'Hummingbird' Luo Wei explained: "Because each Foolish Player has 3 Fool cards in hand, while each Wise Player only has one.

"This means that even if we combine all the Fool cards held by the Wise Players, it will still not significantly affect the final number.

"On the other hand, as long as the Foolish Players gather ten people, they will have 30 Fool cards, which is enough to cause a significant deviation in the result.

"They can choose to hoard these cards, or destroy them collectively through battles in the final moments.

"The initiative is completely in their hands."

The standard answer for the previous round was 68, meaning there were 68 Fool cards left at the end of the last game.

This number clearly doesn't seem right.

Judging from the first stage, players would at least consume 2 to 3 cards in battles, and most likely one of them would be a 'Fool card (Stone)'.

Battles between Foolish Players are even more likely to result in a tie with two Stone cards.

So, if players were battling normally, with a total of 40 players, 50 Fool cards or more should have been consumed.

If that were the case, it would approach their guessed number '45'.

If the Foolish Players in this game were relatively inexperienced and didn't realize the need to group up and control the 'Fool cards' from the start, the mystery of 'Guess the Number' would persist longer.

However, now the riddle of 'Guess the Number' was exposed in the first round, which also indicates that there are some impressive individuals among the Foolish Players in this game.

They realized the true gameplay of 'Guess the Number' as soon as they entered the second stage, organized the Foolish Players into small groups at lightning speed, and to a certain extent, controlled the number.

For Wise Players, directly guessing a number around 70 in the second round is absolutely not feasible.

Because the initiative rests with the players hoarding 'Fool cards'.

Take 'Owl' as an example, even though Wise Players are not yet clear on the exact number in this small group, it should be at least about 10 people.

That is, they control 30 'Fool cards'.

In the last round, 'Owl' chose to hoard them, without using them, so the final number was 68.

But in this round, if 'Owl', at the last moment, chooses to have group members battle two by two to consume all these 'Fool cards' in ties, then the number will suddenly turn to 38.

The massive difference created by a whole 30 Fool cards would make 'Owl's' small group invincible, and other players will be left passive no matter how they guess.

Moreover, even if you see 'Owl's' group battling, it doesn't necessarily mean they're consuming 'Fool cards (Stone)'.

They might also be consuming Scissors or Paper.

Each player's input device is next to the door to the lounge.

The Wise Players don't fully line up with the door of the lounge but are generally distributed on the same side.

This means Wise Players can't constantly monitor 'Owl's' group across the whole hall, estimate the result, and then run back to input numbers in time.

What's more, there's not only one such group, 'Plum Deer' seems to be doing similar things.

Wise Players also can't counter with card hoarding, because they only have one 'Fool card' in their deck, so neither hoarding nor destruction can significantly impact the total.

'Dalmatian' was stunned: "So, we have more chips and better decks, but it's completely useless now?"

'Hummingbird' Luo Wei quickly said: "No, it just means the game has entered a new stage, it's an unfair confrontation, Fools have their ways, and of course, the Wise have theirs.

"Don't forget, this game also leaves the Wise Players with one major advantage: Contract Coupons.

"These are meant for us to buy off and dismantle these Foolish Player small groups."

Contract Coupons are tools that only Wise Players can create, so this is the backdoor the Game Designer left for Wise Players.

'Sheep' nodded thoughtfully: "Then, the focus of the next strategy is to develop a specific plan using Contract Coupons to buy off Foolish Players."

Everyone fell into contemplation.

'Contract Coupons', each Wise Player can make up to 100, and each represents 1% of their total visa time.

According to the game rules:

[Settlement order of various rules for the end of the game: Deduct double visa time to settle debt → Settle total prize pool → Settle Contract Coupons → Deduct double visa time again to settle debt → If there is still debt, then immediate death penalty.]

This settlement order directly affects Wise Players' game strategies.

If Contract Coupons were settled before the total prize pool, the matter would become complicated because the total prize pool can't be evenly divided, and multiple groups might end up scheming against each other till the last moment.

Unless one player can prove they have a visa time as high as millions, and they just happen to be able to make Contract Coupons.

But now, since the total prize pool is settled before Contract Coupons, it's easier for players to cooperate.

For Wise Players to win in the final vote and take the total prize pool, they need to give out as many Contract Coupons as possible, the more they give, the more willing people will be to vote.

The only problem is: Contract Coupons will also give out the player's original visa time.

So, players with more original visa time will lose more by making Contract Coupons.

Just then, a broadcast suddenly played in the hall.

[A player has accused 'Rabbit' of being the Imitator in this game.]

[System verification result: Incorrect.]

[The player who made the wrong accusation will have 30,000 minutes of visa time deducted and transferred to the Imitator of this game.]

'Rabbit' Han Mengying was interrupted in her thoughts and was speechless for a moment.

"What's the deal? Why would they think I'm the Imitator?"

'Dalmatian' was also speechless for a moment, thinking: "… Isn't this just 'the nail that sticks out gets hammered down'? You're a Wise Player, and clearly the core of all Wise Players, behaving most actively."

'Rabbit' Han Mengying was helpless: "Isn't this just sitting idle? Giving money to the Imitator."

There are many players in the hall, making it difficult to guess who made the accusation.

You can't rule out some gambler players, who, having lost all their chips and feeling cornered, decided to take a last-ditch attempt.

After all, if the accusation is correct, no visa time will be deducted, the system will automatically confirm the identity and start a vote, killing the Imitator will evenly share the Imitator's visa time and current prize pool, and forcibly end the game.

The gambler players might make the accusation out of a fluke mentality, picking on those who are most conspicuous in the game, as such individuals are more likely to have exploited the backdoor to become the Imitator.

This broadcast temporarily interrupted everyone's thoughts, but it was just an insignificant episode.

'Rabbit' Han Mengying looked at 'Hummingbird' Luo Wei, knowing that Luo Wei had the least visa time, making her the perfect candidate to make 'Contract Coupons'.

"Would you make the Contract Coupons?"

'Hummingbird' Luo Wei nodded immediately: "No problem."

Of course, she was willing, because the person making the Contract Coupons would most likely be chosen as the final winner.

As it stands, the total prize pool at the end may even reach a million chips, even if she redistributed 80% through Contract Coupons, she'd still have 200,000 left.

That's quite an impressive number.

But 'Sheep' considered for a moment and raised a critical question: "However, what conditions should be written on the Contract Coupons?"

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