Chapter 35: Seeking Self-Preservation

Yang Yuting fell into a long silence; clearly, she was thinking.

Regarding the "Five-Person Group," Li Renshu had claimed that because they didn't want public discussions to cause trouble for Ding Wenqiang, they had first held a brief private "touch-base" and only made the proposal public for everyone to vote on and discuss after careful consideration.

While this explanation seemed somewhat reasonable, among the members of this community, perhaps only Ding Wenqiang and Su Xiucen would believe it without reservation.

Others would, at most, believe only half of it.

Moreover, the selection of members for this five-person group was indeed quite calculated.

Wang Yongxin possessed high sensitivity, so he was the first to realize this; although Yang Yuting hadn't paid much attention initially, being pointed out now allowed her to belatedly recall certain clues from before.

Yang Yuting looked up at Wang Yongxin. "Why did you choose to talk to me about this?"

Wang Yongxin appeared sincere. "Because among the remaining people, I think you are a smart person. The cost of communication might be lower, and you are more likely to share my stance.

"Furthermore, there are many things I might only be able to accomplish by relying on you."

Yang Yuting nodded. "You're right. We do share some similar philosophies.

"And...

"You want to use me to gather as many of the remaining people as possible? After all, women make up the majority of this group."

Wang Yongxin was somewhat surprised, seemingly not expecting Yang Yuting to figure it out so quickly, but he soon nodded with a smile. "Exactly. Talking to smart people is convenient."

The so-called "similar philosophies" was more accurately described as "similar social strata."

Before entering the New World, Wang Yongxin was the owner of a startup, while Yang Yuting was a senior executive.

To put it simply, they were both "wealthy people," or rather, they had both been part of the "decision-making layer" or "management" within their companies.

Therefore, even if the two had not interacted much previously, they would naturally confirm that their perspectives were aligned.

—Just as Ding Wenqiang and Su Xiucen would also have that natural sense of similarity.

Aside from the "Five-Person Group," the remaining people were: Jiang He, Wang Yongxin, Qin Yao, Su Xiucen, Xu Tong, Ding Wenqiang, and Yang Yuting.

Because there was only one woman, Li Renshu, in the "Five-Person Group," it resulted in women making up the vast majority of the remaining seven.

The only male, Ding Wenqiang, was also on very bad terms with Wang Yongxin.

Thus, if Wang Yongxin wanted to unite the remaining seven to some extent, he had to use Yang Yuting to win over the other women.

Especially Xu Tong, Qin Yao, and Jiang He.

Sorting through these issues was not difficult for Yang Yuting.

She thought for a moment and then asked, "So, what kind of goal do you want to achieve?

"Topple this five-person clique?"

Wang Yongxin shook his head repeatedly. "No, no, no. I'm not looking to cause a split; I'm just seeking 'self-preservation.'

"If the seven of us continue to remain as isolated individuals, we will be like meat on a chopping block.

"If we can reach some kind of consensus early on and organize ourselves to a certain degree, then each of us will be safer.

"At the very least, if we are ever targeted for plunder, we can unite to resist immediately."

Yang Yuting nodded. "I see. You mean you want me to get as close to the others as possible, especially Xu Tong, Qin Yao, and Jiang He.

"If we can form a similarly cohesive small group, then at least on major issues, we will have the power to contend and prevent our interests from being harmed."

Wang Yongxin nodded. "Exactly. In the short term, there is nothing we can do, nor do we need to do anything.

"However, it is always necessary to prepare for a rainy day."

Yang Yuting asked again, "Why didn't you choose to join that five-person group? With your abilities, you should be able to gain a certain amount of influence there.

"You might even be able to replace someone in there after a while, like... Cai Zhiyuan?"

Wang Yongxin shook his head. "It's difficult; it's a complex issue.

"The composition of an organization isn't determined solely by ability; one must also consider division of labor, mutual trust, and seniority.

"From a small company to a large nation, are capable people always absorbed into management? It's actually more likely that they aren't.

"There will always be issues of interest distribution within an organization. If you aren't at the table, you're on the menu. Often, it's not that people don't want you at the table, but that there are only so many seats, and who are you planning to push out? So, you end up on the menu.

