'Gray Wolf' He Xiaojun stepped forward and tentatively asked, "Hello 'Rabbit', we met during the first phase, do you remember?"

"It seems like some team strategies can be employed in the second phase. Can we cooperate?"

"You're so smart, I'm sure I can't deceive you. If you have any group strategies to execute, I can help."

'Rabbit' Han Mengying looked at him and asked, "You didn't take the Wise Man Card Set, did you?"

He Xiaojun thought for a moment, lying about this made no sense, as it was too easy to verify.

He nodded, "Yeah, it's the Fool's Card Set."

'Rabbit' Han Mengying shook her head, "Then I'm sorry, from the second phase rules, there's no place for Foolish Players in my strategy.

"I also don't need to deceive you for a meager amount of chips, you'd better find other Foolish Players to cooperate with."

He Xiaojun felt a bit disappointed but still nodded, "Okay, thank you."

There's really no choice, in such a game, Wise Players naturally have their considerations. Who would want to carry a useless burden?

He walked back aimlessly, thinking that if he couldn't find any players to cooperate with, he'd have to leave the game.

However, just then, a voice sounded beside his ear.

"I have a 100% safe way to exit this game, and I can also provide you with a reference for 'Guess the Number'. Want to collaborate?"

'Gray Wolf' He Xiaojun turned his head to see a player wearing an 'Owl' mask extending an invitation to him.

It was like someone offering a pillow to a sleepy head, yet 'Gray Wolf' He Xiaojun found it hard to believe.

Grasping a lifeline in such circumstances is certainly good, but in a game of selection like this, is someone really so kind-hearted?

What if it's not a lifeline but a deadly trap?

Though the chips in He Xiaojun's hand were already few, some swindlers specifically target desperate people.

Both parties hadn't met during the first phase and had no foundation of trust, so was it reliable to discuss cooperation under such conditions?

'Gray Wolf's hesitation was clearly anticipated by 'Owl'.

"You can follow me first, I'm gathering a group of players like you.

"By then, I'll explain why I chose you. In this game, there's a method to 'identify benevolent players'.

"Afterwards, I'll tell you a reference number and a reliable way to safely exit the game.

"After hearing the strategy, if you feel there's deceit, you can leave anytime.

"Of course, if you're determined not to join, I won't force you."

'Gray Wolf' thought for a moment and finally nodded, "Okay, I'll join."

...

'Owl's team quickly grew in a short time.

In such a game, there was no shortage of people like 'Gray Wolf', who, due to a lack of chips, fell into despair.

But while following 'Owl', 'Gray Wolf' also noticed that 'Owl' wasn't welcoming just anyone.

Even those who seemed anxious due to lack of chips seemed to have some sort of invisible selection criteria.

For some people, 'Owl' just glanced and moved on, without even striking up a conversation.

For others, he was willing to spend more effort in conversation.

In this manner, 'Owl' casually walked around the hall and quickly selected some players.

'Gray Wolf' He Xiaojun counted, including himself and 'Owl', there were a total of 10 people, accounting for a quarter of all the players.

The crowd gathered at the edge of the hall, with many displaying obvious signs of dejection.

'Owl' spoke, "First of all, I can confirm one thing to all of you: from now on, you can apply a cooperative strategy to scrape through this game's 'basic income'."

"The method is simple, you all should be able to think of it. You all have the 'Fool's Card Set', which includes 3 stones, 1 scissors, and 1 paper.

"So, my plan is two-player battles.

"Both parties agree to use their 'Thief Card (Scissors) to win against the opponent's 'Wise Man Card (Paper)'.

"This way, everyone can gain a net profit of 1000 chips each round.

"The profit isn't high, but it's better than nothing, and it's stable."

This strategy left many people feeling greatly disappointed.

'Gray Wolf' tentatively asked, "Such a simple strategy, everyone would've thought of it, right?

"If we're just scraping by, why not include 'Stone' for double the gain?

"And the most critical point is, we have no way to regulate each other's behavior!

"We can't confirm each other's identities. Even if someone reneges and runs, they won't face any substantial punishment."

Others nodded in agreement, clearly, the most crucial part of this plan was 'mutual trust'.

Everyone wore masks and most likely came from different communities, making initial trust hard to establish.

If someone chose to deceive and then run, this small group would likely scatter and fall apart instantly.

But 'Owl' didn't seem worried about this issue.

"I can assure you that our group of 10 is relatively reliable, and you can confidently implement this plan internally, slowly building trust.

"Of course, you can only bet 1000 chips, not more.

"If deception occurs, I can act as 'insurance' to compensate the deceived for their losses."

The group exchanged glances.

Clearly, this sounded too good to be true and made no sense.

Why would 'Owl' compensate the deceived for their losses?

Although the loss might not be much, what's the point in doing this?

Most crucially, how did he determine these people were reliable?

'Gray Wolf' tentatively asked, "Are you saying that you recognize our true identities somehow? That can't be, I can't even think of anyone like you in our community."

'Owl' shook his head, "I probably don't know you.

"However, there's a special 'safety declaration' in this game, which I used to pick you out from the players.

"You can see it right here."

'Owl' said, gently tapping the small screen on the side of his oxygen mask.

Clearly, the 9 players he picked out were generally not that bright and still hadn't realized the reason at this stage.

"Safety declaration? Where?" 'Gray Wolf' puzzled over it.

This small screen clearly only showed two pieces of information: the current remaining oxygen in this tank and the number of times oxygen was replenished.

'Owl' explained, "'Oxygen consumption', that's the 'safety declaration'."

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