The 5-minute reflection time slipped away in the blink of an eye.

The first question appeared on the big screen.

[Which of the following works is not part of the "Theater of the Absurd"? ()]

[A. Beckett's "Waiting for Godot"]

[B. Ionesco's "Rhino"]

[C. Kafka's "The Metamorphosis"]

Cai Zhiyuan looked down at the operational screen in front of him, which also displayed the corresponding information.

The central area featured these three different options, and you could select an answer after clicking and then double-confirming.

Notably, beneath the options were three different small round lights, resembling traffic lights, though they were all gray at the moment, leaving their specific function unclear.

The left area showed a pie chart with the number of people choosing each answer and a 3-minute countdown.

This represented the responses given by unrelated players from other communities, and as more answers were provided, the pie chart continued to change.

Cai Zhiyuan quickly scanned the three different options and fell into thought.

This was a literary question, somewhat specialized—not too hard, but not easy either.

Slightly harder than expected.

As other players pondered the question, Kong Yuxin from Community 13 temporarily had her facial mechanisms unlocked, meaning she could speak.

According to the game rules, in the first phase, a total of 5 questions are asked, and each time a player is selected as the "Player Representative," they can speak freely for 1 minute.

Kong Yuxin seemed a little nervous as she stammeringly said, "Choose C! The answer to this question is C!

"I happened to major in Foreign Literature in my undergraduate studies, so I know the answer to this question.

"'Waiting for Godot' and 'Rhino', um, these two options are representative works of the Theater of the Absurd.

"And 'The Metamorphosis' is not. Its main story is that the protagonist turns into a bug, leading to changes in social status and a series of events. Although the story contains absurd elements, it doesn't belong to...the Theater of the Absurd.

"I suggest everyone chooses option C together because the game rules also state that if everyone chooses the same option, there will be an additional reward.

"Although there are other reward and punishment rules in the game, they are hidden, and 'all choose the same answer' is the only clear reward."

For some reason, maybe due to nervousness, Kong Yuxin's speech was not particularly fluent, stammering as she spoke, and with the 1-minute constraint, she couldn't provide more information.

Her mouth's mechanism locked again, and the room returned to silence.

The expressions of the other four players varied. Although some were visibly touching the screen to make selections, they likely hadn't locked in an answer.

After another 2 minutes, the pie chart on the left stopped changing, showing the answer results from unrelated players in other communities.

[A. Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" - 17.4%]

[B. Ionesco's "Rhino" - 45.8%]

[C. Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" - 36.8%]

Obviously, the fewest players chose "Waiting for Godot" because this work is very well-known.

In the community, players can discuss among themselves, so as long as one player knows "Waiting for Godot," it's likely the entire community won't choose this option.

This result caused the present players to hesitate once again.

Based on the answers from players unrelated to the community, they should choose B.

According to Kong Yuxin's statement, they should choose C.

These two answers were indeed quite close.

There was very little possibility of deliberate deception from players unrelated to the community since they had no vested interest, but the problem was that they might not possess the necessary professional knowledge, and the majority player's choice wasn't necessarily correct.

Yet, the advice from Kong Yuxin as the "Player Representative" also had obvious issues.

Not to mention her speech being stammered and her apparent lack of confidence, the information she provided contained at least three flaws.

Cai Zhiyuan fell into deep thought.

"Firstly, there's no such undergraduate major as 'Foreign Literature'; only 'Chinese Language and Literature', which doesn't offer a specific subdivision for Foreign Literature.

"Secondly, 'The Metamorphosis' is a very famous work, but the protagonist doesn't turn into a bug; he turns into a beetle.

"Lastly, after the protagonist of 'The Metamorphosis' transforms, he doesn't leave his family, and it's primarily a change in familial status rather than social status. Of course, this could also be explained by a broader idea of 'social status change'."

During the answering period, none of the players could communicate freely, nor see each other's specific choices.

After consideration, Cai Zhiyuan chose [C. Kafka's "The Metamorphosis"] and then submitted his answer.

The countdown ended, and the final result was announced on the big screen.

[The correct answer to this question is: C. Kafka's "The Metamorphosis"]

[The net gain for the five players in this room is: -7000 minutes of visa time.]

[The Questioner will gain 7000 minutes of visa time.]

On Cai Zhiyuan's screen, it also displayed his gain in this game: 7000 minutes of visa time.

Moreover, Cai Zhiyuan noticed that the three lights resembling traffic lights beneath the options had changed along with the personal gain.

Originally three gray round lights, they now showed 'green', 'green', and 'gray'.

A clicking sound echoed, and the mechanisms on everyone's faces automatically unlocked.

After each game round ends, there is a 5-minute free speaking time.

Xu Zhao from Community 15 had a slightly unpleasant expression, looking at Kong Yuxin with some hostility: "Alright, alright, using tricks on the first question, are we?"

Kong Yuxin from Community 13 showed an innocent look: "What trick?

"Didn't I tell you the correct answer? Why didn't you choose it?

"If all of you had chosen, we five would have received an extra reward, and the net gain couldn't have been negative."

Xu Zhao's face turned grimmer: "Correct answer? Your explanation is complete nonsense!

"Is there such a thing as a Foreign Literature major in undergrad?

"And anyone with a bit of culture knows that Gregor in 'The Metamorphosis' turns into a beetle, not a bug!

"If you truly studied in this field, how could you make such an unbelievable elementary mistake?"

Kong Yuxin wasn't angry, still somewhat innocently explained: "Chinese Language and Literature also involves studying foreign literature, what's wrong with that?

"Besides, whether he turns into a beetle or a bug doesn't alter the essence of the story.

"I very honestly told you the correct answer, and it's fair if you didn't believe it, but why attack me for it?"

Xu Zhao's face changed several times, clearly upset.

But at this point, he could only choose to swallow his words.

Cai Zhiyuan couldn't help but glance more at Kong Yuxin.

Clearly, Kong Yuxin most likely knew the correct answer from the start.

She deliberately inserted three seemingly plausible errors in her speech, which was a double strategy.

If simple-minded players, inclined to believe others, followed Kong Yuxin's suggestion and picked C, the correct answer, they would trust her more, strengthening cooperative intentions.

But if players were more skeptical, once they realized these errors, they would probably avoid option C, thus eliminating opponents for her.

Moreover, players' reactions provided rough insight into their personalities and ways of thinking, assisting with formulating subsequent strategies.

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