God's Imitator

The two most urgent matters resolved, everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Though there are still many follow-up issues in the Community that need handling, at least according to current trends, the Community is quickly regaining stability and gradually getting back on track.

Qin Cheng flipped through the prepared agenda; the remaining three issues still need addressing, but there’s no rush.

Ye Lin pondered for a moment and suggested, "The follow-up agenda can be discussed leisurely tomorrow.

"Compared to those issues, I believe everyone is more concerned about another matter.

"It’s about... information only the Imitator knows.

"Of course, it’s said that leaking too much may be dangerous, so whether or not to share is up to you."

Qin Cheng nodded, "I know, I will share the safest information possible.

"I learned I became the Imitator after ’One Word Breaks the Prison.’ At that time, special information appeared on the laptop in the room.

"Basically: I obtained the identity of the Imitator and must design a game with at least a B rating within two months.

"Otherwise, I’d face punishment: losing the Imitator identity, or even death.

"The specific punishment depends on the evaluation of the unused drafts.

"Initially during the ’Prison Factory,’ I also prepared a plan, but it wasn’t adopted.

"Honestly, I was quite anxious then.

"Until I completed the ’Jury Game.’

Qin Cheng began to narrate the whole process of becoming an Imitator, and everyone listened attentively.

At this moment, Lin Sizhi was reminded of when Wei Yinzhang shared information about the Imitator in Community 17.

Everything felt eerily familiar.

However, as a new player in the second stage, or a ’supplemental Imitator,’ Qin Cheng was significantly different from the initial Imitator.

First, he acquired the Imitator identity midway from the room’s personal computer, without facing single-player game design trials.

Secondly, the Walkway also eased the performance pressure.

In 2 months, there are about 8 opportunities for bid games, just capturing one is enough.

During the first stage, some imitators were eliminated by the third game, ’Matchmaking Game.’

Of course, the decision of the Walkway to relax standards made sense because the second stage had a lot of game invitations needing visa time bids, which is unfriendly to new Imitators.

Qin Cheng continued to share some basic information only known to the Imitators.

This was quite similar to Wei Yinzhang’s sharing back then.

When it comes to ’what can be said and what can’t,’ smart individuals tend to make similar choices.

Most players listened intently.

The Imitator ecosystem of Community 2 is indeed terrible, from current observations, this community probably had two excellent Imitators from the start, Gao Teng and Yao Yuan.

But the problem is, they chose not to expose their identities, sharing information only within a small circle.

So the regular players of Community 2 were kept in the dark.

The appearance of Qin Cheng finally bridged this information gap.

Everyone asked lots of questions, and for those relatively safe issues, Qin Cheng earnestly provided answers.

After the lunch period, some players still weren’t satisfied.

They continued talking until around four in the afternoon, when Qin Cheng finally answered most basic questions about the Imitator.

Ye Lin let out a long breath and proposed, "Let’s end here today, okay?

"I know there are still many questions everyone wants to ask, about past games, about future Community planning...

"But during this period, everyone is indeed too tired, many things require careful consideration.

"Let’s take our time."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"I’ll have dinner in my room."

"It’s getting late; everyone should rest well."

"Is it time to suffer again today? If the medicine runs out, remember to buy more and place it by your bed in advance."

"Goodnight."

As everyone left, Huang Shengjie suddenly felt the Community’s ecosystem and atmosphere were rapidly recovering.

Originally, many players dared not return to their rooms casually, but now they had no such concerns.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Moreover, smiles increasingly appeared on their faces.

This change came faster than Huang Shengjie imagined.

Ye Lin slightly approached Qin Cheng, asking, "Do you think it’s necessary to have a communal meal?

"The Community fund should suffice to buy discount coupons, and holding a communal meal during the coupon period is an apt opportunity."

Qin Cheng shook his head, "Wait until the next game ends.

"If the outcome is good.

"I think everyone still needs some time to digest those negative feelings, and by then, we should have more than one new player.

"What we need is a comprehensive and successful communal meal, not simply fulfilling a predetermined process."

Ye Lin thought for a moment, "Hmm, sounds good.

"I’ll head back to my room too; you should rest early.

"Ah... I’m increasingly realizing that being able to return to your room spontaneously is part of freedom."

...

After dinner, Huang Shengjie wandered aimlessly through the Community.

Suddenly, he noticed Lin Sizhi sitting alone on a single sofa in the outdoor area, gazing at the darkening night sky post-sunset, contemplating something unknown.

Huang Shengjie hurried forward a few steps but soon hesitated again.

Because last time, when he sought answers from Lin Sizhi, he was rebuffed.

"You’re still young, complete your tasks independently."

Huang Shengjie worried that he would receive the same response this time.

But as he hesitated, Lin Sizhi seemed to notice him and gestured lightly.

Huang Shengjie sat on the opposite single sofa, somewhat conflicted.

"Lawyer Lin, I still... "

Lin Sizhi interrupted, "You still have questions, right?

"This time I can help answer some of the content.

"But how much I answer depends on how much you’ve figured out yourself."

Huang Shengjie felt a bit unexpectedly pleased; such a response was much better than outright refusal.

"Then... let me think about where to begin..."

Huang Shengjie couldn’t decide for a while, having some ideas but none mature enough to form a tangible theory.

Lin Sizhi suggested, "You can start from the point you find most incomprehensible."

Huang Shengjie pondered for a long time, "If I had to say the most confusing point... it’s why there’s such a ticket type and why Qin Cheng dares to act this way.

"No matter what, Lu Bingjun is still the leader of the Community, contributing the most on the surface, while Qin Cheng, all the resources in the Community come from Lu Bingjun’s promotion, maybe he privately rallied a few players, but he can hardly compete with Lu Bingjun, right?

"Although this event somewhat resembles the ’Prison Factory’ conflict between Wu Xiufang and Zhao Heng, it can’t be crudely applied, right?

"After all, Lu Bingjun hasn’t enforced a harsh rule within the Community like Zhao Heng did.

"When Qin Cheng identified Lu Bingjun, I almost thought he’d be expelled from the Community due to the ’false accusation counter punishment’ rule.

"Yet the result was completely unexpected; no one in the Community supported Lu Bingjun and Yao Yuan.

"Despite them being the Community managers, how could they end up in such a ridiculous situation?"