Options
Bookmark

Chapter 475: Good News or Bad News

Han Mengying asked, "So up to now, roughly how many 'blood bags' do we have?"

In their division of labor, Han Mengying and Community 4's players mainly created prisoner's dilemmas among Peripheral Communities and collected secrets, while Community 15's players were mainly responsible for using these secrets to 'collect blood bags.'

They had to execute separately to appear as different camps and create more confusion for Peripheral Community players.

Therefore, Wang Weidong held more specific numbers.

He pointed toward different wooden boxes on the table.

First was wooden box number 5, 'The Hierophant,' which corresponded to Shen Xing's Community 5.

"This is the most optimistic situation. We obtained 4 'blood bags.'

"Due to luck factors, this community's players were matched quite early in the first stage of the game and confirmed each other's identities relatively quickly, but at the same time, their first 'blood bag' also betrayed the fastest.

"They directly sold us large amounts of community secrets and discussed strategy results, so a systemic collapse quickly occurred."

Then Wang Weidong pointed toward wooden box number 8, 'Strength.'

"This community's cohesion is pretty good, but the core players' capabilities are limited, and because of luck, integration was too slow.

"We ultimately obtained 2 'blood bags.'"

Wang Weidong also pointed toward wooden box number 13, 'Death.' "This community had internal strife and has now completely split.

"We ultimately obtained 3 'blood bags.'"

He finally pointed toward wooden box number 14, 'Temperance.' "This community's situation surprises me the most. Logically speaking, they should also be relatively weak among Peripheral Communities, and the timing of the first traitor's appearance wasn't too late either.

"But ultimately we still only obtained one 'blood bag,' which was the initial traitor.

"Added up in total, 10."

Han Mengying nodded. This was a very optimistic number.

Because Core Communities couldn't possibly voluntarily become 'blood bags' to transfer Wealth Vouchers to another Core Community. That would be equivalent to seeking death.

Therefore, how many 'blood bags' they could snatch from the 20 players in the 4 Peripheral Communities would directly determine the final Wealth Voucher returns.

Han Mengying and Wang Weidong controlled 10 of these 20 players. At first glance, it was only half, but actually it wasn't.

Because the situations of the remaining 10 players were each different.

Some players themselves were very resistant to 'becoming blood bags' and weren't willing to give away more Wealth Vouchers. Some players themselves needed to concentrate Wealth Vouchers to enter Exit Areas to ensure the safety of players from the same community.

Therefore, most of the remaining 10 players couldn't be squeezed for much.

Community 17 and Community 3 indeed had many strong players, but no matter how strong the players, they couldn't conjure people or Wealth Vouchers out of thin air.

There were just this many players in total. After entering the free matching phase, these 'blood bags' and corresponding Community 4 and 15 players receiving transfusions wouldn't accept outside invitations anymore. This situation would be maintained until the game ended.

Then Community 4 and Community 15 could rest easy enough.

Between the remaining Community 17 and Community 3, one community had to bottom out and bear the punishment of instant death for everyone. Judging from strength, no matter what, Community 17 was stronger.

Therefore, when Han Mengying tried to poach '↓The Emperor,' she made the judgment that 'Community 3 would suffer instant death for everyone.'

Although the strength Community 3 displayed was very strong, strength and weakness were relative concepts. When encountering Community 17 with all its strong players out in force, they had no chance of winning.

It seemed everything was developing according to plan.

Wang Weidong leaned back in his chair and breathed a sigh of relief.

This game's rules placed very strict limitations on the 'setup' factor, so the ability gap between players in this aspect was also infinitely magnified.

For a player like Wang Weidong, the first half's game content could also be called 'arduous.'

"However...

"If I had to say, I'm still somewhat worried about one thing.

"Can these two communities really only achieve this degree?"

Wang Weidong looked at wooden box number 17, 'The Star,' and wooden box number 3, 'The Empress.'

Han Mengying considered for a moment. "'↓The Emperor' is considering the olive branch I extended.

"'↓The Hermit' should also have tried to win over Peripheral Community players. The split of this box should also have his influence."

Han Mengying pointed at wooden box number 13, 'Death.'

"So, it can't be said they did nothing.

"In this game, being a bit slower means being much slower, because once a Peripheral Community's 'blood bag' is completely controlled by us, it's impossible for them to be poached away anymore.

"The result is what we're seeing now."

Wang Weidong nodded. "Mm."

What Han Mengying said also made sense. Although Community 17 and Community 3 looked very strong, in this game, being a bit faster meant being much faster. There wouldn't be repeated back-and-forth. It would just be decided in one blow, with the winner taking all.

They couldn't possibly always feel they couldn't win when they had the advantage, right?

Then what was the point of playing?

