Zheng Jie was momentarily struck as if by lightning, awkwardly opening his mouth: "Hel-hello..."

After arriving at Community 17, he had learned about some of the games others had participated in before, especially the game "Blood Poker." Because the strategies and outcomes of the three groups were varied, Fu Chen considered it an excellent teaching material and explained it to him in detail.

And naturally, Zheng Jie also came to know about Lu Xinyi from Community 3.

Putting himself in their shoes, if he had been in the same situation as Jiang He, he really would have had no choice but to stick his neck out and take the fall, feeling utterly helpless.

He thought the odds of meeting another player from Community 3 were slim, but he hadn't expected such a coincidence.

What was this called?

Running into a max-level boss just after leaving the newbie village?

Lu Xinyi seemed unfazed, casually tucking a strand of hair behind her ear: "It seems you have quite a deep prejudice against me?"

Zheng Jie quickly waved his hand: "No!"

Lu Xinyi glanced at the rules on the conference room table and suggested, "Shall we first decide on the payment method for the room fee?

"You seem quite the gentleman; surely you wouldn't be unwilling to part with 200 minutes of visa time?"

Zheng Jie was stumped by the question. He looked at the buttons before him, and his brain temporarily stalled.

His instinct was to pay.

But on second thought, something seemed off. This isn't a real date.

This is the life-or-death game of Walkway! Since the visa time is the life of all of us, why should I alone pay the 200 minutes?

While he was still hesitating, Lu Xinyi burst into laughter.

"Can't you tell when a girl is joking?

"I've already pressed AA; you should press it too."

Zheng Jie was a bit surprised. He looked up to see that among the three buttons before Lu Xinyi, the one indicating AA was indeed pressed, with its indicator light on.

Zheng Jie was wary of any trickery, but after thinking it through, he felt it's unlikely to be a trick.

With Lu Xinyi already having selected [AA], he simply couldn't choose anything else, could he?

If he pressed a different button, he and Lu Xinyi would both be penalized with an extra 100 minutes of visa time. That would be madness.

Zheng Jie thought it over and proceeded to press the [AA] button before him.

[Lu Xinyi was deducted 100 minutes of visa time.]

[Zheng Jie was deducted 100 minutes of visa time.]

[Room usage fee has been fully paid. Wishing you both a pleasant meeting!]

Zheng Jie let out a breath of relief; there were no traps; he had overthought it.

The room fell into silence once more.

Lu Xinyi sat relaxed in her chair, propping her chin with her right hand, observing Zheng Jie with interest.

"Since there's nothing to do with the remaining time, why don't we have a chat?

"What was the last judgment game in your Community 17?"

Zheng Jie sat upright in his chair, hesitated for a moment before saying, "I can't tell you."

Lu Xinyi smiled: "Oh, you're quite good at keeping secrets, huh?

"Okay, if not about the games or communities, how about we talk about your profession? Surely there's no harm in that?"

Zheng Jie was still very cautious: "Then why not talk about your profession?"

Lu Xinyi shrugged nonchalantly: "Sure, if you're interested.

"I'm an amateur magician, sometimes picking random people to perform street magic, sometimes filming videos for online tutorials."

She leaned slightly forward, a smile playing on her lips: "Do you believe me?"

...

Ten minutes felt like a lifetime to Zheng Jie.

Chatting with such a beautiful girl should have been a pleasant thing, but recalling Lu Xinyi's performance in "Blood Poker" gave Zheng Jie a chilling sensation on his back.

He dared not mention anything about Community 17, nor his career or experiences, fearing the casual information might be used by Lu Xinyi as a pitfall for him.

While this thought was somewhat paranoia-driven, it was, after all, Zheng Jie's first time participating in Walkway's game, and he kept reminding himself to be cautious.

Couldn't afford to drag down the other community members.

Lu Xinyi seemed unconcerned, chatting lightly about her own affairs with Zheng Jie, but clearly, Zheng Jie wasn't buying any of it.

After what seemed an eternity, the ten minutes finally ended.

As the countdown on the table reached zero, a prompt sounded once more.

[Meeting time has ended; please both players exit and return to your rooms.]

[Before leaving, don't forget to rate this meeting.]

The so-called rating involved either 'Like' or 'Dislike'.

In fact, these buttons were active right from the start of the meeting, but considering its significance, Zheng Jie had held off until now.

Lu Xinyi placed her right hand over the like area and pressed it.

Immediately, she widened her eyes in surprise: "We had such a nice chat, yet you wouldn't even exchange a free like with me?"

Zheng Jie hesitated for a moment. According to the game rules, he could earn at most 1 like per hour, but had to attend three meetings.

If he gave this one to Lu Xinyi, he'd have none left for the next two meetings.

Perhaps give a dislike?

That seemed excessive; Lu Xinyi hadn't shown any hostility and was friendly throughout, even proposing to split the room fee.

She too only received one like per hour. If she gave hers, wouldn't it be quite beastly not to reciprocate?

After a brief internal struggle, Zheng Jie coughed lightly: "Alright, let's exchange a like then."

Having said that, he pressed the [Like] button.

Lu Xinyi smiled at him: "Well, a pleasant meeting. Let's hope for a future encounter next time?"

...

Upon returning to his room, Zheng Jie saw the big screen once again displaying the game rules introduction.

[Congratulations on completing your first meeting.]

[Next, the 'Talent Show' rules will be updated.]

[After the first hour of entering the game, during the waiting period before the fourth meeting begins, the 'Talent Show' event will commence.]

[Each subsequent break will start with a 'Talent Show'.]

[In the 'Talent Show', two players with fewer likes will be randomly selected to perform a PK on stage.]

[The two players can take turns performing any content, each limited to 1-5 minutes. They can also press the button beside the stage to end their performance early.]

[Other players act as the audience and can vote 'Interesting' for performances they enjoy.]

[Accumulating 10 'Interesting' votes will reward the performer with an additional like.]

[Acquiring 20 'Boring' votes will immediately end the talent show performance.]

[Voting 'Interesting' or 'Boring' during the talent show will not consume existing resources.]

After hearing the rules, Zheng Jie frowned even more.

"Perform a program, 10 'Interesting' for one 'Like'?

"This is truly a game testing personal charm!

"With dating and talent shows, even though they seem harmless, I'm neither handsome nor have any special talents. I shouldn't have come!"

After reading the new rules, Zheng Jie silently sighed and approached the data query machine.

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