God's imitator

Chapter 540 The Object of Vigilance

Qian Li paused slightly before continuing, "Compared to these players with advantageous identities, we 'patients' are just a disorganized bunch, easily falling into a prisoner's dilemma."

"This is a technique that has been used countless times by copycats in the first stage. Although it is an old trick, it has to be admitted that it works very well under these specific conditions."

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

"At that time, the doctor will definitely try to sell us medicine."

"If we cannot unite, doctors can deliberately restrict the supply of drugs, thereby raising drug prices."

"We would be caught in a prisoner's dilemma, squeezed together, forced to buy expensive medications to relieve the pain. In the worst-case scenario, we would become infected and have to temporarily top up our accounts or even take out loans to buy drugs that could completely relieve the pain and save our lives."

"Once you enter a state of being 'at the mercy of others,' you can only be slaughtered at their mercy."

"Conversely, if we can unite and coordinate internally, and if the doctors' attempts to create a prisoner's dilemma among us fail, they will have to make concessions—selling us their drugs at lower prices, or even at a slight loss."

"Because doctors also carry heavy performance pressure."

"In short, as 'patients,' we don't have contact with 'salespeople' or 'auditors,' so the people we should be most wary of are the doctors."

Huang Shengjie was somewhat surprised. After thinking about it carefully, he felt that what Qian Li said made a lot of sense.

After all, this is derived from basic rules and aligns with the human nature of players.

If you put yourself in Huang Shengjie's shoes, you would do the same if you had the advantage.

He instinctively wanted to agree, but he tried his best to restrain himself and avoid being the first to speak out.

He glanced at the other players' reactions.

Du Peng and Zhou Xiaoying, who bought the medicine after him, didn't say anything, but judging from their expressions, they probably agreed with what Qian Li said, just like Huang Shengjie.

Perhaps they couldn't find any major faults, or perhaps they didn't want to be the first to speak up.

Zhang Yuan, the only one who hadn't managed to buy the medicine, finally spoke up.

"From a game mechanics perspective, 'doctors' face performance pressures, while 'infected' can directly transmit fatal pain to us, so it's understandable to be wary."

I largely agree with that.

"but……

"Why is it that we should also be wary of players who did not appear in the rest room in the first two rounds of the game, as mentioned in your third point?"
"Could it be that you're worried that the player in the other VIP room is threatening your dominance in this small group, and you're deliberately trying to sow discord by isolating him?"

Zhang Yuan crossed his arms, his expression towards Qian Li was full of vigilance, and his words were clearly aggressive.

Huang Shengjie glanced at the two who had suddenly become somewhat tense, secretly pleased.

"It seems that they are both experienced veterans."

"This is a good thing."

"If Qian Li is the only veteran player, and the others don't express any objections, or their objections are not to the point, then the power in the lounge will naturally fall into Qian Li's hands, which is definitely not a good thing."

"In fact, Qian Li's opening remarks were an attempt to seize control of the conversation."

"Zhang Yuan must have realized this as well, which is why he nitpicked and objected."

"For an outsider like me who doesn't have any good ideas, the fiercer they fight, the better, because these two are undermining each other and can't pull off any schemes or tricks, so I won't be fooled."

Qian Li was clearly unhappy with Zhang Yuan's questioning, but she had prepared a specific explanation in advance.

"There's a reason I said to be wary of players who didn't show up in the lounge during the first two rounds. I wasn't targeting that VIP patient, but rather saying that any patient who didn't show up in the lounge during the first two rounds might have a problem."

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

"Furthermore, players can proactively offer medical points to facilitate a meeting."

"Isn't this just a red envelope given to the doctor?"
"For doctors, meeting the examiner first in the first round of the game is obviously a better option."

"Because he has to maintain a good relationship with the auditor in order to get the special drugs through the auditor."

"In the first round of the game, the doctor only has basic medicines, which are not scarce. They can also be obtained in the rest room. The patient has not yet suffered from severe pain. Why would he meet with ordinary players first?"

"The only reason is that the patient offered a lot of benefits from the beginning."

"Moreover, VIP patients have the most medical points and are the most willing to spend money."

"In this way, the situation becomes very clear:"
What would a VIP patient who is willing to spend a lot of money to see a doctor in the first round of the game, and a doctor who wants a bribe right from the start, talk about? What kind of agreement would they reach?
"Don't forget, for doctors, the optimal solution is to break us up through the prisoner's dilemma so they can sell drugs at high prices."

"But the doctor himself cannot come to the lounge."

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

"And players who are willing to give the doctor a big red envelope right from the start are of course the best choice."

Huang Shengjie subconsciously looked at Zhang Yuan, hoping that he could raise new objections and change the subject.

However, Zhang Yuan frowned slightly and was unable to offer any particularly strong objections for the time being.

This is normal, because Qian Li's speculations and analyses are all based on the rules.

She argued that "doctors must be seeing patients first out of self-interest."

To refute her claim, one must find a way to prove that "doctors see patients out of goodwill," and thus prove that "doctors are partners who can be collaborated with."

However, given the environment of the arcade, this is almost impossible to achieve, because there is absolutely no mutual trust between players.

Therefore, before any new information emerges, Zhang Yuan cannot find a good reason to refute the claim. Forcing a rebuttal might backfire, making other players feel that his opposition is not for the collective good, but merely a power struggle.

So Zhang Yuan didn't say anything more in the end.

The first round of the game was not long. Including the 1 minute of waiting for the door to open and the last 2 minutes of having to return to the room, the actual time for communication was only about 7 minutes.

In the lounge of Zone C, Qian Li basically led the conversation.

Huang Shengjie took one last look at the VIP patient room that remained tightly closed, and couldn't help but feel a little worried.

If he were in this room, the game would have barely begun and he would already be isolated by the other players under Qian Li's guidance. How could the game possibly continue like that?
Everyone got up and returned to their own rooms.

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

After buying medicine from the vending machine, Qian Li casually sat down on a folding chair. Now, as she returned to her room, she brushed past Zhang Yuan.

Zhang Yuan bumped into her seemingly intentionally or unintentionally, but this level of contact was far from constituting violence.

The two couldn't help but glare at each other, and the atmosphere became tense.

However, they quickly returned to their respective rooms.

(End of this chapter)