"It seems it’s still too difficult to gather 30,000 in two games; Cheng Yu’s situation still largely depends on luck.
"However, for now, this appears to be the best gaming strategy: Open four fixed plots and then use the overall trend of these plots to judge where the large number plots might be located.
"This way, you can utilize the Enrichment Effect of the plots while saving the most time possible.
"If later on, I can find a fixed gaming partner, I can even consider having three people share one gold panning machine, with each person playing for 10 minutes in rotation, the profits would be quite substantial.
"So, right now, apart from cashing in the gold sand for peace of mind, the most important thing is to find players from other Communities who can truly be trusted. It only takes two to three people to form a gaming partner and keep hold of a gold panning machine to secure steady profits."
The game had just started less than an hour ago, and Huang Shengjie was still quite satisfied with his gains.
He had earned himself some visa time, had gold sand waiting to be cashed in, and most importantly, he had roughly figured out the correct way to play this Gold Rush Game and found a feasible group strategy.
The next step was to execute it in practice.
Huang Shengjie looked around; the player waiting behind him was an unfamiliar face, a name he had never heard of.
He ultimately dismissed the idea of forming a gaming partnership with the stranger, after all, with completely unknown background, cooperation involves high risk.
If that person betrays him, they could easily take over the machine when Huang Shengjie leaves, and share the machine with other players, kicking Huang Shengjie out.
Thus, Huang Shengjie simply got up and left; without reliable players, it’s impossible to keep hold of the machinery.
"I wonder how other players are doing.
"There’s certainly no issue with Lawyer Lin; Zhang Yan and He Qinyun shouldn’t have major problems either, but I’m a bit concerned about Wang Yan and Aunt Geng."
Huang Shengjie checked the situation with other gold panning machines; the number of people in the Gold Panning Area seemed to have noticeably decreased.
"Is it because, as time progresses, players start moving around, and many went to the transaction area or auction area, making this area less crowded?
"Moreover, by the same token, some players’ queue strategies have also changed."
Huang Shengjie noticed that due to the decreased number of players in the Gold Panning Area, some players were no longer fixated on a single machine but stood in the middle position between two machines, observing left and right.
It seems whoever finds a machine empty would rush there.
Overall, however, there wasn’t a major change in the Gold Panning Area; players were still carefully selecting plots and acquiring gold sand.
Huang Shengjie went to the turnstile to check the resting area’s situation.
He did not find anything unusual; it seemed hardly different from before and should be safe to pass through with caution.
He considered visiting the transaction area again but suddenly felt that something was amiss.
"Logically, the number of players in the Gold Panning Area has reduced significantly.
"Though as time progresses, players move, and more go to the transaction or auction areas, it’s difficult to explain why so many people have disappeared.
"Moreover, the number of Anti-Smuggling Team players doesn’t seem to have increased significantly, does it make sense?
"The more players there are, the stronger the Anti-Smuggling Team’s control over the site. They could directly block the transaction and gold panning area’s turnstiles, making it hard for Gold Diggers to circumvent them.
"Therefore, the Anti-Smuggling Team should have a strong desire to ’expand’, they should be actively recruiting.
"Though with too many members in the Anti-Smuggling Team, the ’too many monks, not enough porridge’ situation would occur, the current number doesn’t seem anywhere near the saturation point for the Anti-Smuggling Team.
"Is everyone uninterested in joining the Anti-Smuggling Team?"
Huang Shengjie decided not to hastily cash in the gold sand by crossing the resting area but chose to wait a bit longer, observing from behind the turnstile for a while.
A player passed by Huang Shengjie, through the turnstile, leaving Zone A and heading deeper into the resting area, disappearing behind the cover.
Other players were similarly moving freely in the resting area, with some entering Gold Rush Area A from other zones, yet no noticeable anomalies were observed.
"Am I overthinking it?"
Just as Huang Shengjie was about to give up, he saw a player similarly leaving Gold Rush Area A, cautiously passing through the resting area towards the transaction area.
It was Zhou Xiaoying from Community 23.
"Is she also in Zone A? I didn’t notice."
To avoid drawing attention, Huang Shengjie deliberately observed from behind the glass curtain wall, slightly away from the turnstile, and Zhou Xiaoying, evidently stressed and preoccupied, also didn’t notice him.
After considering, Huang Shengjie did not intentionally remind her but silently followed her from a distance.
Zhou Xiaoying was quite cautious; she seemed to purposefully avoid those blind spots, but due to the scene’s setup, it was still hard to completely bypass them.
Suddenly, a player emerged from the shadows, raising a device towards Zhou Xiaoying.
It was Li Haoqiang, who had previously inspected Cheng Yu.
However, he did not press the ’inspection’ button immediately, instead, another player appeared behind him.
It was Tang Qing from Community 7.
Huang Shengjie was somewhat surprised, observing and pondering.
"Did Li Haoqiang get taken in by Tang Qing? Hmm, most likely.
"Li Haoqiang’s thoughts on joining the Anti-Smuggling Team should be straightforward: He wanted to earn 26,000 by inspecting Cheng Yu once and then inspect randomly afterwards. Unexpectedly, he himself became the prey, causing the inspection to fail.
"Not only did he gain nothing, but he also lost 8,000.
"It’s quite difficult for him to turn the game around on his own; if Tang Qing extended an olive branch at this time, he could easily be recruited.
"It’s unclear what exactly Tang Qing’s intentions are."
Zhou Xiaoying instinctively wanted to flee but forcibly held back.
Because her distance from Li Haoqiang was only about 2 meters, ’inspection’ would be effective within a 5-meter range, so it’s too late to run now.
Zhou Xiaoying said nothing, merely bowed her head, trying not to reveal too much emotion.
She knew her real opponent wasn’t Li Haoqiang but Tang Qing.
During confrontations with such powerful figures, doing more equals more mistakes, and any subtle expression might expose a flaw; doing nothing is the best option.
After waiting for a while, Zhou Xiaoying raised her head in confusion: "What are you waiting for?"
Tang Qing hadn’t given the instruction to inspect, and Li Haoqiang hadn’t pressed the button.
"No need to be nervous; I’m here to discuss cooperation with you."
Tang Qing’s voice was still as gentle as ever, almost sounding kind.
Zhou Xiaoying was bewildered: "Cooperation? Can Gold Diggers and Anti-Smuggling Team cooperate? What rule permits this?"
Tang Qing explained: "Rules are dead; people are alive.
"The method is simple: I can have Li Haoqiang hold this machine and escort you all the way to the transaction area.
"If a member of the Anti-Smuggling Team comes to trouble you along the way, he would press ’inspection’ first and then guess an incorrect number.
"Just guess a sufficiently small number, like 1 gold sand, and neither of you would suffer any loss."