God's imitator

Chapter 73 Vending Machine Prices

Anyone who isn't completely incompetent can glean some information from the data:
If 75% of male players have already paid, what will happen to the male players who still insist on splitting the bill?
If 35% of players voluntarily bring items into the meeting room, how many of them do you think are male players?

What were they going to do with the props?
What happens to male players who enter the meeting room without any items?
After this data is released, do you think it will continue to grow?

It may seem like just a simple ratio, but it contains a great deal of information and carries a strong implication.

"The so-called props should refer to the items sold in vending machines, right?"

"In other words, some people bring water or snacks in to share with the players they meet, in exchange for likes?"
"...You can do that??"

Zheng Jie suddenly felt that he was too young and couldn't keep up with the game's strategies at all.

He was, of course, one of the 75% who pressed "I'll pay." He initially felt wronged by being forced to pay, but after seeing the data, he realized that since most male players did this, it was quite normal.

Moreover, I really need to buy something to bring into the meeting room.

Because after this data was released, it became clear that more and more male gamers would be buying things.

At the next meeting, if everyone brings their own, it might not be beneficial for Zheng Jie to bring his, but it would definitely be detrimental if he didn't.

I might get disliked then.

He could certainly retaliate by downvoting, but the problem is that he only gets one downvote per hour.

Besides, he's here to find a partner, not to argue. Since he has a fixed income of 3 minutes of visa time after leaving the game, why bother with these small, trivial matters?

Zheng Jie hurriedly went to the vending machine to check the item list.

"So expensive! This is highway robbery!"

Unlike the vending machines in the community, the vending machines here only offer essential food and drinks, with far fewer options and prices that are almost 5 to 10 times higher.

A regular bottle of mineral water costs 5 minutes for a visa in the community, but here it costs 50 minutes.

In addition, at the very bottom of the product list, there is a special category of products: visa time vouchers.

兑换券一共有三种规格，分别是1000分钟、5000分钟和1万分钟，各自需要花费1200分钟、6000分钟和12000分钟签证时间来购买。

The notes also state: "Once purchased, the vouchers cannot be exchanged for visa time again; they can only be given to other players through the meeting room."

"Isn't this a complete loss? What fool would buy this stuff!"

The high price deterred Zheng Jie.

After hesitating for a while, I decided to just buy the cheapest bottle of mineral water.

Back in my seat, I had a little over a minute left of my break.

Zheng Jie looked at the two data points on the big screen again, and as he looked at them, his brows furrowed.

"Wait a minute! Something's not right!"

"There seems to be something wrong with this data!"

At first, Zheng Jie didn't pay much attention because he subconsciously believed that since data querying was the rule of the game, the data must be real even if it seemed a bit counterintuitive.

But after scrutinizing the wording several times, Zheng Jie suddenly realized something was wrong: the data was indeed real, but there were limiting conditions.

As of now, the percentage of male players who have pressed the "I'll pay" button is 75%.

However, two meetings have already taken place so far, and as long as a male player presses the "I pay" button once, it will be counted in the numerator.

This does not mean that they will always pay, nor does it mean that the two parties have reached an agreement.

The next data point has an even bigger problem.

[As of now, the percentage of players who voluntarily brought items into the meeting room is: '35%'.]

At first glance, 35% seems high, giving the illusion that "more than half of the male players are actively buying water and snacks for female players."

But upon closer examination, it becomes clear that this definitely includes female players, as well as those who simply buy a bottle of water for themselves.

Excluding these, this is the situation where male players specifically bought water or food to share with female players in the meeting room.

However, when querying, one can deliberately manipulate the preconditions of the ratio calculation to mislead other players. For example, the 35% figure creates the false impression that "many male players have already taken action to buy water and snacks for female players."

Zheng Jie was speechless.

"No, how could these people be so evil!"

He had initially wondered if Qian Li and Lu Xinyi were in cahoots to release this kind of data to provoke all the male players.

But he quickly realized that this was unlikely.

Because players cannot communicate privately outside of the meeting room.

Furthermore, Qian Li and Lu Xinyi belong to Community 1 and Community 3 respectively, so there is no possibility of prior collusion.

It's highly likely that after seeing the relevant rules for data querying and broadcasting, they immediately realized this usage and put it into practice right away.

With 40 players, there are definitely quite a few smart ones.

Zheng Jie wasn't surprised at all that a smart player like Lu Xinyi could guess this from the game rules.

"But... it seems like male players can't use this feature?"
"This is not fair!"

Zheng Jie couldn't think of any data that would be beneficial to male players after the broadcast was released.

After careful consideration, the third meeting began.

……

Zheng Jie entered the meeting room, but he froze as soon as he saw the other party.

Because they are both men.

[Community 1 - Fang Wencong]

This was an unremarkable-looking man, thin, with a short beard, and somewhat unkempt.

The two looked at the bottled water in each other's hands, and the scene became somewhat awkward for a moment.

However, Zheng Jie noticed that the other party's bottled water seemed to be already opened and only half full, suggesting that it wasn't meant as a gift but rather for their own consumption.

He paused for a moment, then asked, "May I ask, what is your gender?"

Zheng Jie tried to make his question sound more polite through his tone.

Fang Wencong looked at him with some confusion: "Is it that hard to tell? He's a man."

Zheng Jie was even more puzzled: "That's strange, I'm a guy too. Is there something wrong with this game? How can two guys be going on a blind date?"

"Could the game's designer be an LGBT person? That's pretty trendy."

The two took their seats.

Fang Wencong put the bottled water aside, somewhat speechless: "What's all the fuss about? The rules of this game have never said that you can only be matched with the opposite sex."

"Moreover, this event is strictly speaking called a 'meeting,' not a 'blind date.'"

Zheng Jie was clearly not convinced: "But the game is called 'Blind Date Game'! Is same-sex blind dating even appropriate?"

Fang Wencong shrugged: "How would I know? Go ask the game's designer."

Compared to the previous two meetings, Zheng Jie was visibly much more relaxed.

Fang Wencong, who was initially a bit tense, now comfortably slumped in his seat and stretched.

"How about we split the room cost?"

"of course."

The two quickly reached an agreement and each pressed the AA button to pay the usage fee for the meeting room.

(End of this chapter)