God's Imitator

Lu Bingjun was visibly taken aback as well. He lowered his head in thought for a moment, ”So many people have reservations about this motion?

”But it’s not a particularly sensitive issue. Why didn’t anyone voice any opposition during the discussion?

”Well, regardless, voting against a motion is a basic right the community grants to every player, and exercising it is entirely legitimate.

”If that many people are not in favour, we could consider putting forward another motion to rescind this one.

”We can take our time with it.”

Wen Wan paused, then shook her head, ”Is that really necessary?

”If a rescission motion were put forward, the vote would almost certainly come out the other way, 6 to 9.

”The community rule has always been that a majority is enough to pass. That hasn’t changed, and there’s no reason to make an exception now.

”Besides, this motion isn’t asking for anything unreasonable.

”It’s simply asking everyone to share their thoughts and speak for one minute. If anyone has a specific objection, they can raise it and we’ll discuss it.”Lu Bingjun gave a nod, ”Yes, if anyone has a clear and specific concern, please bring it forward and we’ll talk it through. As long as the majority can be persuaded, the motion can be rescinded.”

People glanced at each other, but no one spoke.

Lin Sizhi had already taken a seat at the long table, ”There’s no point spending time on this. Let’s follow the result of the vote.”

Lu Bingjun nodded, ”Alright. Then we’ll leave the motion as it stands for now. If anyone has a strong objection but feels uncomfortable raising it openly, you’re welcome to bring it privately to any of the community’s core game players and we’ll find a way to address it.

”Until and unless the motion is voted down, we will of course follow its requirements.

”As it happens, Lawyer Lin’s sharing of the S-tier Role-Play Game gives us a natural opportunity to try out the new rule and see in practice whether it’s as problematic as some may fear.

”Consider it a trial period. People’s views may shift once they’ve actually experienced it.”

Everyone settled into their seats at the long table.

With the motion now passed, it would take effect from this very discussion, meaning each player now needed to think seriously about what they would say for their one minute.

And it wasn’t as simple as picking any topic, because everyone would naturally be speaking in some kind of order. If a previous player had already covered a particular point, the next person would need to find something different.

This effectively required every player to identify at least three or four angles they could actually develop into discussion.

The expressions around the table were noticeably more focused than they had been at the start.

Lin Sizhi began his account in an even, unhurried tone.

”The ‘King’s Judgment’ was the second game we experienced after joining the community, coming directly after the first game, ‘Blood Poker’.

”It was also the first Judgment Game we encountered.

”In this game, three players from our community participated as offenders.

”Two others, including myself, participated as audience members.”

Lin Sizhi gave a straightforward account of the events in the ‘King’s Judgment’, holding nothing back, but offering nothing extra either.

Lu Qi was the first to raise her hand, ”So, in the end, Ding Wenqiang was voted to his death, and Cai Zhiyuan and Wang Yongxin made it back to the community safely?

”Out of the five offenders, two died and one was seriously injured.

”That really is, quite brutal.”

Huang Shengjie gave her a somewhat surprised look, ”You’ve suddenly become very vocal. I’m still adjusting.”

Qin Cheng’s expression was slightly odd, ”Are you deliberately using this as a way to fill time?”

Lu Qi looked a little sheepish, ”Ah, was it that obvious?”

There were smiles around the room that didn’t quite know whether to laugh or sigh, and more than one player who had been genuinely thinking through the game’s content found their train of thought derailed.

Qin Cheng, however, showed no sign of mockery. He looked more thoughtful than anything, ”Actually, that approach of yours isn’t bad at all. I mean that sincerely, not as sarcasm.

”Finding ways to work within the rules is a fundamental skill in the Gallery.

”Since the motion only requires one minute of speaking during a discussion and places no restrictions on the content, finding ways to fill the time is a legitimate strategy.

”Getting in ahead of others before they’ve gathered their thoughts, summarising the key points of the game, raising a few surface-level questions, that all falls within the scope of ’genuine participation,’ and it counts toward the time.”

Lu Bingjun also smiled despite himself and gave a light clap, ”Alright, it is a reasonable strategy, and I have no objection to it.

”This motion is aimed at the Imitator, not at making ordinary players feel pressured.

”Filling some time in a measured way is acceptable, but let’s not stray too far.

”We should get back to discussing the game seriously.

”Lu Qi, summing it all up as ’quite brutal’ is not enough on its own.

”If we’re talking about brutal, ‘Remorse Poker’ was far more brutal, and that was only rated A, not S.

”Let’s try to bring the discussion back to where it needs to be.”

Ye Lin had been frowning in thought since a little while earlier, and now for the first time a clearly visible expression of surprise appeared on her face.

”So, Lawyer Lin, the Imitator from your original region produced an S-tier game as early as the second game?”

She was clearly more struck by the timing than by any specific detail of the game itself.

”No wonder the intensity of your original region ended up the way it did.

”Game designs are published to all communities after the fact, so the more high-rated games there are, the faster the players and Imitators in that region develop, and that creates an unavoidable chain reaction.

”Simply put, it’s a case of one fast move leading to every move being fast.

”A single top-tier Imitator disrupted the entire rhythm of a region, causing the intensity of competition between Imitators and players to rise sharply across the board.

”And that is how the gap in intensity between different regions opened up so quickly.”

Zhang Yan’s expression grew noticeably more serious.

”Wang Yongxin, we saw his performance in the ‘Jury Game’ with our own eyes. On the whole, he’s a player at a fairly elite level.

”But even he was powerless in this game, and came close to dying.

”Putting the two things side by side makes it feel even more striking.

”S-tier games are just too precisely targeted. Even a player of that calibre had no way to fight back.”

Ye Lin considered for a moment, ”It’s also possible that Wang Yongxin developed rapidly after this game.

”Lawyer Lin himself said as much: his own growth was shaped in part by this game.

”Perhaps what we’re seeing now is the fully developed version of Wang Yongxin, and what he was back then was a much earlier form.”

Qin Cheng said, his expression thoughtful, ”I had a fairly high opinion of the ‘Jury Game’ as an S-tier game, but seeing this now, even within the same rating, the difference is noticeable.

”A different player entering the ‘King’s Judgment’ probably wouldn’t have changed the outcome. This game most likely had only one possible ending.”