God's Imitator

Li Renshu looked at the other three. Obviously, Lin Sizhi, Wei Yinzhang, and Cai Zhiyuan all didn’t intend to make a final decision on this issue.

The reasoning was clear, and everyone understood it, but what specifically to do was another matter.

Li Renshu thought seriously for a very long time and finally said, ”Then... in the end, I’ll still ask Yuting’s opinion.

”We’ll ultimately go with her opinion.”

After going around in a circle of discussion, they returned to square one.

However, Li Renshu making this decision also had its reasons: although the latter scenario had a higher ceiling, it indeed required Yang Yuting’s active cooperation.

If Yang Yuting became dissatisfied and was unwilling to be the opposition faction’s core performing a double act with the five-person group, the destructive power it would produce on the community might similarly be considerable.

”Let’s end it here today. I’ll privately communicate with Yuting. If there’s any progress, I’ll notify everyone.”

Li Renshu stood up and opened the door. Everyone left one after another.

...The three days right after the game ended were the most leisurely time in the community.

The next game would start about a week later, so probably around the third or fourth day, players would start feeling more obvious tension and anxiety.

Yang Yuting stood in front of the vending machine, checking the product listings above, considering whether the dishes for this gathering could have any changes compared to before.

Although everyone felt somewhat disappointed by Wang Yongxin’s departure, there were after all three new members joining this time, and there was also the joyous occasion of Zhou Guifen and Shen Xing’s mother-daughter reunion. A gathering was of course indispensable.

Moreover, the discount coupon was still in effect and would continue until two days after the ’Tarot Game’ ended.

So gathering at this time was undoubtedly the best opportunity.

”Do you have time? There’s something I want to discuss with you.”

Yang Yuting turned around and saw it was Li Renshu.

”Ah, sure.”

She closed the page on the vending machine and went to the small room on the first floor together with Li Renshu.

...

Lin Sizhi sat down on the single-person sofa near the floor-to-ceiling window and picked up a book to read.

Zheng Jie also sat down diagonally across, likewise reading a book.

The daylight in the community was always very good during the day, and one could often see people jogging outside.

”Zheng Jie.

”How long have you been in this place?”

Lin Sizhi’s sudden question made Zheng Jie freeze for a moment.

He tried hard to recall, ”More than two months, less than three, I think?

”Lawyer Lin, you all should have come about two weeks before me, right? So that would be exactly three months, right?”

Lin Sizhi nodded, ”Yes, not a long time, but it feels like a very long time has already passed.”

There was no calendar in the community, nor seasonal changes, so the perception of time was somewhat distinctly different from the real world.

Sometimes one felt time passed quickly, sometimes very slowly.

And for Zheng Jie, it was obviously the latter situation more often.

Zheng Jie remarked emotionally, ”I often feel like every day is like a year.

”After all, in this high-pressure environment, every day I’m thinking about many things.”

Lin Sizhi thought about it and asked, ”In biology, is there a similar concept? For example, when animals are in high-intensity environments, they’re forced by pressure to rapidly change and become quite different from before?”

Zheng Jie was stunned, ”Hm? Why are you asking about this?

”If I really have to say, there indeed is, for example... phenotypic plasticity or rapid adaptive evolution?

”Phenotypic plasticity refers to the ability of the same genotype to potentially produce different phenotypes under different environmental conditions. It doesn’t involve changes in DNA sequences, but can rapidly adapt by adjusting gene expression, metabolic pathways, and such.

”Rapid adaptive evolution means a biological population, through the action of natural selection over a relatively short time, rapidly accumulates evolutionarily advantageous heritable traits. This is quite different from the traditional view that evolution must rely on quite a long time.”

Speaking to this point, Zheng Jie suddenly understood, ”So Lawyer Lin, you’re talking about that topic we chatted about last night?

”Players without growth potential, no matter how hard they work on reviews, might not have much improvement.

”While those players with growth potential mostly grow rapidly within a few games, then permanently stabilize.

”Just like ’rapid adaptive evolution.’”

Lin Sizhi nodded, ”Yes, exactly.

”Sometimes I also often wonder, if we hadn’t come to this place but continued living in the real world, what kind of lives would we be living?

”Perhaps many of the ’enemies’ we see in the Gallery are in reality just harmless passersby, or even friends with a nodding acquaintance.”

Zheng Jie asked, ”For example?”

Lin Sizhi looked at him, ”For example, Wang Weidong.”

Zheng Jie nodded, ”Oh, indeed. However, I’m more curious, what kind of person were you in reality, Lawyer Lin?

”I haven’t seen you have any growth potential in this place. You’ve been ridiculously strong from the very beginning.”

Lin Sizhi was silent for a moment, ”I also can’t say for sure.

”Actually, those things in reality, in my feeling, have instead become more and more distant.

”Instead, this place makes me feel clearer and clearer, more and more real.”

Zheng Jie froze, then said approvingly, ”That’s quite good!

”Although people who ’adapt to this godforsaken place’ would be somewhat scary, if it’s you, Lawyer Lin, then there’s no problem! Moreover, it will make us feel more secure.

”After all, a method for theoretically leaving here and returning to the real world has appeared. If Lawyer Lin you like it here... no, no one should like this godforsaken place, right? If you adapt to this place, perhaps you could stay a bit longer and lead us through a few more games.

”If you really hate it here, you might quickly find a way to leave.

”Although saying this might seem somewhat selfish... I still hope everyone can leave here together. Who knows, we might become very good friends in reality too.”

Lin Sizhi smiled, ”That’s not selfish, it’s just a very normal thought.”

Just then, Li Renshu and Yang Yuting came out of the room.

Li Renshu came to the center of the hall and clapped her hands, ”Everyone pause for a moment. I have an announcement!

”Tomorrow is the last day of the discount coupon, so the most sumptuous gathering since entering the community will be set for tomorrow evening!

”We’ll start preparing and purchasing corresponding supplies tomorrow afternoon. If anyone has anything they want to eat, feel free to bring it up. We’ll try our best to satisfy everyone!

”This gathering is both to welcome new members and to celebrate Auntie Zhou’s mother-daughter reunion. We also hope everyone can temporarily put aside the anxious emotions accumulated in the game and relax properly.

”After the gathering ends, that is, the day after tomorrow, we’ll make some adjustments and changes to the community’s proposals and personnel arrangements. We’ll tell everyone then.

”In any case, everyone can start thinking about tomorrow’s gathering!”

Zheng Jie was very happy, ”Great! After waiting nearly a week, we’ve finally waited for this meal!”

Up to now, the two people who left the community, Fu Chen and Wang Yongxin, had neither died, and looking back, both had fairly decent destinations. So the community’s atmosphere quickly became lively again.