God's Imitator

In the past, Huang Shengjie had experienced something resembling phantom pain, where the pain seemed to have been fully suppressed but a faint, indistinct ache still seemed to linger.

But on careful examination, it had always been possible to tell them apart.

He had initially assumed this was the same thing, but after paying close attention to what he was feeling, he found that the pain genuinely had not fully disappeared. It was still faintly there, though very mild.

Time was limited, and the window for making a decision was short.

The pain lasted only one minute. If complete pain relief was not achieved within that minute, the three-consecutive-round cure rule would not activate.

Which could lead to catastrophic consequences.

Huang Shengjie had no choice. After a brief moment of thought, he tipped out another Type O tablet and forced it into his mouth while the pain was still active.

This time, the pain finally disappeared completely.

Huang Shengjie let out a long breath. He had taken two Type O tablets in the same round, but at least this round had achieved complete pain relief. Two more rounds and he would be cured.

But almost immediately after the game’s designated pain window ended, the crawling, ant-like withdrawal pain came back.And it was even stronger than before.

”For the love of, when does this end?”

Huang Shengjie gripped the bottle in his hand with a surge of irritation. He desperately wanted to take another Type O tablet, but in the end he held himself back through sheer force of will.

And at the same time, he could feel his situation deteriorating further.

The withdrawal pain caused by the medication’s side effects would keep growing stronger.

Continuing to take Type O could temporarily eliminate the withdrawal pain, but it almost certainly meant that the next episode of withdrawal would come sooner and hit harder.

”I’ve already needed two Type O tablets to achieve complete pain relief. If I keep taking without restraint, it might not be long before I need three or four tablets to fully suppress the pain.

”That kind of escalation is a bottomless pit.

”If Qian Li decides to raise her prices and exploit the situation, the Medical Points I’d need to pay could become an astronomical figure I simply couldn’t afford.

”Hold on. That’s right, hold on.

”I’ll only take medication when the game’s rules are actually causing Special Pain. Nothing else.”

But even as his rational mind told him he had to endure, actually doing so was far easier said than done.

This had very little to do with willpower. No matter how strong a person’s willpower was, it was simply not equipped to fight against physiological instinct.

And then the broadcast came on.

Upon hearing its content, Huang Shengjie was first surprised, then filled with a sudden surge of elation.

[A player has chosen to spend all Medical Points to accuse an Imitator.]

Although the method for ’Identifying the Imitator’ had been clearly written into the rules at the start of the game, no player had used it until now, and many had even forgotten the rule existed.

Because after gaining even a basic understanding of the game’s mechanics, most players could quickly see that it was nearly impossible to pull off.

The forty players were divided across four different zones, and even within the same zone, meeting with each other was far from guaranteed.

Each player could only meet with those in adjacent rooms.

Patients had the broadest access, but even they could only see six other players at most.

Although the ’Monitor’ and ’Call’ functions existed, their conditions of use were quite restrictive.

Finding the Imitator under those circumstances was as close to impossible as made no difference.

But the broadcast still set Huang Shengjie’s heart alight.

Because the game was fast approaching a dead end, and in the final hour or so remaining, things could only get worse.

Right now, breaking the deadlock had only one path: find and kill the Imitator.

”Either way, this player gave up all their Medical Points to make the accusation. They must have found some concrete evidence.

”If more than twenty players spend 2,000 points to vote ’Verify,’ the system will check and the Imitator will be killed.

”The reward for killing the Imitator would certainly far exceed that cost.”

Huang Shengjie forced down the withdrawal pain and listened carefully.

[As this is the first Imitator accusation in this game, the relevant rules will be re-stated for all players.]

[The initial accusation window is 1 minute. Other players may swipe their Medical Card on any device in any room at any time to vote, choosing either ’Verify’ or ’Do Not Verify.’]

[Choosing ’Verify’ will automatically deduct 2,000 Medical Points.]

[For every 5 players who choose ’Verify,’ the accusation window will be extended by 1 minute, up to a maximum of 5 minutes.]

[When a cumulative total of 20 players choose ’Verify,’ the system will automatically check the accused player’s identity.]

[If verified: the Imitator will receive a death penalty.]

[If not verified: the deducted Medical Points will not be returned.]

[Accusation begins.]

The relevant rules had been broadcast at the start of the game, and the details were also available on the function screens of various devices, though many players may not have paid close attention, so the rules were being restated.

Shortly after, a voice came through.

The accusation function did not provide any visual, and even the voice had been specially processed.

Other players could swipe their Medical Cards on any device, deducting 2,000 Medical Points to cast a ’Verify’ vote.

The initial accusation window was only one minute. Only if enough players voted to ’Verify’ would the window be extended.

Despite the special processing, there was still an unmistakable quality in the broadcast voice, the desperate edge of someone staking everything on a single throw.

”I am accusing Sales player Chen Guangming of being the Imitator who designed this game!

”From the very beginning, he seemed to know almost every aspect of the game mechanics inside out, including the specific effects and details of every medication.

”He used this to manipulate the Reviewers in Zones C and D and flood both zones with highly addictive Special Medications.

”If he didn’t have some kind of special inside knowledge, how could Zone C have fallen without any meaningful resistance? And how could Zone D have been breached from within by the patients?

”His real-world profession is Sales. He has no relevant medical expertise whatsoever. There is absolutely no reason he should have been able to identify the differences between these medications in such a short time.

”So please, everyone, trust me. Verify Chen Guangming.

”In this game, many players, just like me, have been deceived by these people, become addicted to the medication, and had their Medical Points and even their visa time stripped away to almost nothing.

”Only by identifying and killing the Imitator can we leave this game safely...”

But before he could finish speaking, the broadcast was cut off.

The one minute had elapsed.

The player had spoken in a somewhat scattered and disjointed way, wasting a good portion of the time. Under these conditions, one minute had been cruelly short.

Fewer than five players had cast ’Verify’ votes, so no extension was triggered, and the threshold for activating the verification mechanism was never reached.

Whether or not Chen Guangming was the Imitator, he would emerge unscathed.