The preparation time given to players for this game isn’t much, but fortunately, judging from the rules, the total duration of the game is four hours, and the pace shouldn’t be too fast, allowing players to gradually consider subsequent strategies during the game.
Huang Shengjie furrowed his brows, lost in thought.
"This game doesn’t allow players from the same Community to communicate in any form? Does that mean even gestures or secret signals aren’t allowed?"
"Even when I communicate with players from other communities, no other players from Community 2 can be present, otherwise it would be considered a violation."
"The consequences of violating the rules are very serious. Although it won’t lead to death, it results in not only a deduction of gains but also disqualification, making all efforts in this game meaningless."
"This is definitely a situation to avoid."
"Maybe there’s a way to bypass this restriction through other means?"
"For example, I could find a player from another Community to act as a messenger."
"As long as he relays messages to other players in Community 2 when I’m not present, it shouldn’t be considered a violation."
"However, doing that seems risky too. Because I’m not present, I can’t be sure if he has accurately conveyed my instructions."
"I have to ensure that this person is absolutely trustworthy."
Huang Shengjie thought about it. If he had to choose a ’completely reliable’ candidate from another Community, he found himself at a loss for a clear image in his mind.
After all, he rarely had real responsibility for group strategy and diplomatic matters between Communities in previous games, and couldn’t say he had any real relationships with players from other Communities.
To be honest, players he’d had in-depth cooperation with before might be more reliable, but it’s uncertain if they entered this game.
"Let’s play and watch. We can’t bypass rules just for the sake of bypassing them; it might not be worth it."
"The final victory of this game depends on the Community’s total gains, so all six players from the Community must play seriously and can’t slack off."
"If I delay gold mining because I’m considering other matters, it might end up being a hindrance to others."
"I need to ensure my own gains first, then consider the team."
"Also, at the moment, I can’t think of a particularly good group strategy."
"If there’s really a need for group strategy, Lawyer Lin should be arranging it, right?"
"Hmm... but I can’t rely too much on Lawyer Lin; better to think while playing."
...
While Huang Shengjie was pondering, the five-minute thinking time was quickly running out.
Even before the countdown ended, many players had already started moving: they flocked towards the turnstiles leading to the Gold Panning Area, with some collisions and friction happening along the way.
A stranger player rushed past Huang Shengjie, jolting him awake.
"I need to hurry up and take a spot!"
With this thought, Huang Shengjie quickly sprinted towards the turnstile of Gold Rush C District.
The game rules mentioned: There are a total of three Gold Panning Areas in this game, each with five gold-panning machines, totaling fifteen machines.
However, there are players from eight different Communities in this game.
Each Community consists of six people, which means there are 48 players in total, averaging three players competing for one machine.
If you’re even slightly late, you definitely won’t get a machine, and then you’ll be delayed for an uncertain amount of time after other players finish using them.
Soon, Huang Shengjie sprinted to the turnstile.
At the entrance to Gold Rush C District, there were four turnstiles, and Huang Shengjie managed to secure the first spot at one of them.
As he occupied the position, he glanced behind him.
More players were gathering in this direction.
Among them, he saw He Qinyun, but due to the rules, they didn’t dare to have much eye contact; their gazes quickly shifted elsewhere upon meeting.
"It seems like the initial positions of the six of us are evenly distributed in the Resting Area. If we run to the nearest Gold Panning Area, two people will enter the same area."
"He Qinyun and I are in Zone C, while the others should be in Zone A and Zone B."
"These areas don’t seem to have rigid restrictions; they are freely accessible, but considering the distance, if I force myself to run to Zone A or Zone B, I’ll surely be slower than others."
"Also, players from the same Community can’t share a machine, which might inconvenience others instead."
The countdown on the big screen finally ended, and the game officially began.
The turnstile in front of Huang Shengjie unlocked with a ’beep’ sound.
He hurriedly ran in with other players into Gold Rush C District.
This area wasn’t small either and had sofas, coffee tables, vending machines, conversation booths, and more like the Resting Area. The layout and environment were quite complex.
Scattered among them were five gold-panning machines.
These gold-panning machines were hidden in special booths, which were reminiscent of open phone booths, each with only one seat and space for one player to play.
Facing the seat was a square screen, slightly larger than a typical monitor, allowing players to directly operate on it, and complete ’gold panning’ activities, a kind of specific mini-game.
Though referred to as booths, they weren’t entirely enclosed.
The surrounding dark glass railing was only about one meter high, allowing spectators outside to clearly view the game happening on the screen.
Below these glass railings seemed to be some special mechanisms, indicating a movable state, but it’s unclear under what circumstances they would function, possibly related to the game content.
The few players who rushed in first continued sprinting, pushing and shoving through the turnstiles, then quickly dispersed.
Fortunately, Huang Shengjie acted swiftly, finding an unoccupied gold-panning machine deep inside.
He hurriedly rushed into the booth, sat down, and swiped his wristband to secure eligibility.
"Huff... huff..."
"Everyone ran so fast..."
"Luckily, I managed to secure a spot; being even a bit slower would’ve meant queuing up behind, which would have been troublesome."
"Not only would it mean missing out on a round of the game, the key issue is that the duration of other players’ game sessions is hard to determine, and if I’m unlucky to queue behind someone who plays slowly, it’d mean wasting an unknown amount of game time."
"It might even slow down the entire game’s pace."
Huang Shengjie finally relaxed a little. He looked around at the surrounding environment again.
More players had entered the ’Gold Panning Area’ through the turnstiles, but all five gold-panning machines were already occupied.
The players who entered afterward could only wander around the area. They wanted to find empty machines but ultimately returned empty-handed, resorting to queue behind one.
At least one player lined up behind each machine.
Some players hesitated further away, all with conflicted expressions.
It’s evident that queuing at this point means waiting for the two players ahead to finish their games before taking their turn, which might take quite a long time.
They’re clearly contemplating leaving and trying their luck at other Gold Panning Areas or exploring other parts of the game, like checking out the Auction Area, Trade Area, or learning more about the Anti-Smuggling Team’s detailed rules.
But they’re also wary of leaving empty-handed, preferring to queue patiently here instead.
After all, according to the game rules, gold-panning machines are the only means of obtaining gold sand in this game.
Not worrying about others anymore, Huang Shengjie quickly glanced at the notice board next to the gold-panning machines to understand the basic rules of the game.
[There are 16 squares on the screen representing the 16 plots in the gold-panning activity.]
[The number on each square represents the plot’s gold sand reserve, and the 16 plots range from low to high as follows:]
[1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, 20000.]
[The gold mine exhibits the ’Ornate Effect,’ that is, ’areas with higher gold sand content are more likely to be adjacent,’ but it’s not absolute.]
[Players initially have ’1800 exploration funds,’ which can be used for the following three operations:]
[1. Buy a plot (1000 exploration funds): Purchase a plot and acquire all the gold sand in that plot.]
[2. Observe (50 exploration funds/time): Choose not to purchase a plot but can learn the actual gold sand reserve of that plot.]
[3. Refine (100 exploration funds/time): Operate on a purchased plot, increasing the plot’s gains by ’5%’ each time (cumulative, repeatable).]
[After every 2 games, a 20-minute ’fatigue time’ will occur. Continuing the game during this period will cause severe pain. After another 2 games, a 20-minute forced break will occur.]
[Additionally, players can at any time package and resell the ’currently ongoing gold-panning game’ to other gold diggers, with pricing freely negotiable between both parties, ’fatigue time’ borne by the selling player.]