King's Judgment

"King's Judgment"

The hall erupted into an uproar once more.

Although they had already experienced one group game, most people still instinctively panicked when faced with a suddenly activated game invitation.

More importantly, the nature of this game was completely different from the last one.

The goal of Blood Poker had been to complete the distribution of the first Visa Time allotment, so in terms of the actual game content, there had basically been no real threat to life and death.

Between players, the only difference had been whether they earned more or less Visa Time.

But this game's objective was to "complete the judgment," which meant there would be a certain fatality rate.

At the thought of Wei Xinjian's fate in Redemption Roulette, many people instinctively felt terrified.

The three people who had been forced to participate were even more at a loss.

Lin Sizhi looked at the big screen, somewhat surprised as well.

Because this time, the Promenade had not selected the game he designed, Line of Life and Death.

"King's Judgment...

"Judging from the name alone, it's hard to tell what the game actually involves.

"So what is so distinctive about this game that the Promenade chose it?"

As Lin Sizhi fell into brief thought, Fu Chen's voice drowned out the noise in the hall.

"Everyone, quiet down first!

"Although this game carries some danger, Blood Poker has already shown everyone that the more people from the same side there are in a game, the safer it usually is and the better the odds of winning.

"Our community has three players who were forced to participate, so I hope everyone will volunteer actively. That can significantly increase our survival rate in the game.

"I'll volunteer first!"

Although Fu Chen had already raised his hand first, no one else responded.

Clearly, most people were still hesitating.

Everyone knew that Fu Chen was right.

Players from the same community naturally had a stronger foundation of mutual trust than strangers, giving them a certain advantage in multiplayer games.

Besides, no player could avoid games forever. If they did not enter this one, they would have to enter the next, especially those with little Visa Time remaining.

But even so, the thought that people might truly die in a Judgment Game still made their survival instincts recoil.

The five-minute countdown was short.

Fu Chen anxiously swept his gaze over the crowd, but there was nothing he could do at this point.

Fortunately, before the countdown ended, two more people finally raised their hands.

Cao Haichuan and Lin Sizhi.

Yang Yuting was still hesitating over whether to raise her hand. She did not have much Visa Time left either, and this might have been an opportunity to earn more.

But the next second, the countdown hit zero.

[Voluntary participants: Cao Haichuan, Lin Sizhi]

Although Fu Chen, Cao Haichuan, and Lin Sizhi had all raised their hands to volunteer, Fu Chen's name did not appear on the big screen.

Because voluntary participants would be randomly selected, and Fu Chen had clearly been filtered out.

It was hard to say whether his luck was good or bad.

The five people selected by the game vanished from the hall in an instant.

"Beep—"

A piercing alarm sounded, and Lin Sizhi gradually regained consciousness.

He discovered that he was already in a completely unfamiliar space, and he was the only one there.

He looked around.

The surrounding walls were pristine white, and the room contained only a simple table and chairs.

However, the wall directly in front of him was a huge transparent pane of glass, through which he could see the entire game venue.

The walls on either side were covered with screens of various sizes, like a surveillance room, allowing him to see many details of the game venue from different angles.

Lin Sizhi sat in the chair and looked at the tabletop.

There were many control buttons here, such as "Confirm," "Cancel," "√," "×," a numeric keypad, and portrait buttons representing Ding Wenqiang and the other five.

A moment later, an introduction to the game rules appeared on the small screen in front of the table.

[As a voluntary participant, your role in this game is: Spectator.]

[Spectators do not need to personally participate in the game and will not suffer life-or-death punishment.]

[There are a total of 10 spectators in this game. Spectators only need to do three things:]

[1. Tips]

[Tip a certain amount of Visa Time to an on-field player, along with a text message. Each character requires a tip of 1,000 minutes of Visa Time.]

[Please note: The tipped player may not necessarily carry out your request. Even if they do not, the tip will still take effect and will not be refunded.]

[2. Vote]

[Each time a judgment is carried out in the game, all spectators must cast a Fairness Vote on the King's actions.]

[Fairness mainly depends on whether the judgment game arranged by the King for the prisoner matches the prisoner's crime in both content and severity.]

[This vote will not bring spectators any benefits.]

[The voting process will automatically detect lies. If a vote contradicts the spectator's true thoughts, 10,000 minutes of Visa Time will be deducted.]

[Special notice: Spectators are strictly prohibited from revealing their identities or any Fairness Vote-related information to on-field players. Once discovered, they will be forcibly muted, and the informant will receive Instant Death Punishment.]

