482: I have a way to keep everyone alive.

Lin Xiao was so frightened that tears welled up in her eyes again, and Liu Fang hurriedly patted her back gently to comfort her.

The atmosphere at the long table instantly dropped to freezing point; the group, who had originally found some clues, were now pushed back to square one, with despair written all over their faces.

"What's the panic!" Zhou Ming slapped the table. "He only said there can't be hints during the game; he didn't say we can't make an agreement in advance! We still have time to list all possible situations and agree on a countermeasure!"

He spoke rapidly: "We'll agree right now that the quantity of each color corresponds to a fixed round—for example, if someone doesn't see any Red in the first round, it means you must be Red, because there's at least one of each color. The same applies to other colors. In the second round, if someone only sees one Red, it means you are Red! Just remember one core gameplay: whichever color is missing or has the least is definitely your color!"

Zhang Yong immediately countered: "What if the counts for all colors are the same? Your method is completely useless!"

Zhou Ming's face turned ashen; Zhang Yong's words hit the loophole in his strategy precisely. He opened his mouth but couldn't find a reason to retort.

Just then, the consistently silent Li Na suddenly spoke: "I have a way. Let's arrange ourselves in order from left to right by seat. For the first four rounds, let one person try to say one color in each round—for example, let the first person say Red in the first round, the second person say Blue in the second round, the third person say White in the third round, and the fourth person say Black in the fourth round. Those following can deduce their own colors based on the correct or incorrect results of those before them!"

"You're sending the people in the front to their deaths!" Liu Fang couldn't help but frown. "This isn't a solution at all; it's sacrificing others to benefit yourself!!"

"That's better than everyone dying!" Li Na raised her voice, her eyes sharp. "In this situation, it was never possible for everyone to live anyway! Isn't it the most rational choice to sacrifice a few to exchange for the survival of the majority?"

"Bullshit!" Zhang Yong glared at Li Na. "We are a single unit now. If we live, we live together. No one has the right to make others sacrifice!!"

The two instantly began to argue, and everyone fell into chaos.

"Alright, stop arguing. I have a way to keep everyone alive!!" Chen Mo, who hadn't spoken until now, finally spoke up.

Everyone's gaze focused on Chen Mo.

Chen Mo pushed up his glasses and spoke slowly: "My strategy is the 'Incremental Round Exclusion Method.' The core is 'utilizing silence to convey exclusion information and incremental speaking judgment.' It completely complies with the rules, and I can guarantee that as long as everyone strictly follows it, no one will die."

Rock Dragon had a face full of question marks: "What on earth are you talking about? I don't understand a single word."

Chen Mo said: "I'll try to explain it to you using the most common mathematical logic. With 10 people and four colors, there are only nine possibilities: 7-1-1-1, which means one color has seven people and the other three colors have one person each; then there's 6-2-1-1, 5-3-1-1, 5-2-2-1, 4-4-1-1, 4-3-2-1, 4-2-2-2, 3-3-3-1, and 3-3-2-2."

Wang Qiang had a look of agony: "Stop reciting them, my head hurts. I've been bad at math since I was a kid; hearing numbers gives me a headache."

As an Internet Product Manager and a graduate of a prestigious university, Zhou Ming understood immediately: "I see. You mean there are only these nine possibilities. We only need to deduce the outcomes of these nine possible situations in advance to find the unique solution."

Chen Mo nodded: "Exactly. For example, in 7-1-1-1, with seven Reds and one each of Blue, Black, and White—if the color distribution we're assigned is this one, it's very easy. Only two possibilities will occur: someone will see six Reds and one each of Blue, Black, and White, while others will see seven Reds, one Blue, and one White, but be missing Black. Thus, whatever you're missing is your own color. In this way, in the first round, three people will state their colors, and in the second round, the seven Reds will also know they are Red. Everyone passes!!"

Rock Dragon looked dazed: "Wait, I still don't get it. How do you know there are seven Reds? What if there are seven Blues?"

The Sales Director, Li Na, also caught on: "So that's how it is. It's simple. No matter what color has seven, in short, if you see a color is missing, you are that color. If no color is missing, then you are the remaining color."

Rock Dragon was happy as a child: "Haha, I get it! It's so simple!"

Chen Mo shook his head: "No, if it's 6-2-1-1, it's not like that. Suppose it's 6 Reds, 2 Blues, 1 Black, and 1 White. The Black and White individuals see 6 Reds, 2 Blues, and either Black or White; they deduce a color is missing and thus know their color is Black or White in the first round, speaking to pass."

"The two Blues would see 6 Reds, 1 Blue, 1 Black, and 1 White. At this point, they wouldn't know if they were Blue, because they could also be Red?"

"In the second round, the Blues would realize that if they were Red, then there would only be 1 Blue. That Blue should have realized they were Blue in the first round, but since the Blue didn't speak in the first round, it means there's more than one Blue. Therefore, they must be Blue!"

"So in the second round, the two Blues speak at the same time."

"The remaining 6 Reds would know they are Red in the third round. Everyone wins!!"

The Teahouse Owner, Lin Xiao, asked doubtfully: "But what if no one speaks in the first round? If every color has more than one person, is it then impossible to use exclusion?"

Zhou Ming said excitedly: "Haha, you still don't understand the core logic of this game. It's about judging valid information through the first round. If no one speaks in the first round, it means no single-person color exists. Thus, all distributions containing a '1' (7-1-1-1, 6-2-1-1, 5-3-1-1, 5-2-2-1, 4-4-1-1, 4-3-2-1, 3-3-3-1) are excluded, leaving only 4-2-2-2 or 3-3-2-2 as possible color arrangements."

Chen Mo smiled and gestured for Zhou Ming to continue.

Zhou Ming continued proudly: "In the second round, suppose it's 3 Red, 3 Blue, 2 Black, and 2 White—then the color distribution everyone sees would be: for example, a Red person would see 2 Reds, 3 Blues, 2 Blacks, and 2 Whites; a Black person would see 3 Reds, 3 Blues, 1 Black, and 2 Whites. Here's the key! If I were Black and saw only one Black person, I would think: 'If I weren't Black, then there would only be one Black person. That person should have realized they were the only Black in the first round and spoken. But since no one spoke in the first round, it means there's more than one Black, so I must be Black!'"

He grew more excited as he spoke: "So, in the second round, everyone who sees the quantity of a certain color as one can deduce that they are also that color! Because the silence of the first round has already excluded the possibility of 'only one person of that color.' Consequently, in the second round, the Blacks and Whites (2 people each) would all simultaneously realize their color and speak to pass!"