Four Types of Voting

The White Faction's base was a fully metal-built Apartment Building.

It had two floors and was extremely spacious.

There was a round table in the middle of the first floor. It looked as if it could be used for projections.

One of the surrounding walls was made entirely of floor-to-ceiling windows. Through them, they could see an open space outside, scattered with debris and rubble, and even bloodstained weapons. It looked just like a Gladiator Arena!

They were like VIPs in a VIP Viewing Room beside the Gladiator Arena.

Opposite them stood another identical Apartment Building, except that its exterior was pitch-black.

Through the windows, they could also vaguely see figures inside. But it was too far away—about a hundred meters—and they could not make them out clearly.

"Are they making the two factions fight each other?"

Sule looked around the first floor and saw two doors. One probably led to the arena, while the other was the entrance they had used.

The entrance door had automatically closed as soon as the time began. Clearly, it would not open until the game ended.

Aside from that, there were staircases on both sides leading to the second floor.

Dongfang Yi walked down from the second floor. "There are twenty-five rooms upstairs. They're empty, but they seem to support projections. If the rooms correspond to the number of people, then each faction can have at most twenty-five members."

Gaoxin found a chair and sat down. "Let's hear the rules first."

Xing Shiping solemnly took out a notebook and prepared to write down every rule.

Soon, Number 97 appeared in the center of the round table. As text appeared like a rolling wheel, it began to narrate.

[The Glass Cannon game has a black base and a white base. The two sides take turns sending a 'Duel Invitation' to the opposing base.]

[The contents of the 'Duel Invitation' may be customized, with options attached. There are two options in the first round, three in the second, and so on. The number may increase without limit. The people inside the initiating base will arrange and edit it themselves. They have ten minutes to do so. Once it is finalized on the round table, it will be sent to the Voting Room on the second floor of the opposing base.]

[Everyone in the opposing base must enter a separate Voting Room within one minute, leaving all of them unable to communicate, before they can view the Duel Invitation and vote individually.]

[If everyone in the base votes the same way on the invitation, it will be considered a refusal of the duel.]

[If the votes are inconsistent, or if everyone fails to complete the vote, it will be considered an acceptance of the duel.]

[The base that accepts the duel must send one Glass Person to participate as a gladiator within three minutes. Failure to do so will automatically count as defeat in this round.]

[The base that initiated the duel may send any one of its members to participate as a gladiator within three minutes.]

[Each base may have at most one gladiator per round. The entire base will vote to decide who it is, and the person with the most votes will become this round's gladiator. The gladiator must enter the Gladiator Arena within one minute. Failure to do so will result in instant execution.]

[As soon as both gladiators enter, an unrestricted deathmatch will begin and continue until one side dies. No third party may interfere by injuring anyone during the deathmatch. Violators will be executed on the spot.]

[Outside the time of the duel, no one may enter the Gladiator Arena. The victor must return to the base within one minute. Failure to do so will result in instant execution.]

[The defeated faction will lose 1 point of faction health. Each faction has 5 points of health. When one faction's health reaches zero, the game will end, and everyone in the faction whose health reached zero will be executed on the spot.]

At this point, Number 97 projected a white number above itself—a huge '5,' as if symbolizing the five points of health.

After hearing the rules, everyone's expression became strange.

So that was what Glass Cannon meant?

The two sides took turns initiating duels. The side that accepted could only send a Glass Person into battle, while the side that initiated the attack could send anyone.

What suspense could there be in a fight in the Gladiator Arena? As long as the attacking side sent a Radiation User, the Glass Person would certainly die!

In other words, both sides were "high attack, low defense," like cannons made of glass.

When attacking, they would definitely send out their strongest "shell." When defending, however, they only had Glass People, whose defense was as fragile as glass.

As long as the duel was accepted, the attacking side was guaranteed victory!

No wonder each faction had at least five Glass People. Once five Glass People died, their health would be depleted!

"Damn, we don't have a single Radiation User on our side. Our attack is low, and our defense is low too..." Sule grabbed his hair.

Their faction was democratic, but every member was a Glass Person. Their combat strength was far inferior to the opposing side. They would shatter at the slightest touch when defending, and they might not even win reliably when attacking.

"The key lies in how the Duel Invitation is designed. Only unanimous voting by everyone counts as true 'defense'..." Qiao Long murmured.

Dongfang Yi said in a deep voice, "There are more rules. How could there be nothing targeting the deaths of Radiation Users?"

Number 97 continued speaking.

[The overall game also includes defection and traitor-elimination rules.]

[After each invitation's voting phase ends, each faction may initiate an Incite Defection vote in the Voting Room, attempting to make any member of the opposing faction defect. Everyone must make the same choice for the defection to succeed.]

[Players may defect between factions multiple times. A defection notice will be projected directly onto the target's retina.]

[A player who has defected may initiate a connection to the opposing base from inside the Voting Room at any time, designating one player for communication.]

