God's Imitator

Lin Sizhi finished speaking and returned to his seat.

The four suspects each bowed their heads in thought, falling into brief silence, leaving only the jurors whispering amongst themselves.

Bai Zilan contemplated for a moment and stood up again.

However, she did not walk to the podium, but stood in front of her table, facing Lin Sizhi and raised a question.

"Is it too arbitrary to conclude based solely on the expression of the woman in the photo?

"I don’t see any worry in her expression.

"Even if there is, marriage is a major event in life, and taking wedding photos can be exhausting and tiring, a momentary lapse in expression management is quite normal, isn’t it?

"In today’s societal environment, the pressure from society and family isn’t too heavy, this newlywed couple should be able to escape with some cost, it wouldn’t lead to tragedy.

"Of course, since there isn’t enough persuasive evidence, Lawyer Lin’s statement could be seen as a possibility in extreme situations.

"I don’t mean to deny anything, just hoping that the jurors can make a more cautious decision."

Wang Yongxin seemed not inclined to speak further, maintaining silence.

Representing Community 18, Chen Yumei hesitated for a moment, then pressed the microphone button in front of her: "May I ask, what is the black portion on the groom’s chest in the wedding photo? Is it some kind of accessory? I didn’t see it clearly."

Tang Qing picked up the photo frame again to display it to everyone: "It’s a tattoo.

"Judging by the pattern, this should be a small part of a large tattoo."

Many jurors began dragging the screen to zoom in for a closer look at the evidence.

It was indeed a tattoo.

Chen Yumei nodded: "I don’t have any more questions."

Seeing no one else speaking, Bai Zilan continued: "Then, I propose to temporarily ’adjourn’ and look for more evidence and possibilities.

"Before that, I ask the jurors to vote on the ’possibility analysis’ proposed by Lawyer Lin."

In the center of the venue, eight players operated on their screens, agreeing to adjourn.

Afterward, voting options appeared on everyone’s small screens.

[Truth Vote]

[Do you believe Lawyer Lin Sizhi’s ’Possibility Analysis-Tragedy’ is the truth of the case?]

[Yes]

[No]

[Note: When the vote count reaches 60, the ’possibility analysis’ will be considered the ’case truth.’]

...

Cheng Wen was somewhat bewildered, this was completely different from what he envisioned.

According to Cheng Wen’s initial thoughts, Lin Sizhi would most likely adopt a defensive strategy, like Doctor Feng Yuguang, quickly going through the motions, then entering an adjournment.

But Lin Sizhi’s strategy wasn’t really offensive or defensive; rather, he directly gave a feasibility analysis unrelated to any of the present suspects.

Cheng Wen clicked on ’Yes’ and ’No’ on the small screen, before clicking on ’Confirm Submission’, these two options seemed clickable at will.

And no disingenuous warnings appeared on the screen.

According to game rules, the ’Truth Vote’ can be voted disingenuously, but it will deduct 5000 minutes of visa time, and there is a limit of 3 times.

As long as no disingenuous warning appears, it means any option can be chosen.

Cheng Wen indeed thought this way, he believed that whether or not it’s a tragedy is plausible since there’s no solid evidence at present.

"What should I vote, Sister Lu?

"Why did Brother Lin do this? Is there something inconvenient in his scenario book?"

Cheng Wen didn’t have any ideas, looking at the 1-minute countdown of voting ticking fast, hurriedly seeking help.

Lu Xinyi had already pressed ’Yes’: "He definitely hopes the jurors vote ’Yes’.

"Whether you want to vote or not is up to your thoughts."

Cheng Wen was still hesitating: "Then President Wang should support Brother Lin, right? Community 4 should listen to President Wang, they should support Brother Lin too, right?

"In that case, our three communities combined are...40 votes.

"If we can get 60 votes, it would be confirmed as the case truth, there’s quite some hope."

Lu Xinyi slightly shook her head: "That may not be so.

"Wang Yongxin is now a player of Community 4, he surely prioritizes his community’s interests.

"Moreover, I guess Wang Yongxin has been anticipating facing off against Brother Lin in this game for a long time, now he has gained an advantageous role, he might not give up such a valuable opportunity.

Cheng Wen’s expression somewhat fell: "What? Don’t mess around, this game can lead to death!"

Lu Xinyi explained: "Didn’t you notice Wang Yongxin hasn’t said anything?

"According to this game’s rules, ’Actors’ can’t freely communicate with players from the same community, as they must always ’act’, not break character, nor disrupt the audience’s immersion.

"If Wang Yongxin wants Community 4 to vote with him, he must speak out publicly and support Lin Sizhi’s hypothesis.

"However, he didn’t speak, this attitude already says it all."

Cheng Wen anxiously scratched his head, finishing voting in the last few seconds of the countdown.

"Whatever, I voted ’Yes’ anyway."

[Announcing the results of the truth vote now:]

[Yes: 32 votes]

[No: 68 votes]

[The ’Possibility Analysis-Tragedy’ is not recognized as the case truth.]

[We will enter the adjournment phase, the trial will continue in 10 minutes.]

Tang Qing, Feng Yuguang, Lin Sizhi, and Wang Yongxin stood up individually and returned to their rest room.

Cheng Wen was a bit frantic: "32 votes? That’s way too few!

"Brother Lin and Community 2 surely voted, that’s 15 votes, our community voted too, that’s 10 votes, and 7 votes were cast by others.

"So...President Wang really didn’t vote, huh?

"Because President Wang holds 10 votes, if he voted, the pattern wouldn’t be like this.

"What is Brother Lin thinking, he should know the passing possibility of this vote is very slim, right?"

Lu Xinyi nodded: "He certainly knows, but still wants to try.

"I think his words are more for the other three suspects.

"As long as the suspects are sure to vote, and express a clear bias when speaking, the players from the same community as them will surely follow with their votes, as they are basically the core players of their community.

"According to game rules, each of the 4 suspects has 10 votes, and their corresponding community each has 5 votes.

"These add up to 60 votes already.

"Even if one suspect’s community doesn’t vote, a community like ours can fill the vote count, maintaining some tolerance for errors.

"If this approach succeeds, the game can directly end, none of the 4 suspects will face the threat of death.

"Since their roles will be seen as ’innocent’, and it also counts as completing ’perfect acting’, as there’s no inconsistency between the actor and character.

"The earlier the voting, the easier it is to achieve this.

"After several rounds, with new evidence emerging, perhaps some roles may be proven guilty, which would implicate the actors performing them."

Cheng Wen was a bit panicked: "Hey? Could Brother Lin’s scenario book say he’s the killer?

"Otherwise, why is he so eager to absolve everyone’s guilt?"

Lu Xinyi slightly shook her head: "Not necessarily.

"This seems more like his gaming habit, putting etiquette before offense.

"It means firstly proposing a solution where no one loses too much, attempting to end the game with minimal overall loss. Even if it doesn’t pass, it’s okay, at least it can probe certain players’ attitudes during the process.

"But clearly, most players coming into this game aim to earn a large amount of visa time, they won’t accept such a rushed conclusion."