Just moments ago, the hall that appeared quite leisurely and tranquil suddenly became noisy, descending into chaos.
"What?"
"In an hour?"
"Everyone has to participate? Isn't that too sudden!"
Obviously, many people were completely unprepared mentally.
Although it was emphasized during the basic rules introduction in the hall yesterday that "the Walkway may open at any time," it still caught everyone off guard.
More importantly, this time the game requires everyone to participate mandatorily.
According to the initially introduced basic rules, the games of the Walkway have a certain selectivity.
It might select only a portion of people to participate, and not necessarily mandatorily; there could be voluntary situations as well.
This gave many people a bit of a lucky mentality.
They felt the judgment game wouldn't start so soon, and even if it did, it might not immediately fall upon them.
At this moment, the shattering of this lucky mentality exacerbated the panic.
Some people sat in chairs or on sofas helplessly, their faces pale, while others paced around anxiously.
"Everyone, don't panic, we still have an hour!
"Since the game is called 'Blood Poker,' it indicates it's related to playing cards, everyone can think carefully about the rules of poker!"
The person speaking was Wang Yongxin, who also appeared anxious but was striving to calm down.
Li Renshu's voice was more stable.
"This is the first game we've encountered, since it involves everyone, it shouldn't be too difficult.
"The most important thing now is to stay rational and calm."
At the same time, she held the hand of the trembling Qin Yao beside her, gently patting to comfort her.
The speeches of these two had a stabilizing effect, calming the previously chaotic crowd somewhat.
Cai Zhiyuan, holding a book, hurriedly walked towards Fu Chen.
Obviously found in the library section too.
Upon seeing the book's title, Fu Chen's eyes lit up, and he quickly said loudly, "Gather around, here's a book about poker rules.
"We have an hour left, let's quickly understand the basic rules of various plays, they might be helpful."
People cast grateful glances at Cai Zhiyuan and Fu Chen.
Clearly, within this hour, except for a few like Cao Haichuan who had strong psychological resilience, most people were very panicked.
And even though cramming might not work, it was enough to stabilize the morale.
Fu Chen flipped through the book quickly, he certainly wouldn't go through it page by page, time was simply not sufficient.
"I'll focus on a few popular rules, Texas Hold'em, Blackjack, Fight the Landlord, Show Hand, Solitaire…
"We'll start with Texas Hold'em which seems most likely."
Everyone listened intently, as time ticked away second by second.
00:01...
00:00...
As the countdown on the large screen hit zero, everyone felt a sudden darkness before their eyes and then lost consciousness.
...
"Beep——"
A sharp buzzing sound rang, gradually waking Qin Yao up.
She soon realized she was securely bound to an iron chair.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
Qin Yao attempted to speak, but received no response.
A special metallic device was attached to her neck, restricting the movement of her head.
Not only that, Qin Yao's thighs, waist, and other key areas were locked onto the seat, her left hand was locked onto the table in front of her, with her elbow, wrist, and even fingers fixed firmly, unable to move an inch.
Her right hand could move freely, but when she tried to touch these devices, they were seamless and immobile.
Qin Yao glanced around; it was an extremely cramped single-person compartment, less than 1.5 meters wide, with only a dim ceiling light above, inducing fear.
The table in front was covered with a green tablecloth, with a deck of poker cards and two mechanical arms looking simple yet robust in style.
On the left-hand compartment wall was an introduction concerning the exchange of chips.
On the right-hand wall of the compartment was the rule introduction for 'Simplified Show Hand' and a detailed card-type chart.
Qin Yao felt her heart racing, her temperature rising; clearly, this unfamiliar and oppressive environment placed significant psychological pressure on her.
Suddenly, a voice came from the front.
Qin Yao looked towards the sound and found it was a very small speaker, consisting of only a few simple round holes, so the audio quality was indistinct.
The impersonal electronic voice added an extra layer of terror to the atmosphere here.
[Welcome to 'Blood Poker'.]
[This is the chip exchange area of the game.]
[The machine before you is the 'Chips Exchange Machine', used to exchange chips required in multiplayer gambling.]
[The exchange ratio is: 100ML of blood = 10,000 chips = 10,000 minutes of visa time.]
[During the exchange, you need to gamble against the 'Chips Exchange Machine' according to the 'Simplified Show Hand' rules.]
[For every 10,000 chips exchanged, you must gamble at least 1 game and at most 20 games before you are allowed to leave the area.]
[After the gambling session ends, the 'Chips Exchange Machine' will distribute the chips obtained from the exchange to the player based on the outcome of the gamble, and the player will be allowed to unlock devices and move freely.]
[Now, please state the amount of chips you wish to exchange, in units of 10,000 chips. The initial exchange must be at least 20,000 chips.]
The compartment returned to silence, with only Qin Yao's somewhat rapid breathing audible.
After a while, no more electronic voice came, and Qin Yao gradually sorted out her chaotic thoughts.
"This machine can exchange for chips. What's the use of the chips? Probably needed in the following games, right.
"But the exchange method isn't direct; you have to gamble with this machine once…
"And it's exchanged with blood."
Qin Yao looked at her left hand, firmly fixed to the table by a device, then at the device suspended in the upper left.
That was a special kind of blood extraction apparatus, its needle glinting coldly, connected to a giant blood storage tank, smooth and transparent, marked in various graduations by 100ML units.
This instinctively made Qin Yao feel resistant and afraid.
But she also knew she didn't have a choice; if she did nothing, the game couldn't proceed.
[Now, please state the amount of chips you wish to exchange, in units of 10,000 chips. The initial exchange must be at least 20,000 chips.]
The indistinct prompt sounded again.
"The initial exchange requires taking at least 200ML. There shouldn't be any danger with this amount of blood, right?"
Qin Yao pondered for a long time before finally summoning the courage to say, "Exchange… 20,000 chips."
[Exchange begins.]
After the indistinct electronic voice ended, the mechanism in the upper left started producing ear-piercing friction sounds and moved.
Qin Yao felt the restraints on her left arm tighten instantly, the cold shackles painfully squeezing her, the blood vessels on her arm protruding.
The sudden sting made Qin Yao's body shiver involuntarily; the blood extraction needle had already pierced the vein, and crimson blood was flowing along the needle and tubing into the blood storage tank.
It only stopped once reaching the 200ML mark.
The sharp metallic friction resounded again, the needle was withdrawn, and the device returned to its position.
At the same time, the device locking Qin Yao's left hand pressed a small piece of cotton ball onto the needle puncture site to help stop the bleeding.