Zheng Jie stared at the rules on the big screen, trying hard to think, but his mind was momentarily stalled.

As for Zhou Guifen and Dai Yifan, they looked completely puzzled; it was clear that they had no idea what was going on.

Once players enter a room, they can no longer communicate with each other and must continue answering questions until the game ends.

In other words, if players want to develop a team strategy, they must complete it within these 15 minutes.

Any oversight could lead to unimaginable consequences.

Because from the way the first stage went, some wrong answers could deduct several thousand or even tens of thousands in visa time.

When acting as the Questioner, it could lead to massive gains or heavy losses.

Once you enter the second stage, all rewards and penalties will double compared to the first stage. Given the multitude of overlapping rules, the deducted visa time could reach tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands.

Moreover, unlike other games, this one does not stop deducting when the remaining time is 48 hours; it continues to deduct visa time from other players in the same community.

In the worst-case scenario, the five players from the same community could return to the community with debts, and if other community players choose not to save them, these five people will undoubtedly die.

After the rules were introduced, players already understood what the information on the signs next to the doors of these three rooms meant.

The two rows of humanoid icons respectively represent the 'number of players already in the room' and the 'number of Free People already in the room.'

If the number is full, no more players can enter.

If the number of Free People is full, any additional Free People entering will automatically lose their Free People status.

Yang Yuting suggested, "Let's first take a look at the number cards we each have, and at the same time determine who will be the 'Free People' in our community."

Everyone took out their number cards and examined them together.

The design of the number card was very simple, containing only two pieces of information: at the top, there was a small line of text that read 'Community 17,' and the main part was a prominent number.

Cai Zhiyuan's number card was '2.'

Zhou Guifen's number card was '7.'

Yang Yuting's number card was '8.'

Zheng Jie's number card was '13.'

Dai Yifan's number card was '21.'

The numbers on the cards would determine the order in which players choose rooms.

Yang Yuting was a bit surprised, "Number 2! Your earnings are so high. And Aunt Zhou's earnings aren't bad either, hiding in plain sight, huh?"

Zhou Guifen was somewhat confused, "I didn't do anything, just followed the other players' suggestions and chose the same answers."

Yang Yuting was stunned; it was quite clear that during the first stage of the game, the atmosphere in the five rooms was very different.

Cai Zhiyuan was not surprised, "It must be an issue with the matching mechanism.

"The game most likely segregates players who are compulsorily participating from those who voluntarily joined.

"The room Aunt Zhou was in was probably filled with marginal players within the community who didn't talk much, so reaching cooperation was easier, and the overall earnings were good.

"Of course, luck played a role, but if there was someone even a bit smarter in there, the situation could have been completely different."

Yang Yuting felt a bit helpless; she racked her brains but earned less than Zhou Guifen.

As for Zheng Jie and Dai Yifan, they were even more embarrassed; it was clear they didn't have such luck.

Cai Zhiyuan added, "But getting a card with a lower number isn't necessarily a bad thing; it has other uses."

Zheng Jie asked, "Brother Cai, you're number 2, quite impressive! Which room do you plan to choose to become the Host?"

According to the game rules, players would choose rooms in the order of their number cards, and there were only 3 rooms in total.

The Host could set a rule related to 'suggestions' for the room. Although it's unclear what kind of rule to set, this was considered an extra advantage regardless.

If you could grab the Host position, you should definitely prioritize it.

Cai Zhiyuan got the number 2 card, meaning one player had higher earnings than him.

But this was mainly because Cai Zhiyuan, in order to test the specific rules and values for rewards and penalties, deliberately chose options with lower earnings when answering some questions.

Zheng Jie looked at the three rooms and said, "Our community has 5 people, so we can fill up the 4-Person Room.

"Does that mean we can play this game internally? This way, we may not profit, but at least we won't lose."

Cai Zhiyuan shook his head, "Don't take the Host position for the 4-Person Room; it's a trap."

Zheng Jie was a bit surprised; he didn't understand what was going on, but Cai Zhiyuan didn't let him continue speaking.

"Time is tight, I don't have time to explain these issues. Since none of you have any ideas, don't say anything.

"Now, do as I say immediately.

"First, let's exchange number cards internally.

"Dai Yifan, give me your number card first."

Dai Yifan was startled, "Huh? We can exchange these?"

Cai Zhiyuan nodded, "Of course, if you couldn't exchange them, there would be no point in giving out physical number cards.

"Moreover, since it says 'Community 17' on top, it means the cards can only be exchanged internally within the community and not across communities."

Cai Zhiyuan took the '21' number card from Dai Yifan's hand and then handed his '2' number card to Yang Yuting.

"Yuting, take my number card and observe how the number 1 player chooses the room. If they pick the 13-Person Room, we choose the 8-Person Room, and vice versa.

"Don't choose the 4-Person Room."

Then, Cai Zhiyuan looked at Zhou Guifen, "Aunt Zhou, go find the female player with glasses from Community 8, Yang Hui, and tell her we have the number 2 card. Ask if they're willing to collaborate, sign a contract, and share the profit with us.

"If they're willing, let them come over, and I'll make the strategic arrangements together.

"If they have any hesitation, don't persuade them; just ask Community 13 next. If Community 13 is also unwilling, then try Community 1."

Yang Yuting was a bit concerned, "Can we be sure these community players are reliable? Moreover, they might hesitate, making it hard for them to agree immediately. Should we give them a minute or two to think it over?"

Cai Zhiyuan shook his head, "The time for strategic arrangement is too short, so we don't need to consider if they're reliable.

"After all, just arranging the strategy will exhaust all the time. Even if they intend to betray us, they wouldn't have the time to rearrange the strategy.

"Besides, signing a contract to share profit ensures that at least one of these three communities will agree to cooperate with us."

Zhou Guifen didn't ask any more questions, quickly heading towards Community 8.

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