Both fell into silence because they heard footsteps behind them.

"Officer Cao, Lawyer Lin.

"What are you discussing?"

Fu Chen sat down in the empty seat beside them.

"Oh, I couldn't sleep, so I was just chatting with Lawyer Lin about the case."

Cao Haichuan lit another cigarette and turned his face slightly to check that Fu Chen was the only one who had come before saying, "We were just talking about the 'King's Judgment' game and why there's a segment called the 'Farmer's Walk.'

Clearly, as a detective, Cao Haichuan was highly perceptive, and discussions about the case weren't something he shared with just anyone.

If it hadn't been Fu Chen who came, he might have ended the conversation already.

Among the 12 people in the community, even though everyone knew each other for the same amount of time, trust among them varied.

Just as Su Xiuqin and Ding Wenqiang, being the two oldest in the community, naturally had a closer relationship than anyone else.

For Cao Haichuan, Fu Chen, Lin Sizhi, and Li Renshu were people he relatively trusted, so he was willing to share some of his views with them.

Of course, he could have chosen not to share anything with anyone and think about it on his own, which would have been absolutely safe.

But everyone's abilities are limited, and it takes collective brainstorming to fully tap into each individual's talents.

Players against the Imitator is inherently an unbalanced confrontation, with the Imitator having far too many advantages.

If players choose to fight alone, they stand no chance of winning.

Cao Haichuan was well aware of this, so many speculations ultimately had to be communicated to people he relatively trusted.

Fu Chen didn't think that far and followed Cao Haichuan's lead, saying: "The 'Farmer's Walk'? Hasn't this topic been discussed before?

"This preliminary game segment is some kind of hint by the Game Designer.

"It suggests that in this game, there's actually a way for five people to pass the level together.

"Of course, apart from that, I believe it also carries some other implications. For instance, with each player pressing the button while walking at the front, the time for the next stage gets shortened.

"It's kind of like how big data algorithms squeeze food delivery personnel, using the fastest rider as the standard, forming some kind of competitive environment.

"This also ties to the trial theme of this game: allowing everyone except Uncle Ding to experience the horror of being controlled by big data and competition.

"At the same time, it's a test for the first player: if he waits until the countdown is almost over before pressing the button, all players can receive more generous game time, breaking the competitive environment in a sense.

"Moreover, in the original world, the King reigns while laborers are governed, but in the 'Farmer's Walk' game, it reverses to select the most physically strong as King, which is the opposite of reality.

"These explanations all make sense, right?"

Cao Haichuan nodded: "Hmm, indeed. Do you think this game is fair?"

Fu Chen was taken aback: "Why are we talking about fairness again? Brother Wang said it before, there's not a single trial game that's absolutely fair."

Lin Sizhi accurately grasped Cao Haichuan's meaning: "There is indeed no talk of absolute fairness in trial games.

"But this game is particularly unfair.

"Officer Cao means that, in essence, this game only has one result, which is Ding Wenqiang winning."

Fu Chen was momentarily puzzled: "Huh?"

He furrowed his brows, lost in thought.

"Really? No?

"The 'Farmer's Walk' is a game requiring physical ability. It's normal that Cai Zhiyuan and Brother Wang can't beat Uncle Ding.

"But Zhang Peng and Gao Zhankui aren't necessarily going to lose to Uncle Ding in terms of physical ability.

"I recall, according to Officer Cao's description, Zhang Peng is a jobless youth with yellow hair, but he has robbed and beaten Uncle Ding; meanwhile, Gao Zhankui is a stocky delivery station manager.

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

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

Fu Chen was perplexed: "Why?"

Cao Haichuan explained: "Because of the nature of the 'Farmer's Walk' game. It's not about selecting the strongest person.

"The 'Farmer's Walk' requires carrying a heavy weight equal to one's body weight, so in reality, having a lower body fat percentage is advantageous.

"Gao Zhankui, though strong, is tall and obese. Being tall means the weight needs to be lifted higher, and being fat means the weight is heavier.

"So he can't win against Uncle Ding.

