Chapter 53: The King's Chance of Survival

With the emergence of this question, the atmosphere in the hall grew even more somber.

Although many people had not yet fully grasped the many details of the game "King's Judgment," the biggest suspicion was laid out clearly before them.

That was the final vote.

According to the game rules, once the hidden mechanism for judging the King was activated, all prisoners could cast a vote. When the execution votes exceeded half of the total prisoner votes, the King would be executed.

In other words, between Wang Yongxin and Cai Zhiyuan, one of them must have cast an execution vote.

Wang Yongxin's voice was still somewhat hoarse. He looked at the crowd and asked, "If I say I didn't vote, would anyone believe me?"

After a few seconds of silence, Yang Yuting said, "I believe you."

Cai Zhiyuan shrugged his shoulders and said nothing.

The discussion fell into a deadlock.

If it had been any other two people, they might have been arguing uncontrollably by now, using various ways to prove their innocence, or perhaps launching personal attacks against the other.

But both Cai Zhiyuan and Wang Yongxin were naturally rational individuals who disliked excessive arguing.

The one who didn't vote felt it was beneath them to prove their innocence.

The one who did vote was not so foolish as to react excessively.

Moreover, as direct participants in this judgment game, the two of them shared a similar stance to some extent—a stance that was unspeakable.

In the end, both chose to remain silent.

Fu Chen disliked the current state of the community, but he was also troubled, not knowing how to push the topic forward.

He looked at Li Renshu, then at Lin Sizhi.

"Lawyer Lin, you were a participant in this game. What do you think?"

Lin Sizhi remained silent for a moment. "I think discussing this topic is meaningless.

"Without evidence, I will not make a presumption of guilt.

"Furthermore, I believe that regardless of who cast the execution vote, such an action can be understood."

Su Xiucen became somewhat agitated. "Understood? How is it understandable!

"You clearly could have chosen not to vote for execution. As long as no one voted, Brother Ding wouldn't have died!

"Did you think that if you didn't kill him, he would use the judgment game to kill you? But he might have found his way back to the right path!

"We are all under the same roof. If we had just given him a little more trust, wouldn't we all have survived?"

The crowd fell into silence once again.

Clearly, not everyone agreed with Su Xiucen's reasoning, but faced with an emotionally agitated elder, most people chose not to argue.

As for Wang Yongxin and Cai Zhiyuan, it was even less appropriate for them to defend themselves at this moment.

Lin Sizhi hesitated; just as he was about to say something, Li Renshu spoke up first.

"Auntie Su, please calm down first.

"We knew from the first day we entered the community that the judgment game involves death, and we should have been mentally prepared.

"Every one of us could die; it is merely a matter of who goes first and who goes last.

"Cai Zhiyuan and Wang Yongxin are also victims of this game.

"If we must find a culprit, it can only be the designer of this game, that 'Imitator of God'."

The crowd nodded one after another.

With the hatred diverted, the look in Su Xiucen's eyes toward the two men softened slightly.

But clearly, Wang Yongxin seemed to have a different view.

He went through a brief internal struggle and quickly made up his mind.

"Can I say a few words?"

His voice was still hoarse. As he spoke, he struggled to avoid touching the stinging marks on his neck.

Fu Chen nodded. "Of course."

Wang Yongxin pointed toward the large screen. "Although you are letting the game designer take the blame for my sake, I still want to say a few words about the designer.

"In this game, he actually gave Uncle Ding more than one chance.

"Uncle Ding failed to seize them himself; you can't blame anyone else."

The hatred that had just been diverted was pulled right back onto Wang Yongxin.

Su Xiucen immediately glared at him again.

But clearly, Wang Yongxin was a man who spoke his mind and would never suppress these words just because of Su Xiucen's opinion.

"This game is called 'King's Judgment.' Like 'Redemption Roulette,' it is a judgment game. It's just that the crimes we five committed are lighter than the crimes Wei Xinjian committed.

"The five of us collectively caused the death of that delivery man, so we must collectively accept this judgment.

"Setting aside whether the judgment for each individual cell is reasonable, looking strictly at the game content, after the 'Farmer's Walk' segment, Uncle Ding became the King and actually held absolute initiative.

"Thinking about it afterward, one could come up with at least three ways to survive."

The crowd stopped talking and listened intently.

Wang Yongxin continued his explanation: "First, the prerequisite game, 'Farmer's Walk,' was a hint from the game designer.

"The person walking at the very front could have waited until the countdown was almost over before pressing the button. This way, everyone would have obtained the most generous amount of game time without any loss.

"This was actually an implication that there was a way for the five of us to work together and achieve a perfect clear.

"Lawyer Lin pointed this out very early on, and I also reminded him, but Uncle Ding rejected the proposal.

"Then there was the allocation of the six cells.

"First, if Uncle Ding had realized the point that 'he too is a sinner' and proactively chose to enter any cell, the ten rounds of judgment games would be split among the five of us—two rounds each—which would be enough to pass safely.

"Furthermore, when arranging the cells, one could completely avoid the most difficult Cell No. 5 and skip the nail gun game.

"Secondly, if Cell No. 3 were utilized properly, the difficulty of the game could also be greatly reduced.

"According to the rules of Cell No. 3, if one breaks a finger, they can immediately help another cell complete a game; even without breaking a finger, deducting visa time would also count as completing a game.

"If Uncle Ding had thrown any prisoner into Cell No. 3, he could have let that cell conduct several games, whether by breaking fingers or deducting time. This way, the pressure on the other cells could have been greatly relieved."

Jiang He was stunned for a moment. "Wait, didn't the rules say that if the games in these cells proceed to the third time, there is a danger to life?"

Wang Yongxin shook his head. "Look again at what the rules say.

"'[Most cells will face life-threatening danger during their 3rd judgment.]'

"It doesn't say *all* cells.

"Both Zhang Peng and I had proactively requested to enter Cell No. 3, but Uncle Ding did not agree."

Jiang He was puzzled. "Why? That's strange. Looking at it now, that doesn't seem like a very difficult trap to see through, does it?"

Wang Yongxin sighed. "Because the rules are deceptive.

"Uncle Ding completely immersed himself in the identity of the 'King.'

"This game has many psychological suggestions, such as the King's crown and the King's scepter. The rules frequently imply that the King has almost omnipotent power, and the audience will continuously tip the King, constantly affirming his actions.

"Once Uncle Ding fully embraced the role of the King, he fell into two misconceptions

"First, he believed he should conduct a more 'just' judgment of the other prisoners, which is why I was to be thrown to hang the streetlamp, while Zhang Peng was to enter the cell named 'Unforeseen Disaster.'

"He didn't want to throw us into Cell No. 3 because he feared the punishment in Cell No. 3 wouldn't be severe enough for us.

"Second, he did not believe he was in any danger himself.

"In ten rounds of games, no matter how they are distributed, only we prisoners will die.

"Since he believed he was safe, he naturally wouldn't consider such a 'total survival strategy'."