God's Imitator

According to the original plan, this game was supposed to be a two-lead, three-support arrangement, with Ye Lin and Lin Sizhi as the two veteran leads, and Zheng Chunhua, Qin Cheng, and Huang Shengjie rounding out the group.

But with no sign of Ye Lin or Lin Sizhi so far, they would simply have to make their own decisions.

Qin Cheng had always been a player with a clear head, so Zheng Chunhua was content to follow his lead.

”In that case, Uncle Zheng, I think you already know what needs to be done.”

Zheng Chunhua thought for a moment and said, ”As the Reviewer, I effectively have direct control over the flow of medication throughout all of Zone D, going by the rules.

”As long as I don’t purchase certain types, there is no way for those medications to reach the ordinary players in Zone D.

”So what I need to do going forward is, no matter what happens, only buy Type C and Type M from the Sales player, and push the price down as much as I can.

”There are two Doctors in Zone D, and I haven’t met the other one yet.

”I can ration the medication I pass to them according to what you advise, and that way no player in Zone D should face any serious risk from taking the drugs.”

Qin Cheng nodded and said, ”Exactly. In this game, that is precisely what the ’Reviewer’ identity is for.”One could even say that as long as the four Reviewers hold the line, no matter how badly other players behave, it won’t change the final outcome of this game.”

Zheng Chunhua’s expression grew somewhat troubled. He said, a little anxiously, ”If we’re only going by the rules, then yes, that’s true.

”But will things really be that straightforward?

”Would the Imitator really allow players to get through this so easily?”

Qin Cheng nodded and said, ”I’m also worried there may be methods hidden in the rules that allow players to bypass the Reviewer or force one into compliance.

”But worrying about that right now won’t help. All we can do is our best.”

Zheng Chunhua looked visibly tense.

He clearly had not expected to be assigned such a pivotal identity, one that could so directly and simply determine the fate of nearly a quarter of all the players in the game.

”So, what do we do with these medications?

”Should I only give you the Type C and Type M, or give you all of them and let you decide what to use?

”Type O and Type F do have side effects, but surely they can still be used in small amounts as prescription drugs?”

Qin Cheng considered for a moment and said, ”No, just give me Type C and Type M.

”Keep the Type O and Type F with you. Don’t pass them to me.

”Because once you hand those medications down to a Doctor, there is a risk that you let your guard down psychologically.

”You are the Reviewer, and you are the only line of defence protecting all of Zone D. The Doctor is not.

”Each zone has two Doctors. The moment even one Doctor starts selling OxyContin or fentanyl to patients, they bypass the other Doctor entirely and every patient becomes vulnerable.

”Because patients can also trade with each other.

”So, Uncle Zheng, the Type O and Type F medications stop with you. Do not pass them to anyone.

”That is the Reviewer’s responsibility, and it is a responsibility you have to carry.”

Zheng Chunhua’s expression wavered. He sat with the thought for a moment, then finally gave a nod and said, ”Alright. I’ll do my best.

”In that case, what price should we use for the medications between us?”

Qin Cheng was thoughtful for a moment and said, ”Chen Guangming sold you all four types bundled together for 3,000. That price should fall within the recommended retail range for those medications.

”Because according to the rules, if the selling party prices outside that range, they will have 10% deducted from their earnings when they leave the game.

”At this early stage of the game, Chen Guangming would have no reason to deliberately give up that 10%.

”The next time you see him, take a firm stance. Only buy Type M, so you can work out its recommended retail range.

”As for this transaction, Type C and Type M together, I’ll give you 1,800.”

Zheng Chunhua paused and said, ”I thought you might just halve it and offer around 1,500. Isn’t 1,800 a bit much? Chen Guangming’s price almost certainly had some profit built into it already.”

Qin Cheng explained, ”Halving outright isn’t the safest approach.

”My guess is that Type C and Type M will have a lower cost-to-effect ratio, meaning they’re more expensive relative to what they offer.

”The reason is that Type O and Type F are highly addictive, and the Imitator who designed this game almost certainly intends to use them to achieve some particular goal. That being the case, those two would likely be priced lower to encourage their use.

”Taking all of that into account, offering a bit more on our end is the safer bet.

”Of course, Uncle Zheng, you could also visit the other Sales player next time. Getting information from two sources at once will give you a more accurate picture.”

Zheng Chunhua nodded quickly and said, ”Understood. That makes sense.

”In a game like this, running into a teammate from the same community really is a stroke of luck.

”Though I’m a veteran player, and it should have been me helping you. Instead, you’re the one helping me. I have to say, I feel a little...”

Qin Cheng shook his head and said, ”We’re in the same community. Looking out for each other is just what we do. Don’t think too much of it, Uncle Zheng.

”Besides, this time it mainly happened to fall into my area of expertise. In some future game, I’ll almost certainly be the one leaning on your experience.”

The meeting time for the round came to an end. Qin Cheng and Zheng Chunhua completed their transaction, and Qin Cheng returned to his room with the Special Medication he had purchased.

Zone C.

Huang Shengjie made his way back to the Lounge once more.

He saw Zhang Yuan stepping out of his room and felt a surge of fury rise up in him. He strode over and glared at him.

”You absolute...”

Zhang Yuan’s expression was perfectly calm. He maintained a polite distance from Huang Shengjie and said, ”Please calm down. Unless you want to receive an instant-death penalty.”

Huang Shengjie kept his face hard, but there was genuinely nothing he could do to Zhang Yuan right now.

This was already the fourth round.

And Huang Shengjie still had not managed to get through the Treatment Room door.

In the first round, he had offered 500 Medical Points and received no response. In the second round, he had held back on making a request, worried that being seen with the Doctor would get him excluded by the other Lounge players. In the third round, he had steeled himself and offered 3,000 Medical Points, and still received no response.

Before this fourth round began, he had gritted his teeth and put forward 5,000 Medical Points.

To come up with that sum, Huang Shengjie had spent an additional 10,000 minutes of visa time to top up 5,000 more Medical Points.

He had no choice. The situation was now a matter of life and death, and there was no room left to think about conserving visa time.

As far as Huang Shengjie was concerned, 5,000 Medical Points should be more than enough to get that door open, no matter what.

Each zone had two Doctors, and strictly speaking, Huang Shengjie only needed to compete against two other patients for access to one of them.

Those two patients were Zhang Yuan, and the player in the VIP room who had never once come out.

Under normal circumstances, both of them should already have met with the Doctor by now, and there was no logical reason for either of them to be offering more than 5,000.

Huang Shengjie genuinely wanted to see the Doctor, but he could not throw everything at the door-opening bribe, because once inside, the Doctor would very likely continue to push for a high price on the medication itself. He had to keep some budget in reserve for the actual purchase.

And yet 5,000 Medical Points had still not opened the Treatment Room door. The only explanation was that Zhang Yuan, or the player in the VIP room, had arranged something with the Doctor to shut all the other patients out.

Zhang Yuan looked at Huang Shengjie and Zhou Xiaoying and said, ”I apologise.

”You’ve both probably worked out what happened by now. I am Infected, and I did deceive you.

”But I had no other choice. If I hadn’t, with only me as the Infected player, I would inevitably have been excluded, and any possibility of cooperation between us would have been gone.

”Now, as a way of making it up to you both,

”I obtained medication from the Doctor, and I’m willing to sell it to you.”

As he spoke, Zhang Yuan reached into his pocket and produced two small white bottles, holding them out for the two of them to see.