"A perfect solution?" Qin Yao and Su Xiucen were both a little surprised, "You mean there's a way to consistently win money?"
Jiang He shook her head slightly, "We can't consistently win money, but we can consistently lose less.
"As long as all of our losses at the gambling table are far less than ten thousand, it's a happy ending for everyone."
Qin Yao thought about it, but still couldn't figure out how to achieve that.
Jiang He looked at the four players from Community 3, "Of course, to achieve the 'perfect solution,' we'll need their cooperation."
As she spoke, Qin Yao noticed that the other four players had finished their discussion and were walking towards them.
The game rules stipulated that to start a multiplayer table, there must be at least one player from each of the two communities. So, communication between the two communities was inevitable, it was just a matter of sooner or later.
"Hello, since we're all in the same game, why don't we discuss our strategies together? With our collective wisdom, we might come up with a better plan.
"Let me introduce myself, the four of us are from Community 3, and my name is Lu Xinyi."
The leader was a young and pretty girl with shoulder-length hair. Although she wasn't wearing much makeup, her fair skin and faint smile still exuded a certain youthful vitality.
Her face was a bit pale, possibly due to blood loss, but her spirits seemed good.
The other three were two men and one woman, with ages ranging from their twenties to their forties.
Jiang He subconsciously glanced at Qin Yao and Su Xiucen, and quickly realized that she was the only one who could step forward now. So she took a step forward, "Hello, my name is Jiang He, from Community 17."
The two shook hands. Although they were strangers, their friendly attitude brought the two groups a bit closer.
After all, it was everyone's first time participating in a life-or-death game in the Arcade, which could create an illusion similar to the "suspension bridge effect."
"Time is tight, so I'll share my thoughts first."
Lu Xinyi chose to get straight to the point, "The four of us have discussed it and we all agree that this game is a very dangerous trap that could lead to death.
"But as long as we remain rational, we can survive very safely."
Jiang He nodded impassively, waiting for her to continue.
Lu Xinyi didn't keep them in suspense and continued after a short pause, "I wonder if you've analyzed the games in the Arcade within your community?
"I believe the most representative of these games should be the highest-rated 'Redemption Roulette.' Of course, this is also the game I admire the most."
Jiang He nodded, "Yes, we've also analyzed that game in detail."
Lu Xinyi was very happy, "That's great, it should be easier for us to reach a consensus then.
"Simply put, I believe all the judgment games in the Arcade have a common feature, which is to test certain flaws in human nature.
"And once you fail the test, you will pay a heavy price.
"'Redemption Roulette' tests the players' 'selfishness.' If a player is extremely selfish, they will die in the game.
"And 'Blood Poker,' in my opinion, tests everyone's 'greed.'
"If you are excessively greedy, you will definitely die in the game.
"There's actually only one fatal trap in this game, and that's the blood-drawing machine.
"The game rules force us to go to the gambling table and play, and we must play against people from other communities and complete 10 rounds. Otherwise, ten thousand minutes of visa time will be deducted.
"But once we're at the table, our greed will be aroused. If we lose, we want to win it back; if we win, we want to win more.
"After ten rounds of the game, everyone's chips will be reshuffled, and some people who are desperate from losing might choose to continue exchanging their blood for chips to make a comeback.
"And once they lose their rationality, it's very likely they will fall into a coma or even die from excessive blood loss."
Jiang He nodded frequently as she listened.
Obviously, what Lu Xinyi said coincided with her own thoughts.
Especially the analysis of 'Redemption Roulette,' which was completely consistent with the previous analysis by the members of Community 17. This showed that Lu Xinyi was a smart person.
And cooperating with smart people was always a pleasant experience.
What was even more commendable was that, as a smart person, Lu Xinyi also had the idea of "nine out of ten bets lose, not betting is winning," which indicated that their values were also quite similar.
Jiang He immediately nodded in agreement, "Exactly, I think so too!
