Apology

Two days later, morning.

"Morning."

"Morning."

Fu Chen was still the same as usual, among the very first to get up.

Cai Zhiyuan, on the other hand, seemed not to have slept very well. After all, as a programmer, he had spent years in a state of suboptimal health and was one of the more frail players.

He ordered some steamed buns and soy milk, then sat across from Fu Chen and ate slowly.

He seemed to have been thinking about something. After eating for a while, he said to Fu Chen, "Do you think future games might have situations similar to the last Team Battle?"

"Team Battle?"

Fu Chen thought for a moment. "That puts things into perspective. There really is that possibility."

In the previous game, the twelve players from Community No. 17 had been divided into three different groups and taken part in three separate games.

And judging from the results, each player's gains had been closely tied to their group's collective decisions.

So, if everyone had prepared beforehand and reached some sort of consensus before entering the game, they could cooperate more effectively within the limited game time, or gain an edge when playing life-or-death games against players from other communities.

That was exactly what Community No. 3 had done, and it had indeed made them difficult opponents.

Cai Zhiyuan nodded. "Exactly. I thought of that after seeing what happened with Lawyer Lin's group.

"The four players from Community No. 3 had obviously reached an agreement within their community from the very beginning. So even though Lu Xinyi's on-the-spot decision seemed to severely harm the other three players' interests, she still received their support.

"That was also a key reason she managed to deceive Jiang He.

"As for Wang Yongxin's group, they lacked mutual trust beforehand and couldn't reach a consensus, which was why they split apart.

"Although Wang Yongxin benefited from that split in the end, and Lawyer Lin compensated Jiang He and the others for their losses, what if the next game is the No Survival for Lone Wolves type?

"We still need to prepare for that possibility in advance."

Fu Chen nodded seriously. "That makes sense."

Jiang He had been deceived partly because she had not considered that angle herself, but there was another important reason: she had instinctively assumed that the players from Community No. 3, like those from Community No. 17, had only recently arrived in the New World and could not possibly have built especially close mutual trust yet. That was why she had joined that game.

If she had realized from the start that "Community No. 3 might be a Black Shop," the outcome might have been different.

"But our situation is still very different from Community No. 3's.

"Community No. 3 may have proposed far harsher terms than we did. For example, after every game, all the chips earned by every player might be divided completely evenly.

"But the players in our community wouldn't accept that kind of proposal.

"At most, we can verbally encourage everyone to cooperate with people from the same community whenever they end up in the same group next time.

"But even if we don't encourage it, everyone already knows that. If they can work with familiar people from their own community, why would they go looking for outsiders?

"As for establishing one or several absolute cores like Community No. 3 did, with everyone else having to obey unconditionally during games...

"I don't think our community has the conditions for that yet."

Fu Chen raised another question.

Cai Zhiyuan had finished breakfast and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Mm, I understand.

"When we don't know the specific content and rules of the next game, it really is difficult to make any detailed arrangements right now.

"But I think there's at least one thing we can discuss with everyone first, to give them a heads-up.

"That is, situations involving 'voluntary participation.'"

Fu Chen paused. "You mean encouraging everyone to volunteer for games? That might be difficult."

According to the rules announced by the Gallery, there were two different mechanisms for selecting players for games. One was mandatory participation, while the other was voluntary participation.

Cai Zhiyuan explained, "We haven't encountered voluntary participation yet, but since the Gallery's rules explicitly include this mechanism, there's bound to be a question: what if the number of volunteers clearly exceeds the number of players the game can accommodate?

"My guess is that the Gallery may select people according to certain rules.

"But no matter what those rules are, two things may remain unchanged:

"First, the earlier you sign up, the easier it is to be selected.

"Second, the more people who sign up, the easier it is to be selected.

"So, if a group game appears in the future and some players from our community have already been forcibly selected, then the other players should immediately volunteer to seize the remaining slots."

Fu Chen understood instantly. "You mean something like Illegal Team-up in games?"

Illegal Team-up referred to situations in games like battle royales, where teaming was prohibited by the game itself, but many players queued into the same match together and spontaneously formed a team during the game to target other players, increasing their odds of victory.

"That does sound feasible.

"If our people make up the majority in a multiplayer game, we can easily gain the advantage and squeeze out people from other communities.

"But would the Gallery allow such an obvious loophole in its rules?"

Cai Zhiyuan shook his head slightly. "I don't think we need to deify the Gallery too much. It seems to control everything, but the specific game rules are still designed by people.

"And if people made them, then loopholes are very likely to exist.

"Maybe even the designers of those games deliberately leave back doors for themselves."

Fu Chen considered it seriously for a moment. "True.

"The players who organize their communities earlier and recognize the importance of teamwork will definitely have greater advantages in the games to come.

"But there's another problem.

"What if the game itself is brutal, with a high elimination rate? Wouldn't players from the same community all get wiped out together if they go in?

"If that happens, it might be better to spread out."

Cai Zhiyuan sounded somewhat helpless. "But if we think that way, it becomes an endless layer of hypotheticals, and we won't be able to reach any definite conclusion.

"If our community chooses to spread out while other communities choose to participate as a group, then with the elimination rate in every game fixed, we'll always be at a disadvantage."

Fu Chen thought seriously again. "Mm, you're right. Overall, having as many people participate as possible is still safer.

"I'll talk to everyone later, but this can only be a proposal of some kind. It can't be mandatory."

Meanwhile, Wang Yongxin had also come downstairs and ordered a burger and a coffee from the Vending Machine.

He had just sat down on a single sofa by the window and placed his burger and coffee on the coffee table when he saw Ding Wenqiang walking toward him.

Wang Yongxin instinctively grew wary.

But the next second, Ding Wenqiang came up to him and said awkwardly, "I came to apologize to you."

Wang Yongxin froze for a moment. "Hm?"

Ding Wenqiang said, "I may have been prejudiced against you before, and my attitude wasn't good. Don't take it too much to heart."

Wang Yongxin hurriedly stood up. "No, no, no, Uncle Ding, you're making too much of it. You're an elder. If anyone should apologize, it should be me apologizing to you.

"I think we just have some differences in our ideas, but we both want what's best for the community.

"We're both men. Neither of us would take something this small to heart, right?"

Ding Wenqiang nodded. "Right. That's what I think too.

"...All right, then. Go ahead and eat your breakfast."

He seemed to want to say something else, but after racking his brain and failing to come up with a topic, he awkwardly raised a hand in farewell and ended the conversation.

Wang Yongxin sat back down and continued enjoying his breakfast.

Clearly, a large part of Ding Wenqiang's changed attitude toward him came from the Community Security Fund.

Wang Yongxin supported the Community Security Fund and had indeed contributed 5% of the chips he earned.

Ding Wenqiang had directly benefited from that fund, so his opinion of Wang Yongxin naturally improved.

"Money can resolve conflicts. Of course it can buy friendship too.

"Heh. This place isn't much different from the real world."

Wang Yongxin looked out through the floor-to-ceiling window and stretched lazily.

But at that moment, new information suddenly appeared on the large screen.

[Good morning, players!]

[The "Gallery" will open in 5 minutes.]

[The name of this game is "King's Judgment." The game objective is "Judge the sinners."]

[The players from this community required to participate are: Wang Yongxin, Ding Wenqiang, Cai Zhiyuan.]

[This game has a limited number of voluntary participation slots, which will be randomly selected from all registered players.]

[Please prepare yourselves.]