"Perfect Solution"

"Perfect Solution?" Qin Yao and Su Xiucen were both somewhat surprised. "You mean there's a way to win consistently?"

Jiang He shook her head slightly. "Winning consistently is impossible, but we can consistently minimize our losses.

"As long as everyone's losses at the table stay well below ten thousand, that'll be a happy ending for all of us."

Qin Yao thought it over, but still couldn't figure out how that could be done.

Jiang He looked toward the four players from Community No. 3. "Of course, achieving the 'Perfect Solution' will require their cooperation too."

As she spoke, Qin Yao noticed that the other four players had finished their discussion and were walking toward them.

The rules stated that to open a multiplayer table, each community had to send at least one player. Communication between the two communities was therefore inevitable; it was only a matter of sooner or later.

"Hello. Since we're all in the same game, why don't we discuss some countermeasures together? Pooling our ideas might help us come up with something better.

"Let me introduce us. The four of us are from Community No. 3. My name is Lu Xinyi."

The one in front was a young, pretty girl with shoulder-length hair. She was not heavily made up, but her fair skin and faint smile still radiated a youthful energy.

Perhaps due to blood loss, her face was a little pale, but she seemed to be in decent spirits.

The other three consisted of two men and one woman, ranging in age from their twenties to forties.

Jiang He instinctively glanced at Qin Yao and Su Xiucen, then quickly realized that she was the only one who could step forward now. She took a step forward. "Hello, I'm Jiang He, from Community No. 17."

The two shook hands. Though they were strangers, their friendly attitudes brought the two groups a little closer.

After all, this was everyone's first time participating in a life-or-death game in the Corridor. It was easy to develop something like a "suspension bridge effect" illusion.

"Time is tight, so I'll start with my thoughts."

Lu Xinyi went straight to the point. "After discussing it, the four of us unanimously believe that this game is an extremely dangerous trap that could kill people.

"But as long as we stay rational, we can survive it very safely."

Jiang He nodded impassively and waited for her to continue.

Lu Xinyi did not keep them in suspense. After a brief pause, she continued, "I don't know whether you've analyzed the games in the Corridor back in your community.

"I think the most representative of these games is Redemption Roulette, the highest-rated one. Of course, it's also the game I admire most."

Jiang He nodded. "Yes, we focused on analyzing that game too."

Lu Xinyi was delighted. "That's great. Then it should be easier for us to reach a consensus.

"Simply put, I believe the Judgment Games in the Corridor all share one trait: they test certain flaws in human nature.

"And if you fail the test, you pay a painful price.

"Redemption Roulette tests the players' selfishness. If a player is extremely selfish, they will die in the game.

"And Blood Poker, in my view, tests everyone's greed.

"If you are too greedy, you will definitely die in this game.

"There is only one deadly trap in this game: the blood-drawing machine.

"The rules force us to play at the gambling table and complete ten rounds against people from another community. Otherwise, we lose ten thousand minutes of Visa Time.

"But once we sit at the table, our greed will be stirred up. After losing, we'll want to win it back. After winning, we'll want to win even more.

"After ten rounds, everyone's chips will be reshuffled. Some people who lose badly may choose to keep exchanging their blood for chips in an attempt to turn things around.

"And once they lose their reason, they could pass out or even die from excessive blood loss."

Jiang He nodded repeatedly as she listened.

Clearly, what Lu Xinyi said perfectly matched her own thoughts.

Especially her analysis of Redemption Roulette, which was entirely consistent with Community No. 17's previous conclusions. That showed Lu Xinyi was a smart person.

And cooperating with smart people was always pleasant.

What was even rarer was that, despite being smart, Lu Xinyi also believed that nine out of ten gambles ended in losses, and the real win was not gambling at all. That meant their values were fairly close as well.

Jiang He immediately nodded in agreement. "Exactly, that's what I think too!

"But we can't refuse to gamble either. The rules require us to sit at the table at least once, and once we do, there will always be winners and losers."

Lu Xinyi nodded. "Yes, that's exactly the problem troubling us.

"If we don't sit at the table, everyone loses ten thousand minutes of Visa Time. But if we do, none of us has any experience..."

Jiang He's eyes lit up. This was exactly the situation she had hoped for.

"Then it seems our two communities are in rather similar situations.

"I have a suggestion.

"Actually, this game has a 'Perfect Solution.' Every one of us can take out as many chips as possible."

Lu Xinyi was somewhat surprised. "Really? You should each have around eighteen thousand chips too, right? Can we really take all that out?

"That converts to roughly two weeks of Visa Time. It would be quite nice if we could safely keep it."

Jiang He looked at the countdown on the big screen. "Time is tight, so I won't keep you guessing.

"The rules only require us to complete ten rounds. They don't place any restrictions on how we play.

"Why do we have to gamble seriously and fight to the death?

"As long as we take turns being dealer and take turns winning, the meat stays in the same pot. After ten rounds, each of us can still keep roughly our original number of chips."

Su Xiucen was stunned. "That works?"

Jiang He nodded as if it were only natural. "Of course. Why wouldn't it? The rules don't say we can't do that, do they?

"In these games, anything not forbidden is allowed. Exploiting loopholes in the rules is a kind of ability too."

Qin Yao carefully reread the words on the big screen and found that there really were no restrictions against such a situation.

Lu Xinyi thought seriously for a moment. "It does... seem feasible. But there are seven of us. If everyone wins one round, what about the remaining three rounds?"

Jiang He said, "There's no way around that. The ante is one thousand, so it can't be divided perfectly equally.

"I think we'll have to leave it to luck.

"The table rules say that the dealer for the first round is chosen at random, and after that, the winner becomes the dealer.

"Our initial seating will be random. Each time, we'll let the person to the dealer's right win. As for which three people win an extra round, that'll depend entirely on luck."

Lu Xinyi thought about it. "Mm... leaving it to luck does count as fair."

Qin Yao was a little worried. She spoke softly. "But... Sister Jiang He, what if someone goes back on their word? Your method doesn't seem to have any binding force."

Lu Xinyi looked up at her and smiled. "That's something we were worried about too.

"But thinking it through, that risk is still manageable. Sister Jiang He must have considered it from the start, right?

"Going back on one's word during a card game isn't really a wise choice."

Lu Xinyi paused briefly before continuing. "First, you three and we four each come from the same community. After we leave this game, we'll still meet again in our communities.

"Suppose I refuse to honor the agreement and don't fold when I'm supposed to. Then I'll lose the trust of the other three, perhaps even the trust of every other player in Community No. 3.

"In other words, I'll suffer social death in Community No. 3.

"The same logic applies to your side.

"And paying such a price may not even bring much benefit. Even if I win a round, I'd only win everyone's antes. The gains would not be worth the cost.

"Moreover, anyone who goes back on their word during the game will immediately become our shared enemy and be attacked by the other six.

"The rules say the cards dealt at the table are absolutely fair. Everyone can only receive three cards. No matter how lucky one person is, they can't beat the other six.

"Besides, even in the worst-case scenario—if the seven of us completely lose trust in one another and play our own games—it would only return us to the original situation. There would be no additional losses.

"So all things considered, I believe any rational person would choose to keep their promise. Because that is the choice that maximizes benefits.

"It's like... buying insurance and sharing the risk.

"This may not be the best choice, but it is definitely the least bad one."

Jiang He nodded approvingly. "Exactly. That's what I thought too. Cooperating with smart people is convenient; there's no need for too much explanation."

Qin Yao lowered her head and thought for a moment. She truly could not find any major loopholes.