God's Imitator

Of course, since this game was very much a case of rookies going up against rookies, there was also a real possibility that the opposing player might make a mental error or an operational mistake and fail to achieve the optimal arrangement.

In that case, Community 2 would have an advantage of roughly 14 units of raw material over the other side.

That advantage was significant. More raw materials delivered meant more products that could be manufactured and more Gold Pounds earned, and it also allowed more Contraband to be mixed in for additional profit.

The steam train continued making its trips back and forth with the cargo cars. The mist outside remained thick, and there was no sign of Huang Shengjie returning.

Zhou Wanlin had no way of knowing what was happening with the others. She could only wait.

Because she could not leave. The moment she stepped away from the steam train, it would come to a halt and everything she had set up would be wasted.

Beyond that, once the raw materials had been fully delivered, she would still have to make her way to the Inspection Room to complete the inspection process and hand the materials over to Yao Yuan and He Qinyun in the cells.

All she could do was keep watch over the steam train’s progress while continuing to turn the game rules and possible shifts in the situation over in her mind.

Meanwhile, inside the main prison structure, in Community 2’s cell block.

The mechanical roar echoed constantly through the space. Players in the ’Prisoner’ role had to stand close together and speak loudly just to be heard, and the unrelenting noise was maddening, making it genuinely difficult to think.Yao Yuan and He Qinyun were studying the floor plan on the wall, thinking through their strategy.

Like the players outside, they had each collected a Worker Badge, but they had received no starting Gold Pounds, and they could not leave the cell block.

The cell block was a spacious L-shaped room with four doors, leading respectively to the ’Raw Materials Holding Area,’ the ’Medical Room,’ ’Solitary Confinement,’ and the ’Prison Exit.’

In the room stood a large machine connected to the workshop, with a solid and complex mechanical structure and a dedicated operations console. Raw materials fed in through the supply port would be automatically converted into Gold Pounds.

He Qinyun tried each of the doors in the room and checked the notice boards beside them, finding that most could only be opened by meeting specific conditions.

The ’Solitary Confinement’ door opened upon triggering a Minor Violation.

The ’Medical Room’ door opened when a player’s health condition was poor.

The ’Raw Materials Holding Area’ door was different, remaining freely openable under normal circumstances. However, entering it served no purpose at the moment, since the door connecting the Holding Area to the Inspection Room was locked and impassable. Materials could only be collected once the players outside actually sent them through.

As for the door leading out of the cell block, it was located roughly in the lower right corner of the cell block, directly below the right-side overhead walkway, and had a cash deposit slot and a small notice board beside it.

[During Rounds One, Two, and Three, paying 10,000 Gold Pounds grants release from the prison. The player’s status changes to ’Worker’ and they may continue participating in subsequent rounds.]

[Immunity from outdoor severe pain is granted for 10 minutes after exiting.]

Since neither Yao Yuan nor He Qinyun had received any starting Gold Pounds, they would have to wait until raw materials arrived and enough Gold Pounds had been earned before either of them could afford to pay that sum.

The two returned to the venue floor plan and resumed thinking through their strategy.

Yao Yuan spoke first, ”Whatever our standing may be within the community, in this game I will do everything I can to work with you.

”We can’t leave the cell block at the moment, so there isn’t much we can do. But here’s my thinking.

”Based on the rules, this game should allow smuggling, meaning physically carrying materials yourself. Otherwise there would be no reason to include the violation for being ’touched by an opposing player while carrying Contraband.’

”I don’t know exactly what the players outside will do, but if smuggling is possible, the only way into here is through the window bars. We need to be ready to receive whatever comes through.

”Our cell block has two windows. One in Solitary Confinement and one in the Medical Room.

”Huang Shengjie and the others will almost certainly try the cell block windows first, but it may not go smoothly, in which case the Medical Room window becomes a backup option.

”Our community’s lounge is at the bottom of the venue, which puts it closer to the lower-left and lower-right windows in terms of distance, giving us something of an advantage there.

”On top of that, the opposing community’s players may also try to throw Contraband into the Medical Room. If they do, we can attempt to intercept it.

”So we need to be ready on two fronts. You stay in the cell block, and I’ll go to the Medical Room.”

The mechanical roar in the room was deafening, so the two of them had to stand close together and speak as loudly as they could just to be understood.

He Qinyun nodded, ”Yes, I agree.

”But the question is how to actually get into the Medical Room.”

Yao Yuan said nothing. He thought for a moment, then walked up to the large machine connected to the workshop.

And then, he raised his left hand and slammed it hard against a sharp edge of the machine.

Yao Yuan let out a muffled grunt, barely audible over the industrial roar, but his left palm had been sliced open and was bleeding freely.

He Qinyun started and moved quickly toward him, though she immediately understood that this was in fact the fastest way to gain access to the Medical Room.

”I’m going in. You watch the cell block window and the Holding Area, and be ready to receive materials at any moment.”

Yao Yuan swiped his Worker Badge at the door, and sure enough, the Medical Room door opened without resistance.

He stepped inside at once and scanned the room quickly, soon locating bandages and basic topical haemostatic medication.

It was clear that his approach had been entirely anticipated by whoever designed the game. The Imitator had made sure to stock the Medical Room with the appropriate supplies from the outset.

Yao Yuan picked up the bandages from the table and began dressing his own wound.

Three or four minutes later, the door on the opposite side of the room opened.

A male player from Community 23 stepped in. He had a conspicuous wound on the inner side of his left forearm, also bleeding.

Both of them froze for a moment. The scene was briefly awkward.

The other player reached for the medication and bandages and quietly began dressing his own wound.

Yao Yuan looked at the Worker Badge on the other player’s chest.

[Community 23, Li Mao.]

”Care to have a chat?”

Out in the field, Huang Shengjie and Zhou Xiaoying were still at a standstill.

Zhou Xiaoying was reluctant to abandon the raw materials she had spent Gold Pounds on, but she did not dare leave the Safe Zone either. With nothing she could do, she was left passing the time in idle conversation with Huang Shengjie.

”So your community actually has all the medications locked down?

”You can’t buy them even if you want to?

”And after you pushed through withdrawal for a long time, the pain actually eased up?

”That sounds impossible. Like something from a fairy tale.

”You’re not making this up, are you?”

Zhou Xiaoying stared at Huang Shengjie with an expression of utter disbelief.

Huang Shengjie said, matter-of-factly, ”Why would I make it up?

”The way I see it, whether or not you can get through withdrawal mainly depends on your environment.

”You saw how I performed in the Pain Game. I’m not exactly someone with extraordinary willpower.

”If I’d been surrounded by the medications this whole time, I definitely wouldn’t have held out.

”But if the medications simply aren’t there in the community, you muddle through somehow, don’t you?”

Zhou Xiaoying lowered her head in thought, ”Hmm, that actually does make some sense. In a lot of films and dramas I’ve seen, when it comes to this kind of situation, it’s either about having a strong enough will, or being forced to abstain by an outside power.

”Environment really is an important factor.”

Huang Shengjie sensed an opening and pressed on while the moment was right, ”So what’s the situation in your community? Do they let everyone buy the medications freely?”