God's Imitator

Soon, the subsequent players also took turns speaking.

But obviously, they couldn’t present more compelling arguments on this basis, and repeated previous points, such as linking wine to game victory, discussing the role of wine in enhancing community cohesion, and so on, all seemed like reiterations of the first player’s perspective.

Most players still leave a deeper impression on the first Spokesperson.

However, these other Spokespersons did not force anything, as according to the game rules, there may be three different elimination methods.

They might not necessarily lose, it depends on luck.

...

Soon, it’s the turn of the fifth Spokesperson, who comes from Community 28.

His vocal qualities are also good, although slightly inferior to the player from Community 15, but far better than the other three.

"Please believe me, I am the best choice to represent wine.

"Because I am a professional Wine Taster, possessing relevant professional qualifications.

"Before coming to the Walkway, I tasted more than 3,000 different wines each year, and my mind stores the taste of nearly 10,000 different wines.

"The game rules state that if the wine Spokesperson survives to the final round without being eliminated and has the highest popularity among all category Spokespersons, then the wine products in the community will gain a ’Special Bonus’.

"This Special Bonus could be a price discount, an increase in variety, flavor enhancement, or even better calming and analgesic effects added to the wine.

"But regardless of which one, it must be chosen by the Spokesperson.

"So please believe that only a professional Wine Taster can achieve ’maximum benefit’ for everyone!"

The players from Community 28 in the audience coordinated by screaming and applauding at the right moment, energizing the whole atmosphere.

Lu Qi and other bystander players couldn’t help but turn their attention to this player, it seems those brave enough to take the stage early have something up their sleeves.

This player from Community 28 is much smarter than the previous three players.

He clearly knows that he must demonstrate a new advantage in front of the Audience, otherwise, he wouldn’t constitute any threat to the player from Community 15.

And his biggest advantage is his identity as a Wine Taster.

Although the rules mention ’Special Bonus’, it doesn’t elaborate on what it specifically entails.

If it has nothing to do with the taste of wine, then the identity of a Wine Taster means nothing.

But this player from Community 28 cleverly establishes this implication through wordplay, making the audience think: "What if the Special Bonus really is related to the taste of wine?"

In this case, choosing a Wine Taster is much better than selecting other players.

With all five players having spoken, new instructions appeared on the big screen.

[!!! Frenzy Time !!!]

[Please continue to gaze at the Spokesperson you support, providing them with ’Heat Value’!]

[09:59...]

Accompanied by explosive BGM resonating throughout the venue, players instantly erupted into enthusiastic applause, cheers, and screams, with a large concentration of sound in the areas where the players from Community 15 and Community 28 were located.

According to the game rules, whether players clap, cheer, or scream, it won’t have any actual significance, it won’t add extra Heat Value.

Yet the die-hard supporters of these Spokespersons still find meaning in these actions.

On one hand, they can express support by generating momentum, and on the other, they can attract the attention of other audience members.

Any audience’s gaze, as long as it falls on this Spokesperson for 1 second, will contribute some Heat Value to them.

Also, the audience from other communities is increasingly frequently pressing the interaction button on the screen.

Because this action bears no loss for them, and they can entirely use it as soon as the cooldown time is up. In this atmosphere, players who choose to hold back and not use it are few.

In such a heated atmosphere, Lu Qi feels as if he’s truly immersed in a concert or event scene.

On the big screen behind the five players, the numbers indicating Heat Value thrive and jump continuously.

They are also striking various poses on stage or bowing to thank the audience below.

Soon, 10 minutes have passed.

The players from Community 15 and Community 28 have both achieved high Heat Values, reaching 17,539 and 15,984 respectively.

Whereas the other three players have each scored only between three thousand to five thousand-something.

Lu Qi quickly recalls the game rules.

’1 player gazing for 1 second = 1 Heat Value = 1 minute visa time’.

According to this rule, if the gazing time is 10 minutes, then one player can effectively provide 600 points of Heat Value.

The player from Community 15 has approximately gained support from nearly 30 players.

Of course, the actual number of supporters should exceed 30, because many supporters aren’t solely watching him from start to finish.

The big screen again indicates a transition into a new phase.

[!! Elimination Time !!]

But before the elimination officially begins, the venue suddenly starts flashing red light effects, and a spotlight falls on the player from Community 28, the "Wine Taster".

A red warning message appears on the big screen.

[The ’Spokesperson’ has committed a wrong action, and will be forcibly confined to the ’Reflection Room’ until the game ends.]

[Please enter the ’Reflection Room’ within 10 minutes, or face an Instant Death Penalty!]

This sudden change left the audience below stunned.

This Spokesperson from Community 28 also froze on stage but quickly realized what had happened, silently leaving the stage for the venue’s only ’Reflection Room’.

The door of the Reflection Room is sized like other rest areas, only painted red, with the words ’Reflection Room’.

As this player from Community 28 approached, the door opened automatically and closed again.

The other audience players at the venue couldn’t help but look at each other.

However, players quickly realized the reason: it’s evident this player lied, he most likely isn’t really a ’Wine Taster’.

The game rules stated that when a Spokesperson commits a wrong action, they will be confined to the Reflection Room until the game ends.

Now it seems, at least one wrong action includes ’lying’.

The scene fell into an awkward atmosphere for no apparent reason, originally the supporters of this Community 28 "Wine Taster" seemed angry because they were also deceived.

Although the audience won’t suffer any actual loss, the betrayal of their support and enthusiasm itself is quite frustrating.

According to the game rules, at the game end, for Spokespersons still on stage who were eliminated, each of their ’top 10 Heat Value contributors’ among audience players will receive 30,000 minutes visa time.

In other words, this game encourages the audience to become die-hard fans of a certain Spokesperson and support them from start to finish.

With each Spokesperson’s failure, whether confined to the ’Reflection Room’ or eliminated, will let down the audience that supports them, resulting in irreparable loss.

After this small interlude, the game continues.

The big screen continues to display ’!! Elimination Time !!’, and the 5-minute countdown keeps ticking.

[In the first round game, elimination will proceed according to ’Standard One’.]

[The 50% lowest-ranking Spokespersons concerning Heat Value for similar products will lose qualification and leave the stage.]

[Spokespersons remaining on stage may ’unveil’.]