God's Imitator

Yao Yuan paused slightly and continued to speak:

"In my view, it’s perfectly normal for players in the community to engage in power struggles and have some degree of friction. In this haunted place, there’s no need to dwell on the details, as long as the community can maintain a veneer of peace and continue to function, there’s no need to make changes.

"So, I try to stand from my own perspective to explain to everyone what exactly is happening in the community.

"’Repentance Poker’ was an accident; aside from Gao Teng, no one in the community anticipated that such a thing would happen. At least I wasn’t aware, and as for whether Lu Bingjun knew, I can’t say for sure.

"I can’t assert what the truth of this game is now, but I believe Qin Cheng’s deduction is absolutely flawed in one aspect: that there’s an accomplice of Gao Teng in the community.

"Gao Teng is absolutely the type of person who wouldn’t have an accomplice.

"If ’Repentance Poker’ was truly Gao Teng’s all-in scheme, then he would not possibly have discussed it with others due to the risk of leaking secrets.

"Any leak could lead to the complete failure of the game, which is something Gao Teng absolutely cannot accept.

"As for why the game didn’t immediately end after Gao Teng’s death?

"Perhaps there are certain special rules in the Walkway that allow the game to continue for a short period after the Imitator dies, or perhaps a game like this just happened to coincide, and Gao Teng made a last-minute decision to use the game mechanics to plot against Wei Changfeng.

"There are many possibilities, and accusing me of being Gao Teng’s accomplice based on this isn’t tenable.

"Similarly, saying Lu Bingjun needed to silence Deng Xiao and Wen Wan because they knew something is even more outlandish.

"I understand everyone’s nostalgia for Old Wei, I miss him too, but that doesn’t mean we must wrongfully accuse a living player for Old Wei’s death, then kill or expel him.

"In fact, after ’Repentance Poker’, when Lu Bingjun took the First Player Identity Card of the community, he was indeed somewhat pleased.

"In a sense, becoming the leader of Community 2 was something he fervently desired.

"But this doesn’t mean he was responsible for all the deaths, nor that he didn’t contribute and make efforts for the community while being a leader.

"I did frequently speak in support of Lu Bingjun in the community.

"I know these words may sound foolish, but from my perspective, I had to do it.

"Because regardless of whether Lu Bingjun has enough ability to be a leader or not, whether he can be supported, he was already holding the First Player Identity Card, so I had to uphold his authority and execute his decisions.

"Opposition in private is one thing, but in public, I must express unconditional support.

"This is a matter of stance, also a political matter.

"If Yelin had become the community leader in the initial vote, I would have supported without reservation as well.

"As for whether Lu Bingjun schemed against Deng Xiao and Wen Wan, I do not know, nor would I ever support such a foolish idea.

"At the very least, I possess the basic political common sense that for any reason, forcibly purging your two die-hard supporters is incredibly foolish and irrational."

Ye Lin considered for a long time before reluctantly speaking, "So you’re saying you were indeed Lu Bingjun’s assistant throughout the process, but provided no substantial help, it was all him messing around, right?"

Yao Yuan shook his head, "Of course not.

"I once spent a very long time analyzing in detail the personality traits of players in the community with Lu Bingjun.

"Because I needed to help Lu Bingjun manage the community better, and in the realm of community politics, mastering the personality traits of each player is essential for maintaining community balance.

"I’ve analyzed all the players.

"Including Zhang Yan, who just arrived not long ago.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"In my view, this is my duty."

Having said this, Yao Yuan spread his hands.

"But I am not the Imitator, nor did I help Lu Bingjun conceive or construct any games.

"I don’t abstain from games to conceal some Imitator identity; I’m purely just afraid of dying.

"I just want to choose the safest spot in the community, to live a few extra days quietly, that’s all."

Everyone couldn’t help but exchange looks, seeing the conflict on each other’s faces.

Yao Yuan didn’t have many criminal admission strategies to choose from.

First, it’s absolutely impossible for him to admit he is the Imitator because confessing equals suicide.

Secondly, he cannot fully plead innocence, distancing himself from everything, because he is a die-hard supporter of Lu Bingjun, an adviser, and a direct driver of many proposals.

If Yao Yuan claimed to know nothing, it would seem as if he were resisting the public hearing, further lowering his image in everyone’s minds.

So taking everything into account, Yao Yuan could only make this choice: admit to some non-essential errors, deny everything else.

He cannot admit involvement with ’One Word Breaks the Prison’, ’Trust Marketplace’, knowledge of ’Repentance Poker’, especially not confess to being the Imitator.

Because each of the above is a death sentence.

But this also put everyone in the hall into an extremely difficult decision.

If Yao Yuan isn’t the Imitator, then his contributions to the community are much greater than the average player, making him a very important merit, and under no circumstances can he be expelled from the community.

If Yao Yuan is the Imitator, then he is the source of all disasters in the community, the culprit of many deaths, and simply expelling him is far from enough; execution would be the only choice.

These are two extremes, with no middle ground to compromise.

Everyone fell into deep turmoil.

At this moment, new information appeared on the big screen.

—Qin Cheng, following the predetermined schedule, commenced the public trial half an hour after leaving the hall.

[Qin Cheng accuses Yao Yuan of being the ’Imitator’, starting the public trial according to the ’Community Trial Rules’.]

[All players, except for the ’Accuser’ and the ’Suspect’, will participate in the voting and implement the judgment results according to established rules.]

[Failing to vote before the timeout will result in a ’guilty’ vote.]

On the big screen, a one-hour countdown appeared again.

59:59...

59:58...

The hall once again became silent.

Yao Yuan didn’t continue to defend himself, as he had already said a lot in the previous half-hour; now allowing everyone to calm down and think independently for a while might be more conducive to making a choice favorable to him.

After all, killing someone is often a momentary impulse, and upon calming down, people may be more inclined to make stable choices.

But Huang Shengjie looked up somewhat surprised; he noticed that Qin Cheng had not returned to the hall nor left the Community Management Office.

Moments later, a second piece of public trial information appeared on the big screen.

[Qin Cheng accuses Qin Cheng of being the ’Imitator’, starting the public trial according to the ’Community Trial Rules’.]

[All players, except for the ’Accuser’ and the ’Suspect’, will participate in the voting and implement the judgment results according to established rules.]

[Failing to vote before the timeout will result in a ’guilty’ vote.]

[Since the ’Accuser’ and the ’Suspect’ are the same player, the ’false accusation countercharge’ rule is not triggered.]

Below appears another one-hour countdown.