Chapter 539: Chapter 539: Objects of Caution

Qian Li paused slightly, then continued, "Compared to those players with advantageous identities, we ’patients’ are just a loose sand, easily falling into the prisoners’ dilemma.

"This is a method the Imitator has used countless times in the first stage. Although it’s an antiquated routine, it must be admitted that under these specific conditions, it’s very effective.

"When this round of the game ends, we’ll all suffer from pain.

"At that time, the Doctor will definitely offer us medicine for sale.

"If we cannot unite, the Doctor can deliberately limit the supply of medicine to raise its price.

"We will squeeze each other in the prisoners’ dilemma, forced to buy back the medicine at a high price to relieve pain. In the worst case, we could become the Infected, having to recharge or even borrow temporarily to buy the medicine needed to relieve pain completely and stay alive.

"Once we enter the state of ’man is the knife and I am the fish’, we can only let ourselves be slaughtered.

"Conversely, if we can unite and organize internally, the Doctor’s attempt to create a prisoners’ dilemma among us fails, and he has to make concessions—selling us medicine at a lower price or even at a slight loss.

"Because the Doctor also bears heavy performance pressure.

"In short, as ’patients’, we cannot contact ’Sales’ and ’Auditors’, so what we must be wary of is the Doctor."

Huang Shengjie was a little surprised; he thought carefully and felt that what Qian Li said seemed quite reasonable.

After all, it’s deduced from the basic rules and aligns with the players’ human nature.

If he puts himself in such a position, Huang Shengjie himself would do the same if he got an advantageous identity.

He instinctively wanted to agree, but he restrained himself as much as possible, trying not to be the first to stick his neck out.

He looked at other players’ reactions.

Du Peng and Zhou Xiaoying, who bought the medicine after him, did not speak, but judging by their expressions, they probably agreed with what Qian Li said, more or less.

Maybe they couldn’t find any big issues, or maybe they didn’t want to be the one to stick their neck out.

The only one who didn’t buy the medicine, Zhang Yuan, spoke.

"From the game’s mechanics, ’Doctors’ are under performance pressure, and ’Infected’ directly pass the deadly pain to us, being cautious about this is fine.

"I generally agree with this.

"However...

"The third thing you mentioned, players who did not appear in the rest area in the first two rounds, we should also be wary of, why?

"Could it be that you’re worried another player in the VIP room threatens your leadership position in this small group, and are intentionally stirring us to isolate him?"

Zhang Yuan crossed his arms and looked at Qian Li with an expression full of vigilance, speaking with obvious aggression.

Huang Shengjie, without revealing any emotion, observed the suddenly tense two people, secretly delighted.

"It seems both of them are experienced veteran players.

"This is a good thing.

"If only Qian Li were the veteran player and others did not express opposition, or opposed unsuccessfully, then the leadership in the rest room would naturally fall into Qian Li’s hands, which certainly wouldn’t be a good thing.

"Actually, Qian Li’s opening remarks attempted to seize the leadership.

"Zhang Yuan must have realized this, so he picks at faults and opposes.

"For an observer like me, who doesn’t have too many good ideas, the fiercer they fight, the better. Because if these two people disrupt each other, they won’t be able to play any tricky tactics, and I won’t be easily fooled."

Faced with Zhang Yuan’s questioning, Qian Li was evidently not very happy, but she had already prepared a specific explanation in advance.

"I said we need to be wary of players who didn’t appear in the rest room during the first two rounds of the game, of course, there is a reason for this.

"I am not targeting that VIP patient, but stating that all patients who didn’t appear in the rest room in the first two rounds might have problems.

"According to the game rules, in each round of the game, players can only open one door in the room.

"Moreover, players can actively offer Medical Points to facilitate meetings.

"Isn’t this just like giving a red envelope to a Doctor?

"For Doctors, it is evidently a better choice to meet with the Auditor first in the first round of the game.

"Because he must maintain a good relationship with the Auditor to obtain special medicines through the Auditor.

"In the first round, the Doctor only has basic medicines, and basic medicines are not scarce, which can also be obtained in the rest room. Patients have not yet suffered severe pain, so why should he meet ordinary players first?

"The only reason is that the patient has provided many benefits right from the start.

"Moreover, VIP patients inherently have the most Medical Points and are also the most willing to spend money.

"In this way, the situation is very clear:

"A VIP patient willing to spend a lot of money to see a Doctor in the first round, and a Doctor who accepts a fee right at the start—what would they talk about? What kind of agreement would they reach?

"Don’t forget, for a Doctor, the optimal solution is to separate us through the prisoners’ dilemma and then sell medicines at high prices.

"But a Doctor cannot come to the rest room.

"He must rely on other players to achieve this goal.

"And the player willing to give a big red envelope to a Doctor right at the start is, of course, the best choice."

Huang Shengjie instinctively looked at Zhang Yuan, hoping he could bring up new opposing viewpoints to shift the focus of the topic.

But Zhang Yuan slightly frowned, unable to provide any particularly strong opposing points at the moment.

This is also reasonable because the speculation and analysis Qian Li made are all based on rules.

She argued that "the Doctor meeting a patient first is out of interest considerations."

And if you want to overturn her statement, you have to find a way to prove that "the Doctor meeting a patient first is out of goodwill," thereby proving that "the Doctor is a cooperative object."

But given Walkway’s environment, it’s almost impossible to achieve this because there is no mutual trust between players.

So until new information emerges, Zhang Yuan temporarily couldn’t find a sufficiently good reason to refute, and forcefully refuting could potentially backfire, making other players think his opposition is not for everyone’s collective interest but just for seizing power.

Thus, Zhang Yuan eventually said no more.

The first round of the game is not long, taking into account the 1-minute wait for the door to open and the last 2 minutes having to return to the room, the actual time for communication is only about 7 minutes.

In the Zone C rest area, the topic was basically led by Qian Li.

Huang Shengjie took one last glance at the VIP patient room that remained closed throughout and could not help feeling a hint of worry.

If he were in this room, the game just started, yet he would already be isolated by other players under Qian Li’s guidance. How could you play like this?

Everyone got up one after another, returning to their rooms.

Qian Li’s VIP patient room was on the far left, while Zhang Yuan’s patient room was on the right, between Huang Shengjie’s room and another VIP patient room.

After Qian Li went to the vending machine to buy medicine, she found a folding chair to sit on, then returned to her room, brushing past Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan bumped her as if by accident, but this level of collision was far from considered violent behavior.

The two exchanged glares with each other, the atmosphere somewhat tense.

Nonetheless, they quickly returned to their rooms.