God's Imitator

The layout of the battle room is very simple, with only the 'Battle Stage' seen in the previous rules introduction right in the center and nothing else.

He Xiaojun once again confirmed the height of the 'Battle Stage'. This height must have been specially designed so that when players stand in front of the battle stage, the black barrier just covers the area near their chest, and the area for placing cards is positioned further inside the table.

This means that players cannot confirm exactly what cards their opponent is playing.

Even if both players raise their hands high to show the cards they are about to play, their hands will still enter each other's blind spots during placement, leaving plenty of opportunities to switch cards from the pockets or the table.

The rules only restrict players from placing their cards in the designated area before the prompt sound ends, without temporary card switch, late play, or placing multiple cards.

But this 'temporary card switch' probably refers to switching cards after the prompt sound begins, not prohibiting card switching from start to finish.

Clearly, the imitator designing this game does not want the overly straightforward scenario of 'players showing each other cards and fully cooperating' to occur.

Players can opt to cooperate and tell each other exactly what card they will play, but whether the opponent will betray them is unverifiable, relying only on mutual trust.

"Why am I overthinking it!

"A fair game of luck, the more you think, the more oxygen you consume; isn't it a loss to think too much?"

'Gray Wolf' He Xiaojun looked at his opponent, a female player wearing a 'Rabbit' mask.

"Hello."

'Gray Wolf' He Xiaojun noticed his voice had also changed, as the oxygen mask came with a voice changing function.

'Rabbit' Han Mengying nodded politely and said, "Hello."

Since entering the battle room, she had been carefully observing 'Gray Wolf's actions.

'Gray Wolf' first observed the battle stage, presumably thinking about whether a simple cooperation strategy was possible.

Then he quickly stood on the other side of the battle stage. Although his precise expression was not visible, there was still a sense of excitement.

Apparently, these game rules make players who typically struggle in strategic games a bit excited.

Because it is fair.

Rock-paper-scissors appears to have little room for strategy, with luck being the deciding factor in the outcome.

Each person has five cards, but these cards are not necessarily to be used up.

The game rules stated that when players return to the rest area, the excess cards must be destroyed.

This implies that players can choose to play only one or two rounds, or even none at all.

However, since both sides place 1000 chips, it triggers the 'minimum guarantee' additional profit, making this game a guaranteed positive expected return.

The simpler the player's mind, the more inclined they are to start quickly to test their current luck.

Yet these tiny actions provided Han Mengying with plenty of information.

Both sides each placed a 1000 chip.

The first phase was the double battle 'practice phase', where free betting was not allowed, but an automatic additional profit of 1000 chips was triggered.

Both parties held the 'Fool's Card Set', but each was unaware of the other's hand.

After considering, Han Mengying played her only 'Wise Man Card (Paper)'.

'Gray Wolf' He Xiaojun looked at the three types of cards in his hand, consisting of three 'Fool Cards (Rock)', and one each of paper and scissors.

He thought for a moment and played a 'Fool Card (Rock)'.

Given that he had the most of this type of card, playing one first would still ensure he had one each of rock, paper, and scissors for the second round, offering plenty of choices.

After all, with five cards, they can play five times, and with additional benefits, the more rounds played, the better.

The battle stage offers different sound cues based on the battle's result. There are grooves for placing cards, and it automatically checks whether the cards played by both sides comply with the rules, achieving perfection in every detail.

After the cards were set, both sides pressed the 'Start' button, and the battle stage automatically emitted 'beep, beep, beep, beep' sounds.

Both players' cards complied with the rules, so with the final 'beep', the black divider opened.

The two cards flipped over simultaneously by the mechanism on the battle stage, colliding with each other.

'Rabbit's 'Wise Man Card (Paper)' shattered 'Gray Wolf's 'Fool Card (Rock)', winning the round.

Afterward, both cards were reclaimed by the battle stage.

Han Mengying's coin slot spit out three 1000 chips, including the initial 1000 wager and a 2000 profit.

While the 1000 chips originally invested by 'Gray Wolf' were devoured.

"Huh?"

'Gray Wolf' He Xiaojun felt his luck wasn't great, facing a setback from the start.

But after all, it was only the first minor round, and both sides soon each placed 1000 chips again for the next round.

This time, 'Rabbit' Han Mengying's 'Thief Card (Scissors)' won against 'Gray Wolf's 'Wise Man Card (Paper)' again.

"Huh? What's going on?"

'Gray Wolf' was puzzled, looking at the cards in his hand and then at his opponent, the female player wearing the 'Rabbit' mask.

Both sides wore masks, so his expression should not have been visible to her.

The battle stage was fair.

Such results seemed solely attributable to luck.

'Rabbit' quickly placed another card on the battle stage without speaking or urging.

So 'Gray Wolf' He Xiaojun instinctively wanted to select another card to play.

He looked at his remaining three cards, consisting of two 'Fool Cards (Rock)' and one 'Thief Card (Scissors)'.

But just as he was about to place a card, he suddenly realized.

No, can't play anymore!

If the previous two rounds were luck, this round would not just be about luck.

'Gray Wolf' He Xiaojun had already used one rock and one paper, leaving two rocks and one scissors.

What about 'Rabbit'?

If she held the 'Fool's Card Set', having used one paper and one scissors, it meant she had three 'Fool Cards (Rock)' left.

He Xiaojun realized that no matter what he played, he would inevitably lose.

Of course, the opponent might also hold the 'Wise Man Card Set', leaving two papers and one rock.

Should he gamble on using scissors against paper?

No, absolutely not!

If the opponent also held the 'Fool's Card Set', it would be equivalent to giving away chips.

He Xiaojun suddenly realized he couldn't continue the game.

Luckily, he realized in time, or he could still lose another round if he was a little more foolish.

"Not playing anymore."

'Gray Wolf' He Xiaojun chose to give up and stopped placing chips.