Both parties' conflicts were fundamentally irreconcilable, and there was no possibility of cooperation.

Now for Wang Weidong and Han Mengying, continuing to execute the strategy until the game ended was the only choice.

"I'll point out the corresponding blood bags for you. Confirm one last time."

Wang Weidong began pointing toward wooden boxes on the table in a specific order.

The wooden box he pointed to the first time represented the 'community,' while the wooden box he pointed to the second time represented a certain player wearing a specific mask.

There were a total of 10 'blood bags,' so Community 4 and Community 15 could each get 5.

These 'blood bags' would continuously match with corresponding players and transfer Wealth Vouchers according to certain ratios. This way, they could ensure Community 4 and Community 15's overall returns became the top two.

When the game ended, there would be no losses whatsoever.

The game time for this match was about to end. Han Mengying didn't need to spend too much time memorizing this information, because her Community 4 had also participated throughout the process of 'finding traitors,' so much information could be cross-verified.

If Wang Weidong deliberately gave false information, she could detect it immediately.

And after this confirmation, as long as no unexpected situations occurred, the two of them wouldn't send invitations to each other to match in the same game anymore.

Because subsequently it would all be fixed one-on-one matching with 'blood bags' and continuously obtaining returns.

Matching between Han Mengying and Wang Weidong could only split Wealth Vouchers equally, which was actually a loss.

Of course, in the early stages of formally implementing this strategy, in the first two or three game rounds, some chaos might occur. After all, players' communication costs were very high, and they couldn't immediately form stable one-on-one relationships in a short time.

But most players within this camp had all obtained a complete or incomplete roster. They could completely send out many invitations simultaneously, and both parties could accept matches as appropriate.

While Wang Weidong and Han Mengying were matching, other players from Community 4 and Community 15 were also matching with each other. This way, starting from the next game, they could directly seek out their respective 'blood bags' and enter 'transfusion' mode.

...

Returning to the lounge, Han Mengying looked again at the screens beside the 'Sage's Door' and 'Thief's Door.'

Already, 'blood bags' had proactively sent her invitations.

As long as Han Mengying clicked to agree, she could lock in the match, and subsequent invitations wouldn't pop up anymore.

She had originally extended her hand but stopped again. After considering, she chose to withdraw it.

The interval time between two games was very short. If voluntary matching couldn't be completed during this time, they could only randomly match or become spectators.

But at the last moment, Han Mengying's heart suddenly sank.

'↓The Hanged Man' had sent her a game invitation.

'↓The Hanged Man' was Qi Fan, a player from Community 4, and also one of the core members helping Han Mengying execute strategies.

However, according to the original plan, Qi Fan should have already found a 'blood bag' and entered fixed matching mode at this time. He shouldn't be sending game invitations to Han Mengying.

The reason Han Mengying didn't immediately accept the 'blood bag's' invitation was because she was waiting, afraid some unexpected situation would appear.

And now, Han Mengying's worry had come true.

This was good news, but at the same time, tremendously bad news.

Han Mengying immediately clicked to accept the invitation.

Comments 3

  1. Offline
    + 10 -
    Chapter 476: Marginalized
    "What’s wrong?" Han Mengying could sense that Qi Fan was showing clear signs of panic and anxiety, even with the mask covering him.

    Qi Fan didn’t even sit down in his seat: "Not a single ’Blood Pack’ has extended an invitation to me.

    "The invitations I sent proactively also received no response at all.

    "I originally thought that since this plan was just beginning to wrap up officially, our coordination with the ’Blood Pack’ would be quite chaotic, and it was normal for some players to miss out or not match within one or two rounds.

    "But then I thought again, and realized something was wrong.

    "So I quickly invited you first, to report to you."

    Han Mengying nodded silently: "Hmm, you did the right thing.

    "More than one ’Blood Pack’ sent me game invitations normally. If I hadn’t waited for you, and you hadn’t come looking for me actively, I might have been kept in the dark until the game ended.

    "This definitely isn’t a coincidence.

    "Sit down first, let me think..."

    Only then did Qi Fan sit down, but Han Mengying’s reaction also proved that what he feared had likely happened.

    The game had just begun, and since he and Han Mengying didn’t need to actually play, as Han Mengying said, their only option was to think carefully about what had gone wrong, and if there was any way to fix it.


    But he also knew that after entering the second stage, the game in theory had entered garbage time, and even if there was a problem, the possibility of remedying it was negligible.

    ...

    Han Mengying was also anxious, but she forced herself to think seriously about the situation.

    "First of all, there is indeed a possibility: the plan isn’t flawed, these ’Blood Packs’ are simply players of poor skill, maybe they got the list wrong or sent the wrong invitations, causing mismatches and Qi Fan not being assigned to the corresponding ’Blood Pack’.

