God's Imitator

Even though the players who came after all tried their best to persuade everyone, from Lu Qi’s bystander perspective, none of them managed to give a more convincing reason than Zhao Chong.

Only one player from Community 15, a man named Xu Zhao, voluntarily stated that he was a doctor and would firmly uphold the decision to control the medication, and that he would do his best to secure optimal drug buffs for all players.

But clearly, even though he was a doctor, it was still hard for him to be more credible than Zhao Chong.

After all, Zhao Chong was essentially cashing in on the legacy of trust Dr. Shen from Community 24 had built up in the "Pain Game," which gave him a massive advantage in this segment.

If Dr. Shen herself could go up on stage, the effect would be even better, but she was a female player and, according to the game rules, couldn’t take the stage.

If nothing unexpected happened, Zhao Chong from Community 24 should be able to secure first place in popularity among the medication-type Spokespersons.

But right at that moment, the last player started speaking.

The number on his mask was "17."

"Hello everyone, I’m Hu Yingxu, a player from Community 17. What I’m about to say represents the stance of the entire Community 17.

"I disagree with everything the previous players said.

"Why do we have to add more M-type drugs? Why do we have to eliminate the side effects of O-type and F-type drugs?

"My promise to everyone is exactly the opposite: if I, as a medication-type Spokesperson, manage to survive until the end of the game and obtain the ’Special Buff,’ then I will absolutely not introduce any new M-type drugs, and I will absolutely not choose to eliminate the side effects of O-type and F-type drugs.

"I will choose to further increase their side effects and weaken their efficacy, even if I myself don’t use any drugs at all.

"No matter what the three buffs actually are, I will, without hesitation, pick the worst option among them."

The moment these words left his mouth, many members of the Audience below the stage were stunned.

Because all the Spokespersons before him had made positive promises, and only this player from Community 17 had made a reverse promise.

Each player had 2 minutes to speak, and Hu Yingxu still had time to give more explanations, but he didn’t seem inclined to do so.

He only added one simple line.

"Please think carefully about what I said. You’ll understand the reason."

[!!! Frenzy Time !!!]

[Please keep staring at the Spokesperson you support and provide him with "Popularity Points"!]

[09:59...]

This little interlude didn’t interrupt the progress of the game. As the explosive BGM blasted through the venue, the players quickly regained their previous enthusiasm, once again erupting into loud applause, cheers, and screams.

More and more members of the Audience now had their preferred Spokespersons, and their participation in generating popularity kept climbing.

Under their gaze, the popularity behind every Spokesperson began rising continuously.

Lu Qi still followed Yao Yuan’s instructions, staring intently at Qin Cheng without daring to look away for even a second, while clapping as much as she could and tapping the interaction buttons on the screen to attract the Attention of passersby Audience members.

As long as she could make the casual Audience look at Qin Cheng on stage for one more second, it was worth it.

Only after the 10 minutes had passed did she finally get the chance to check the popularity for this batch of "medication-type" Spokespersons.

But the next second, she froze.

"Huh?

"What’s going on, how is Hu Yingxu actually the highest?"

Lu Qi almost thought she had misread the numbers, so she checked them carefully again.

Among the seven Spokespersons competing over the medication-type product, Hu Yingxu from Community 17 had actually gained the highest popularity, reaching 16,729 in this single round.

This was even higher than the popularity Jiang Chenyan had obtained in the first round.

Meanwhile, Zhao Chong from Community 24 had only gotten 14,223 popularity.

Judging by the popularity of the previous products, this figure wasn’t low, but it still wasn’t enough for him to take first place among the medication-type Spokespersons.

As for the other Spokespersons, they had even less popularity.

As the popularity values froze, two red spotlights fell on two of the "medication-type" Spokespersons.

One was from Community 15, the other from Community 18.

[A Spokesperson who commits an incorrect action will be forcibly confined in the "Reflection Room" until the game ends.]

[Please enter the "Reflection Room" within 10 minutes, or you will suffer an Instant Death Penalty!]

The two Spokespersons didn’t say anything. After all, they were not the first players to be caught by the game mechanics. At this point, they could only leave the stage and head to the "Reflection Room."

There were now 5 "medication-type" Spokespersons left on stage.

Lu Qi felt that more and more scenes she couldn’t understand were appearing in this game.

She could still barely come up with explanations for herself, but it was starting to feel increasingly off.

"How come two more players got locked into the ’Reflection Room’?

"This Lie Detection Mechanism is strict, there’s hardly any wiggle room at all. Everyone should’ve already known that, right?

"Besides, doesn’t Community 15 already have a Spokesperson? Jiang Chenyan is the alcohol Spokesperson, and his popularity has a clear edge. At the moment, there’s almost no visible risk of him being eliminated, so what exactly is this player from Community 15 trying to do?

"Double insurance? Or is he trying to grab extra rewards? That doesn’t make sense.

"Then there’s only one possibility... he went to the Reflection Room on purpose...

"Earlier Yao Yuan also said Uncle Zheng went in on purpose. So looking at it this way, the Reflection Room really must have some hidden mechanic? That’s why everyone is so eager to rush in."

Lu Qi really wanted to discuss it with Shen Bowen next to her, but unfortunately, none of them were allowed to speak, and Yao Yuan had disappeared somewhere and hadn’t come back.

Lu Qi could only keep thinking it through herself.

"Why is the one with the most Popularity Points not Zhao Chong from Community 24, but Hu Yingxu from Community 17?

"Clearly Zhao Chong’s stance is ’eliminating drug side effects,’ whereas Hu Yingxu’s stance is ’intensifying drug side effects.’

"Could it be... that in this game, the majority of players are actually supporting ’intensifying drug side effects’?"

...

A bit farther away, under the stage where Zhao Chong stood, several players from Community 24 had gathered together, also watching the situation unfold on stage.

[!! Elimination Time !!]

[In the fourth round of the game, eliminations will be carried out according to "Standard Two."]

[Among Spokespersons for the same type of product, the top 50% in popularity (excluding the first place) will lose their qualifications and leave the stage.]

[Spokespersons still remaining on stage may "reveal their faces."]

Seeing this system prompt, the players from Community 24 found it hard to accept.

Even with their masks on, their body language clearly gave it away.

Sure enough, a red spotlight fell onto Zhao Chong, meaning he had been eliminated.

At the same time, eliminated with him were the Community 18 player among the "luxury goods Spokespersons" who chose to reveal his face, as well as two other medication-type Spokespersons who had relatively high popularity.

After subtracting the two Spokespersons who had previously been sent to the Reflection Room, the ones left on stage were the first, fifth, and sixth place players among the "medication-type Spokespersons."

For the players of Community 24, this was clearly unacceptable.