[3. Betting]

[Spectators may choose to bet on either the King or the prisoners, but may only bet on one side. The default wager is 50,000 minutes of Visa Time.]

[Each side may receive bets from no more than 5 spectators.]

[King side victory condition: Fewer than 3 prisoners survive when the game ends.]

[King side victory reward: For every prisoner executed by the King, each betting spectator will receive an additional 30,000 minutes of Visa Time.]

[Prisoner side victory condition: 3 or more prisoners survive when the game ends.]

[Prisoner side victory reward: Each betting spectator will receive an additional 50,000 minutes of Visa Time.]

[When the game ends, based on the victory results of the King side and prisoner side, the winners will also divide all wagered and earned chips of the losers.]

[Lastly, remember: This is another person's judgment, and you are merely a spectator.]

[Good luck!]

Lin Sizhi carefully read through the rules, but clearly, without knowing the exact form of the game, it was difficult to analyze how these rules should be used.

With no leads for the moment, Lin Sizhi could only look into the venue through the huge transparent glass in front of him.

The area he was in was somewhat like a second-floor viewing platform. There were ten such platforms in total, each marked with a huge number.

"So there are ten spectators in this game, and many of them are from other communities.

"Officer Cao should be among them too, but I don't know which number he is."

Lin Sizhi wanted to observe the other spectators, but the glass was one-way. He could see outside from within, but not the other way around.

Just then, the loudspeaker broadcast another announcement.

[Spectator No. 1 has bet on the King.]

Clearly, one spectator had made a decision with surprising speed.

Because up to this point, the game rules had not even been fully introduced. The spectators only knew the rules for the spectator side, while they still knew nothing about how the players actually participating in the game would play.

For instance, exactly how the King and prisoners would be distinguished, and how many privileges the King had, were both still unknown.

The organizers had not limited the time for placing bets. They could probably bet at any time during the game, so there was no need to rush.

Since they could only bet on either the King or the prisoners, it was naturally better to observe a little before deciding.

Of course, Lin Sizhi could roughly guess why Spectator No. 1 was in such a hurry.

According to the rules, each side could receive bets from at most five spectators.

In other words, if someone wanted to bet on the King but was too slow and became the sixth person to place a bet, they would automatically be assigned to the prisoner side.

Spectator No. 1 had firmly chosen the King's side from the very beginning.

Perhaps he believed the King would inevitably have the greater advantage, or perhaps he simply liked this sort of game where the King's side earned rewards by killing people.

After considering it for a moment, Lin Sizhi decided not to place a bet yet and instead turned his attention to the game venue.

He was Spectator No. 5, putting him in a prime viewing position.

By lowering his head slightly, he could clearly see the main game area.

The venue was somewhat shaped like the Chinese character "jia." Its broad main section lay directly below the spectator platforms and was divided into several compartments, each containing different mechanisms.

The vertical stroke of the character was a long passageway extending into the distance.

He could see five figures at the end of the passageway.

And among the many surveillance feeds, he could find the corresponding view.

Wang Yongxin, Cai Zhiyuan, Ding Wenqiang, Zhang Peng, and Gao Zhankui were staring at the screen in front of them, listening to the introduction of the relevant game rules.

Through the loudspeakers, the sounds from the game venue were also clearly transmitted into Lin Sizhi's room.

[Hello, players.]

[You will now undergo judgment in a game called King's Judgment.]

[In this game, all of you are "sinners."]

[But soon, one of you will become the "King," while the others will become "prisoners."]

[This game will last for 2 hours. Once the game officially begins, the Visa bracelets on your wrists will inject slow-acting poison into your bodies, and you will die when the poison takes effect after 2 hours.]

[You must achieve the game objective within 2 hours to have any chance of survival.]

[Before entering the official game venue, you must play a simple preliminary mini-game to determine your identities in the official game: "King" or "prisoner."]

[As you can see, there is a passageway ahead with a total length of 45 meters. It is divided into three stages: 20 meters, 15 meters, and 10 meters.]

[You must carry the mechanism in front of you, which weighs twice your body weight, and pass through the passageway within the time limit.]

[Each stage has different time limits and rest periods. Pay close attention to the timer on your path.]

[Once you exceed the time limit, the spikes on the mechanism will pierce your body. If you exceed twice the time limit, you will suffer Instant Death Punishment.]

[The first sinner to cross the passageway will become the "King," while the other sinners will become "prisoners."]

[The identity of the "King" is of vital importance. You must give it your all.]

[More rules will be revealed after you enter the official venue.]

[This is a test of will and wisdom. Pay attention to every clue in the game, and do not forget to listen to the voice in your heart.]

[The game begins now. Good luck!]