Chapter 56: Targeted

Both fell into silence as they heard footsteps approaching from behind.

"Officer Cao, Lawyer Lin.

"What are you two chatting about?"

Fu Chen sat down in an empty seat nearby.

"Heh, couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd chat with Lawyer Lin about the case."

Cao Haichuan lit another cigarette. He glanced sideways at Fu Chen, and after confirming he had come alone, he continued, "We were just discussing why the 'King's Trial' game includes a 'Farmer's Walk' segment."

Clearly, as a criminal investigator, Cao Haichuan possessed high sensitivity; discussions regarding the case were not something he shared with just anyone.

If the person arriving hadn't been Fu Chen, he likely would have ended the conversation.

Among the twelve people in the community, although they had all known each other for the same amount of time, there were varying degrees of trust and intimacy.

Just as Su Xiucen and Ding Wenqiang, being the two oldest members of the community, naturally had closer relationships with one another than with anyone else.

To Cao Haichuan, Fu Chen, Lin Sizhi, and Li Renshu were people he relatively trusted, which is why he was willing to share some of his views.

Of course, he could have chosen not to share with anyone and simply thought in silence; that would have been absolutely safe.

However, everyone's abilities are limited, and it takes collective wisdom to fully utilize everyone's talents.

Players against an imitator is inherently an unbalanced confrontation; the imitator's advantage is too great.

If the players chose to fight solo, they would have no chance of winning.

Cao Haichuan was well aware of this, which is why many of his speculations ultimately had to be voiced to those he trusted.

Fu Chen clearly hadn't thought that deeply and followed Cao Haichuan's lead: "'Farmer's Walk'? Haven't we already discussed that topic?

"That preliminary game segment is a hint from the game designer.

"It hints that there is actually a way for all five people to pass the game together.

"Of course, besides that, I think it has other symbolic meanings. For example, every time the player in the lead presses the button, it shortens the time for the next stage.

"It's a bit like the exploitation of big data algorithms in food delivery, where the fastest riders are used to set the standard, creating a sort of 'involution' mechanism.

"This also ties into the theme of judgment in this game: making everyone except Uncle Ding experience the terror of being dominated by big data algorithms and involution.

"At the same time, it's a test for the first player: if he waits until the countdown is almost over to press the button, all players can obtain a more generous amount of game time, which is equivalent to breaking the environment of involution in a sense.

"Oh, and another thing—in the original world, the king is 'the wise rule the many, and the strong rule the wise,' but the Farmer's Walk game reverses this by filtering for the person with the most physical strength to become king, which is the opposite of reality.

"All these explanations seem to hold water, right?"

Cao Haichuan nodded. "Mhm, indeed. Then do you think this game is fair?"

Fu Chen was stunned. "Why are we back to fairness again? Didn't Brother Wang say that none of these judgment games are absolutely fair?"

Lin Sizhi accurately understood Cao Haichuan's meaning. "Judgment games indeed have no such thing as absolute fairness.

"But this game is exceptionally unfair.

"What Officer Cao means is that this game actually only has one possible outcome: Uncle Ding wins."

Fu Chen was momentarily bewildered. "Huh?"

He frowned, falling into deep thought.

"But surely not?

"Farmer's Walk is a game that requires physical stamina; it's normal that Cai Zhiyuan and Brother Wang can't compete with Uncle Ding.

"But as for Zhang Peng and Gao Zhankui, it's not necessarily true that they would lose to Uncle Ding in terms of physical strength.

"I remember from your description, Officer Cao, that Zhang Peng is an unemployed delinquent, but he has robbed and assaulted Uncle Ding; and Gao Zhankui is a burly delivery station manager with a rugged face.

"Their physical strength shouldn't be inferior to Uncle Ding's."

Cao Haichuan shook his head slightly. "But in reality, in this 'Farmer's Walk' game, Uncle Ding has a very obvious advantage."

Fu Chen was puzzled. "Why?"

Cao Haichuan explained, "Because of the specific nature of the 'Farmer's Walk' game. It isn't about filtering for the strongest person.

"Farmer's Walk requires carrying a weight equal to one's own body mass, so in reality, the lower your body fat percentage, the greater your advantage.

"Although Gao Zhankui has the most strength, he is both tall and heavy. Being tall means the weight must be carried higher, and being heavy means the weight itself is greater.

