"So I think it's absolutely impossible to pass with the minimum blood volume; someone must give more. Even keeping the style of previous stage designs in mind, everyone giving a little bit more would still be insufficient. It's highly likely that someone's health must be compromised, at least to the point of excessive blood loss, to activate the mechanism."
"And the game lies in the fact that we need to judge our arrival order and, based on this sequence, decide how much blood to give. The order is extremely important."
"There's no doubt that, based on the earlier stage designs, those who arrived here faster were certainly superior to us in terms of intelligence and self-sacrificial spirit. They have enough strategic minds to reach the same conclusion as I did, and they won't hesitate to give more blood."
"According to my speculation, there are two groups ahead of us, and they must have given more. The question remains whether we need to give more and how much the few groups after us need to give to ensure that by the time the last group arrives here, it's not a dead-end."
"No matter the reason why the groups behind us are taking so long, the slower they arrive, the less capable they might be, and their condition could potentially be worse. Therefore, the blood they can give will be less. We must leave enough space for them, otherwise, when it comes to the second-to-last or last group, this will already have become a task impossible to complete even if they drain all their blood."
"Although we still don't know what this mechanism does, judging by the designer's cunning, if it can't be completed, all of us could die horribly."
"Following this logic, the earlier the arrival, the more blood should be given. The problem is whether everyone will think of this and be willing to give that much."
"Why wouldn't they be willing?" Erik asked, "According to you, everyone wants to win."
"Didn't you just hesitate?" Charles asked, "Don't you want to win?"
Erik frowned and said, "I wasn't unwilling. I said both of us could..."
"No," Charles interrupted him, "When I say 'give more,' I mean not just without harming health, but it's likely that someone must suffer excessive blood loss. I've already said that later people can no longer give that much. They're in poor condition and might not have any health left to overdraw. If we make them lose excessive blood then, it could cost them their life."
"We can't assume everyone at the back is kind; as you said, if there's a Joker who doesn't want to pay the price of life and his own game's failure to benefit those ahead, then everyone will die together. So only those healthy individuals at the front can sacrifice their health to leave enough space for them."
Charles continued, "This is a very classic moral dilemma. You need to gamble on how many good and bad people there are before and after, and try to turn bad people into good ones. And the method of transformation is to sacrifice yourself for them."
"Again, if a Super Villain arrives after us and sees an impossible task here, he might not give a single drop of blood. He's not one to sacrifice himself for others. At worst, it's everyone dies together."
"But if he arrives and finds that although some blood must be shed, there's still hope of completing the task and winning, then even from a selfish perspective, he might be willing to sacrifice. That's what I mean by 'turning the bad into good.'"
Erik frowned deeply. "So, we, those ahead, have to bear the moral cost, and those after only need to act in their own interest."
"I can only say the ideal situation is this, and we must find a way to create an ideal situation. I have a premonition that if this doesn't work out, we're going to suffer a very painful lesson."
Charles sighed and said, "Now, there's only one question left, and that's determining exactly which number we are. Because the further ahead we are, the more people there might be behind us, and the greater the probability of encountering a Super Villain. If they have no hope, and they leave, it would be problematic."
"According to you, we might not even be the third group, but the second." Erik looked up at the balance and said, "Those before us would deduce the same things you've deduced. And to keep those behind them from leaving, they might give as much blood as they can, possibly both reaching the point of excessive blood loss. The blood in that balance might come from the same group of people."
Charles also looked over, slightly furrowing his brows. Although it was hard to see exactly how much blood was in the basin, the balance had sunk quite a bit. If it was indeed only from two people, those two must have already lost an excessive amount of blood.
But if they were truly the second group, it would definitely be bad news. According to the prior game theory, the first groups must sacrifice more, but as it progresses, less sacrifice is needed. If we are the third, perhaps only one person needs to lose excessive blood; but if we are second, neither of them can escape.
Although there's no definitive word on our place in line, naturally it's better to believe it exists than to deny it. It naturally makes sense to prepare for the worst scenario.
As Erik was about to say something, Charles approached him. His blue eyes became even more pronounced in the firelight. He held Erik's shoulders and looked at him, saying, "Do you know? Every time you mention your past, those days in the concentration camp, being hunted, struggling all over the world, or the skills you inadvertently reveal that you learned in hardship, it makes me hate that I didn't meet you sooner."
"...You couldn't save me, the times can't be changed, Charles." Erik tilted his head slightly backward as if trying to avoid those eyes. "You can't do it."
"This isn't about saving. If I could empathize with you sooner, go through the same suffering, maybe I would understand you better, at an earlier time."
"That's completely unnecessary, Charles."
"Is it? I thought if we stood together sooner, the tragedy that left me paralyzed wouldn't have happened. Are you never guilty about that?"
Erik's fists clenched suddenly. Charles said, "Believe it or not, in this tragedy, what I blame myself for has always been what I said: I shouldn't have only understood you through Mind Reading. I should have genuinely put myself in your shoes, understood your hardship, and stood with you."
"Why can't we bleed together?" Charles looked at the mechanism beside him, then turned back to Erik, "Answer me, Erik. What's your reason for disagreeing?"
Erik couldn't answer. He was simply startled, by Charles's blue eyes, by his words. It all reminded him why he initially made that helmet. Because besides that forceful physical isolation method, he had no other way to refuse Charles. He always found a way to persuade him. Just like now.
He truly regretted not wearing the helmet in here.