God's imitator

Chapter 43 New Videotape

Cai Zhiyuan dragged his tired body into cell number 1, and Ding Wenqiang personally closed the iron door of the cell.

"Crack!"

After locking the cell, Ding Wenqiang pressed the button to start the trial, and the mechanisms in the cell were automatically activated.

This is a mechanism with a very simple design. In the center of the room, there is a huge iron pillar connecting the ceiling and the floor, with a rough and complex gear structure.

At a height of about one meter, there is a horizontal bar that can be pushed and rotated around the iron pillar.

[The game will begin in 30 seconds. Please push the horizontal bar for 10 minutes.]

Each round of pushing the wheel grants 10 minutes of visa processing time. Stopping will result in an electric shock penalty.

Cai Zhiyuan took a deep breath, gripped the bar with both hands, and leaned forward.

As the countdown was about to end, he took a step, and the mechanism slowly began to move with a piercing creak.

Cai Zhiyuan wasn't pushing very fast, but fortunately, the game didn't require speed; you just couldn't stop.

Of course, if we had to say something, the speed of the push will affect the number of loops, and the number of loops will affect the benefit of visa time.

However, considering that a single round of the test only takes a mere 10 minutes for the visa application, this small reward is not worth overexerting one's physical strength.

After all, in this game, survival is the most important thing.

……

As the trial game in cell number 1 was nearing its end, a prompt appeared on the screen in front of Lin Sizhi, and a message was also broadcast over the loudspeaker.

Please hold a vote on the fairness of the King's actions.

The two buttons below, '√' and '×', started flashing.

The countdown is very short, only 10 seconds.

Clearly, this question involves value judgments, but it does not have an absolutely right or absolutely wrong answer.

According to the rules, this fairness vote will not bring any benefits to the audience, but they must choose an answer that comes from their heart.

If your statement is significantly inconsistent with your inner thoughts, triggering a lie detector test, you will be penalized with a deduction of 1 minutes of your visa time, which is no small amount.

After considering for a moment, Lin Sizhi pressed '×'.

The countdown is over.

The voting result is ×√√√×√√√√√

[Visitor number 1 has had 10000 minutes of visa time deducted.]

[Visitor number 5 has had 10000 minutes of visa time deducted.]

Final fairness rating: 60

Thank you for your review!

Lin Sizhi looked thoughtfully at the voting results: "This game's lie detector is quite accurate."

He pressed the 'X' on purpose, while simultaneously trying to convince himself that Cai Zhiyuan was innocent and should not be tried, or that the trial he received was too lenient, and so on.

But clearly, this idea cannot fool the game's lie detection mechanism.

Although my visa application time was deducted, it was worth it.

The accuracy of lie detectors can significantly impact the overall accuracy of the vote, and consequently, the audience's strategy.

It is now certain that lie detectors are likely to be accurate indefinitely.

It is worth noting that audience member number 1 also underwent a similar test, just like Lin Sizhi.

This also caused the fairness score to drop to 60 points.

"In other words, each vote in favor is worth 10 points, and each vote against is worth -10 points. The two are added together to get the final score."

“A vote against one’s conscience will only deduct time from the visa application; it will not change the voting result.”

Lin Sizhi turned her gaze back to the arena.

……

The other four remained silent outside the cell, watching Cai Zhiyuan struggle to push the mechanism.

Finally, the 10-minute countdown ended.

Cai Zhiyuan was so exhausted that he was panting heavily, lying on the ground.

[The 150 minutes of visa time have been credited to the player.]

This really is a game only for oxen and horses. Pushing it around in a slow, laborious lap takes nearly 40 seconds, only to be given 10 minutes of "visa time." The total visa time given for the entire game is less than a single casual donation from a viewer.

Ding Wenqiang looked at Cai Zhiyuan through the iron fence and, after confirming that he was alright, immediately continued playing the game.

Upon arriving at cell number 3, the game here has already been unlocked.

