God's Imitator

After a long silence, Zheng Qingyun instead let out a somewhat relieved sigh.

"I’d heard that Community 2 was quite powerful, and now it seems the reputation is well-deserved.

"But the games in the Walkway are all about intrigue and skill.

"Everyone has experienced many games. So-called cooperation can’t be about trusting each other blindly like fools. Showing strength, breaking up, and then rebuilding is also part of cooperation.

"Moreover, I need to emphasize that my actions don’t count as ’cheating’. Because from start to finish, I haven’t violated the game rules or our cooperation agreement.

"The rules of the game do not restrict changing the order of cards when dealing, nor do they say you can’t count cards.

"And the terms of cooperation we agreed on were: No one takes additional cards, but if there’s a significant lead, the trailing side can take one additional card.

"Did I violate any game rule? Did I breach any agreement between us?

"I did not.

"I indeed did not inform you of this hidden mechanism, but our cooperation plan never included this clause.

"However, since you also saw through this machine’s secret, you’ve proven you’re not rookies; you’re strong players worthy of cooperation.

"So, let me apologize, I’m sorry.

"Now we are just three wins apart, not an unbridgeable gap.

"To show my apology, in the next games, I won’t use any tricks and will ensure you catch up with wins, and even gift you an extra win as compensation.

"You can start taking cards now, for some trivial matter. And we will choose ’surprised resistance’ which will deduct 4 points from us.

"Once we catch up in wins, let’s stop taking cards and continue to work together with the previous method.

"This is still the most advantageous way for both of us.

"Or, are you going to split hairs over this tiny issue and go for mutual destruction?

"If that’s the case, I can’t help it, I’ll accompany you to the end."

After Zheng Qingyun finished speaking, he turned to look at Wei Changfeng, with a somewhat justified tone.

Wei Changfeng fell into a brief silence.

Obviously, Zheng Qingyun’s choice to cheat wasn’t purely short-sighted, but rather a decision he considered optimal after weighing various factors and pros and cons.

This technique utilized the hidden mechanism of this machine, making it extremely covert and difficult for opponents with an average level of skill to discover.

As Gao Teng mentioned, if they realized the issue a bit later and Zheng Qingyun managed to secure seven or eight wins, his advantage would become overwhelming and irrecoverable.

Even being exposed now, Zheng Qingyun judged the cooperation could probably continue.

Because from a fully rational standpoint, the best strategy at this point still involves cooperation.

Those acting on impulse, going for broke after one deception, most likely perished in previous games—they hadn’t survived to learn this lesson.

Zheng Qingyun offering some concessions to show sincerity makes it likely the cooperation can still proceed.

In summary, from his perspective, this was a strategy with great returns and controllable risks, thus he executed it without hesitation.

Wei Changfeng pondered for a long time and nodded, "Then, I’ll give you one last chance, this is also my final concession.

"The high cards you deliberately arranged should still land in your hands, but you must use point adjustments to ensure we win consecutively until we’re one win ahead.

"If you get a high card, increase points to bust the hand; if you get a low card, reduce points.

"Also, you can’t tamper during card collection.

"Of course, if you can ensure both our win counts stay within 2, that’s the best-case scenario.

"If any accident occurs during this period that causes your win count to extend to four matches... I’ll assume you’re lying.

"In that case, it will be a fight to the bitter end for both of us."

Zheng Qingyun nodded, "Rest assured, though I’m greedy, I understand this is a judgment game, not a fight to the death.

"Players like you, rational and intelligent, are rare in the Walkway, and I will cherish it."

Wei Changfeng looked at Gao Teng again, "Xiao Gao, stay rational.

"No matter what, this is your own judgment game, don’t fall into the trap of being an Imitator.

"Just this once, don’t act on impulse, alright?"

Gao Teng hung his head in silence for a moment, "Brother Wei, you sensed it too, didn’t you?

"You didn’t want to make it clear, trying other ways, fearing I would lose control."

He sighed, "Don’t worry, I will control my emotions.

"You and Sister Xu entered this game for my sake. No matter what, I will ensure you both return safely to the Community."

Wei Changfeng nodded again, turning to face Zheng Qingyun.

"Then let’s continue."

...

...

Inside Community 2’s hall.

Lu Qi asked somewhat surprised, "Card counting? You mean remembering which cards have appeared?"

Qin Cheng nodded, "Yes, during a game, remembering all the cards that have already appeared, and thus deducing what cards are left in the deck or in the opponent’s hand, what the specific hand looks like.

"For example, in a game like Dou Dizhu, top professional players must master this skill, using their hand and the opponent’s plays to infer the remaining cards in other players’ hands.

"The same principle applies to other card games.

"Someone who can’t count cards can’t be a professional player.

"So regardless of whether Zheng Qingyun is a professional player or a professional cheat, he’s likely subconsciously counting all the cards that have appeared thus far.

"He would notice earlier than others that although the machine shuffles thoroughly each time, the cards each player gets are cards that haven’t appeared in previous games.

"By the third game, 36 cards among their six players had been used, over half of a full deck, yet no repeats had appeared.

"This was enough for him to make a bold deduction: the machine was fake-shuffling.

"And the minute-long complex shuffle, frosted glass cover, shuffle sounds, and post-shuffle card switching operations... everything was an illusion, meant to mislead players into thinking the cards were thoroughly mixed.

"In reality, they weren’t.

"The cards were returned to a ’specific state’ after each complex shuffle operation.

"And the shuffle after changing to new cards wasn’t to shuffle them randomly, but to restore them to the ’specific state’ again.

"This was the backdoor deliberately left by the Imitator when designing this game.

"Zheng Qingyun realized this with his diligent instincts as a professional cheat and devised such a strategy."

Lu Qi seemed a bit unable to accept it all, "Isn’t that too much!

"Why? Couldn’t we have cooperated to the end as agreed previously?

"For a lead of just three wins, he’d tear up the agreement, greatly increasing the threat of death for everyone. Even with short-sightedness, there should be a limit!

"Would they have to cheat whenever they find an opportunity, even at the risk of losing their lives?"

Shen Bowen sighed, "For professional cheats, there might be an ingrained thought process and path dependency.

"Cheats and gamblers are incredibly short-sighted, often controlled by their hands over their brains. Otherwise, why wouldn’t so many cheats stop even after losing fingers?"

Qin Cheng explained, "In Zheng Qingyun’s view, even if he was exposed, Wei Changfeng would likely still choose to cooperate.

"And he guessed right."