God's imitator

Chapter 457 Rejection
For He Xiaojun, the three options would have some differences.

If the third method is used—informing the "lover" and then having them handle everything on their behalf—He Xiaojun would have the easiest time, but also the worst control over the situation. He might then lose all bargaining power.

If the second method is used, where He Xiaojun deceives others to concentrate the wealth vouchers on himself, then He Xiaojun can have control over when to transfer the wealth vouchers to '↑Lover', which is relatively safer.

The first method is of course the best. He Xiaojun should openly tell the other players in the 14th community about this matter and obtain their consent. After pooling the wealth coupons, they should transfer them to "↑Lover" as appropriate. If they find that something is wrong, they should stop immediately.

However, this method is also the most difficult to implement, and may be beyond He Xiaojun's current capabilities.

Clearly, '↑Lover' still prefers him to use the third method, which is to betray the information of the 14th community.

After considering for a moment, He Xiaojun said, "Let's not even talk about the fact that our community is ultimately losing more money."

"The most crucial point is that if you change your mind during the process of transferring wealth vouchers to you, I have no countermeasures."

“If I force myself to go to your community, I will still be at your mercy, so I can only choose to go to other departure areas or other main communities.”

"This strategy itself has no binding force on you."

The "lover" paused for a moment: "I understand your concerns."

"But there is no free lunch in this world. As a marginal community, we can either choose to be self-reliant and earn more wealth vouchers, or rely on the main community, give up some wealth vouchers and take on some risks, so that everyone can survive safely."

“These are two different options. You can’t expect the main community to guarantee your safety and also give you concessions, can you? That’s impossible. After all, the main community also has the pressure to survive.”

He Xiaojun did not give a clear answer: "I may need more time to determine."

↑The Lover didn't directly express his dissatisfaction, but it was clear that he didn't want things to continue progressing so slowly.

Because the two of them didn't have much time left to talk.

"I want to remind you that the opinions of other players in your community are actually irrelevant."

"If this plan were to work out, you were going to come to our community anyway, so what does it matter whether other players agree or not?"
"I can give you time to continue considering, but I cannot guarantee that I will always reserve a place for you."

"You need to understand: our community actually only has three slots, which means I will only accept players from three peripheral communities."

"You're lucky to have met me so early in the game, but if you refuse, I might not be able to meet any more players from your community later."

"If in the end, no player from your community is able to enter the 'departure zone,' then it will be too late to regret it."

At this moment, He Xiaojun finally understood the other party's entire plan.

Clearly, this is not a strategy targeting him alone.

Instead, it's a strategy targeting all players in fringe communities.

He was very familiar with this situation; he had encountered it more than once in previous games.

It's the "Prisoner's Dilemma".

Now, '↑Lovers', as a core player in the main community, is trying to create a prisoner's dilemma among players in the peripheral communities.

Of course, this predicament stems from the game mechanics and is inherent to the game itself, while '↑ Lover' is merely trying to exploit or exacerbate this predicament.

The four main communities are very strong. It's certain that players like '↑Magician', '↑Wheel of Fortune', and '↓Hermit' all come from these main communities. They are able to earn a lot of Wealth Tokens while playing against other communities, and they also set rules and lead the game's trends. At the same time, these core players have also found ordinary players in their own communities through various methods to transfer and exchange Wealth Tokens, ensuring that players in their communities don't fall behind.

In this situation, the actual number of players that the "exit area" can accommodate will be very limited.

All peripheral communities should strive to ensure that a player establishes a wealth advantage and enters the "out-of-game zone".

Therefore, '↑Lovers' is taking advantage of the fact that there are three slots in this community to win over these marginal communities and ensure their safety.

However, there are only three slots in the four peripheral communities, and each peripheral community will only accept one person.

The player who is accepted will have the opportunity to go to a stronger community and earn more visa time than other players, which is very attractive overall.

If He Xiaojun disagrees, other players in the same community may agree.

If the players in Community 14 disagree, the players in the other three communities will most likely agree as well.

Once other players and communities agree, those who disagree are likely to become cannon fodder in this game.

At best, the gains will be greatly reduced; at worst, one will suffer an immediate death penalty.

Since it is a prisoner's dilemma, the final result is the Nash equilibrium, where both prisoners choose to betray.

At least in the current situation, the player who betrayed first can still hope that the "↑lover" will keep their promise.

This was a very difficult decision for He Xiaojun.

He considered it for a long time, then finally shook his head: "Your proposal looks good. But I'm sorry, I refuse."

↑ Lover was stunned. Clearly, in his view, ↓ Justice had acted in a way that did not meet his expectations.

In his view, players like "↓Justice," who are weak and have nowhere else to turn, have only a very small chance of trying to break through the prisoner's dilemma. They are more likely to succumb to rhetoric and wishful thinking.

Even so, ↑Lover has no intention of giving up.

"There's still time; you can think about it more carefully."

"Because other people in your community, and players in other peripheral communities, will most likely accept this proposal."

"By the time……"

He Xiaojun shook his head: "No need to explain, I've already thought these things through."

"But ultimately, this cooperation is unequal, and once I agree, there is no room for me to go back on my word."

"If you continue to ask me to extract wealth vouchers from other players in the community and transfer them to you under the pretext of 'ensuring we don't come in last,' or if you ask me to provide code words for the community so that you can deceive our community's players, I will no longer be able to refuse, and things will only continue to slide step by step."

“I know there is a possibility that ‘you always keep your promises,’ but I have learned not to place my hopes on other people’s pity.”

"Whether I live or die, I will take control of my own destiny."

Even if we lose badly.

(End of this chapter)