God's imitator

Chapter 56 Targeted

Both of them fell silent as they heard footsteps behind them.

"Officer Cao, Attorney Lin."

"What are you talking about?"

Fu Chen sat down in the empty seat next to him.

"Heh, I can't sleep, so I might as well talk to Attorney Lin about the case."

Cao Haichuan lit another cigarette. He glanced at Fu Chen to make sure he was alone, and then said, "We were just talking about why the game 'King's Judgment' includes a 'farmer's walk' segment."

Clearly, as a criminal investigator, Cao Haichuan also possesses a high degree of sensitivity, and he doesn't discuss cases with just anyone.

If it weren't Fu Chen who came, he probably would have already ended the conversation.

Among the 12 people in the community, although they have known each other for the same amount of time, the level of trust and closeness among them varies.

Just as Su Xiucen and Ding Wenqiang, as the two oldest people in the community, naturally had a closer relationship than everyone else.

For Cao Haichuan, Fu Chen, Lin Sizhi, and Li Renshu are people he trusts relatively, so he is willing to share some of his views simply.

Of course, he can also choose not to share with anyone and think about it in solitude, which is perfectly safe.

However, everyone's abilities are limited, and we must work together to fully utilize everyone's talents.

The player versus the copycat is inherently an unbalanced matchup, with the copycat having too much of an advantage.

If a player chooses to go it alone, they have no chance of winning.

Cao Haichuan was well aware of this, so he would eventually share his speculations with people he trusted.

Fu Chen obviously hadn't thought that much about it, and followed up on Cao Haichuan's words, saying, "'Farmer's Walk'? Weren't we already discussing this topic before?"

"This pre-game segment is a kind of hint from the game designers."

"This implies that there is actually a way for five people to work together to complete the game."

"Of course, I think it also has some other meanings. For example, every time the player in front presses the button, the time for the next stage will be shortened."

"This is somewhat similar to the big data algorithm exploitation in food delivery, using the fastest riders to set standards and creating a kind of involution mechanism."

"This is also related to the theme of the trial in this game: to let everyone except Uncle Ding experience the horror of being dominated by big data algorithms and involution."

"At the same time, this is also a test for the first player: if he waits until the countdown is almost over before pressing the button, all players will have more time to play, which in a sense breaks the involution environment."

"Oh, and another thing, originally the world's kings were 'those who labor with their minds govern others, and those who labor with their strength are governed by others,' but the Farmer's Walk game reverses this, selecting the most physically strong person to become king, which is the opposite of reality."

"These explanations all make sense, right?"

Cao Haichuan nodded: "Yes, that's true. So, do you think this game is fair?"

Fu Chen was stunned: "How did we get onto the topic of fairness again? Didn't Brother Wang say that none of these trial games are absolutely fair?"

Lin Sizhi accurately understood Cao Haichuan's meaning: "There is indeed no such thing as absolute fairness in the trial game."

"But this game is particularly unfair."

"What Officer Cao means is that this game can only have one outcome: Uncle Ding wins."

Fu Chen was momentarily confused: "Huh?"

He frowned and fell into deep thought.

"Really?"
"The Farmer's Walk is a physically demanding game, so it's normal that Cai Zhiyuan and Brother Wang can't keep up with Uncle Ding."

"But Zhang Peng and Gao Zhankui are not necessarily inferior to Uncle Ding in terms of physical strength, are they?"
"I remember that according to your description, Officer Cao, Zhang Peng was an unemployed young man with yellow hair, but he had robbed and beaten Uncle Ding; while Gao Zhankui was a burly food delivery station manager with a fierce face."

"Their physical fitness should be no worse than Uncle Ding's."

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

Fu Chen was puzzled: "Why?"

Cao Haichuan explained, "Because of the nature of the 'Farmer's Walk' game, it doesn't select the strongest person."

"Farmers are required to carry loads equal to their own weight, so in reality, the lower the body fat percentage, the greater the advantage. "Although Gao Zhankui is the strongest, he is also tall and fat. Being tall means that the loads must be carried even higher, and being fat means that the loads must be even heavier."

