Lin Sizhi arrived at the second floor, where rooms 1 to 12 were located.
The entrance to each room was cleverly separated, so there were no doors facing each other or sharing a hallway.
The order of the room numbers was also jumbled.
This made the entire second floor feel a bit like a maze, but it also better protected everyone's privacy.
Lin Sizhi quickly found room 12, and just like the community entrance, he needed to scan his visa to enter.
The room was quite spacious, a very luxurious suite with a large living room, a private study, a cozy-looking bedroom, and a clean, bright bathroom.
The room contained all the necessary daily supplies, and in a prominent spot in the living room was a huge whiteboard with a conspicuous poster on it, titled "Community Basic Rules Notice."
Lin Sizhi gave it a quick glance and saw that the rules were consistent with what had been introduced in the lobby.
There was also a laptop on the desk in the study.
But unfortunately, this computer was not connected to the internet, and there were very few usable software programs on it.
On the browser's homepage was a list of all the games in the Gallery and their detailed rules.
It was identical to what everyone had seen on the large screen in the lobby.
In addition, one could also check their remaining visa time, view the prices of supplies, and so on, on the computer.
In other words, all the functions available in the lobby, including the large screen, vending machines, etc., could be operated on one's personal laptop, and with better privacy.
Lin Sizhi moved the mouse and looked at the rules of a few more games.
Suddenly, a new pop-up window appeared on the computer screen.
[Hello, Lin Sizhi.]
["Redemption Roulette" received an S-rating, which seems to indicate that your understanding of the "God's Imitator" identity is currently superior to that of other game designers. Let's hope this is not a coincidence.]
[All imitators who have received an S-rating will be granted a privilege: in any public visa time inquiry system, you can freely hide the extra visa time you have obtained due to your imitator identity.]
[We hope you will make good use of this privilege.]
[Now, the Gallery extends a new design invitation to you:]
[Please design a game for "all players" to "complete the first allocation of visa time."]
[The game proposal is in your desk drawer.]
[The deadline is 8 a.m. tomorrow morning, you have 12 hours to complete the game design.]
[The "Gallery" will evaluate all submitted proposals and adopt the one with the highest score to set up the game venue.]
[All players will be forced to participate.]
[Now, the 12-hour countdown begins, please make your choice.]
Lin Sizhi's eyebrows raised, feeling a bit surprised.
It wasn't the sudden game design invitation that surprised him, since he had already accepted his special identity, a game design invitation from the "Gallery" could appear at any time.
He was already fully prepared for this.
What truly surprised him was that this game design invitation was different from the last one.
It was not aimed at a specific sinner with relevant case details, but at "all players."
The purpose was also not to "punish sinners," but to "complete the first allocation of visa time."
This game design invitation was sent to all players with the "God's Imitator" identity, which also meant that simply passing the review was not enough.
Lin Sizhi's game plan had to be better than everyone else's to have a chance of being selected by the Gallery.
So the question was.
What kind of plan is the "best" and would get the highest score in the Gallery's evaluation system?
Obviously, depending on their individual understanding, each designer would have a completely different answer.
Before looking at the proposal, Lin Sizhi checked his remaining visa time on the computer, and on this page, an additional option had appeared: [In the public visa time inquiry system, hide the extra visa time obtained due to the imitator identity.]
After a brief thought, Lin Sizhi naturally checked the box.
Then, he took out the game proposal from the drawer to examine it.
The format was consistent with the previous proposal he had seen, only differing in some pre-filled details.
What particularly caught Lin Sizhi's attention was the list of available props for this game.
[1. Display devices: 4.]
[2. Timers: 8.]
[3. Simple speakers: 8.]
[4. Desktop platforms with freely designable functions: 4.]
[5. Chairs: unlimited.]
[6. Restraint devices: 8.]
[7. Standard playing cards: unlimited.]
[8. Various types of chips exchangeable for visa time: unlimited]
[9. Freely designable special mechanisms: 8 sets.]
[10. Other scene props unrelated to the game content: unlimited.]
[Note 1: Unless otherwise specified, the designer can decide the model and appearance of the props used.]
[Note 2: No props may be taken out of the game venue, or they will disappear into thin air.]
[Note 3: All props are the quantity required for "one round of the game." The Gallery will automatically match players for multiple rounds, and the required props will be expanded according to the number of rounds.]
"The freedom has actually decreased?"
Lin Sizhi looked at the prop list, lost in thought.
When designing "Redemption Roulette," the available props were clearly more numerous and offered greater freedom than this time.
For example, the last prop list included guns and cold weapons that could directly harm players, but this time there were none;
Last time, the type of gambling equipment was not restricted, and any full set of casino gambling equipment could be used, but this time the gambling equipment was strictly limited to playing cards.
"This indicates that the Gallery's requirements for this game have a very clear inclination.
