God's Imitator

Earlier, on the other side of the venue.

Zhou Wanlin was also in a standoff with Zhou Xiaoying near Safe Zone 5, who was carrying forbidden goods.

Both sides remained silent, not saying a word.

Zhou Wanlin pondered for a moment, then said as gently as possible, "I’ve mentioned before, Huang Shengjie’s promise is still valid, and continuing the conversation with me is just the same.

"Our community’s three players outside the prison have already agreed that once we get in contact with the two players inside the prison, we can extend an invitation to you.

"Look, we happen to have the same surname, isn’t this a kind of fate? I believe that after you join Community 2, we can become good friends."

Wanlin had said these words as soon as she intercepted Xiaoying, but Xiaoying remained unmoved.

"I’ve also told you, all the things I said to Huang Shengjie before were lies!

"It was to distract him, to make him lower his guard.

"But now that you’re wearing the inspector’s armband, it shows that you’ve seen through our plan, arranging for Huang Shengjie to intercept Peng Xinyuan.

"Let me be honest: I can’t possibly join Community 2!"

Zhou Wanlin shook her head slightly, "Actually, I’ve studied a bit of psychology.

"I can tell that you do have the intention to delay, but the things you said to Huang Shengjie were likely true.

"You just still have doubts in your heart.

"So, regardless of how the game progresses, Huang Shengjie and I are both willing to continue extending an olive branch to you."

Zhou Xiaoying still shook her head and said nothing more.

Zhou Wanlin wanted to say something else, but just then, she noticed another figure emerging from the mist behind Zhou Xiaoying.

Peng Xinyuan came up behind Xiaoying, carrying several new forbidden goods.

Wanlin immediately sensed something was wrong and instinctively moved a bit towards the center.

Because the open space was spacious, it was easy to block just Xiaoying, but with the addition of Peng Xinyuan, who was quite fit, it became dangerous.

Peng Xinyuan could forcibly break through with the forbidden goods, and if Wanlin tried to catch him, he could simply drop the goods on the ground.

As long as he’s not caught while carrying the goods, it wouldn’t trigger a violation.

And when Wanlin went after Peng Xinyuan, Zhou Xiaoying could break through from another side with the forbidden goods.

With such cooperation, Wanlin would just be like a player scrambling for a ball on a soccer field, endlessly passed around by the opponents.

But there was nothing she could do but stand as much as possible in the center of the field, to block and delay time as best as she could.

Just then, Zhou Xiaoying suddenly spoke.

"If you’re determined to poach someone, then take Peng Xinyuan."

Peng Xinyuan was taken aback, "What are you saying?"

Zhou Xiaoying glanced at him, lowered her voice, and said, "Community 2 needs a male player right now. You are a better fit than I am for them.

"Your gender is suitable, your physical condition is better, and your situation with drug addiction is lighter than mine. You should be able to blend in smoothly..."

Peng Xinyuan became agitated, "Don’t say such stupid things! If I leave, you’d be ’held responsible’ and possibly cut off from the medicine!"

Zhou Xiaoying’s expression turned complex, "Didn’t you tell me before that you promised your father to survive no matter what, even in this hellhole?

"Community 2 might be a better choice for you."

Zhou Wanlin was slightly surprised, but she didn’t say anything, just quietly thinking about the truth of these words and the amount of information they contained.

Peng Xinyuan seemed to realize something and quickly interrupted Zhou Xiaoying’s words, "Shh! Stop talking!

"Zhao Heng has already come out of the prison, he could be here any moment!"

Zhou Xiaoying’s face turned instantly pale, and the voice she had deliberately lowered disappeared completely.

Such an eerie atmosphere put tremendous pressure on Zhou Wanlin, and just then, she saw a towering figure emerge from the fog.

"Did one person stop both of you?"

"Peng Xinyuan, what are you doing?"

Zhao Heng’s voice sounded somewhat displeased.

He was holding new forbidden goods, and he must have come over immediately after returning to the raw material warehouse of Community 23.

"Sorry, Brother Zhao, I’ll charge ahead right now!"

Peng Xinyuan lowered his head, gripping the forbidden goods with both hands, ready to dash forward.

Seeing Zhao Heng’s physique, Zhou Wanlin was a bit shocked; she had never seen such a tall player in the Walkway.

And in a game demanding such physical effort, the opponent’s strength was absolutely overwhelming.

With the opponent having an absolute advantage in numbers and strength, the defense’s advantage would vanish completely.

At that moment, she heard the sound of running footsteps from behind.

"Sister Wanlin, don’t be afraid, I’m here!"

Huang Shengjie came running almost immediately after shaking off the paralysis, panting heavily, having run himself to exhaustion.

Zhou Wanlin felt slightly relieved; with her and Huang Shengjie as pure defenders, they were relatively flexible. The defensive range also doubled, greatly increasing the success rate.

Zhao Heng threw the forbidden goods in his hand to the ground, "I’ll cover you guys, seize the opportunity to rush forward."

Huang Shengjie couldn’t help feeling apprehensive; he knew better than anyone the terrifying physical strength of Zhao Heng.

It was obvious that Zhao Heng planned to use a ’pick-and-roll’ strategy from basketball, using his body to block Huang Shengjie and Wanlin, thus creating a chance for Peng Xinyuan to break through forcibly.

Such tactics would inevitably lead to physical confrontations, which might or might not result in a violation, entirely dependent on the intensity of the confrontation.

Huang Shengjie had difficulty predicting the potential consequences but could only brace himself to confront them.

Just when both sides were ready to make a move, a voice came again from behind Wanlin and Huang Shengjie.

"No need to force things, let’s talk it over."

Yao Yuan emerged from the mist, standing between Wanlin and Huang Shengjie.

"By now, the game’s strategies have mostly been dug up.

"This game favors the defenders, and if we stubbornly hold our ground, no one can transport the forbidden goods, and everyone’s profits will be greatly reduced.

"There’s no benefit in that.

"However, there is still room for cooperation:

"In the third round of the game, as long as we stop scrutinizing each other, the steam trains can all carry forbidden goods, and the others can transport them through the prison window, allowing both sides to maximize their profits.

"From a rules standpoint, this game’s a standard non-zero-sum game; we should have cooperated from the first round.

"Of course, that was a bit idealistic, hard to achieve.

"But it’s not too late to cooperate now.

"For us, there’s no hope of turning the tables, especially since you guys are physically much better off, Zhao Heng, you alone can carry twice as much raw material as our players can.

"So, the 10,000 gold pounds for the winners goes to you. As for whether you can earn 1.5 times our amount, that depends on your skills.

"In the third-round game, let’s carry our own goods, shall we?"

```