God's Imitator-Chapter 397: Sharing Punishment

It must be said, this equipment was indeed all useful. After continuously using the 'gas station' four times, Fu Chen could clearly feel his car pen had become much lighter.

Plus, he had already rested for a while and his stamina had somewhat recovered, so now he felt even more confident.

Everyone voted to choose the order of the two challenges. As expected, more players still chose to do 'track in the picture' first.

Obviously, from Chen Ran's previous challenge, corporal punishment-type punishments would severely affect players' performance in 'track in the picture.'

If the previous round had really been accepting punishment first then challenging, then given Chen Ran's physical condition having just suffered whipping, she would probably have had great difficulty passing 'track in the picture.'

The game began.

Fu Chen could clearly feel the car pen in his hand was lighter and more obedient. The first map's difficulty wasn't much anymore and he passed very simply.

Shen Xing and Jiao Hai also smoothly passed the first map.

However, among the three players challenging the second map, only Chen Ran passed. Peng Xinyuan and Liu Jie both failed to pass.

Meaning all five players except Chen Ran had returned to the same starting line.

Peng Xinyuan was clearly somewhat anxious.

Obviously, this result was relatively acceptable for Liu Jie because she received very little funds this round, and her car pen wasn't very good to begin with, so not passing was normal. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

But Peng Xinyuan, despite having fairly good car pen and funds, had fallen behind Chen Ran.

According to the game mechanism, players could complete at most one map per round with no catch-up mechanism, so falling behind once most likely meant forever falling behind.

However, his mentality still seemed better than Jiao Hai's. At least he hadn't completely broken down.

Fu Chen glanced from afar at the map on Peng Xinyuan's table. As expected, each map's difficulty substantially increased.

The first map's structure was very simple, the road relatively wide, and the curves also not complex, so Liu Jie only used the repair shop to modify the car pen once and smoothly passed.

But the second map's difficulty suddenly increased. There were more and harder curves, the structure was more complex, and it even felt like the road width had narrowed somewhat.

Therefore, even though Peng Xinyuan and Liu Jie had already modified their car pens several times, they still fell short.

Each subsequent map would obviously be in a state of substantially increased difficulty.

Everyone calmed their emotions, then each came to the hexagonal platform again, preparing to complete 'exclusive punishment.'

"Click" sounds kept ringing. The players' head mechanisms locked, covering their vision.

When the mechanisms opened, the player who would endure punishment this time was also determined: Shen Xing.

With a "bang," another door opened. Inside was pitch black.

Shen Xing looked much more flustered than Chen Ran. She involuntarily trembled, unable to make a decision for a moment.

The other players also said nothing.

Because they only needed to follow the game procedure and select the player who needed to endure 'exclusive punishment.' As for whether this player entered the room, they didn't care at all.

After all, only this player would suffer instant death penalty themselves.

Suddenly, Fu Chen realized something and hurriedly spoke up, "Wait, I suddenly figured out something very important.

"These rooms actually allow multiple players to enter!

"Think about it carefully. The previous room actually had six tables and chairs inside!

"We instinctively treated 'choosing a seat' as a type of game strategy, but could there be another possibility: this was to ensure all entering players could participate in the game?

"Moreover, after Chen Ran went in, a little time passed before the room door closed.

"That means if multiple players enter the room, each person pressing the button can increase the timer, and the game's difficulty would substantially decrease!

"The game rules never said these rooms could only be entered by one person, so this is actually a mechanism encouraging us to cooperate!"

Upon these words, the players' expressions varied.

Obviously, most players hadn't noticed this point before, or possibly noticed but deliberately didn't say.

But now Fu Chen's words provided everyone with a new option: enter the room together to share punishment.

A trace of hope showed in Shen Xing's eyes. She looked expectantly at the other players, but everyone lowered their heads in silence.

Fu Chen also didn't mind, "No problem. This time I'll accompany you in.

"If my guess is correct, I hope more people will join next time."

Time was running out. Fu Chen and Shen Xing walked toward the room door together.

Among the remaining four players, Chen Ran had already endured punishment alone, so there was no reason to enter others' rooms.

Because sharing for others was so that others would also share when oneself suffered punishment.

Among the remaining three, Jiao Hai had absolutely no intention of entering, while Peng Xinyuan and Liu Jie each hesitated for a while. Ultimately, Peng Xinyuan quickly caught up and entered before the room door closed.

"Let's be clear first. When I suffer punishment, you two also have to come in, otherwise I'm not done with you."

Peng Xinyuan obviously couldn't think of a good threatening method. These words sounded somewhat light.

Fu Chen happily nodded, "No problem, rest assured!"

Everyone looked around at the room's layout but unexpectedly found it completely empty with nothing there.

[Punishment: Blockage]

[Players entering the room will have blocked the equipment with 'most current uses' and 'most current available funds.']

[Blocked for a total of 3 rounds, shared equally by players entering the room.]

[When 13 people enter the room, round up. When 45 people enter the room, not blocked. When 6 people enter the room, all players will receive an additional 10,000 minutes of visa time reward.]

[Current room number is 3 people. Each player will be blocked for 1 round.]

With a "bang," the door opened again.

The three players walked out of the room again, somewhat puzzled.

Obviously, the actual punishment each person encountered would vary greatly. This room didn't have a specific game format. Just entering once was considered completion.

Fu Chen felt somewhat regretful, "What a pity. If one more person had entered, none would have been blocked.

"However, this also verifies the previous speculation. The more players enter the room, the lower the game's difficulty.

"We can all share this way afterward. I'll state my position first. From now on, I'll enter the room to help for every round's exclusive punishment."

Jiao Hai frowned, "Although the current two rooms are better with more players entering, how can you be sure it will be the same afterward?

"Even if it's true, would you really be so kind-hearted?

"Also, even if we really make such an agreement, players who enter rooms later suffer more.

"Because those who already entered rooms and accepted punishment are safe. What reason is there to share for others? What if individual rooms have life-threatening danger?"

As he spoke, he seemed to intentionally or unintentionally glance at Chen Ran.

Fu Chen couldn't think of a good response either and could only say, "I can guarantee I'll enter every time.

"If possible, I'm also willing to open punishment last. That way, if I don't enter the room in any previous round, you can all choose not to help me anymore."

Jiao Hai scoffed, "Ha, anyway the order of opening exclusive punishment is random. No one can control it, which is why you can say this."

Just then, Chen Ran, who had been silent all along, spoke up.

"Actually, there's a way."