"So, he cannot beat Uncle Ding.

"Furthermore, Farmer's Walk is actually a type of specialized training; there is a world of difference between those who have practiced it and those who haven't.

"Zhang Peng might be a good fighter, but he has no experience in long-term physical labor. Whether it's the mechanics of lifting with shoulders and hands, or the muscular endurance required for long periods of heavy labor, the ability to withstand pain, or the capacity to endure heavy pressure—he has none of it.

"Meanwhile, Uncle Ding, as a courier who primarily delivers large items, perfectly meets all the requirements of the 'Farmer's Walk' game."

Fu Chen realized. "Oh? I see."

Cao Haichuan exhaled a cloud of smoke and continued

"Think about it. The designer of this game must be able to see the files of these five people, right? Even if they don't know exact height and weight, they can most likely see their photos. Even if they can't see photos, they must know their ages and occupations.

"A courier, a delivery station manager, an unemployed drifter, a private business owner, and a programmer.

"With these five occupations laid out, according to the rules of Farmer's Walk, nine out of ten people would guess the courier would win, since the courier is the only profession related to 'carrying and moving things.'

"So, after designing the game, could the designer not guess who would win?"

Fu Chen was somewhat confused. "Even if they can guess, what does it matter? Does it make a difference to them who wins?"

Cao Haichuan countered, "If it makes no difference, why not just randomly pick someone to be king? Why go through the pretense of a preliminary game to filter them?

"Or they could have just stipulated that Uncle Ding is king the moment he enters; that would have been more straightforward."

Fu Chen understood.

Clearly, the design logic of the Farmer's Walk segment was somewhat self-contradictory.

On the surface, its primary purpose seemed to be filtering for the most suitable king, with the hints about cooperation or other meanings being secondary; yet, this filtering process gave the other four no chance of winning. Even if the game were played a hundred times under these rules, Ding Wenqi would always win.

On the surface, it relied on physical strength, giving Zhang Peng and Gao Zhankui a chance; but analyzing the details revealed it didn't rely solely on strength, as it cleverly filtered out both Zhang Peng and Gao Zhankui.

Lin Sizhi thought for a moment. "Officer Cao, you mean to say that this Farmer's Walk segment was designed to predetermine Uncle Ding as the king.

"As for all those other things, they are just packaging—a smokescreen to hide the true purpose."

Fu Chen's brow furrowed. "Wait, I'm a bit confused.

"This deduction is built on one premise: that the designer of this game has extremely strong intentions. But what if that premise is overthinking it?

"Fine, even if that premise holds, I still don't understand. What is the significance of predetermining Uncle Ding as king for the designer?

"Can he foresee the future and know that Uncle Ding is destined to die as king?"

Cao Haichuan exhaled a puff of smoke. "Hard to say.

"Let's make a bold assumption for now. Among these five people, who do you think has the highest probability of dying if they become king?

"Lawyer Lin, I think you're very good at reading people. Give us your analysis."

After serious consideration, Lin Sizhi analyzed them one by one.

"First, I think Cai Zhiyuan definitely won't die. He is a very rational person; whatever he does, he considers the probabilities first. If he is tasked with arranging the prisoners, he will certainly treat the four of them equally and distribute the punishments evenly.

"Moreover, if someone reminds him, it's possible he might enter the cell himself.

"For example, he could still choose to enter Cell No. 1 voluntarily.

"Wang Yongxin is harder to say. Although he always claims to be a selfish person, relatively speaking, he generally doesn't act on impulse and isn't particularly vengeful.

"As a businessman, he will only consider the choice that maximizes his interests.

"So, I think he might throw Gao Zhankui or Zhang Peng into Cell No. 3, forcing them to lose visa time or smash their fingers, while being gentle with Uncle Ding and Cai Zhiyuan."

Fu Chen interjected, "But the cells in this game have strong symbolic meanings, almost strictly bound to these people's crimes. Everyone has a cell that corresponds most closely to them.

"In this situation, if the cells are assigned randomly, wouldn't that quickly trigger the mechanism to judge the king?"

Lin Sizhi shook his head slightly. "No, actually, the assignment of these cells can change; it is not an absolute one-to-one correspondence."

(End of Chapter)