[When a duel ends, the base of the defeated faction may initiate one instance of traitor elimination, voting to execute any member inside the base. As long as the vote exceeds half, the traitor elimination will succeed.]

Only then did everyone's brows relax slightly.

There were also defection and traitor-elimination mechanics. Could they plant spies in each other's factions?

That made sense. If the game were merely a battle of Glass Cannons, then Radiation Users would be invincible.

Now, however, there was a way to kill the opposing side's Radiation Users.

They could first make a Radiation User defect, then find a way to inform the opposing side. When the other side initiated traitor elimination, they could execute that person directly as long as the votes exceeded half.

Of course, unity within the base was important too. They might simply choose not to eliminate the traitor and wait for them to defect back in the next round.

But the Black Faction's members were too complicated. There were nine Radiation Users and ten Glass People, while the Radiation Users were divided into two factions. The entire faction had at least three different agendas!

Furthermore, the voting took place individually inside sealed Voting Rooms.

The strong might be able to kill people indiscriminately or take revenge, but they could not directly control the vote.

This game was not one where having more people in the base was necessarily better. There were four different voting mechanisms in total! With too many different people at the start, the voting would become extremely chaotic.

From this perspective, their White Faction had a huge advantage.

Finally, Number 97 announced the reward rules.

[When the game ends, every surviving member of the final surviving faction will receive Redemption Vouchers equal to 'the remaining health of their faction multiplied by 1,000.']

[Regardless of whether through force or traitor elimination, every player who kills a player from the opposing faction will receive an additional 1,000 Redemption Vouchers.]

Everyone sighed. Sure enough, once the reward rules came up, the game encouraged killing again.

Directly killing someone through force was allowed too.

In other words, as long as they knew who among them had become a member of the opposing faction, they could simply draw their blades and cut that person down. They did not need to hold an Eliminate Traitor Vote.

Of course, traitor elimination should offer greater collective rewards, since everyone who voted for the execution should receive a reward.

This could give Glass People more opportunities to survive, allowing the strong to choose to protect them and gain more votes. They could then collect even more Redemption Vouchers by charging protection fees at the end... It was like a negotiation involving Dog Catches Rat. One could say it was one of the common minor paths to survival available to the weak in every game.

However, negotiations for survival would be difficult in this game.

That was because Glass People also held the power of life and death. Moreover, the ten Glass People on the Black Faction's side were all NPCs. No matter how they completed the game, they would receive no Redemption Vouchers in the end.

In an Intermediate Game, NPCs really were consumables. They were practically certain to die.

"The game begins immediately. The Black Faction will attack first and send out a Duel Invitation within ten minutes." After saying this, Number 97 disappeared.

Dongfang Yi sneered. "The other side attacks first? Is it because they have more people?"

Qiao Long stroked his chin. "There are too many people in the Black Faction's base, and they aren't united. It'll be difficult for them to reach a unanimous vote, so they're at a disadvantage."

"Compared to them, things are much simpler on our side. As long as we stand united, we can vote consistently."

"If we tell them who the defectors are, their people may start killing each other directly. After all, killing someone gives them an extra thousand."

"Even if they don't kill each other, as long as enough people defect, it means many people in the opposing base will instead be helping our White Faction play. That will make their votes even less likely to agree."

Xing Shiping of the servant squad said warily, "But they can also Incite Defection among our people. During the first vote, everyone belongs to the Black Faction. There's no conflict of interest, so how could the defection possibly fail?"

"Once our White Faction has defectors, it'll also become difficult to reach unanimous votes on future invitations."

Qiao Long smiled bitterly. "That's why I emphasized unity. We must truly unite and not care whether our identities are black or white."

"If I defect, I'll admit it openly, and I'll continue helping you vote."

"Because my companions are here. This is a team game, not a game played by isolated orphans."

"No matter what happens, the five of us will advance and retreat together. Xing Shiping, I imagine you and your companions are the same, right?"

"Of course!" Xing Shiping froze and looked back at the teammates he had brought. The other four seemed to be gazing at him pitifully.

Xing Shiping said firmly, "We have a reason to win this game no matter what. At the very least, we have to make it out alive."

Qiao Long smiled. "Exactly. We're the same."

"We're all alike. Compared to us, the people on the other side have far more chaotic ideas."

"So as long as our two teams can trust and cooperate with each other, we'll definitely win."

Xing Shiping nodded heavily. Their side was indeed much easier to deal with, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

It was hard to imagine how miserable the situation would be if there were several Radiation User players beside them right now.

Thinking of this, he looked at Gaoxin.

The rules of this game were complicated, and there were many ways to play it. Having Radiation Users on both sides was one way. One side being composed entirely of Glass People was another. Having both sides scattered into various small teams was yet another.

The faction distribution at the beginning was far too important. It practically determined the direction of the entire game.