"Besides, 'Farmer's Walk' is a type of specialized training, where the difference between those trained and untrained is vast.

"Zhang Peng might be good at fighting, but he lacks experience in long-term physical labor. He hasn't trained in the way of exerting force through shoulder and hand lifting, nor does he have muscle endurance, pain tolerance, or resistance to pressure required for long physical exertion.

"Meanwhile, Uncle Ding, mainly delivering large parcels, perfectly matches all the requirements of the 'Farmer's Walk' game."

Fu Chen suddenly understood: "Oh? I see now."

Cao Haichuan exhaled a puff of smoke and continued:

"Then consider this, the Game Designer can certainly see the files of these five people, right? Even if they don't know specific height and weight, they can probably tell from photos. If they can't see photos, they should at least know age and occupation.

"Courier, delivery station manager, unemployed, private business owner, programmer.

"With these five professions lined up, according to the rules of the 'Farmer's Walk' game, nine out of ten would predict the courier would win, as the courier is the only profession related to 'carrying and lifting.'

"So, after designing this game, couldn't the Game Designer predict who would win?"

Fu Chen was somewhat confused: "If they can predict, so what? Does it make a difference to them who wins?"

Cao Haichuan retorted: "If it makes no difference, they could just randomly choose someone to be King without pretense. Why bother with a preliminary game segment to filter?

"Or simply state it directly: Uncle Ding becomes King as soon as he enters. That would be straightforward."

Fu Chen understood.

Clearly, the inclusion of the 'Farmer's Walk' game segment is somewhat contradictory from a design perspective.

On the surface, its main purpose is to select the most suitable person to be King, while suggestions for player cooperation or other implications are secondary; yet, this selection process provides no winning chance to the other four. Playing the game a hundred times, Ding Wenqiang would always win.

It seems reliant on physical strength, with Zhang Peng and Gao Zhankui potentially having a chance of winning; but on closer analysis, you'll find it's not entirely about physical strength, cleverly eliminating both Zhang Peng and Gao Zhankui.

Lin Sizhi thought it over: "Officer Cao, you mean this 'Farmer's Walk' game segment predetermined Uncle Ding to be King.

"As for everything else, they're just a form of packaging, a smokescreen to cover the real intention."

Fu Chen frowned deeply: "Wait a second, this is getting complicated for me.

"This inference is based on one assumption: that the Game Designer has a very strong purpose. But what if that assumption is overthinking?

"Okay, assuming the premise is valid, I still don't understand what it means for the Game Designer to predetermine Uncle Ding as King.

"Could they foresee the future and know for certain that Uncle Ding would die as King?"

Cao Haichuan exhaled smoke: "Hard to say.

"Let's make a bold assumption now. Among these five, who do you think has the highest probability of dying if any one of them becomes King?

"Lawyer Lin, I believe you have a good judgment of people. Can you analyze this?"

Lin Sizhi, after serious thought, analyzed it one by one.

"First, I believe Cai Zhiyuan definitely won't die. He's a very rational person. Whenever he does something, he considers probability first. If he were to assign prisoners, he would certainly treat the four equally and punish them equally.

"Moreover, if someone reminded him, it's possible he'd enter the prisoner room himself.

"For example, he could still choose to voluntarily enter Room 1.

"Wang Yongxin is hard to say. Although he always claims to be a selfish person, relatively speaking, he usually doesn't act on impulse or hold grudges.

"As a businessman, he would only consider choices that maximize profit.

"So I think he might throw Gao Zhankui or Zhang Peng into Room 3, forcing them to deduct visa time or smash fingers. He'd go easy on Uncle Ding and Cai Zhiyuan."

Fu Chen chimed in: "But the prison rooms in this game have strong symbolic meanings, almost tightly bound to these people's crimes, where each has a matching room.

"In such a scenario, if the prison rooms are randomly assigned, wouldn't the trial King mechanism be quickly triggered?"

Lin Sizhi shook his head slightly: "No, in fact, the allocation of these prison rooms can change, and it's not an absolute one-to-one correspondence.

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