Night.

After the discussion dispersed, most people returned to their rooms.

This was the first time a death occurred in Community 17, casting a shadow over everyone's heart.

Lin Sizhi went to the outdoor area of the community. In the darkness, a flicker of sparks was faintly visible; it was Cao Haichuan smoking.

"Lawyer Lin, want a cigarette?" Cao Haichuan handed over a cigarette.

Lin Sizhi sat down on a nearby outdoor single sofa and waved his hand: "No, thanks. I don't smoke."

Cao Haichuan sighed: "Alright, you young people really smoke less and less.

"Originally, only Uncle Ding would occasionally join me, but now it's just me.

"Not smoking is good; smoking is harmful to health."

While speaking, Cao Haichuan took another deep drag, slightly turning his head away from Lin Sizhi, and exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Whew..."

He looked at the tall walls at the edge of the community: "I keep wondering, what would happen if we climbed over and ran to another community?"

Since first entering the community, the entire complex has been in a closed state, impossible to leave.

So far, all players in Community 17 can only move around this small building and the surrounding outdoor area.

Lin Sizhi thought for a moment: "I think it's best not to court death.

"The New World seems to enforce different standards for players and imitators.

"For players, it's forbidden unless permitted by law.

"For imitators, it's allowed unless forbidden by law.

"So, I guess, climbing the wall might at best result in the deduction of visa time, at worst direct expulsion."

Cao Haichuan nodded slightly: "Heh, indeed.

"Actually, just now, I was really a bit scared. If Aunt Su questioned me about why I couldn't save Uncle Ding, I wouldn't know how to answer.

"I can understand why Aunt Su is so agitated: it's not just because it's the first death in the community, but also because Uncle Ding was the only peer she had here.

"Aunt Su initially held an unrealistic fantasy, thinking the so-called New World was a paradise of equality, but that's clearly just her wishful thinking.

"When the death of someone around her truly happened, she naturally resisted it, turning that resistance into a certain aggressiveness towards the external world.

"Moreover, although Aunt Su hadn't known Uncle Ding for long, he was the only peer she had in this community, the only one whose lifestyle, mindset, and background were similar to hers.

"In Aunt Su's perception of closeness, her relationship with Uncle Ding was closer than with any of us. Uncle Ding's death means she'll become an 'isolated elder' here, never able to integrate with you young folks, no matter how hard she tries.

"So, her 'empathy for loss' with Uncle Ding is much stronger than ours."

Lin Sizhi was silent for a moment, then asked: "And what about you, Officer Cao? Can you integrate in?"

Cao Haichuan smiled: "I'm doing okay; I still have a bit of a young mindset. Besides, I'm not like Aunt Su.

"Aunt Su is retired, having no real spiritual support. When people have too much free time, they tend to overthink, which makes them extreme.

"But I'm not retired; I still have to find things to do for myself.

"Lawyer Lin, do you think, since the imitators will keep designing games to kill players, is it possible for us to catch these imitators?"

Lin Sizhi thought for a moment: "That would be very difficult, I think.

"Imitators aren't like real-world criminals who still need to personally arrange crime scenes. They just need to complete the game design, and it seems Walkway handles everything else.

"With such cerebral crimes, I can't think of a way to solve the case."

Cao Haichuan was noncommittal: "Lawyer Lin, do you know what kind of cases are the hardest to solve in real life?"

Lin Sizhi lowered his head in thought: "Instigated murders? High-intelligence, perfect crimes?

"But with today's advanced technology, checking chat records and surveillance footage should make these cases a lot easier to solve, right?"

Cao Haichuan shook his head slightly: "Those are indeed hard, but not the hardest.

"The hardest, in fact, is motiveless, indifferent killing.

"Because whether it's instigated murder or so-called high-intelligence perfect crimes, there's always a motive. As long as there's a motive, you can follow the clues and identify suspects.

"Once a suspect is identified, no matter how smart they are, they're not far from being caught.

"But indiscriminate killing is different: without a motive, identifying suspects is like searching for a needle in a haystack, with no clear direction.

"Of course, if indiscriminate killing is combined with instigated murder or high-intelligence perfect crimes, it's a complex problem. Often, such cases go unnoticed, and we generally call them 'disappearances.'

Lin Sizhi nodded in agreement.

Cao Haichuan continued: "Originally, I also thought that imitators killing is just indiscriminate killing, especially considering that they don't need to set up the scene themselves, so the chances of solving it seem minuscule.

"But just now, after thinking it over, I've suddenly overturned this notion.

"I suddenly realized that there's a motive behind the imitators killing through death games."

Lin Sizhi thought for a bit: "You mean they subconsciously reveal their inner thoughts when designing games?"

Cao Haichuan exhaled a puff of smoke: "It's not just that.

"Imitators are also players, living in the community.

"That means they are likely to participate in games, whether their own or others'.

"If they participate in others' games, that's fair, and there's nothing more to say.

"But if they actively or passively participate in their own games, they'll definitely leave some sort of loophole in the game for self-preservation.

"Of course, they might choose not to participate in their own games.

"But if that's the case, they're likely to devise traps targeting players' weaknesses, killing them, and seizing as much visa time as possible.

"After all, whether for players or imitators, visa time is equally important; it's like our money and lifeline in this world, and no one thinks they have too much of it."

Lin Sizhi pondered for a moment: "Are you saying that if a player finds a loophole in a game, it's likely they are the designer?

"We can use this method to identify them as an imitator.

"Alternatively, if a game seems to target a player very strongly, it indicates the designer is familiar with that player. By backtracking the player's relationship network, we could narrow down suspects."

Cao Haichuan nodded approvingly: "Exactly, that's what I mean. Lawyer Lin, you're really smart. If you weren't a lawyer, you'd make a great criminal investigator."

Lin Sizhi thought carefully for a moment: "But it's very difficult."

Cao Haichuan laughed a bit self-deprecatingly: "Yes, it's tough. Just like solving cases is tough, but someone has to do it, right?

"Honestly, I'm not very smart, not like you young folks. But I have a strength: my intuition is fairly sharp, and I keep thinking about problems until I understand them. As long as I persist, I can always figure something out.

"Take this trial game, for instance. After thinking it over, I feel that something's not quite right."

Cao Haichuan turned his head to look at Lin Sizhi: "Don't you think this game's targeting of Uncle Ding was a bit too intense?

"As we analyzed earlier, if we only talk about game rules, the King had a big advantage with many chances to survive.

"But Uncle Ding happened to step on every single pitfall.

"Just like Wei Xinjian back then.

"Do you think this is really just a coincidence?"

Lin Sizhi pondered for a moment: "However, Uncle Ding's death depended on many complex preconditions. If any one of those was unmet, this wouldn't have happened.

"If you think this game was specifically targeting Uncle Ding, it means the designer had to control almost all the details, which I don't think is humanly possible.

"For example, how could the game designer know how the audience would vote? Or how could they predict which cells Uncle Ding would choose for the prisoners?"

Cao Haichuan nodded: "Yes, that's what I initially thought too.

"No one can control everything. If someone could, they wouldn't be God's Imitator; they'd be God.

"But between no control and full control, there's partial control.

"Just like a gamble in Blood Poker, no one can be sure to win 100%, but you can still improve the odds by doing your best with the controllable parts.

"I digress, back to the issue at hand.

"Why do you think this game was designed to start with the 'Farmer's Walk' preliminary game?

"No matter how you look at it, it seemed like a selection game tailor-made to ensure Uncle Ding became the King, right?"

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