[Hello, Lin Sizhi.]
["Blood Poker" successfully stood out from all proposals. You have once again proven your talent.]
[But the real game has only just begun.]
[The Gallery now extends a new design invitation to you:]
[In three days, the Gallery will simultaneously host several different Judgment Games. The game assigned to you is: Case C.]
[In your desk drawer are partial criminal records and corresponding verdicts for the five sinners in Case C.]
[In this game, the five sinners will be forced to participate, while ten unrelated players will join voluntarily.]
[If you believe the verdicts for these five sinners were generally fair and just, or simply do not care, then do nothing.]
[If you believe any of these five sinners are utterly evil and must face a test of death, then design a game to deliver a more appropriate judgment upon them.]
[The Gallery will evaluate all submitted proposals and select the highest-rated one to construct the game venue.]
[The 48-hour countdown begins now. Please make your choice.]
"Five criminals forced to participate, plus ten unrelated players joining voluntarily?
"I should look through their files first."
Lin Sizhi pulled open the drawer and took out the case files and proposal document.
He had not felt any particular emotional reaction at first, but when he saw the names in the files, he could not help raising an eyebrow.
Three of them were people he knew.
Ding Wenqiang, Cai Zhiyuan, and Wang Yongxin.
The other two were names he had never heard before: Zhang Peng and Gao Zhankui.
Judging from the photos, Zhang Peng was a blond-haired young man with a hairstyle resembling that of a delinquent, his expression naturally carrying a hint of roguishness. Gao Zhankui, meanwhile, was a burly, solidly built middle-aged man with a fleshy face and a vicious look.
After briefly flipping through their files, the furrow between Lin Sizhi's brows deepened.
Because a second unexpected detail had emerged:
The three people he knew—Ding Wenqiang, Cai Zhiyuan, and Wang Yongxin—had clear descriptions of their crimes and punishments. But the other two, whom he did not know, had no relevant information at all.
[Wang Yongxin, male, 36.]
[Occupation: CEO of "Speedy Delivery."]
[Used big data algorithms to ruthlessly exploit crowdsourced delivery riders, resulting in several serious traffic accidents and one case of a delivery rider dying suddenly from overwork.]
[Verdict: Not tried.]
[Cai Zhiyuan, male, 28.]
[Occupation: Algorithm programmer.]
[Primarily responsible for artificial intelligence, big data, and algorithm development. The "Hundred Cities Pass" food delivery system he led the development of was adopted by multiple food delivery companies.]
[Verdict: Not tried.]
[Ding Wenqiang, male, 53.]
[Occupation: Large-parcel courier.]
[While working as a courier, he struck and severely injured a food delivery rider who ran a red light on an electric bike due to fatigued driving. The rider later died from his injuries.]
[Verdict: Sentenced to one year and three months in prison, suspended for two years, for causing a traffic accident. (He compensated the family 400,000 yuan and obtained their forgiveness.)]
[Zhang Peng, male, 26.]
[Occupation: Unemployed.]
[???]
[Verdict: ???]
[Gao Zhankui, male, 45.]
[Occupation: Food delivery station manager.]
[???]
[Verdict: ???]
Lin Sizhi fell into thought.
The "crimes" of these three people were vastly different from Wei Xinjian's.
There was no need to even mention Wang Yongxin and Cai Zhiyuan. Their "crimes" had not violated any laws; at most, they could be judged on moral grounds.
If that alone meant they had to face the punishment of death in one of the Gallery's games, then probably almost no one in the world was completely innocent.
As for Ding Wenqiang, his situation was somewhat more serious. After all, he had directly caused someone's death.
But Lin Sizhi believed the verdict was reasonable. Ding Wenqiang had already paid a sufficient price.
Ding Wenqiang's fatigued driving had most likely resulted from the unreasonable workload imposed by the courier company. Moreover, an important cause of the accident was that the food delivery rider on the electric bike had run a red light.
This was fundamentally different from Wei Xinjian's malicious hit-and-run.
