[1.『39000 minutes visa time』]
[2.『38000 minutes visa time』]
The countdown increased by 30 seconds, indicating a delay.
Cheng Yu’s brows furrowed slightly, though she didn’t let this throw her off balance. After all, top players are always prepared with various contingency plans, and even in unexpected, low-probability situations, they must respond appropriately.
As the countdown was about to end again, Cheng Yu signaled her players to bid again.
[1.『41000 minutes visa time』]
[2.『39000 minutes visa time』]
A moment later, Li Chunsheng bid again, and the countdown increased by another 30 seconds, but this was the last time.
Cheng Yu knew very well that under the current auction rules, the final bid before the countdown ends is the decisive factor: Whoever is willing to give an outrageously high bid will become the final winner.
However, to ensure you win, you can’t bid too high and incur a severe loss even if you win the item.
After seriously considering for a moment, Cheng Yu finally gave a clear number.
"Sixty-one thousand."
Earlier, she had told Li Chunsheng that her ’psychological price’ was 65,000, but this number was obviously meant to deceive.
Cheng Yu also believed that there’s no way Li Chunsheng would take this number seriously and bid that high.
Judging from the current quotes, the highest bid was only 41,000, so Cheng Yu thought that an additional 20,000 over it should be enough to win this auction.
However, in the last five seconds, the numbers changed rapidly again.
[1.『64000 minutes visa time』]
[2.『61000 minutes visa time』]
Cheng Yu raised an eyebrow, realizing an unexpected situation: a third-party player had intervened in the auction.
She had been keeping an eye on Li Chunsheng, but during this last round, he did not make any move to bid.
The player who bid was someone else.
...
Not long before.
"Want to get unstuck? I can help you."
Li Chunsheng turned back, a bit surprised, to see a player he hadn’t seen before standing behind him.
[Lin Sizhi].
"Unstuck? How?" Li Chunsheng was somewhat puzzled.
Lin Sizhi looked at the big screen and didn’t answer directly but instead kept him in suspense.
"The rule of this auction is a classic ’One Dollar Auction Trap.’ Its feature is that once a player falls into the trap due to a fluke mentality, the last two bidders will undoubtedly lose, almost impossible to escape.
"For rational players, not participating at all is the best choice, but the fluke mentality of ’sniping a bargain’ always drives some players to take the risk. As long as there are enough players, this trap can always be established.
"You obviously have realized you’ve fallen into the trap, and you hesitate because you know the other’s bidding intention is more determined and the expected bid is far higher than yours, putting you in a dilemma.
"If you continue bidding, even if you win, you must pay visa time far exceeding your mental threshold, which is similar to stopping loss now.
"But you also feel grudging to let the other side snatch the bargain at a low price, right?"
Li Chunsheng asked curiously, "Do you have a solution?"
Lin Sizhi nodded, "Of course, I can help you get unstuck.
"As long as I bid with a higher price at the last moment to seize the gold sand, I can push you to third place, and in this way, you will have no loss at all."
Li Chunsheng immediately understood, "So... how much are you asking for?"
Lin Sizhi said, "You are now stuck with 34,000 minutes of visa time. I want 20,000 Gold Coins for my price.
"You give me 20,000 Gold Coins, and I will help you get unstuck. That way, you can at least recover a loss of 14,000 minutes, which is much more cost-effective than simply giving up."
Li Chunsheng frowned, "That’s no small amount.
"I could also choose to continue waiting, as the current bid is just over 30,000 minutes visa time, while the gold sand is nearly 50,000.
"In the forthcoming time, other players might bid, and I can still get unstuck without having to give you extra Gold Coins."
Lin Sizhi nodded, "That’s indeed possible. You can continue to wait.
"You have to judge for yourself whether the probability is high and whether it’s cost-effective."
Li Chunsheng fell silent. Clearly, deep down, he also knew this idea wasn’t reliable.
In the last moments of bidding, a reckless player might blindly bid over him, and in that case, he could get unstuck at no cost.
But from the current situation, the likelihood of that happening isn’t high.
If it doesn’t happen, Li Chunsheng will have to solidly lose 34,000 minutes of visa time.
He stopped grappling with this issue and said,
"But there are other issues with this plan.
"Both of us could change our minds. If I give you the Gold Coins but you don’t bid, or if you bid and I don’t pay the Gold Coins, it’s an unbearable loss for both of us.
"Do you have a way to guarantee that our deal will definitely be fulfilled?"
Lin Sizhi didn’t answer directly but asked back, "What do you think is the most important part of this game?"
Li Chunsheng frowned, "The most important part? It should be group strategy and organizational capability.
"In this game, players from the same community are absolutely prohibited from communicating, so it’s impossible to form an effective group.
"Players can only team up with players from other communities, and in the team, players from the same community cannot communicate.
"How can you organize a bunch of strangers together? It’s a real test of a player’s ability.
"I can roughly realize this point, but I don’t have the capability to accomplish large-scale organization."
Lin Sizhi nodded, "Yes, you’re right. But at the core of organizational capability is ’trust.’
"To win this game, trust is indispensable.
"Through appropriate group strategies and management abilities, you can gather a group of strangers together, which can somewhat replace the role of ’trust,’ but it can never match true ’trust.’
"That’s why my strategy differs from that of Tang Qing, Cheng Yu, and others.
"They don’t seek absolute trust; they rely on ’basic trust’ within organizational constraints. As long as the organization can function adequately, it’s enough, without strict requirements and selection of members.
"However, I’m different. I prefer to find players whom I can absolutely trust.
"Even though such players are fewer and may involve some costs in the process.
"For me, these costs are bearable.
"I think you’re a player worth collaborating with, so before the auction, I only ask you for 5,000 Gold Coins as a ’deposit.’ After confirming the unstuck status, you’ll then give me another 15,000.
"If our transaction can succeed this time, we can continue to have deep cooperation in the future."
Li Chunsheng pondered for a moment, "If that’s the case, why do you need me to pay a deposit? You could just bid, help me get unstuck, and show more trust and sincerity."
Lin Sizhi shook his head, "Because for me, you’re not the only potential collaborator.
"In the future, there will always be other players falling into this trap, and I can help others get unstuck with the same effect.
"The initiative is in my hands, and I am willing to select partners with greater sincerity to cooperate."
Li Chunsheng fell into contemplation.
Finally, he took 5 Gold Coins from his pocket, each engraved with the number ’1000,’ and handed them to Lin Sizhi.
"I hope you can fulfill your promise, and we can continue to cooperate in the future."