God's Imitator

Night.

Huang Shengjie took a cocktail somewhat gloomily and sipped it slowly in the outdoor area.

After a long time, he heard footsteps coming from behind.

Originally, Huang Shengjie somewhat expected the person to be Ye Lin, but upon turning around he found it was Qin Cheng.

This was also a good situation, but for some reason, deep down, Huang Shengjie felt he still wanted to have a real conversation with Ye Lin.

"So... if we really are going to pass that proposal this week.

"You’ll vote in favor, right?" Huang Shengjie asked.

Qin Cheng sat down on the opposite outdoor sofa: "Yes, I’ve already told you my stance before."

Huang Shengjie leaned backward, staring up at the sky: "I’m conflicted.

"I’ve thought about it for a long time, and I still want to cast a vote against it.

"I know this might lead to terrible consequences, but I just can’t completely convince myself."

Qin Cheng comforted him: "There’s no need to convince yourself, voting in favor requires a reason, voting against does not.

"Instead of being tangled up over whether a proposal passes, think more about other things."

Huang Shengjie nodded: "Mm... that’s true.

"But Qin Cheng, I’ve always had a question that I haven’t figured out. During the review, I didn’t dare ask it publicly.

"But this question really troubles me."

Qin Cheng thought for a moment: "I guess it’s about Wen Wan’s choice?

"You’re baffled about why Wen Wan chose you to enter the game as a helping audience.

"At the same time, you’re very guilty, thinking you didn’t do your best in the game, didn’t manage to save her.

"Yet it’s very difficult to speak up about this during the review.

"Because it seems like you’re dodging responsibility, betraying Wen Wan’s trust, and simultaneously putting Ye Lin and Lu Qi in a difficult position, so you eventually didn’t dare to ask."

Huang Shengjie was somewhat surprised: "Even though I didn’t think in such detail, indeed, this is what confuses me the most.

"Before entering the game, I also considered, if I were Wen Wan, I would definitely choose Zhou Wanlin, Lawyer Lin, and Lu Bingjun!

"Even if not choosing Lu Bingjun, I would choose you.

"But why was it Lu Qi, Ye Lin, and me in the end?

"I even increasingly find Sister Yelin suspicious."

Qin Cheng pondered for a moment: "Mm, if you think from the angle that ’Ye Lin is the Imitator’, then many doubts indeed connect.

"It even outlines a logically coherent possibility.

"Assume Ye Lin is the Imitator who designed the ’Trust Marketplace’, maybe she told Wen Wan something privately, tricking Wen Wan to choose her as the audience to enter the game.

"And once in the game, Ye Lin only needs to perform at 90 points, because the audience in this game must achieve 100 points to possibly save the Sinners.

"And 90 points is a score that looks like an effort was made, completely clearing any association.

"When exactly did she see through Zeng Yiming’s true nature? Was it decided from the start that Zeng Yiming was by no means a good person, or did she realize it at the end?

"This point is fundamental yet directly determines everything.

"And during the game’s review, Ye Lin also seemed to have contradictory statements.

"She first analyzed the game’s mechanics, dissected the doubts about profit figures, exposed the malicious intent of the Imitator clearly, but then concluded that the Imitator might not be in Community 2."

Huang Shengjie promptly nodded: "Yes, that’s also a point that made me uncomfortable.

"Because the act of ’dissecting the Imitator’s profits’ seems more like Sister Yelin showing she’s not withholding information, not intentionally concealing game mechanics, washing away suspicion for her ’player identity’.

"And ’believing the Imitator isn’t in Community 2’, seems to exonerate her ’Imitator identity’.

"So... only if she herself is the Imitator, such behavior will be reasonable."

Huang Shengjie paused for a moment, somewhat conflicted, and continued: "Of course, I understand there are other explanations.

"For example, the reason she insists the Imitator isn’t in our community is still that same familiar reason:

"She doesn’t want Lu Bingjun to infringe upon her or the community’s rights for any reason, still insisting those games are not done by a single Imitator, the ’Judgment proposal’ is a severe stress response.

"So she continues to oppose it.

"But then it doesn’t explain why Wen Wan chose her as help to enter the game."

Qin Cheng fell silent for a moment: "Mm... then let’s return to the original starting point.

"Wen Wan is the key to solving this problem."

He paused slightly, then added: "Ye Lin is after all a smart person; she has her own sense of rights, and many actions may have layered motivations, making analysis much harder.

"But Wen Wan is a relatively simple-minded player, conclusions drawn from analyzing her actions might be closer to the truth."

Huang Shengjie was somewhat helpless: "But a stupid person’s fleeting insight is often harder to analyze than a bad person’s brainstormed intentions, isn’t it?

"Who knows why she chose the three of us.

"What if after we analyzed for ages against thin air, the truth turns out to be a whim of hers?"

Qin Cheng shook his head: "Shengjie, maybe you have a misunderstanding about stupid people.

"Stupid people wouldn’t do things without motives.

"If you don’t see the motive, it’s just because you didn’t understand their thought process, therefore couldn’t link motive with action.

"Besides, I feel Wen Wan might not necessarily be being stupid in this situation."

He paused slightly, continued: "Now let’s make some basic assumptions, then strictly deduce based on those assumptions.

"Do you think Wen Wan could be so stupid that she couldn’t distinguish which is stronger between Lawyer Lin and Ye Lin?

"Could she be so stupid she couldn’t understand the risks of being a Sinner in an eliminative game herself?"

Huang Shengjie shook his head: "No.

"No matter, she’s an old player who survived from the first stage to now, her eyes aren’t blind, and her intelligence is normal.

"But that’s exactly what I don’t understand."

Qin Cheng sighed: "Don’t insert yourself into this, thinking that you can fully trust Lawyer Lin, so Wen Wan can as well.

"Think carefully, what did the game invitation say?"

Huang Shengjie seemed to remember something: "The criteria for choosing is... the Audience Representative selects players with ’absolute mutual trust’, ordinary audience selects players with ’relative trust and certain skill’.

"Trust comes first.

"I would choose Lawyer Lin because I trust him.

"Wen Wan didn’t choose... because she didn’t trust Lawyer Lin.

"Anyway, as long as Wen Wan chose according to this standard, it shows she trusts Lu Qi, Ye Lin, and me the most in the entire community.

"... Isn’t that absurd?

"Or is this her true thought? Moreover, is there a reason for such a true thought?"

Qin Cheng nodded: "Rather than worrying about why Wen Wan didn’t choose Lawyer Lin, think why she didn’t choose Lu Bingjun.

"This could very well be for the same reasons."