As for the other two, Lin Sizhi did not know them, nor did he know what crimes they had committed. Naturally, he could not judge them.
"Based on the known verdicts, there doesn't seem to be much of a problem.
"So... should I do nothing and give up this game?"
According to the Gallery, if he believed these people did not need to be judged, then there was no need to design a game or submit a proposal. He could simply do nothing.
But that would mean giving up the right to design this round's game.
Lin Sizhi fell into thought, quickly listing the pros and cons of the two choices in his mind.
If he did not participate in designing this Judgment Game, he could naturally stay out of it and enjoy his free time without any burden over the next few days.
But then Lin Sizhi would have no idea what kind of game the Gallery would ultimately choose.
It might select a high-risk Death Game, causing Wang Yongxin, Cai Zhiyuan, and Ding Wenqiang to die in the game.
Of course, Lin Sizhi did not carry any unnecessary moral burden or meaningless guilt. Even if that really happened, he would not believe his "inaction" had caused the deaths of those three people.
But participating in the design of this Judgment Game held other meanings for Lin Sizhi.
On one hand, the deaths of the three might weaken Community No. 17 as a whole. If there were future games involving conflicts between communities, Community No. 17 could end up at a disadvantage.
On the other hand, designing this game would help Lin Sizhi better understand the Gallery's hidden rules.
To others who did not know the truth, the Gallery and God's Imitator were equally dangerous existences capable of sending them to their deaths.
But Lin Sizhi understood very clearly that, as a game designer, whether a game could determine the fates of other players depended entirely on whether it was recognized by the Gallery.
In other words, God's Imitator had to discern the Gallery's intentions, figure out what kinds of games would be encouraged, and design accordingly in order to ensure his game was selected.
Otherwise, this identity had no meaning at all beyond bringing him some unexpected dangers.
The reason Lin Sizhi's games had received the Gallery's approval in the previous two instances, even earning high ratings, was not necessarily because his games had been perfect. It might also have been because they happened to meet the Gallery's deeper requirements.
But the Gallery's intentions were complex, and he was still far from truly understanding them.
Therefore, Lin Sizhi believed it would be best not to give up this opportunity.
"Design a game with less severe punishment, one that roughly matches the known crimes.
"If the Gallery selects my game, then the odds of those three surviving will improve.
"If the Gallery does not select my game, then at least I will have made an effort."
Having made up his mind, Lin Sizhi picked up the game proposal document and examined it.
The format was still the same as before, but the list of available items had changed compared with the previous two times.
Two changes were particularly conspicuous.
[2. Freely designed complete trap mechanisms: 5 sets.]
[8. Case-related videotapes: 5 sets.]
Compared with the previous two cases, the available items in this one offered an extremely high degree of freedom.
"Case-related videotapes?"
Lin Sizhi tried flipping through the following pages, but the materials did not explain the specific contents of those videotapes.
In other words, he still could not learn the exact crimes committed by Zhang Peng and Gao Zhankui. He could only guess.
"Since these five people have been assigned to the same game, and there are related videotapes, that means...
"Their crimes are most likely connected to some extent.
"Food delivery, couriers, algorithms, traffic accidents...
"The food delivery company Wang Yongxin ran used the algorithm program developed by Cai Zhiyuan?
"But those two do not know each other, so they clearly were not in the same company.
"That still makes sense. Wang Yongxin called himself the owner of a startup, and this food delivery platform was not especially well-known. It should still be in its early stages. As for the algorithm program Cai Zhiyuan developed, he likely sold it to more than one food delivery platform.
"The algorithm exploited delivery riders and increased the risks.
"As for Ding Wenqiang, he was a courier. Judging from the accident, he was probably driving a small truck or something similar, delivering relatively large parcels.
"The only point of overlap among the three is food delivery riders."
Lin Sizhi lightly tapped the tabletop as countless possibilities flashed through his mind.
After thinking for a long time, Lin Sizhi wrote the name of the game he had conceived: "Line of Life and Death."
Before you continue