"In short, I am not suited for that place, and they do not welcome me. Otherwise, it wouldn't be the case that no one has extended an olive branch to me.

"Similarly, the other six, including you, cannot enter that small group.

"Because five people is its limit."

Yang Yuting lowered her head in deep thought for a long time before finally saying, "Fine. We can reach a preliminary agreement on this matter.

"I will increase my contact with the others.

"If there is any progress later, we will discuss it immediately."

Wang Yongxin stood up, opened the door, and looked outside.

"You should head back first. I'll wait a few more minutes to avoid running into anyone."

Just as Yang Yuting was about to leave, she suddenly thought of something and asked, "One last question.

"When the Community Security Fund was voted on earlier, were you the one who cast the opposing vote?"

Wang Yongxin felt somewhat helpless. "Is my persona really that stable? No, it wasn't me."

Yang Yuting nodded. "It's fine, I was just asking. There's a troublemaker in the community who always makes me feel a bit uneasy."

Wang Yongxin didn't mind. "Heh, I actually think that might not be a bad thing.

"How do you know he's definitely a troublemaker? It's possible he simply dislikes the process by which the proposal is being pushed through and is too embarrassed to express it publicly.

"Since the community grants each of us equal voting rights, casting an opposing vote is, of course, everyone's freedom.

"Let it go this time, but if next time, or the time after that, every single proposal from the five-person group passes with a unanimous vote... that would be much more terrifying, wouldn't it?"

...

Lin Sizhi returned to his room and first opened his private computer to check his remaining visa time.

[297 days - 19 hours 25 minutes]

Seeing this time, Lin Sizhi fell silent for a moment.

Because there was an extra month.

Lin Sizhi's initial visa time was 117 days, and the visa time earned from "Blood Poker" after deducting the Community Security Fund was approximately 143 days.

Together, they totaled about 260 days.

There was only one explanation for the extra 37 days

A player had died in the game "Blood Poker," and their visa time had been transferred by the Corridor to Lin Sizhi, the game designer.

The mortality rate of "Blood Poker" itself was extremely low, as the only way to die was to gamble with one's own life by drawing blood until death.

But clearly, no matter how safe a game is, there will always be people who repeatedly seek their own demise.

Although, judging by the Corridor's intentions, this game was meant to complete the distribution of visa time and did not encourage excessive casualties, the Corridor wouldn't care about the death of an individual player like this.

However, this also brought Lin Sizhi's remaining visa time to a rather exaggerated figure.

Of course, Lin Sizhi had already obtained an S-rank evaluation, allowing him to freely hide the visa time he earned through his identity as a Mimic, so there was no need to worry about exposure.

But he still wanted to earn as much visa time as possible in the games.

On one hand, as the game designer, he had long since prepared loopholes for himself; acquiring large amounts of visa time would allow him to be more composed when facing other games.

On the other hand, this could also serve to hide his identity well.

Some might think that after becoming the "God's Mimic," one must keep a low profile and avoid earning too much visa time in games.

After all, the higher the profile, the more attention one attracts, making it more likely that their identity will be uncovered.

But Lin Sizhi did not think so.

Because in the process of designing games, the God's Mimic would inevitably kill players.

And as the game progressed, the visa time held by players would increase, meaning the visa time obtained after killing a player would also increase.

If he always kept a low profile and never obtained much visa time in games, it would actually be easier to expose himself when using special strategies or spending visa time lavishly during a game.

If he never used this hidden visa time, it would be equivalent to wasting the advantage of the Mimic identity.

Therefore, creating the impression that "he already has a lot of visa time" was also beneficial for hiding his identity.

In addition, the more visa time Lin Sizhi earned, the stronger his presence and the higher his status within this community group, which would make it easier to integrate into the core group.

And easier to protect himself.

Just like this morning, Lin Sizhi was the only person invited besides the four-person group, which was clearly directly related to his profession and his performance in the game.

Having drunk some red wine during the lunch gathering, Lin Sizhi now felt somewhat drowsy and fell into a deep sleep on his bed.

...

An hour or so later, Lin Sizhi woke up.

Pulling back the curtains, the time was now 3:43 PM.

Coming to the study, Lin Sizhi found that new information had appeared on the computer screen.

(End of Chapter)