Wang Yongxin nodded: "Alright.

"This question is quite complex, so I'll simplify it into two points.

"The first is about historical issues.

"At the very beginning, when the twelve of us entered the community together, Fu Chen was the first player to speak. Being a host with decent eloquence and likability, he naturally led the meeting's process.

"Of course, in hindsight, this might just be a coincidence, as many among the twelve in the community have similar abilities.

"However, Fu Chen's performance on the first day led some politically aware individuals to naturally gather around him.

"And professions like civil servants, lawyers, and police naturally share similar philosophies. Therefore, they were also naturally absorbed into it.

"At the beginning, I focused primarily on researching the game rules. By the time I realized this power core existed, it was already closed off.

"I could certainly exert some influence on it, but it was impossible to integrate into it.

"The second is the distinctive rules of the community and the Walkway.

"You might mistakenly think that under the heavy pressure of a life and death game, the community would become a place of militarized management, or form a strict hierarchy with rigid superior-subordinate relationships.

"But the interesting point is: the life and death games of the New World haven't yet imposed such urgent pressure on the players.

"So far, we've played four different games, and only two people have died, one of whom was an older woman who lost her will to survive and sought death actively.

"As for the other deceased, the original player number 10, the judgment game he faced was indeed the most oppressive, but that type of game only happened once.

"Therefore, while the ability to crack the game is important, it doesn't directly translate to power in the community.

"Besides, I made a very serious mistake.

"The first game upon entering the community was 'Blood Poker,' which is a distribution-type game with almost no death rate.

"Lawyer Lin and I were the only ones in the community who discovered the game's backdoor, but Lawyer Lin chose to share it with the group members while I, for various reasons, did not share it.

"In hindsight, this was a very serious mistake. I missed a great opportunity to increase my influence.

"But after all, it was just the beginning of entering the community, and our relationships were not much different from strangers, so I didn't think that far ahead."

Luo Wei frowned: "I understand how this structure was formed, but I still think it's overly complacent for the people in this community.

"Four games, two people dead, that's not a low death rate, right?

"If I were in charge of the community, I would adopt military-style management, giving the strong more say, perhaps even privileges."

Wang Yongxin smiled: "Your idea is good, but it's unrealistic.

"Because people don't shed tears until they see the coffin.

"For many people, an elusive death rate is harder to accept compared to a blatant infringement of rights.

"In this regard, Li Renshu is much smarter than you, and more realistic, so she won't attempt to push for power expansion proposals.

"In Community 17 now, anyone who dares to propose such a motion will immediately be seen by the majority as a 'schemer' or an 'imitator,' making it impossible to push the proposal forward and instead bringing trouble upon themselves.

"Because the initiator is bound to seek an absolute dominant position in this new structure, being the greatest beneficiary."

Luo Wei disagreed more: "But someone has to do such things.

"Otherwise, what do we do later in games when we encounter other communities with higher degrees of organization?

"'Blood Poker' was a long time ago, when most players had just entered the community not long ago. Most communities were scattered with no organization, naturally leaning towards cooperation in multiplayer games.

"But as time has passed, many communities might have already formed tight organizations internally.

"Community 17 encountering such a situation could possibly be left powerless."

Wang Yongxin was silent for a moment, then shrugged: "Do you want to hear the optimistic statement or the pessimistic statement?

"The optimistic statement is that there are quite a few smart people in our community.

"The pessimistic statement is, what can we do?

"The current ecosystem in Community 17 doesn't depend on me, or even on the five-person core.

"This is a choice made by all the people in the community.

"Unless a particularly tragic incident occurs in a game, only then might the urgency stimulate everyone to actively change the ecosystem.

"But before that 'particularly tragic incident' happens, no one can change it, not even Lawyer Lin."

Luo Wei thought for a moment, then asked: "So what will you do now? Just wait to die?"

Wang Yongxin waved his hand: "Hey, your words are a bit too direct, it's not like waiting for death.

"You shouldn't think of the players in other communities as that capable. From the current situation, most of them are ordinary people, you could even say fools.

"Many times in the game, you don't need to be the smartest; as long as you're not the dumbest, that's enough.

"In that regard, I have quite a bit of confidence.

"As long as I can live longer than others, sooner or later there will be a turning point.

"Besides, just because I can't have power now doesn't mean I'm completely without influence or ability to protect myself.

"The worst aspect of Community 17's current ecosystem is also its best aspect:

"If you want to do something big, you can't do it. But you also don't have to worry about someone else suddenly doing something big that severely damages your interests."

Wang Yongxin paused slightly, leaning forward slightly: "So, do you want to join forces with me?

"Our philosophies should be fairly similar, and since we're both somewhat marginalized figures in the community, we have a fairly good foundation for cooperation."

Luo Wei didn't immediately give a clear answer.

"Let me think about it."

…

In the evening, Lin Sizhi returned to the room,

turned on the computer, and sure enough, there was a new invitation.

[Hello, Lin Sizhi.]

[Now, the Walkway sends you a new design invitation:]

[Please design a game for 'all players,' with the theme of 'reallocation of visa time' and 'community confrontation.']

[The game proposal is in your desk drawer.]

[The deadline is 8 p.m. tomorrow, you have 24 hours to complete the game's design.]

[The 'Walkway' will evaluate all submitted proposals and adopt the scheme with the highest score to set up the game site.]

[All players will be required to participate.]

[Now, the 24-hour countdown begins, please make your choice.]

The Walkway gave no comment on Lin Sizhi's probing behavior.

Neither approval nor disapproval.

"This means the behavior is tacitly approved but not encouraged.

"It's like...certain gray areas that can't be explicitly mentioned.

"When you don't touch it, nobody will bring it up; but when you do touch it, it won't be strictly prohibited either."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.