God's Imitator

Huang Shengjie couldn’t help being a little surprised.

Because throughout the entire second phase, Lu Bingjun and Yao Yuan really hadn’t been very proactive about joining games.

Lu Bingjun only took part in "One Word Breaks the Prison," while Yao Yuan only took part in "Prison Factory."

Although the two of them were very impressive in those two games, compared with the other strong players, the number of games they’d played was indeed way lower.

The other two game cores, Lin Sizhi and Ye Lin, had so far each participated in three games.

Lu Bingjun and Yao Yuan’s presence was mainly in Community reviews and motion discussions.

But the two of them had actually played six games in the first phase, which is roughly half of all the games in that phase; that’s already a model-worker level of participation.

After Wei Changfeng died, the reason Lu Bingjun was able to beat Ye Lin and become the new Community leader might also have a lot to do with his performance in the first phase.

Even if what Lu Bingjun is doing now feels a bit like lying flat on his past achievements, you have to admit: that ledger of past achievements is indeed very thick.

While Huang Shengjie was subconsciously thinking over these issues, the discussion about game candidates continued.

Yao Yuan ran through the numbers again and confirmed they were correct.

"So... the most urgent task now is to确定 the players who’ll be joining freely."

When Yao Yuan finished, Shen Bowen subconsciously looked at Lin Sizhi.

If we’re simultaneously limiting it to a "game core" and "outstanding looks," then Lin Sizhi obviously fits better than Lu Bingjun.

What’s more, in terms of strength, Lin Sizhi is also the player who gives people the greatest sense of security; it’s like he has no clear flaws or weaknesses, more like a ruthless problem-solving machine.

But Lin Sizhi had already shaken his head first.

"I’m not very interested in this game. I don’t really want to participate."

Although he didn’t give a clear reason, the others couldn’t very well press him.

After all, since entering the second phase, Lin Sizhi had already gone into three games—same as Ye Lin—far more than Lu Bingjun’s single appearance.

And screening-type games do come with a certain risk of death; not wanting to go in is perfectly reasonable.

Lu Bingjun thought for a moment. "Right now we’ve got two options.

"If the free slot goes to a female player, then both Lu Qi and Zhou Wanlin get squeezed out, and a male player will automatically fill the vacancy—that is, one of either me or Yao Yuan.

"If the free slot goes to a male player, then Zhou Wanlin gets squeezed out.

"Judging strictly from the wording of the game invitation, on the condition ’outstanding looks,’ Qin Cheng should already qualify, so we don’t necessarily have to force other male players to also meet that bar.

"Mm..."

Once again, Lu Bingjun fell into thought and didn’t give a definite answer right away.

Lu Qi looked at Ye Lin with a bit of hope, wishing she would voluntarily enter the game.

Because this time the game strictly limited the lineup to three men and four women, if Ye Lin went in, she’d take Lu Qi’s slot, letting Lu Qi avoid one screening-type game that could carry a death risk.

But Ye Lin didn’t seem inclined to do that, remaining seemingly indifferent.

It was obvious most players felt that this time it should be Lu Bingjun’s turn.

Even if he didn’t really meet the game’s "looks" requirement, the invitation did say only "one" male player with outstanding looks was required.

Qin Cheng already fits that bill.

In Community 2, if you look purely at appearance, Lin Sizhi, Qin Cheng, and Huang Shengjie all count as pretty good-looking players, but none of them reach Gao Jialiang’s level, and the gap between them isn’t huge—just a difference in style.

So from a lineup-configuration standpoint, having Lu Bingjun enter the game is quite suitable.

The fact that he didn’t simply make the call might mean he had concerns and, for some reason, didn’t want to go into this game.

But that was exactly where the awkwardness lay: it was hard for Lu Bingjun to find a fitting excuse to dodge.

Because even if Ye Lin was willing to enter, the slot she’d squeeze out would be female, and one of the two—Lu Bingjun or Yao Yuan—would still have to go.

All the more so since Ye Lin didn’t want to go in.

Qin Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Brother Lu, can we have Brother Yao join this game?

"I want to see if I can lead a team myself.

"Let Brother Yao put up with it a bit and be my helper; the overall lineup configuration might be better that way."

Geng Yuxia froze for a second, then said worriedly, "Xiaoqin, you leading the team? Can that really work? Even though you’ve already been in several games, still..."

But Lu Bingjun was quite appreciative of this. "Good—commendable courage!

"Actually, Qin Cheng has always basically counted as half a core in our Community. Since he’s auto-selected this time and meets the game requirements, it really is a perfect training opportunity.

"Aunt Geng, don’t worry too much. Back when Ye Lin and I first entered the Community, we had zero experience in our first game—we were just shoved onto the stage like ducks being herded into flight.

"Without challenges, there’s no growth.

"So... Yao Yuan, go into the game and fully cooperate with Qin Cheng, how about it?"

Yao Yuan thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."

Lu Bingjun concluded, "Then the final roster will be: Qin Cheng, Yao Yuan, Zheng Chunhua, Shen Bowen, Lu Qi, Geng Yuxia, He Qinyun.

"That’s a fairly balanced lineup. Do your best, everyone."

Huang Shengjie let out a long breath. At least there was nothing involving him in this game.

He had honestly been a bit worried earlier, wondering what he’d do if Qin Cheng named him again this time and asked him to go in—how he’d refuse.

But thinking it over afterward, it was quite reasonable for Qin Cheng to call on Yao Yuan instead.

After all, Qin Cheng wanted to act as the game core and lead the team in this round, while both Lu Bingjun and Ye Lin are core-type players; if they went in, they’d likely clash with Qin Cheng’s approach to playing.

Each of them has his or her own way of thinking and style.

And among the players who don’t occupy the game-core role, Yao Yuan’s capabilities are clearly the strongest; he’s also the best at supporting core players.

The roster was now set; there were still about thirty minutes before the game.

Lu Bingjun reminded them, "We still have time—why don’t we think through possible problems in the game and discuss them in advance? It’ll help at least a little."

Qin Cheng thought for a moment. "If I have to point something out... the number of participants this time is a bit too high.

"Sixteen Communities, a total of 112 players—this should be the biggest screening-type game so far, right?"

Yao Yuan nodded. "Mm, as far as we know, yes."

Qin Cheng frowned, thinking. "I’m wondering: with so many people, will the game become extremely chaotic?

"Or will it be like the ’Pain Game,’ split into many zones, with strict restrictions on movement between zones?"

He glanced at Lin Sizhi, but Lin Sizhi only said, "That depends on the Imitator’s thinking. No one can confidently say what his true goal is; we can only adapt on the fly once we’re in."

Yao Yuan said, "No matter how many players are in the game, the ones who really play a key role are always only a few.

"If you want to win the game, then do your best to become one of those few."

No one said anything more; they just kept silently waiting.

Finally, the countdown on the big screen reached zero.

Yao Yuan hadn’t miscounted; seven players vanished from the hall.