Because Lin Ya had wagered the most ti.
A full fifty-five seconds!
Therefore, the tir she set had to be greater than fifty-five seconds!
Working backward from that, everyone else's wagered ti had to be less than fifty-five seconds.
In other words, as long as they stayed within their own wagered ti, they were absolutely safe!
Sure enough, the more ti wagered, the greater the advantage!
Lin Ya breathed a sigh of relief, realizing she had finally made the right bet.
She had finally seized the initiative!
Imdiately after, she also realized why Protector had asked Monkey to provide a number lower than his wagered ti.
If the other party beca the dealer, the ti they set must also be greater than their own wager.
Once their exact wagered ti was locked in, it ant the others could safely use the dealer's safe tir to burn through their own ti!
'This fat guy actually has so skill!'
But...
A new doubt arose in Lin Ya's mind. 'Shouldn't this be the best opportunity?'
Before the other party realized what the wagered ti truly ant, she could have directly tricked this most valuable piece of intelligence out of him.
'Could it be because... he is a Deceiver of the World from the Domain of Virtue, so he's a good person?'
'Or perhaps...'
Just as Lin Ya was pondering, Monkey nervously asked Protector, "Hey, at how many seconds should I call you?"
"What am I at now?"
Protector asked in return.
Fine beads of sweat dotted his forehead.
But even so, his expression remained steady and resolute.
As he spoke, the beeping continued to echo: "Beep, beep, beep..."
"I-it's 39!"
Monkey answered nervously. "38... 37..."
"What?!"
Upon hearing this, Protector was greatly startled. He shuddered violently and pressed "Pass" without hesitation, handing the flower over to Ming Po.
Seeing this, Lin Ya and Monkey's minds went blank.
Why did he do that?
Why was he terrified, as if soone was chasing him?
"Because he realized it."
Ming Po's leisurely voice sounded. "That beeping sound..."
"...is not spaced at [one second] intervals."
Under the gazes of the other three—who were either sweating profusely, looking utterly bewildered, or deep in thought...
Ming Po spoke frankly, "Mr. Protector, you were just ntally calculating the [safe ti] you could use, right?"
"But the interval between those beeps is clearly slightly longer than a second..."
"H-hey! Brother!"
Protector raised his voice, his face full of tension as he interrupted Ming Po. "Pass!"
Monkey had used 15 seconds, and he himself had used 23 seconds.
That already consud thirty-eight seconds!
The absolutely safe ti was the wagered ti, and the wagered ti definitely had to be less than sixty seconds.
Therefore, even if Frankenstein's wagered ti was fifty seconds, he would only have twelve seconds of absolute safe ti.
Even if he wagered fifty-nine seconds, he would only have twenty-one seconds of safe ti!
However, the number above Frankenstein's head had already dropped to 44.
This ant he had already used sixteen seconds!
He clearly knew the safe ti, yet he remained so unhurried.
Could his safe ti be fifty-five seconds?
Even with a fifty-five-second wager, he still didn't beco the dealer?
Could it be... the dealer bet a full minute?!
"Heh..."
Ming Po smiled, stopped his explanation, and pressed [Pass], handing the Sunflower back to Lin Ya.
The number above his head finally froze at 42.
"So... this is actually a cooperative ga?"
Lin Ya also realized sothing.
None of them could see the precise ti above their own heads and could only rely on others for prompts.
Because of the disturbance from the beeping sound, it was almost impossible to judge the ti entirely on one's own.
"It was supposed to be."
Ming Po cast a aningful look at the black Cat. "But... Lord Ink set a trap for us."
He knew Ink disliked others calling him "Lord," but Ming Po deliberately insisted on doing so.
"Trap?"
Monkey was still sowhat confused.
But Protector frowned deeply and looked at Ming Po.
"Exactly. 'Blowing up one person earns you one Day's False Gold.' This extra rule, which originally didn't belong in this ga, greatly increases its difficulty."
Ming Po looked at him, nodded, and said slowly, "Because this ans that if soone wagers little enough, and their wagered ti is short enough... say, wagering under ten seconds, or even shorter."
"Then, with only a minimal tir, they can ensure this ti bomb will never be passed back into their hands."
"No matter who it ultimately blows up, the ga will end there. They will steadily secure a Day's False Gold for themselves."
"I am very glad that none of you harbored such dangerous thoughts."
This was exactly the trap left by Ink—capable of directly destroying the ga's original ga-theoretic structure and putting it on an infinite fast forward!
Two drops of cold sweat slowly slid down Protector's forehead.
He... actually hadn't realized this just now!
He couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.
Fortunately, none of the four people present had done such a dangerous and cruel thing.
His own wager was thirty seconds, while Monkey's wagered ti should have been over fifteen seconds, possibly more than twenty.
And after they consud thirty-eight seconds, this senior Frankenstein, who was clearly much stronger than them, still showed no signs of panic.
Either he cheated and knew the exact set ti—or his wagered ti was extrely long!
Suddenly, a flash of insight crossed Protector's mind.
The constantly sweating fat man blurted out, "Nash Equilibrium! It's a Nash Equilibrium!"
He had calculated the result in his mind in the blink of an eye!
Assuming everyone knew the rules and was smart, there were actually only two optimal solutions: either wager one second or wager sixty seconds.
First, the first possibility.
If soone wanted to hold the bomb to blow soone up instantly, the most reliable thod was to set a one-second tir, directly killing the next person in line.
If everyone else thought the sa way, everyone's wagered ti would be [one second]. In this case, a dealer couldn't be chosen at all, and the result would be a random execution, aning anyone could be the loser.
But if soone held a two-second bomb and beca the dealer, then the others could imdiately choose [Terminate] when it was passed to them. After becoming the dealer, they could again set a one-second bomb to blow up the next person!
Therefore, anyone who actively chose a two-second bomb to avoid a voided dealer would definitely not get the reward.
But if they couldn't get the extra reward, there was absolutely no need to choose this option—because choosing two seconds or more was destined to not yield the extra reward.
Under this possibility, the Nash Equilibrium was for everyone to wager one second.
The more smart people there were, the greater the possibility that everyone would suffer together!
So, this Frankenstein, who was clearly an expert, probably thought of this possibility and deliberately avoided it.
Of course... this might also be his rcy.
As for the second possibility...
If one didn't consider directly blowing soone up, but instead hoped the ga could be built on "allowing everyone to survive safely through the ga,"
Then, to grasp the initiative, the wagered ti naturally had to be as high as possible!
The "absolutely safe" ti was one's wagered ti minus the elapsed ti. Therefore, the more ti one wagered, the safer they were as a regular player, and the higher the probability of becoming the dealer.
And once soone beca the dealer, simply wagering high was the safe strategy!
Before everyone's absolute safe allowance ran out, the bomb was very likely to cycle back around.
At this point, the dealer could pass and catch it themselves—after all, the dealer definitely knew how much ti she had initially set!
She could just burn enough of her own ti, choose [Terminate] when the ti was about to run out, and then beco the new dealer again!
The dealer would always hold the initiative!
If this was the case, then the wager for the second possibility should be sixty seconds, competing with everyone else for the dealer's position!
But if everyone thought this way, it would ironically cause the dealer position to fall into soone else's hands.
This was exactly the classic paradox of the "Invisible Hand" paradigm—
If everyone acted purely out of self-interest, the result would only harm others without benefiting oneself!
Neither benefiting oneself, nor others!
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