[The game will begin in 30 seconds. Please insert your hands and feet into the shackles on the target and prepare yourself.]
[Each shot from the nail gun will earn 2000 minutes of visa time. The mechanism will automatically release in 10 minutes.]
Zhang Peng stood before the target, inserting his hands and feet into the shackles on it. A series of "click" sounds rang out, firmly locking him onto it in a spread-eagle position.
"Uncle Ding! I was wrong! I don't want to die!"
Zhang Peng was still shouting, but the game had already begun.
"Kachak!"
The nail gun in the mechanism wasn't much different from a regular one, and the sound wasn't particularly loud, but the speed at which the nail flew out was still terrifying enough.
With a "pfft," the nail easily embedded itself into the target area to the upper left of Zhang Peng's head.
"Ah!!"
Zhang Peng began to scream uncontrollably. It was obvious that if this nail had been just a little more off-target and hit his forehead, he would already be a corpse.
The only good news was that the nail gun's firing frequency was slightly lower than the frequency of the iron maiden's needles in Cell 4.
However, this also made Zhang Peng's wait all the more agonizing.
The second nail.
The third nail.
The fourth nail.
Zhang Peng was scared out of his wits every time, but he was lucky enough not to be hit by any of the nails.
However, just as he breathed a slight sigh of relief, a sharp nail pierced his left forearm with a whistling sound.
"Ah!! Ah!!!"
Zhang Peng screamed his lungs out.
Ding Wenqiang felt extremely annoyed. Zhang Peng's injuries were clearly far less severe than Gao Zhankui's, but his screams were countless times louder.
...
[Please vote on the fairness of the King's actions.]
The broadcast announcement sounded again, and Lin Sizi pressed "×".
[Voting result is √√×√××√√×√]
[Final fairness rating: 20]
[Thank you for your evaluation!]
For this trial, a rather serious disagreement once again appeared among the audience.
Including Lin Sizi, four audience members chose ×.
Since no visa time was deducted, it meant this was their true inner thought.
However, they obviously didn't think Zhang Peng shouldn't be punished, but rather that the punishment was too severe.
Although Zhang Peng was the most despicable of the five, his most serious crime was still just robbery, and according to him, he had already been sentenced to three years for it.
One thing that made Cell 5 different from all the previous cells was that if one's luck was very bad, it was possible to die in the very first game.
And the sensory stimulation from the nail gun was indeed too intense.
Some audience members wouldn't calculate the specific probability of the nail gun hitting Zhang Peng's vital spots; they instinctively felt this punishment was too harsh.
However, this result did make Lin Sizi start to think.
"Strange, given the design of the cells in this game, an unfair result is almost inevitable.
"Because the punishments in Cell 4 and Cell 5 are a bit too severe, no matter which prisoner is thrown in, some audience members will likely find it unfair.
"Under such a strict lie-detection mechanism, there's almost no room for ambiguity in the audience's voting.
"So, what is the point of the fairness vote?"
Lin Sizi pondered, lightly tapping the tabletop while reviewing the previous fairness ratings.
...
[40000 minutes of visa time have been settled for the player.]
The shackles on the target automatically opened, and Zhang Peng fell to the ground, rolling around and wailing.
Out of a total of 20 nails, 4 had hit his body, but fortunately, none were in vital areas.
Although the scene looked a bit frightening, Zhang Peng's injuries at this moment should still be lighter than Gao Zhankui's.
[Audience 7 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 6000 minutes of visa time, with the message: Cell 4, continue.]
[Audience 2 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 6000 minutes of visa time, with the message: Cell 5, ten thousand.]
The audience members, who had just been focused entirely on Gao Zhankui, were now divided. Audience 7 was still insisting on Gao Zhankui, but Audience 2 had very smoothly shifted their attention to Zhang Peng.
[Audience 1 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 6000 minutes of visa time, with the message: A scumbag's death is no loss.]
Hearing this message, Ding Wenqiang was somewhat moved.
He looked at the four prisoners locked in different cells and suddenly realized that Audience 1 was right. Among the four, the one who most deserved to die was, in fact, Zhang Peng.
Although the other three also had their own sins, at least they hadn't directly and seriously broken the law.
In contrast, Zhang Peng was a thief and a robber, lazy and greedy. Not only did he contribute nothing to society, but he only brought disaster.
If he hadn't decided to rob on a whim and beaten up Ding Wenqiang, that delivery driver wouldn't have died.
Yes, Zhang Peng should bear the primary responsibility! He was the main culprit who killed that delivery driver!
The thought of Zhang Peng's ugly, fawning face made Ding Wenqiang want to vomit.
If it weren't for Zhang Peng fanning the flames on the side, he wouldn't have been in such a hurry to send Wang Yongxin and Gao Zhankui in.
Thinking of this, Ding Wenqiang once again walked up to Cell 5.
Zhang Peng was scared out of his wits: "Uncle Ding! Uncle Ding, I was wrong, please let me go!"
Just then, another broadcast announcement sounded.
[Audience 5 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 4000 minutes of visa time, with the message: You enter the cell.]
...
Ding Wenqiang was stunned for a moment, once again feeling a bit lost.
Audience 5, he had some impression of them.
The person who exposed Zhang Peng earlier was this one.
However, Ding Wenqiang didn't understand what "You enter the cell" meant.
He looked again at Wang Yongxin nearby.
Wang Yongxin's expression was also a bit surprised, but after a moment's thought, a look of joy suddenly appeared on his face: "It can be done like this? Wait, it seems... it's really possible!"
Ding Wenqiang was a bit puzzled: "What do you mean?"
Wang Yongxin struggled to his feet, grabbing the bars of the cell and explaining: "Uncle Ding, there's a way for everyone to survive in this game!
"The game said that with each trial in these cells, the danger level will double. Judging from the situation in Cell 4, it's very likely someone will die in the third trial.
"There are a total of 10 games to be played. With four prisoners, it means someone will inevitably die. If we're lucky, one person dies; if we're unlucky, two people die!
"But we've all fallen into a misconception, which is that you can also enter the cells!
"The game rules state that whether we are the 'King' or 'Prisoners', our identity is 'Sinner'. And the trials in the cells are for all sinners!
"Therefore, you can also enter any of the cells.
"If there are five people, then each person only needs to play two games.
"No one will die.
"No one will die!"
Wang Yongxin had originally been on the verge of despair.
10 games, four prisoners, meant that two prisoners would inevitably be forced to undergo three trials.
The rules stated that by the third trial of most games, the prisoner's life would be in danger.
Although Wang Yongxin felt that the spots for these two unlucky people wouldn't necessarily fall on him, what if they did?
But now, Audience 5's words had cut to the heart of the matter. If Ding Wenqiang could also enter a cell, then completing the 10 trials would be much easier.
Whether it was entering Cell 3 or Cell 6, as long as Ding Wenqiang himself also completed two trials, the burden on the others would be greatly reduced.
Moreover, Cell 3 and Cell 6 were generally not particularly dangerous cells.
Ding Wenqiang lowered his head, lost in thought.
[Audience 7 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 2000 minutes of visa time, with the message: Don't go.]
[Audience 1 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 3000 minutes of visa time, with the message: On what grounds?]
Time passed, second by second.
Ding Wenqiang raised his head: "Yeah, on what grounds?"