"The absence of guns and cold weapons means the Gallery does not want widespread deaths in this game.
"After all, the goal of this game is not judgment, but simply to complete the first allocation of visa time.
"Among all gambling tools, playing cards are the most popular, which means the Gallery wants to lower the game's entry barrier.
"So, I should try to avoid choosing overly complex playing card games.
"The quantities of props come in three types: 4, 8, and unlimited. This means the Gallery encourages matching players in groups of 4 to 8."
Although it was just a simple prop list, Lin Sizhi still analyzed a lot of information from it.
It was obvious that every game invitation from the Gallery had underlying requirements that were not explicitly stated.
The designer had to figure them out on their own.
"Low risk" and "simple playing card rules" were the two basic points of this game.
But these two points alone were not enough.
Lin Sizhi pondered for a moment: "Since the purpose is to 'complete the first allocation of visa time,' there must be a 'screening' element."
The new world was certainly no paradise.
This was a cruel jungle world, merely cloaked in a false disguise.
Just as it was said when the rules were read: the Gallery is the new world's clearing and judgment institution.
Judging sinners, clearing out the useless.
Distributing visa time equally to everyone might seem the fairest, but it would definitely not meet the Gallery's requirements.
But, how to screen?
After careful consideration, Lin Sizhi began to write the game rules on the proposal.
Although the allotted design time was relatively ample this time, Lin Sizhi didn't plan to spend too much time repeatedly considering the game's details, as doing so would be pointless.
The game content he designed was not complicated, so in reality, it only took a little over an hour to complete everything.
Lin Sizhi finally reviewed the plan from beginning to end, and after confirming there were no errors, he wrote the four words "Design Complete" in the bottom right corner of the last page.
New information popped up on the computer screen.
[The Gallery is reviewing the proposal you submitted.]
[Review complete, approved.]
[Waiting for other designers to submit their proposals]
Lin Sizhi closed the page on his computer.
Of course, he couldn't be sure if his plan would be chosen by the "Gallery," but at this point, any worry was superfluous.
Lin Sizhi felt a bit tired, so after washing up, he lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
...
...
The next morning, just after 7 a.m., Lin Sizhi woke up naturally.
"It's not a dream."
The unfamiliar scene before him reminded him that this was not a dream, he had indeed come to this place called the "new world," and might have to stay here for a long time in the future.
Could he ever return to his original world in his lifetime?
No one could give a definite answer right now.
However, Lin Sizhi was someone who could adapt to circumstances, so he didn't feel overly anxious about it.
After a simple wash-up, he went downstairs to the lobby.
Unexpectedly, most people were already up, Lin Sizhi gave a rough scan and saw at least seven or eight people in the lobby.
"Morning, Lawyer Lin."
Fu Chen raised his hand to greet Lin Sizhi.
Lin Sizhi nodded in acknowledgment, then went to the vending machine, ordered a breakfast sandwich and a cup of hot milk, spending a total of 25 minutes of visa time.
Fu Chen ate the last fried egg on his plate: "By the way, Lawyer Lin, if you want to use the kitchen, feel free.
"Uncle Ding and Auntie Su already used the kitchen this morning, there are plenty of utensils inside, enough for a dozen people, and they have different colors and styles to tell them apart.
"Their utensils are in the far right corner of the sideboard, if you're going to use it, you should also put your own utensils in a dedicated spot, so it's easy to distinguish.
"Also, they bought some ingredients and put them in the fridge, if you're going to buy ingredients, you should put them in different areas for easy differentiation."
Lin Sizhi looked towards the kitchen: "Got it, I don't need to use it for now."
Just as he had guessed, Ding Wenqiang and Su Xiuqin would sooner or later choose to use the kitchen to cook for themselves.
They got up especially early this morning, possibly to avoid others and prevent awkwardness. Of course, it was also possible that people their age were already used to waking up early.
Not long after, Wang Yongxin, the last one to wake up, also arrived in the lobby.
He looked to be in good spirits, probably having slept until he woke up naturally.
Overall, after a night's rest, most people had relaxed quite a bit.
There was no need to work here, and for the time being, there weren't many things to worry about.
Besides sunbathing by the window, drinking coffee, or reading a book, there really wasn't much else to do.
Lin Sizhi went to the book reading area and briefly browsed the books there.
There were common bestsellers, as well as some complex and profound monographs, the variety was quite rich.
It had to be said, this was a good place to clear one's mind.
However, just as Lin Sizhi found a book and was about to sit down and read, a notification message appeared again on the large screen in the lobby.
[Good morning, everyone!]
[The "Gallery" will open in 1 hour.]
[This game is called "Blood Poker," the objective is to "complete the first allocation of visa time," all players in the new world are forced to participate, with random matching for 8-player games.]
[Please get ready, everyone.]
Then, a one-hour countdown appeared on the large screen.
59:59
59:58