    "If that’s the case, then it doesn’t matter.

    "But in a game of this intensity, the possibility of such a rookie mistake is almost negligible.

    "In such situations, people naturally have wishful thinking, unable to accept the consequences of another possibility, ultimately deceiving themselves and persisting...

    "I won’t make that mistake.

    "So, there’s only one explanation: the ’Blood Packs’ have changed sides.

    "They still sent me invitations normally, pretending the plan was proceeding as usual, but didn’t send an invitation to Qi Fan—the same is likely true for others in our Community.

    "If I hadn’t deliberately waited until the end, and had accepted invitations directly, then until the game ended, I wouldn’t have realized others were left with nothing...

    "The problem now is, there’s no way the ’Blood Packs’ decided to change sides on their own.

    "They are a group of very weak players, with no organization or execution.

    "This behavior must be instructed by someone behind the scenes.

    "Is it Lin Sizhi? Lu Xinyi? Or Wang Yongxin, Cai Zhiyuan?

    "They might have the capability, but...

    "They haven’t made a big public attempt to control players from the Edge Community, even if they contacted some privately, it couldn’t be to this extent.

    "Because the number of game rounds is limited, if they had executed the same strategy as us on a large scale, there’s no reason we wouldn’t know.

    "So... the only explanation is that Wang Weidong has changed sides.

    "In the division of labor in our Community, we mainly work to convert traitors and gather intelligence, while the ’Wheel of Fate’ and ’Priestess’ primarily control the ’Blood Packs’.

    "If Wang Weidong has changed sides, in theory, he could indeed control these Blood Packs to turn against us.


    "However... Wang Weidong has no reason to change sides.

    "Since there are 10 ’Blood Packs’ in total, and they can absorb at most half of them, the remaining ’Blood Packs’ have to go to another Community.

    "If Wang Weidong chose to betray us, he would have to go cooperate with Community 17 or Community 3.

    "But the problem is, in terms of community values and the basis of cooperation, Wang Weidong has no reason to betray us and choose them.

    "Community 15, especially Wang Weidong, has always been in bitter conflict with Community 17, and kept distant from Community 3.

    "The possibility of Wang Weidong scheming against us indeed exists, but it still shouldn’t be the main possibility...

    "Then there’s only one explanation.

    "Wang Weidong doesn’t know either.

    "He’s actually lost control over the Community, been stripped of power...

    "As absurd as this conclusion is, and as incomprehensible as it seems that a player of his level would be stripped of power, after ruling out all other factors, this is the only possibility.

    "The only possibility..."

    Han Mengying was a bit shocked by her own conclusion.

    Because she knew perfectly well what level of player Wang Weidong was, and being ’stripped of power’, ’losing control over the Community’ shouldn’t happen to someone of his level.

    Even if there were too many strong players in the Community, making integration difficult, it shouldn’t blow up in such a critical game.

    Regardless, nothing is absolute, and if something went wrong with the plan this time leading to a collapse, then this is the only explanation.

    Thinking of this, Han Mengying looked up at Qi Fan: "After this game ends, continue to send invitations to the Blood Packs as per the original plan.

    "If they accept later, maybe it was really just a blunder.

    "If they don’t accept later, match with other players in our Community, to see if they’re also encountering the same situation.

    "I’ll send a match invitation to the ’Demon’."

    Qi Fan was stunned for a moment: "But, isn’t the most likely situation in this round that the ’Demon’ has rebelled?"

    Han Mengying explained: "If he doesn’t accept my invitation, it means he has rebelled, and the situation might not be too bad.

    "If he accepts my invitation... then that’s the worst-case scenario."

    ...

    ...

    After entering the second stage, time seemed to pass faster.

    For He Xiaojun, the game strategy in the second stage instead became simple.

    The ’Pope’ rejected Huang Ming’s invitation, so it could basically be confirmed that he was the Community’s traitor.

    Huang Ming and the ’World’ took turns matching with He Xiaojun, giving him the highest amount of Wealth Coupons, while the one left without a match continued to look for Dr. Shen.

    After ruling out the ’Priestess’ as the wrong option, they successfully found Dr. Shen on the second attempt.

    In this way, the situation became clear.

    The three players took turns matching with He Xiaojun, giving him the highest profit.

    While one player delivered the profit, the other two players matched with each other, sharing the Wealth Coupons, or roughly redistributing the Wealth Coupons.

    In this way, it ensured the safety of all Community members, while also letting each player gain some wealth.
    Read more
    1. Offline
      + 00 -
      #panic# the missing chapter 476 is commented here by another reader.
      Read more
  2. Offline
    + 00 -
    #panic# chapter 476 was skipped
    Read more