God's imitator

Chapter 379 Poaching
Yang Yuting frowned slightly as she looked at Cai Zhiyuan. Suddenly, she realized that Cai Zhiyuan was a much more complex person than she had originally imagined.

Originally, Yang Yuting only regarded Cai Zhiyuan as someone who depended on Li Renshu and suppressed Wang Yongxin, but now it seems that Cai Zhiyuan has always had his own ideas and is not simply offering advice or carrying out Li Renshu's decisions.

She considered for a moment and asked, "Then... this matter should also have some additional benefits for you, right?"
"It can't be solely for the purpose of 'maintaining the stability of the community ecosystem'."

Cai Zhiyuan nodded: "Of course, I'm not that selfless."

"But that's normal, isn't it? In this community, which slightly smart person doesn't have their own little scheme?"

After thinking for a moment, Yang Yuting nodded: "Yes, maintaining the current situation is indeed the most cost-effective option for you, and that's a valid reason."

"It's quite interesting. While many players are racking their brains to increase their influence, you're troubled by having too much influence."

Cai Zhiyuan shook his head slightly: "There's no way around it, the power in the community is becoming more concentrated in the five-person group, it's an inevitable trend."

"As a member of this group, I can neither stand up directly to stop this trend, nor can I relinquish some of my power internally."

"Therefore, this is the only way I can try to maintain the balance again."

Yang Yuting thought about it seriously for a moment: "Hmm...that's true."

She could indeed clearly sense this trend of power concentration, especially after Wang Yongxin joined the five-person group.

Recently proposed motions are becoming increasingly mandatory; there are fewer and fewer dissenting voices in community discussions; even newly activated special items in the community are encouraging the concentration of power.

This is both an inevitable result of community evolution and the result of the deliberate efforts of Li Renshu and Wang Yongxin.

Tsai Chih-yuan doesn't seem to like this trend, but his role is that of an advisor, and it would be inappropriate for him to directly oppose it.

If he relinquishes some power within the five-person group, that power will most likely be taken by Wang Yongxin and will not be distributed outside.

That's why Cai Zhiyuan decided to find a solution outside the five-person group.

Yang Yuting thought for a moment: "Speaking of this... In fact, although the five-person group made concessions in terms of profit sharing in this new proposal, overall, they are still the greater beneficiaries, right?"
"While it may seem that ordinary players have choices on the surface, they actually don't."

Cai Zhiyuan nodded: "Yes."

“It’s good that you can think of this; it shows that you do have the basic qualities to become an ‘opposition’.”

Cai Zhiyuan did not elaborate on this point, but Yang Yuting's political awareness has been continuously improving since she entered the community, so it is understandable.

The proposal being pushed forward, on the surface, gives ordinary players a choice: either become the party that relinquishes the right to speak and enjoys dividends, or become the party that gains the right to speak and guarantees dividends.

But in reality, ordinary players have no choice at all.

Because even if most ordinary players are willing to guarantee a share of the profits, it is difficult for them to gain any real say in the game.

Because the "group of five" has a higher priority in the issue of discourse power, when the two discourse powers conflict, the discourse power of the "group of five" will definitely be more dominant.

If players like Zheng Jie and Zhou Guifen act impulsively and choose to guarantee their share of the profits in order to gain a voice, their opinions might be considered on some insignificant issues. However, on some core and crucial issues, if their opinions conflict with those of the five-person group, their voice will remain virtually nonexistent.

Of course, players like Wei Yinzhang are an exception.

She can proactively offer to cover the losses and gain a voice because she has a special status and basic influence. For other ordinary players, choosing to cover the losses likely means they'll end up with neither a voice nor a share of the profits.

So ultimately, although profit sharing is "a further concession by the party with the power of discourse," it is still a more cost-effective solution for the five-person group.

Cai Zhiyuan continued, "Besides that, I think you are a better partner than Wang Yongxin."

"I can probably give the same conditions as Wang Yongxin."

"But as an opponent, you have real benefits for me compared to Wang Yongxin as an opponent."

"And for you, being free to consider choosing the one with better conditions isn't a bad thing, is it?"

Yang Yuting fell into deep thought.

Cai Zhiyuan's words were very straightforward: this is poaching.

According to Wang Yongxin's plan, after joining the five-person team, he will do more dirty and tiring work to establish the image of a "leader who dares to take responsibility".

If the community environment changes in the future, such as the five-person group losing members or the community's living environment becoming harsh, he has a chance to replace Lee In-sook with this image.

If this situation were to actually occur, Wang Yongxin would definitely place Yang Yuting in Cai Zhiyuan's current position.

Therefore, Wang Yongxin always hoped that Yang Yuting could be deeply aligned with his interests and made many promises.

But it's clear that Cai Zhiyuan isn't blind; he can guess what Wang Yongxin is thinking.

For Cai Zhiyuan, the best way to eliminate the threat posed by Wang Yongxin is to strike at the root of the problem by poaching Yang Yuting.

Although Yang Yuting was clearly closer to Wang Yongxin at this time and had a better foundation for cooperation, Cai Zhiyuan was not without his advantages.

His advantage lies in his ability to offer Yang Yuting tangible benefits.

What Wang Yongxin is currently offering Yang Yuting are just empty promises. Although the position of "core advisor" seems tempting, who knows when Wang Yongxin will be able to replace Li Renshu?

Aside from empty promises, Wang Yongxin couldn't actually offer anything else, because he himself hadn't yet established himself in the five-person group and didn't have enough say, so it was naturally difficult for him to share with Yang Yuting.

But Cai Zhiyuan was willing to help Yang Yuting become a new opposition figure in the community.

In this process, Yang Yuting can not only legitimately oppose certain proposals and protect her own interests, but also repeatedly gain favor and presence among ordinary players outside the five-person group.

Yang Yuting then asked, "Your reasons are indeed very valid, but why are you so sure I will agree?"

"This matter does offer me some tangible benefits, but these benefits don't seem significant enough to make it absolutely necessary."

"Entering the trial game carries a clear risk of death."

Cai Zhiyuan said matter-of-factly, "I guessed."

(End of this chapter)