"But we can't not gamble. After all, the game requires us to play at the table once, and as long as we're at the table, there will always be wins and losses."
Lu Xinyi nodded, "Yes, that's also the problem that's giving us a headache.
"If we don't go to the table, everyone will have ten thousand minutes of visa time deducted. But if we do go to the table, none of us have any experience..."
Jiang He's eyes lit up; this was exactly the situation she had been hoping for.
"It seems our two communities are in quite a similar situation.
"I have a proposal.
"Actually, this game has a 'perfect solution,' and each of us can take out the maximum amount of chips."
Lu Xinyi was a little surprised, "Really? You should all have about 18000 chips on hand, right? Can we take out that many chips?
"That converts to about 2 weeks of visa time. If we can secure that, it would be pretty good."
Jiang He looked at the countdown on the big screen, "Time is tight, so I won't keep you in suspense.
"The game rules only require us to complete ten rounds of the game, but they don't place any restrictions on how we play.
"Why must we gamble seriously and fight to the death?
"As long as we take turns being the dealer and take turns winning, the meat will still be in the pot. After ten rounds, each of us can still roughly keep our original chips."
Su Xiucen was shocked, "Is that even allowed?"
Jiang He nodded as if it were a matter of course, "Of course, why not? The game rules don't say we can't do this, right?
"In these games, 'what is not forbidden is permitted.' Being able to exploit loopholes in the rules is also a kind of ability."
Qin Yao carefully read the text on the big screen again and found that there were indeed no restrictions on this situation.
Lu Xinyi thought seriously for a moment, "It seems... it's indeed feasible. But there are 7 of us. If each person wins one round, what about the remaining 3 rounds?"
Jiang He said, "There's no way around that. The ante is 1000, so it's impossible to divide it completely evenly.
"I think we should just leave it to luck.
"The rules on the gambling table state that the dealer for the first round is random, and after that, the winner becomes the dealer.
"Our initial seating is random. We'll let the person to the dealer's right win each time. As for which three people get to win an extra round, it'll all depend on luck."
Lu Xinyi thought for a moment, "Hmm... relying entirely on luck, that's fair enough."
Qin Yao was a little worried and said in a low voice, "But... Sister Jiang He, what if someone goes back on their word? Your method doesn't seem to have any binding force, does it?"
Lu Xinyi looked up at her and smiled, "That's a concern for us too.
"But if you think about it carefully, this risk is still within a controllable range. Sister Jiang He probably considered this from the beginning, right?
"Going back on your word during the game is actually not a wise choice."
Lu Xinyi paused for a moment and continued, "First of all, the three of you and the four of us are from the same communities. After we get out of this game, we will still meet in our communities.
"Suppose I don't abide by the agreement and don't fold when I should. Then I will lose the trust of the other three, and even the trust of all the other players in Community 3.
"In other words, I will 'socially die' in Community 3.
"The same logic applies to your side.
"And paying such a price doesn't necessarily bring great benefits. Even if you win one round, you're just winning everyone's ante. The benefits are not proportional to the cost.
"Moreover, the person who goes back on their word in the game will immediately become our common enemy and be ganged up on by the remaining six people.
"The rules state that the card dealing at the table is absolutely fair. Each person can only get three cards. No matter how good one person's luck is, it's impossible to win against the other six.
"What's more, even in the worst-case scenario—the seven of us completely lose trust in each other and play for ourselves—it would just be a return to the initial situation, with no additional losses.
"So, all things considered, I believe that any rational person would choose to keep their promise. Because this is the choice that maximizes benefits.
"It's like... buying insurance, and everyone shares the risk.
"This may not be the best choice, but it is definitely the least bad choice."
Jiang He nodded in approval, "Exactly, I think so too. It's so much more convenient to cooperate with smart people, it doesn't require too much explanation."
Qin Yao lowered her head and thought for a moment, and indeed couldn't find any major loopholes.