The 'Rabbit', Han Mengying, sighed: "We have no choice but to accept this offer."

"The 'Owl' proposed two conditions: First, he won't accept the 'Hummingbird's Contract Coupon, and demands we submit an additional list of three names, from which he will choose whose contract coupon to use specifically.

"Second, this person must provide him with at least 35 contract coupons.

"Only then will he be willing to continue discussing the specific details of the 'Contract Coupons' with us."

The 'Sheep' thought carefully: "Two small groups, 35 coupons each, totaling 70 coupons."

"Within our circle, there are still 30 coupons left, each worth at least 10,000 chips.

"Overall, we're still making a profit. The 'Owl' set this number quite cleverly, basically just at the limit of what we can accept."

But both 'Rabbit' Han Mengying and 'Hummingbird' Luo Wei were clearly not satisfied with this plan.

"But compared to the previous plan, our gain is too little.

"Why should those foolish players get so many chips without doing anything?"

The 'Sheep' sighed: "There's no way around it. Once fools become organized, they're no longer fools.

"They've already proven their execution capability. It's tough to find another breakthrough unless we reach a Nash equilibrium through mutual compromise."

'Rabbit' Han Mengying, after careful thought, said: "No, there's still a way.

"First of all, let's select three candidates to produce the contract coupons and let the 'Owl' pick.

"Since they don't accept the 'Hummingbird', it's only me, the 'Sheep', and the 'Mole' left."

At this time, within the small group, there were 5 Wise Players, among whom 'Rabbit' Han Mengying, 'Hummingbird' Luo Wei, and 'Mole' all belonged to Community 4.

While 'Sheep' and 'Dalmatian' were considered outsiders.

Although 'Dalmatian' stayed, he was unwilling to produce a large number of contract coupons and only wanted to exchange a small amount to help out.

Moreover, he didn't seem particularly smart and was an outsider, so Han Mengying did not want him to be involved in deeper strategies.

The 'Owl' and the 'Plum Deer' would choose one out of the three, and only the selected player could produce the contract coupons for distribution, becoming the ultimate winner of 'Guess the Number'.

'Rabbit' Han Mengying arranged for 'Mole', also a Community 4 player, to run and deliver the list.

But the 'Owl' did not respond immediately.

They could only continue to wait.

...

The 'Owl' Lin Sizhi returned to his rest area.

Upon receiving the candidate list from the Wise Team, he decided to spend chips to separately check the consumption records of 'Rabbit', 'Sheep', and 'Mole'.

The 'Service Desk' spat out a long strip of paper, which Lin Sizhi took in hand and examined carefully.

[Query Player: Rabbit]

[Preparation Phase:]

[Received 10,000 chips.]

[Spent 20,000 minutes visa time to purchase 20,000 chips.]

[Phase 1:]

[0:28:44 Spent 2,000 chips to replenish oxygen.]

[0:57:37 Spent 2,000 chips to replenish oxygen.]

[0:58:26 Spent 1,000 chips to check 'Owl' consumption record.]

[Phase 2:]

[1:01:33 Spent 20,000 minutes visa time to purchase 20,000 chips.]

[1:24:38 Spent 2,000 chips to replenish oxygen.]

[1:25:44 Spent 1,000 chips to check 'Plum Deer' consumption record.]

The consumption records only reflected the usage of the 'Chips Exchange Machine' and 'Service Desk', and did not capture all chip variations.

Chips gained from battles or those obtained by opening wooden boxes were not displayed in this record.

These records appeared normal, showing no particular signs.

Lin Sizhi then checked the consumption records of 'Sheep' and 'Mole'.

[Query Player: Sheep]

[Preparation Phase:]

[Received 10,000 chips.]

[Spent 20,000 minutes visa time to purchase 20,000 chips.]

[Phase 1:]

[0:59:22 Spent 2,000 chips to replenish oxygen.]

[Phase 2:]

[1:01:47 Spent 20,000 minutes visa time to purchase 20,000 chips.]

[1:23:38 Spent 2,000 chips to replenish oxygen.]

[Query Player: Mole]

[Preparation Phase:]

[Received 10,000 chips.]

[Spent 20,000 minutes visa time to purchase 20,000 chips.]

[Phase 1:]

[0:44:36 Spent 2,000 chips to replenish oxygen.]

[Phase 2:]

[1:04:34 Spent 20,000 minutes visa time to purchase 20,000 chips.]

[1:19:48 Spent 2,000 chips to replenish oxygen.]

After reviewing these consumption records, Lin Sizhi contemplated for a moment, placed these long strips of paper into his pocket, and left the resting room.

Afterwards, he first found 'Plum Deer' to exchange a few words and then approached 'Rabbit'.

"Our first choice is 'Sheep', and we must obtain at least 35 coupons from 'Sheep'.

"The contractual content on the contract coupon is: The player holding this coupon must retain or consume their 'Fool' cards according to 'Sheep's instructions. At the same time, 'Sheep' must enter the final 5-player voting phase in 'Guess the Number' and cannot withdraw."

Hearing this condition, both 'Rabbit' and 'Sheep' fell into deep thought.

If foolish players neglect the rules and naively think they can just vote for the corresponding 'Wise Player' in the final round to easily split the payout via the contract coupons, they would be gravely mistaken.

The Wise Players can completely manipulate a situation where one player becomes the sole candidate by withdrawing the others, rendering the voting useless.

But clearly, 'Owl' and 'Plum Deer' are not so easily fooled, and they would unavoidably add a 'cannot withdraw' clause to the Contract Coupon.

After consideration, 'Sheep' raised an objection.

"I understand your concern about me withdrawing, but writing the contract coupon like this is too harsh.

"I can only assure that once I enter the final voting phase, I won't withdraw, but I can't guarantee not being eliminated before then.

"Because we don't control all the 'Fool' cards, at most I can use the contract coupon to control around 70 to 75 'Fool' cards. 'Guess the Number' itself carries uncertainties.

"What if I'm eliminated due to some deviation in 'Guess the Number'? According to your stipulation, it would be counted as breaching the contract, right?

"In such a case, I couldn't afford the penalty of millions in visa time and would face an instant death penalty.

"I know the likelihood is slim, but I still can't accept it.

"I can at most accept the contract saying: If 'Sheep' enters the final voting stage, then they cannot withdraw."

The 'Owl' wasn't planning to concede on this issue: "If we write it like that, you can still forcibly fill in wrong numbers in the last round, get yourself eliminated, thus withdrawing in disguise.

"We can't supervise your input of numbers, and every round requires a different number, so we can't strictly enforce a specific number input through the contract.

"Hence, how you persist until the final voting round is up to you.

"Once the contract coupon is given, you have direct control over at least 70 'Fool' cards. If, under such conditions, you still guess the number wrong, I can only assume it's deliberate."

The 'Sheep' looked at the 'Rabbit': "This isn't what we initially agreed on. I am indeed willing to create a 'Contract Coupon', but I'm not willing to take on such a large risk."

The 'Owl' gave them both a meaningful look: "This is your internal issue, take your time to discuss.

"Of course, if you're not satisfied with this condition, you might as well think of some more constructive plans.

"However, if you want both me and 'Plum Deer' to agree to the new plan, you'll have to provide us with more benefits, but that's tough, considering there aren't that many contract coupons left to divide.

"Alternatively, you could opt to exit from 'Guess the Number' early on.

"In any event, decide among yourselves."

The 'Owl' turned and left, while 'Rabbit' Han Mengying and 'Sheep' began another round of discussions.

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