"Luckily, you fought to seize the position blocking the door, even at the cost of thoroughly offending the Viking Gang. Otherwise, we'd be in a real bind now." Xing Shiping spoke sincerely.

Gaoxin smiled. "What does offending them matter?"

"To Radiation Users, Glass People are walking Redemption Vouchers. Don't be afraid of offending people. You have to be even more ruthless than they are!"

Dongfang Yi said coldly, "Kill them. When the Incite Defection vote comes later, choose the one holding the hammer every time."

Qiao Long looked at Gaoxin. "What do you think, captain?"

Gaoxin pondered. "Actually, I'd rather first Incite Defection among one of the NPCs..."

"But Inciting Defection among Big Hammer works too... You're all hoping to provoke them into killing each other directly, aren't you?"

Xing Shiping began to understand. "Right. Once the opposing side's Radiation User defects and becomes White, everyone around him will be an enemy of the opposing faction in his eyes!"

"Killing one gets him 1,000 Redemption Vouchers! He'll definitely kill five people first."

"With that guy's temperament, he'll definitely do it."

Dongfang Yi bared his teeth. "Do you think the other group of Radiation Users are dead? As soon as Big Hammer dares to act rashly, no matter what excuse he uses to suddenly kill someone, Twin Tails will definitely suspect that he has defected."

"Besides, the Glass People over there are like lambs waiting to be slaughtered, and there are only so many of them. If Big Hammer kills one, Twin Tails may receive one less Redemption Voucher in the future, so she'll probably stop him."

"Twin Tails' team is at full strength with five members, while the Viking Gang only has four. I'm certain Big Hammer won't dare to act rashly."

Meimei could not help saying, "Even if he doesn't act rashly, we can still spread the news. The Glass People over there fear him, and if they get the chance, they may vote to kill him."

Gaoxin said, "That's why I said I'd rather Incite Defection among a Glass Person."

"A Glass Person definitely wouldn't dare expose themselves."

"Big Hammer, on the other hand, might confess directly, reach an agreement with Twin Tails, and form a powerful alliance, thereby blocking our Incite Defection vote."

"After all, in this game, the strong have no inherent reason to fight each other. Mutually beneficial cooperation exists..."

Sule froze. "Block the Incite Defection vote?"

Right. The Incite Defection vote was conducted by everyone in the faction, which naturally included defectors from the opposing base!

If a defector belonged to the White Faction but continued helping the Black Faction play from over there, then the White Faction would always be short one vote and could not make a second person defect.

"Damn, I thought the vote was held by people from the same base." Sule blinked.

Meimei looked at him. "How could that be? You'd better memorize the rules properly."

"There are four kinds of voting in total. The first is the invitation vote, conducted by people from the same base, requiring unanimity."

"The second is the gladiator vote, conducted by people from the same base. Whoever gets the most votes fights."

"The third is the Incite Defection vote, conducted by people from the same faction, requiring unanimity."

"The fourth is the Eliminate Traitor Vote, also conducted by people from the same base, requiring more than half the votes."

Meimei sorted through this kind of detailed information extremely quickly. After hearing it once, she had already memorized everything.

She concluded, "This game is about finding every possible way to break through the opposing faction."

"You also have to keep Inciting Defection among the opposing side. In the end, the number of people in each faction doesn't affect the rewards."

"Actually, there's a guaranteed way to win: voluntarily defect to the opposing faction..."

"For example, we could cooperate with the Black Faction's people. Regardless of our identities, we'd help the opposing side play first, coordinate our actions, and keep refusing duels until everyone defected! Then we could give up five points of health and end the game."

"By then, everyone would belong to the Black Faction, survive easily, and each person would receive 5,000 points of reward."

Gaoxin sighed. "That's the ideal situation. If everyone trusted and cooperated with each other, every game would be simple."

"But human hearts are difficult to predict, and everyone enters the game for a different purpose. Some only want to survive, while others want to obtain more."

"You can only Incite Defection among one person per round. How long would it take to make everyone defect while coordinating with each other? If anything went wrong along the way, trust would collapse."

"Besides, a faction can have at most twenty-five people. What about the other five?"

"And don't forget, the Viking Gang's people definitely want me dead."

Everyone became solemn. Indeed, Gaoxin and the Viking Gang had formed a deadly grudge.

If they wanted to negotiate this kind of cooperation, the Viking Gang's condition would certainly be... to take Gaoxin's head as a pledge of allegiance before talking.

If they agreed without mentioning that, it would be even worse. Who knew what sort of scheme they were harboring?

They had thoroughly offended one group of Radiation Users from the very beginning, leaving no way for the two sides to trust each other.

But Gaoxin said, "Still, let's work toward that goal."

"At the very least, we can try to keep all the Glass People alive. The opposing side's NPCs definitely only want to survive."

Hearing this, Xing Shiping looked at Gaoxin strangely.

P.S. Sorry.