"So he can't beat Uncle Ding."

"Furthermore, the farmer's walk is actually a kind of specialized training, and the performance of those who have trained and those who haven't will be vastly different."

"Zhang Peng may be very good at fighting, but he has no experience in long-term physical labor. He lacks the strength to carry heavy loads, the muscle endurance to withstand pain and pressure, and the ability to exert force through long-term heavy physical labor."

"And Uncle Ding, as the courier who mainly delivers large packages, perfectly meets all the requirements of the 'Farmer's Walk' game."

Fu Chen suddenly realized: "Oh? I see."

Cao Haichuan exhaled a puff of smoke and continued:

"Think about it, the game's designers must be able to see these five people's profiles, right? Even if they don't know their exact height and weight, they can most likely see their photos. Even if they can't see their photos, they should at least know their age and occupation."

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

"If you put these five professions together, according to the rules of the farmer's walk game, nine out of ten people will guess that the courier will win, since the courier is the only profession related to 'moving and carrying things'."

"So, after designing this game, didn't the game designers know who would win?"

Fu Chen was somewhat puzzled: "So what if he can guess it? Does it make any difference to him who wins?"

Cao Haichuan countered, "If there's no difference, why not just randomly select someone as king? Why bother with this pre-selection game?"

"Or we could just stipulate that Uncle Ding would be king the moment he enters the palace, which would be perfectly aboveboard."

Fu Chen understood.

Clearly, the design of the "farmer's walk" game segment is somewhat contradictory.

On the surface, its main purpose seems to be to select the most suitable person to be the king, implying that cooperation among players or other implications are only secondary objectives; however, this selection process does not give the other four people any chance of winning. If the game is played a hundred times according to this rule, Ding Wenqiang will always win.

On the surface, it seems to be based on physical strength, and Zhang Peng and Gao Zhankui have a chance of winning; but an analysis of the details reveals that it is not entirely based on physical strength, and cleverly eliminated Zhang Peng and Gao Zhankui.

Lin Sizhi thought for a moment and said, "Officer Cao, do you mean that this farmer's walk game segment was pre-arranged to make Uncle Ding the king?"

"As for the other things, they are just a kind of packaging, a smokescreen to cover up the real purpose."

Fu Chen frowned: "Wait a minute, I'm a little confused."

"This inference is based on the premise that the game's designers had a very strong purpose. But what if that premise is just wishful thinking?"

"Okay, even if this premise holds true, I still don't understand. What is the significance of Ding Shu becoming the king in the game's designator?"

"Could he foresee the future and know that Uncle Ding would surely die if he became king?"

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

"Let's make a bold assumption now: among these five people, who do you think has the highest probability of dying when they become king?"
“Attorney Lin, I think you have a good eye for people. Can you analyze me?”

After careful consideration, Lin Sizhi analyzed the situation step by step.

"First of all, I think Cai Zhiyuan will definitely not die. He is a very rational person. He always considers the probability before doing anything. If he were to arrange the prisoners, he would definitely treat all four of them equally and punish them fairly."

"Moreover, if someone reminds him, it's possible that he might go into the cell on his own."

"For example, he can still choose to enter cell number 1 voluntarily."

"It's hard to say about Wang Yongxin. Although he always says he's a selfish person, relatively speaking, he's not impulsive and doesn't hold grudges."

"As a businessman, he will only consider the option that maximizes profits."

"So I think he might throw Gao Zhankui or Zhang Peng into cell number 3 and force them to have their visas delayed or have their fingers smashed. He'll treat Uncle Ding and Cai Zhiyuan leniently."

Fu Chen interjected, "But the cells in this game have strong symbolic meaning, almost directly tied to the crimes of these individuals. Each person has a cell that best corresponds to them."

"In this situation, if the prisoners are randomly assigned to cells, it will surely trigger the mechanism for judging the king very quickly, right?"

Lin Sizhi shook her head slightly: "No, actually the allocation of these cells can be changed; it's not an absolute one-to-one correspondence."

(End of this chapter)