Zheng Jie felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and spoke somewhat stiffly, "H-hello..."
After arriving at Community 17, he had already learned about some of the games everyone had participated in before, especially the game "Blood Poker." Because the strategies and outcomes of the three groups were all different, Fu Chen considered it a good case study and had explained it to him in detail.
And so, Zheng Jie naturally came to know about Lu Xinyi from Community 3.
Putting himself in their shoes, if he had been in the same situation as Jiang He back then, he really would have had no choice but to stick his neck out and be slaughtered, completely helpless.
He had thought the probability of encountering a player from Community 3 again was very small, but he never expected such a coincidence.
What was this called?
Running into a max-level boss right after leaving the starter village?
Lu Xinyi, however, didn't seem to mind, casually tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "It seems you have a rather deep-seated prejudice against me?"
Zheng Jie quickly waved his hands, "No!"
Lu Xinyi glanced over the meeting room rules on the table and suggested, "Why don't we decide on the payment method for the room usage fee first?
"You look so gentlemanly, you wouldn't be unwilling to pay even 200 minutes of visa time, would you?"
Zheng Jie was a bit stumped by the question. He looked at the button in front of him, his brain momentarily freezing.
His subconscious reaction was to pay.
But on second thought, that didn't seem right either. This wasn't a real blind date.
This was a life-or-death game in the Arcade! Since visa time is our life, why should I be the only one to pay for these 200 minutes of visa time?
While he was still struggling, Lu Xinyi had already burst out laughing with a "pfft."
"Can't you tell when a girl is joking?
"I've already pressed 'Split,' you should press it too."
Zheng Jie was a little surprised. He looked up and saw that among the three buttons in front of Lu Xinyi, the one for 'Split' was indeed in a pressed state, and its indicator light was on.
Zheng Jie worried there might be a trick, but after careful consideration, he felt it was impossible.
Lu Xinyi had already pressed the [Split] option, he couldn't possibly press something else, right?
If he pressed another button, both he and Lu Xinyi would be deducted an extra 100 minutes of visa time. Wouldn't that be insane?
Zheng Jie thought for a moment and pressed the [Split] button in front of him.
[Lu Xinyi has been deducted 100 minutes of visa time.]
[Zheng Jie has been deducted 100 minutes of visa time.]
[The room usage fee has been paid. We wish you both a pleasant meeting!]
Zheng Jie let out a long sigh of relief. There was no trap; he had been overthinking it.
The room fell silent again.
Lu Xinyi leaned back in her chair in a very relaxed posture, her right hand propping up her chin, observing Zheng Jie with great interest.
"We have nothing to do for the rest of the time anyway, why not just chat?
"What was the last trial game for your Community 17?"
Zheng Jie sat bolt upright in his chair, cleared his throat a couple of times, and then said, "I can't tell you."
Lu Xinyi smiled, "Oh, quite the sense of confidentiality, huh?
"Alright, then let's not talk about games or communities. What's your profession? We can talk about that, right?"
Zheng Jie was still very wary, "Then why don't we talk about your profession?"
Lu Xinyi shrugged noncommittally, "That's fine too, as long as you're interested.
"I'm an amateur magician. Sometimes I randomly pick passersby to perform street magic, and sometimes I make tutorial videos online."
Her body leaned forward slightly, the corners of her mouth turning up, "Do you believe me?"
...
In those ten minutes, Zheng Jie felt that every day was like a year.
Chatting with such a beautiful girl should have been a pleasant experience, but the thought of Lu Xinyi's performance in "Blood Poker" always sent a chill down Zheng Jie's spine.
He didn't dare mention anything about Community 17, nor did he dare mention his own profession or experiences, for fear that any inadvertent information would be picked up by Lu Xinyi and turned into a trap for him.
Although this kind of thinking was somewhat paranoid, it was, after all, Zheng Jie's first time participating in an Arcade game, and he kept telling himself to be cautious.
He absolutely couldn't drag down the other big brothers and sisters in the community.
Lu Xinyi didn't seem to mind, simply chatting with Zheng Jie about some of her own things, but it was obvious that Zheng Jie didn't dare believe a single word.
After what felt like a long time, the ten minutes were finally up.
As the countdown on the tabletop reached zero, the notification sound rang out again.
[The meeting time has ended. Both players, please exit and return to your own rooms.]
[Before leaving, please don't forget to rate this meeting.]
The so-called rating referred to "Liking" or "Disliking."
Actually, these two buttons could be pressed right after entering the meeting room, but considering it was a rather important action, Zheng Jie had held back until now.
Lu Xinyi placed her right hand on the 'Like' area and pressed it.
Immediately, her eyes widened in shock, "We had such a pleasant chat, you wouldn't be unwilling to even exchange a free 'Like' with me, would you?"
Zheng Jie hesitated for a moment. According to the game rules, he could only receive a maximum of 1 'Like' per hour, but he had to attend three meetings.
If he gave his 'Like' to Lu Xinyi in this round, he wouldn't have any for the next two meetings.
Then how about a 'Dislike'?
That seemed a bit too much. Lu Xinyi hadn't shown any aggression towards him the entire time and had been chatting very friendly, even splitting the room usage fee.
She also only had one 'Like' per hour. If she gave hers, wouldn't it be a bit too heartless of him not to reciprocate?
After a brief internal struggle, Zheng Jie coughed twice, "Alright then, let's exchange a 'Like'."
After speaking, he pressed the [Like] button.
Lu Xinyi smiled at him, "Alright, a pleasant meeting. Let's meet again if fate allows, shall we?"
...
As soon as Zheng Jie returned to his room, he saw the game rules appear on the big screen again.
[Congratulations on completing your first meeting.]
[The "Draft" rules will now be updated.]
[1 hour after entering the game, during the waiting period before the fourth meeting begins, the "Draft" event will be initiated.]
[A "Draft" will be held during every subsequent rest period.]
[In the "Draft," two players with fewer 'Likes' will be randomly selected to go on the draft stage for a PK.]
[The two players can take turns performing any content, with a time limit of 1~5 minutes per person. They can also press the button next to the stage to end their performance early.]
[Other players, as the audience, can vote "Interesting" for the performances they like.]
[Upon accumulating 10 "Interesting" votes, the performer will receive an additional 1 'Like'.]
[Upon accumulating 20 "Boring" votes, the draft performance will end immediately.]
[Voting "Interesting" or "Boring" during the draft event will not consume any existing resources.]
After listening to the rules, Zheng Jie's brow furrowed even tighter.
"Perform a show, 10 'Interesting' votes for one 'Like'?
"This game is really a test of personal charm!
"First blind dates, now a draft. Although it doesn't seem dangerous, I'm not handsome and I don't have any special talents. I really shouldn't have come!"
After reading the new rules, Zheng Jie sighed silently and walked over to the data query machine.