Unexpected Death

Wang Yongxin froze. Suddenly, Ding Wenqiang before him felt somewhat unfamiliar.

Prison Cell No. 3 was still open.

Even without smashing his own fingers, playing once in Prison Cell No. 3 would only deduct 18,000 minutes of Visa Time.

Even doubled, that was only 36,000.

The tips Ding Wenqiang had received from the audience were enough to cover that amount.

Even if he did not want to accept a second trial, using 18,000 minutes of Visa Time to shoulder one trial was not excessive, was it?

Ding Wenqiang's face darkened as he glared at Wang Yongxin. "Why are you looking at me like that?

"Isn't this what people like you have been doing all along?

"As rich people, just letting a little slip through your fingers can feed so many poor people.

"One bottle of red wine you open might equal several years of living expenses for a delivery driver.

"If you paid an extra hundred yuan in social insurance for every delivery driver, many people injured in traffic accidents might be able to receive treatment!

"Have you rich people ever given even that tiny bit of charity?

"Why is it my turn to bear the burden for you?

"I'm the King. I earned that identity through my own ability, step by step!

"Why should I enter a prison cell and undergo the same trial as you?

"Whether it's 10,000 minutes of Visa Time or 100 minutes, I earned it myself. So what if I earned it easily? Why should I give it away to save someone else?

"If you became the King, could you really be so noble and selfless as to shoulder the Judgment Game for the other prisoners?

"I don't believe it. If you were that kind of person, the Corridor wouldn't have dragged you into this game!"

Wang Yongxin opened his mouth, but for a moment, he was speechless.

He had instinctively wanted to answer, "I would," but Ding Wenqiang's final remark forced him to swallow the words.

Indeed, he seemed to have no standing to demand any sacrifice from Ding Wenqiang.

Even if it was only 18,000 minutes of Visa Time.

[Audience Member No. 1 tipped Ding Wenqiang 3,000 minutes of Visa Time. Attached message: Well said!]

[Audience Member No. 7 tipped Ding Wenqiang 2,000 minutes of Visa Time. Attached message: Agreed.]

Ding Wenqiang seemed to have made some kind of decision. By then, he was the only free person left in the arena; the other four prisoners had all been locked in their respective cells.

Ding Wenqiang went to Prison Cell No. 5, where Zhang Peng was, and expressionlessly activated the Judgment Game again.

Lin Sizhi leaned back in his chair and silently sighed.

He had done everything he could.

The designer of this game was fairly merciful. They had left a way for everyone to survive, and it was not particularly difficult to achieve.

Of course, perhaps it was not mercy on the designer's part, but a kind of survivor bias: games without a way out could not pass the Corridor's review, much less be selected.

But regardless, that path to survival existed, and Lin Sizhi had already pointed it out plainly.

Ultimately, the lives of those four people were still in Ding Wenqiang's hands.

As an audience member, Lin Sizhi could not personally enter the arena. This was all he could do.

Audience Member No. 1 truly was a troublesome opponent.

If Lin Sizhi had done nothing, Audience Member No. 1 would most likely have successfully pushed Ding Wenqiang into putting Gao Zhankui through a third Judgment Game and killing him.

After killing Gao Zhankui, Ding Wenqiang would fall into an even deeper downward spiral.

At that point, Audience Member No. 1 could reveal Zhang Peng's secret and layer the guilt of killing Gao Zhankui on top of it, easily manipulating Ding Wenqiang into killing Zhang Peng as well.

Step by step, they would push the King to kill more prisoners and secure the greatest possible benefit for the King's side audience.

Naturally, Lin Sizhi did not know whether Audience Member No. 1 had noticed the hidden information in Zhang Peng's Videotape. But judging from Audience Member No. 1's earlier performance, they were an intelligent and dangerous opponent. He could not take that risk.

Once things reached that point, the prisoners' side would be doomed.

Zhang Peng's hidden information was a chess piece that both the King's side and the prisoners' side could use. The difference was only in when they chose to play it.

Lin Sizhi could only reveal Zhang Peng first. On one hand, it disrupted the rhythm Audience Member No. 1 had planned; on the other, it bought time to persuade Ding Wenqiang to enter a prison cell.

If that happened, all five of them could survive.

But unfortunately, Lin Sizhi was not a god. He could not control Ding Wenqiang's thoughts.

[Please cast a Fairness Vote on the King's actions.]

[Vote result: ×√×√××√√××]

[Final fairness score: -20]

[Thank you for your evaluation!]

The audience's fairness evaluation dropped even further.

Clearly, for audience members who sincerely believed Zhang Peng was scum, activating a second trial was fair.

But others believed that, considering this game was far more dangerous than the previous ones, putting Zhang Peng through a second trial now was unfair. After all, Cai Zhiyuan and Wang Yongxin's game punishments were lighter, yet they had only undergone one Judgment Game.

Moreover, Ding Wenqiang himself had not entered a prison cell.

Inside Prison Cell No. 5, Zhang Peng's wails still rang out from time to time.

Ding Wenqiang's face was grim as he chose not to look at him anymore.

That blond-haired punk was always making a mountain out of a molehill. They were just a few nails, yet he screamed louder than a pig being slaughtered.

After a while, the screaming finally stopped.

Ding Wenqiang turned to look, only to discover in surprise that the Judgment Game had not ended.

The Nail Gun was still firing with sharp clacks, driving nail after nail into the target or Zhang Peng's body.

One nail, however, had struck Zhang Peng squarely in the forehead. The blond-haired young man had already fallen silent.

Ding Wenqiang's mind went completely blank.

Zhang Peng was dead.

He had not expected Zhang Peng to die so easily, because every previous Judgment Game could at least be played through safely twice.

When Gao Zhankui rolled out of the Iron Maiden the second time, he had almost been turned into a bloody mess, yet he was still alive even now.

Clearly, the game in Prison Cell No. 5 differed from those in the other cells. It was a game that depended heavily on luck.

In theory, these games would only become life-threatening on the third round.

But if one nail happened to strike the forehead, then all probabilities and numbers of attempts became meaningless.

[Audience Member No. 1 tipped Ding Wenqiang 4,000 minutes of Visa Time. Attached message: He got what he deserved.]

[Audience Member No. 7 tipped Ding Wenqiang 3,000 minutes of Visa Time. Attached message: You did nothing wrong.]

[Audience Member No. 2 tipped Ding Wenqiang 5,000 minutes of Visa Time. Attached message: He had bad luck.]

Ding Wenqiang looked at the record on the screen.

[Completed trials: 6/10]

A strange feeling arose within him. Zhang Peng's death did not seem to affect him much. Instead, he felt calmer.

"Four more."

Ding Wenqiang numbly went to Prison Cell No. 4 and looked at Gao Zhankui, who was still lying on the floor, covered in blood.

A moment later, he went to the front of Prison Cells No. 1 and No. 2.

At that point, there was an obvious problem: four trials remained. If Gao Zhankui played once more, he would most likely die, and there would still be three Judgment Games left to complete.

In other words, no matter what, Cai Zhiyuan and Wang Yongxin would each have to play at least one more game.

"Sorry for the trouble."

Ding Wenqiang activated the Judgment Games in Prison Cell No. 1 and Prison Cell No. 2 in succession.

In the end, he decided to leave the hardest problem for last: first complete Cai Zhiyuan and Wang Yongxin's second trials, then decide which two of the three would undergo the final two trials.

Cai Zhiyuan and Wang Yongxin said nothing. They merely prepared themselves once more.