God's Imitator

Wei Changfeng paused briefly and continued his explanation, ”Suppose the thirty rounds complete in full. To keep the harm from the devices as light as possible, we simply need to control the total number of ’penalty counts’ accumulated each round.

”A confession being revealed, a bust, or losing a round each trigger one penalty count.

”Losing rounds is unavoidable. While draws are technically possible, the probability is extremely low and cannot be engineered.

”Going all-bust to force a draw would avoid the losing penalty but trigger other penalties, making it a net loss.

”But all six of us can choose not to confess, and not to hit.

”Your starting hand is two cards, which cannot exceed 21. If you don’t hit, you can’t bust.

”If we only accumulate penalty counts through lost rounds, each round will give three players on one side a single penalty count each.

”Averaged out, each player can sustain fifteen penalty counts before the game ends.

”There are six locking rings on each player, which means the cycle would stop at the third pass, reaching the thigh level.

”The truly dangerous part of the device is the neck ring. But since the Imitator has set the limit at thirty rounds, the neck ring’s second activation will most likely not be fatal.”It probably takes a third or even fourth activation before there is any genuine risk of death.

”So, with all of this in mind, I think we should try this cooperative approach in the Judgment Game. After all, it’s the only path to everyone surviving.

”What do you think?”

Zheng Qingyun gave a nod, ”Not bad. I agree.

”Though there are some details that aren’t entirely clear.

”Since everyone has to compare totals using only their initial two cards, there will be a significant luck component.

”What if one side keeps winning while the other keeps losing?”

Wei Changfeng had clearly already considered this, and offered a solution quickly, ”Simple. When the round win difference reaches a certain gap, whoever is behind can have one of their players take a single extra hit to adjust.

”The side that’s ahead doesn’t hit, and can use their responses to reduce their own total. That way the hitting player has a strong advantage and will most likely win.

”Once the gap is roughly levelled out, things return to the previous rhythm.”

Zheng Qingyun lowered his head in thought, ”Only one extra hit allowed?

”Right, that makes sense.

”Because every hit requires a confession, and a confession triggers a penalty count. Hitting three times in a row, even if you win, would mean three penalty counts, which is no better than just losing the round.

”And multiple hits also increase the risk of busting, which stacks additional penalties.”

Wei Changfeng nodded, ”Exactly, because we’re cooperating now. Think of it as all of us sharing the penalty count burden together.

”If the side that’s behind takes too many hits, it wastes counts unnecessarily, which benefits no one.”

Zheng Qingyun considered it for a moment longer, ”Alright. I have no objections.”

He didn’t bother consulting the other two players on his side. It was clear that among the three of them, he held an absolute position of authority, with near-unilateral decision-making power.

With the agreement reached quickly, the game officially began.

Wei Changfeng watched the machine in front of him start up, beginning the shuffle.

Even through the frosted glass, the internal workings were dimly visible. The sound of the machine and the soft flutter of cards against the table surface blended together in a way that was almost pleasant to hear.

In a Judgment Game, though, it felt more like the drumbeat of a merciless countdown.

The shuffling process lasted a full minute.

When it was finished, all the cards were stacked in a single pile, and from there they were dealt two at a time down the small chutes to each player’s position.

The machine dealt clockwise, treating the player to Zheng Qingyun’s right as Position 1. After dealing to the three Community 6 players, it then dealt to Xu Yili, Gao Teng, and Wei Changfeng in turn.

Each player received one face-up card and one face-down card, with the face-up card on top, meaning all players’ face-up cards were visible as they slid down the chutes.

In a normal game, visible cards could be used to estimate the rough range of another player’s total, though this was fairly limited strategically, leaving most outcomes to chance.

Now that both sides had reached a cooperation agreement, it didn’t much matter whether anyone looked at the cards at all.

”Stand.”

”Stand.”

All three players on Zheng Qingyun’s side declared stand in quick succession, confirming they had honoured the agreement.

Wei Changfeng had no reason to change course either. Breaking the agreement for a single early win would have been short-sighted and pointless.

Community 2’s three players also each declared stand.

Everyone then revealed their hands, and the system announcement came through.

[Community 2 wins. Highest total: 17.]

The three players on the other side made sounds almost simultaneously. Zheng Qingyun gave a low grunt, while the other two instinctively let out startled cries.

Because of the table blocking his view and the restraints limiting his movement, Wei Changfeng couldn’t see the specific state of the opposing side’s ankle injuries. But judging from their reactions, it didn’t seem serious.

That proved to be the case. The three Community 6 players’ injuries were mild, with blood seeping slowly from their ankles.

The two players who had cried out did so mostly from a lack of mental preparation for it, compounded by the additional severe pain the devices inflicted.

They settled down quickly and continued with the game.

”Gao Teng.”

Wei Changfeng passed his two cards to Gao Teng, but Gao Teng was looking down and didn’t notice, so Wei Changfeng reminded him quietly.

Gao Teng drew a deep breath and made a deliberate effort to steady himself, then took the cards from both Wei Changfeng and Xu Yili, along with his own hand, and fed them all into the card return slot.

A faint mechanical sound followed as the cards from both sides were drawn into the machine.

But then another announcement came through.

[Card damage detected. Cards will be replaced.]

The sound made Gao Teng flinch. He snapped his head up and fixed a hostile glare on Zheng Qingyun.

But Zheng Qingyun was also visibly alert, looking sharply across the table, ”What are you doing? Are you trying to cheat?”

Wei Changfeng tapped the table lightly, ”Easy, Gao Teng. Stay calm.

”I did it.”

Gao Teng blinked. He looked over and saw Wei Changfeng lift his right hand, holding between his index and middle fingers a very visible fragment of a playing card, as large as a quarter of a full card.

Zheng Qingyun also settled quickly, grasping the intent at once.

Wei Changfeng explained, ”I’ve heard of a common cheating technique called ’marking,’ which is basically leaving traces on playing cards.

”It might be a bent corner, a scratch, or some other kind of mark. I don’t know the specific methods, but such techniques definitely exist.

”There’s an obvious loophole in this game’s rules: the deck doesn’t get replaced every single round.

”If anyone in this group decided to mark the cards and cheat, that would be a problem.”