Die Now Episode 16 Recap
> Die Now Recap
Xia Chi believed that artificial intelligence, like advanced chatbots, could only provide one answer to a question, lacking logical reasoning and adaptability, unlike humans. He met with Player 7, deciding that he would set the questions for the current round and Player 7 would be hidden from voting for one round. The next day, Xia Chi proposed an alliance, suggesting to Player 10 to vote out Players 8 and 3. Player 10 agreed.
Xia Chi then approached Player 2 with the same suggestion; Player 2 merely smiled and left. During dinner, Xia Chi presented his plan, but was immediately betrayed. Players 2 and 10 promptly accused Player 11 of forming alliances and initiated a public vote against Player 11. Players 2, 6, and 10 raised their hands, with Player 2 urging Players 3 and 8 to do the same, but they did not.
With only three votes, the public vote failed, and the game continued. Xia Chi then revealed his true strategy: his actual targets were the "friendless" Players 2, 6, and 10. He posed a simple question: "What color is a potato?" (using two different Chinese terms for potato). He explained that a human would consider the questioner's intent and intentionally give different answers, while a virtual person would not.
Players 2 and 10 submitted identical answers, "brown," while Player 6's answer, "same as above," was more human-like. This made Players 2 and 10 the prime suspects. Player 5 immediately attacked Player 2, calling her a "wobbler" and asserting she must be a virtual person. Xia Chi initiated a public vote against Player 2, which passed with a result of 7-2, eliminating Player 2. The game continued. All eyes turned to Player 10.
Xia Chi initiated a public vote against Player 10, which passed with a result of 6-2, eliminating Player 10. It was revealed that Xia Chi's group, along with Player 8 and another party, had formed a secret alliance. Player 8 had approached Xia Chi earlier, noting the game's inefficiency and suggesting the questions were a facade. They suspected Players 2, 6, and 10.
Xia Chi's tactic had been to approach Players 2, 6, and 10 for alliances; he reasoned that virtual people would react distinctly in a public vote, either by counter-voting or remaining silent to protect themselves, whereas normal players would react consistently. The potato question served as the actual test. With Players 2 and 10 eliminated, the remaining players were largely divided into four factions.
Xia Chi identified Player 6 as the genuine problem but decided to temporarily disregard him due to his single vote. His new plan was to leverage the current stable alliances to vote out Players 1 and 9. Xia Chi again visited Player 7, stating they had no immediate plan and needed to "wait and see" as their recent activity likely drew attention. At the next dinner, Xia Chi hoped the game would soon conclude.
Player 9 stepped forward to set a question, explaining that virtual people have companions and might simulate individuals they know, so only each player could judge their own companion. Player 9, as the question-setter, did not participate; the question was directed at Players 3, 8, 11, and 7. Players 3 and 8 wrote "not possible," while Players 11 and 7 wrote "possible." Player 9 stated that virtual people would strive to eliminate suspicion, unlike normal voters.
He then initiated a public vote against Players 3 and 8, but Player 1 disagreed. The vote resulted in 3-3, failing to pass. Player 9 then revealed that only the virtual team would want this vote to be deemed "reasonable," and that this public vote itself was part of the question. He concluded that Players 7 and 11 were the true virtual people.
Xia Chi felt despair, understanding this feeling of awaiting death, knowing that if he died, Qing Zhi would also die. He rapidly processed how Player 9 could devise such a brilliant move, concluding it must have come from Player 1, "Xiao Xue." He reasoned that Player 1 had approached him to gain his trust and lower his guard, then used Player 9 as a helper due to her youth making her less convincing directly.
Xia Chi believed Player 1 had chosen a "pig teammate" in Player 9. Xia Chi warned everyone of the consequences: if he and Player 7 were pushed out, only two teams plus Player 6 would remain, leading to a perpetual 2v2 deadlock, with Player 6 losing any real choice. He then accused Player 1 of consistently "following votes" to incite conflict and having two contingency plans.
He argued that if her first voting plan had succeeded, she wouldn't have presented a second one. He also questioned her "photographic memory," suggesting she might be a robot. Xia Chi accused Player 1 of trying to get "him" and Player 7 eliminated. He then initiated a public vote against Player 1, which passed 4-3, eliminating Player 1. Xia Chi then initiated a public vote against Player 9.
Player 6 opposed, stating that voting out Player 9 would lead to the same situation as before. Player 6 also mentioned that Player 9 had known Player 2 from the start of the game and "liked" Player 2. Xia Chi proposed that if the "referee" made an error, the decision-making power should be entrusted to Player 6, expressing confidence that Player 6 would lead them to victory. Player 6 then raised his hand.
The public vote passed, identifying Player 9 as a "player," and the game continued. With five players remaining, Xia Chi approached Player 6 and subtly winked, a gesture noticed by Players 3 and 8. This made Players 3 and 8 suspect that virtual people and their accomplices were not necessarily in the same group, and that Players 6 and 11 were the actual virtual companions. Xia Chi then intentionally stated that Player 7 was the virtual person, but stopped mid-sentence.
Player 11 then pointed out that Player 6 was not raising his hand. A subsequent public vote of 4-1 passed, resulting in the failure of the "team players" (implicitly Xia Chi's alliance) in this round. The game ended. Xia Chi was awarded 30 points, an A-rank, and his account balance became 50. 5 points, granting him Advanced Player status. He was then transferred to the game administrator.
Advanced Player privileges included automatic seven days of rest without point consumption, the ability to choose to enter the "Win World" or "Lose World" (with "Win World" as default), and the right to meet with an administrator during rest periods. Administrators were obliged to answer all player questions and satisfy reasonable requests, provided no special secrecy was required.
Advanced Players had to choose their game mode before each round: "Normal Game" (matching advanced players), "Low-Level Game" (matching normal players, but without points or evaluation for the Advanced Player), or "Skip This Round" (to continue resting). Xia Chi also received an Advanced End Brain Card with specific commands: "Kata" to instantly return the card to his hand, and "Ilva" to open the End Brain Mall. The command to close the mall was not specified.
The language of these commands, the creator of the End Brain game, and its purpose were all secrets, which could be revealed for 50 points by undertaking a challenge to the End Brain. Xia Chi's final question to the administrator was whether Qing Zhi was still alive. He was shown that she was. He also learned about an optional task: the "Ring of Cooperation" from the "Labyrinth of Lies" scenario, an item he needed.
He then returned to the castle to complete this optional task. By expending 50 points to read archives, he could load a save and return to the original mission scenario to restart the game, needing to find Chun Xuxiang and Bo Bian. A message from "HQ" repeated: "Player Xia Chi did not accept final mission, repeat."