Cell No. 3: Punishment and Redemption

[For every finger a criminal breaks using the mechanism, any game in any cell can be immediately completed. At least one finger must be broken per trial; otherwise, trial time will be deducted at a rate of 30 minutes per second.]

The rate at which visa time is deducted will double when playing multiple games.

Upon seeing the game instructions for cell number 3, Wang Yongxin's lips twitched involuntarily.

Although players 1 and 2 will face the risk of death after multiple games, they are relatively safe at the beginning.

In contrast, the game in Cell No. 3 requires breaking fingers right from the start.

Regardless of whether there are any medications available in the community to treat fractures, the excruciating pain of a broken finger is something most people would rather endure.

Of course, one good thing about cell number 3 is that there is a possibility of "paying money to avoid disaster".

If you don't smash your fingers, the money will be deducted at a rate of 30 minutes of visa time per second. With each game lasting 10 minutes, that's 18000 minutes of visa time.

If you're willing to spend the time on the visa application, then this cell actually becomes the safest in the game.

Of course, the next game will be 36000, the next game will be 72000... It's a bottomless pit, and the time deducted for visa processing far exceeds the gains that can be obtained from this game.

Ding Wenqiang was unable to make a decision immediately. After considering it for a moment, he returned to the center of the field and decided to take out a new videotape to review.

According to the game rules, he can now review the videotapes of the two players.

After considering it, Ding Wenqiang chose the videotapes of Wang Yongxin and Zhang Peng first.

After the static on the big screen disappeared, the picture appeared.

It's still a first-person perspective, but compared to the narrow, cramped cab of the van, this place is clearly much more spacious and bright.

This is an office, which looks to be over 50 square meters.

The person in the picture is sitting behind a desk, flipping through the documents in their hands.

As the president of a listed company, you are a successful person in everyone's eyes.

You claim to work more than ten hours a day without fail, waking up at 6 a.m. and going home to sleep at 10 p.m., using this to educate your employees that they must work hard and that with effort, they too can one day achieve the same success as you.

[But in reality, after waking up at 6 a.m., you'll be at the golf course before 7 a.m. to take your first shot, then catch up on sleep in your luxury car until you arrive at the office at 10 a.m.]

[You start your massage at 11:30, have lunch at 1:00, have another massage at 4:00, play cards with your business partners at 6:30, attend a dinner party, and return home before 10:00 PM.]

This is what you mean by 'working more than ten hours a day'.

[When one of your company's crowdsourced delivery drivers suddenly dies from overwork, you've just had a comprehensive medical checkup, and all your health indicators are excellent. You attribute this to your abundant energy, healthy lifestyle, and never-give-up spirit.]

You never worry about seeing those delivery drivers who died suddenly in your dreams, because you've never seen their faces, and they have no right to appear in your dreams.

Then, Wang Yongxin's file appeared on the big screen.

Wang Yongxin, male, 36 years old.

[Occupation: CEO of "Express Delivery"]

The exploitation of crowdsourced delivery workers through big data algorithms has led to several serious traffic accidents and three cases of delivery workers dying from overwork.

[Verdict: No trial held.]

Wang Yongxin appeared quite composed despite the stares he received.

He shrugged: "Okay, I admit I'm a bit hypocritical, not hardworking at all, and certainly not the kind of person who never gives up."

"Those are all lies, carefully crafted personas."

"From the very beginning, I've been a shrewd businessman who likes to exploit loopholes."

“I accept any moral judgment, but I must also clarify one point: I have never broken any laws.”

"Isn't it a bit too much to kill me just for this?"

Ding Wenqiang paused for a moment: "Didn't you violate any laws? What about labor laws?"

Wang Yongxin was speechless for a moment: "...Apart from this."

He paused, then continued, "Fine, if you insist on putting me in a cell, then I'll choose cell number 3."

Ding Wenqiang did not agree to him immediately, but instead put Zhang Peng's videotape into the VCR again.

(End of this chapter)