Bypassing the Rules

Before long, the others gradually got up as well.

They each made their way to the hall, ordered different food, and gathered in small groups to chat.

Fu Chen was the first to find Cai Zhiyuan.

After thinking briefly, Cai Zhiyuan got up and called over Li Renshu and Cao Haichuan, bringing them to a small meeting room off to one side of the hall.

The building had many small compartments of varying sizes, each furnished differently, seemingly intended to encourage people to use them for different purposes.

Lin Sizhi was the last to be called over.

"I want to discuss whether there's any way we can help Uncle Ding."

Fu Chen did not beat around the bush. He succinctly explained Ding Wenqiang's predicament.

"The reason I didn't bring it up in public is that it involves Uncle Ding's privacy to some extent. I was afraid he might feel embarrassed and refuse our goodwill.

"Too many people would make the discussion chaotic, too.

"So I'd like everyone here to discuss it privately first and come up with a rough plan. If it's feasible, we can then persuade the others."

Fu Chen looked at the other four people present.

Cai Zhiyuan shook his head. "I don't think it'll work.

"Any direct or indirect trading involving Visa Time between players is strictly prohibited. That's a Community Basic Rule.

"In other words, if I bought a plate of fried rice, pretended to leave it somewhere, and Uncle Ding ate it, that would still be a violation.

"Depending on the severity, the punishment could range from deducting Visa Time to outright expulsion from the community.

"I think it's best not to dance in a minefield."

Clearly, Cai Zhiyuan was extremely rational by nature.

Whenever he considered anything, he prioritized feasibility and probability, even unconsciously filtering out people's emotional fluctuations.

Perhaps it was some kind of occupational hazard for programmers?

Still, Lin Sizhi had always felt that while Cai Zhiyuan did possess certain programmer traits, he was completely unlike the stereotypical programmer—dull and honest.

Fu Chen looked at Cao Haichuan. "Officer Cao, what do you think?"

Cao Haichuan spread his hands. "You've come to the wrong person for this. I'm a rough-and-ready guy. Aside from solving cases and handling petty disputes, I can't do much else.

"I think we should avoid breaking game rules whenever possible.

"When the Gallery opens again, if one of us gets grouped with Ding Wenqiang and has good luck, we can just lend him a hand."

Li Renshu, however, lowered her head and furrowed her brow, not reaching a conclusion as quickly as Cai Zhiyuan and Cao Haichuan had.

"Although I can't think of a good solution right now, I think it's necessary to establish some kind of community safety net as soon as possible.

"This isn't just for Uncle Ding. It's for ourselves, too.

"Uncle Ding has the least Visa Time right now, but what about later?

"Who can guarantee that they'll never lose all their Visa Time in a game? Or get injured?

"There could very well be extremely dangerous games in the Gallery, and any one of us could become a burden on the community.

"If we can solve the problem of food, that would be equivalent to establishing a basic safety net in the community. In the long run, it would actually strengthen the entire community's ability to withstand risk."

Cai Zhiyuan fell silent for a moment before reluctantly saying, "Mm, that makes sense too."

Clearly, he accepted Li Renshu's reasoning. In other words, he believed that if such a support system really existed, it could indeed care for the weak and strengthen the community's overall resilience.

But he did not believe he would be one of those weak people.

Everyone present fell silent. Clearly, what lay before them was something they ought to do, something that would benefit them if done, yet it seemed almost impossible to accomplish.

Fu Chen looked at Lin Sizhi. "Lawyer Lin, what do you think?"

Lin Sizhi considered it for a moment. "I think that although the community's rules seem rigid, there may be a way around them."

At those words, a glimmer of hope flashed through Fu Chen's eyes. "Really? Tell us more."

The other three were also somewhat surprised. In their eyes, Lin Sizhi had always been reliable and never spoke carelessly. He must have had some confidence in what he was saying.

But rules were rules.

Lin Sizhi paused slightly. "Do you all remember the people from Community No. 3 that we encountered in the game?

"The reason Jiang He and the others suffered such a huge loss at first was because the four players from Community No. 3 had already formed an extremely close-knit organization.

"But thinking about it afterward, that was actually unusual.

"In a game, even players from the same community don't have much basis for cooperation. There can only be one winner at the table, and it's hard to divide the chips they win among the others.

"In other words, there's the issue of splitting the spoils.

"But in that game, the other three players had willingly coordinated with Lu Xinyi and lost their chips to her."

Cai Zhiyuan thought for a moment. "Maybe it was something like PUA or mind control?"

Lin Sizhi shook his head slightly. "That's unlikely.

"I'm more inclined to believe that the players of Community No. 3 have some method of distributing Visa Time among community members.

"Only then could their interests be tied together and form a more stable alliance."

Everyone sank into thought. Clearly, this concrete example was rather persuasive.

Lin Sizhi continued, "The prohibition against any direct or indirect trading involving 'Visa Time' is written into the Community Basic Rules, so naturally we can't violate it.

"But perhaps we can find a way around it.

"First, only another basic rule can counter a basic rule, so we should look for an opening in the other basic rules.

"Second, we need to scrutinize the wording. As long as the method we come up with doesn't count as a 'trading activity,' it won't count as breaking the rules."

Li Renshu looked thoughtful. "It wouldn't count as a trading activity, but we could still redistribute our excess Visa Time to those with less..."

Cai Zhiyuan still did not quite understand. "Is there really such a method?"

Li Renshu and Cao Haichuan looked at each other. Clearly, they had both guessed the answer at the same time.

"There is."

Li Renshu said seriously, "Before money is distributed into each individual's hands, a certain proportion is deducted and then redistributed collectively. That is not considered a trading activity. In real society, we generally call that taxation and social welfare."

Cai Zhiyuan understood instantly.

Taxation and welfare were things that already existed in real society. It was simply that after coming to this so-called New World, Cai Zhiyuan had overlooked them for the moment.

Conceptually speaking, taxation and welfare truly were not trading activities, and they could indeed provide the most basic living security for low-income groups. This completely aligned with their intentions.

At this point, everyone had nearly simultaneously thought of the method they could use.

"The second Community Basic Rule: submit a proposal!"

This method had actually been mentioned before, when the basic rules were introduced.

Simply put, anyone could submit a proposal to the community. Once it passed review, all community members would vote on it.

If more than half voted in favor—meaning at least seven people agreed—then the proposal could be implemented.

Fu Chen nodded slightly. "In other words, we can submit a proposal concerning a 'Community Minimum Guarantee.'

"Of course, this proposal can't be submitted casually, because it first has to pass the community's review.

"It can't violate the Community Basic Rules, and it also has to be workable."

Cai Zhiyuan suddenly had an idea. "What would happen if we proposed that the community issue each of us ten thousand minutes of Visa Time every day?"

Officer Cao shook his head. "It probably wouldn't pass review. We can most likely only redistribute Visa Time we already possess. Trying to fleece the community through this rule is clearly wishful thinking."

Cai Zhiyuan agreed. "Mm, I figured as much. But we can still try. Even if it doesn't pass review, at least there's no obvious loss."