God's Imitator

Upon seeing these rules, Huang Shengjie felt a bit overwhelmed, sensing that there should be a specific solution, but he was clueless for the time being.

If some players could recognize the prototype of this gameplay, or have a higher sensitivity to numbers, they might come up with the optimal solution more quickly.

Zhou Wanlin pointed back to the direction of the lounge again, implying that they could cross the bridge to inspect their own Review Room.

However, Huang Shengjie waved his hand, signaling her and Geng Yuxia to wait a moment.

Then, holding the ’Inspector’s Sleeve Badge,’ Huang Shengjie left the corridor where the miniature train was located and entered the fog.

Upon entering the gray fog, a sharp pain immediately struck!

He almost stiffened instantly as if electrocuted, nearly falling.

Quickly enduring the pain, he put on the Inspector’s Sleeve Badge with trembling hands.

The next second, this sharp pain vanished.

Huang Shengjie, still somewhat shaken, gasped heavily and hurriedly returned to the corridor.

He confirmed one thing: this was indeed excruciating pain. Under such pain, not to mention moving, even enduring it was extremely difficult.

Then, the three of them passed through the raw material warehouse, returned to the lounge, and crossed the far-left bridge of the lounge to proceed to their own Review Room.

The bridge was spacious, passing over the main building of the prison, with a wide field of view on both sides, presenting the entire scene in full view.

Suddenly, Geng Yuxia gently tapped Huang Shengjie and Zhou Wanlin’s arms, pointing to the right side.

Only then did Huang Shengjie notice that there were also three players on the opposite bridge, just passing by each other.

Although separated by a considerable distance, vague silhouettes could still be seen.

It seemed that the players on the other side were doing the same thing.

The distance seemed somewhat lengthy, and finally, after passing a downward-turning staircase, the three reached their community’s Review Room.

The Review Room appeared to be more enclosed than all previous buildings, completely obscured from the outside world, and the outside world couldn’t see inside the Review Room either.

In the Review Room, there were two doors, one leading to an outdoor area where the track train of Community 23 should be, and another leading to the ’temporary raw material area.’

The entire Review Room was about as spacious as the lounge, only the conditions seemed much more rudimentary.

There was a designated position prepared for the auditors and a special security inspection machine.

The auditor’s position had a simple console with a place for swiping work badges, and two buttons labeled ’Inspection’ and ’Comprehensive Inspection.’

In plain view within the room was also a sign used to introduce the specific rules of the Review Room.

[Within 10 minutes of each round’s start, at least one player from this community must enter the Review Room and remain until the end of the round to complete the inspection.]

[Players from this community can only enter or leave the Review Room via the bridge.]

[When goods from the opposing community enter the inspection process, the auditor can perform inspections using the following two methods:]

[1. Press the ’Inspection’ button to inspect 1 set of raw materials currently passing through the security inspection machine, with a fixed fee of 200 gold pounds.]

[2. Press the ’Comprehensive Inspection’ button and directly inspect all pending materials. (Materials already passed through the security inspection machine are not included)]

[The inspection must be completed within 2 minutes.]

[If contraband is seized, it will be directly confiscated and destroyed, and the opposing side must also pay the auditor a fine of ’contraband quantity x 1000 gold pounds.’]

[If, after pressing the ’Comprehensive Inspection’ button, no contraband is found in the pending materials, the auditor must compensate the opposing side ’40% of the total value of all materials in the current Review Room.’]

[All costs or fines incurred in the Review Room will be automatically deducted from the total gold pounds acquired by the players of the same community during game settlement, with deductions never exceeding zero.]

Besides this, there was no other information in the Review Room.

Huang Shengjie checked the door of the Review Room. It was a unique one-way door and, before the official start of the game, it was locked.

This meant players from the opposing community could enter with materials through this door, but players from his own community could only walk across the bridge.

Forcing a crossing would equate to leaving the designated location under rule restrictions, which would trigger a ’minor violation.’

The three glanced at each other and then pointed back to the bridge they had come from, returning to the lounge.

...

Upon returning to the lounge, Huang Shengjie checked the time; about 20 minutes had passed.

This game’s preparation time seemed ample at first glance, but in reality, it was not quite enough, as the area was large, and moving around took quite a bit of time.

Moreover, each new location required rereading the rules on the signs.

While it’s possible to think while moving, this requires players to have good memory, which is not easy either.

The total preparation time is 30 minutes, with the last 5 minutes dedicated to free exchange and strategy discussion, meaning they now have 5 minutes left to think freely.

Huang Shengjie tried hard to familiarize himself with the rules, simulate possible scenarios after the game’s official start, while searching for potential loopholes in the rules.

However, the rules are particularly complex this time, so he’s momentarily at a loss.

The three walked back and forth, inspecting various props and the details on the signs.

Before they knew it, 5 minutes had passed.

The mechanism on their mouths clicked and unlocked, dropping to the ground.

And the countdown to the game’s official start had just 5 minutes left.

With limited time, they all knew they should immediately discuss strategies and make arrangements, but for a moment, none seemed to know where to start.

"The rules of this game are just so damn complex!"

"Is this what a catastrophic start looks like?"

Huang Shengjie’s words were completely heartfelt.

Before entering the game, Lin Sizhi, Lu Bingjun, and Ye Lin, the three core players, had all been screened out, unable to enter the game at all.

And after entering the game, there was surprisingly a second screening mechanism.

Yao Yuan and He Qinyun should be the more experienced and stronger players among the five, according to the arrangements before entering the game, Yao Yuan should serve as the temporary core of the game.

Geng Yuxia had hardly any presence in the community; Huang Shengjie’s impression of her was limited to ’kind and friendly,’ clearly requiring care as a weaker participant.

As for Zhou Wanlin, her presence wasn’t much stronger; she occasionally spoke in community discussions but was generally quiet and reserved.

Huang Shengjie saw her more as a gentle, neighborly elder sister, quite amiable but perhaps not strong or reliable in the game.

Most likely, she would be an auxiliary or executor.

Now, Yao Yuan and He Qinyun were evidently assigned the identities of ’Prisoner Worker,’ with the main prison building completely sealed off, inaccessible, and uncontactable.

Conversely, the three weakest players were on the spot and indeed feeling a bit at a loss.

Adding to the pile was the fact that this game’s rules were far more complicated than before, packed with information even just in the basic rules, while the steam train and Review Room signs contained separate game rules.

Understanding these rules, let alone memorizing them, was extremely difficult.

Even though the 30-minute preparation period seemed long, for an average player, it was far from sufficient.

The three exchanged silent glances.

However, just as Huang Shengjie was about to boldly assign tasks, Zhou Wanlin spoke first.