Haichuan continued: "Not only that, the designer of this game precisely grasped Wei Xinjian's human nature.

"Wei Xinjian actually had two chances to survive.

"During the second and fourth shots, he turned the muzzle toward himself, which shows that his heart wavered.

"But in the end, he couldn't pull the trigger.

"That is not a coincidence."