God's imitator

Chapter 503 "Simple Roulette" & "The Hermit's Trial" concludes

At this point, the game has returned to square one, leaving only two possibilities.

50% are in the last magazine of the pistol.

50% are not in handguns.

However, from the perspective of game mechanics, Lin Sizhi doesn't actually need to consider these things anymore; he can simply shoot at the puppet directly.

Because it was just a puppet, not a real living person.

Regardless of whether the last magazine is empty or not, as long as you shoot the doll, you can absolutely guarantee your safety.

Conversely, the cost and risk of shooting oneself in the face of such a shot are instantly maximized, becoming infinitely high and utterly meaningless.

"As long as I fire a shot at the puppet on the other side, everything will be over. That's what you've been thinking from the beginning, right?"

"Or do you think I'll underestimate you and choose to shoot myself with the last shot, then put the bullet in the last magazine?"

"So, the final choice actually has nothing to do with you; it depends solely on myself."

Lin Sizhi looked at the silver revolver in his hand and made his final decision.

"You think this method can kill me 100%, but it won't kill my body, it will kill my spirit."

"If I had chosen to shoot the puppet with the first shot, then Wei Xinjian and I might not have been fundamentally different."

"If I were to shoot the doll as the last shot, that would be a decent moral standard for an ordinary person, but it would be far from enough for a copycat who is judging others."

“I will then realize from the bottom of my heart that I am nothing more than you, just like you.”

"No matter how smart or powerful you are, if you can't overcome your fear of death, you'll always just be a pawn in the game."

"We will always be clumsy imitators, and we can never become gods."

"If you believe that everything I've shown is genuine, not an act or a lie, then you'll definitely save this bullet for the last shot."

"Because I must use this shot to prove it."

"In that case, congratulations, you can successfully kill me and become the strongest in the entire arcade."

"But if you think that everything I do is fake, just some kind of acting, and that my inner nature is no different from anyone else's, then you will put this bullet in the doll's pocket."

"So when I fire this shot at the puppet, the blank shot will shatter all the illusions I created before, and you will have successfully proven that I am the same person as you."

"We will all survive the game and then become ambitious rulers of the arcade together."

"So, this game is actually an invitation you extended to me."

"But I'm sorry, I have to decline your invitation."

"No matter the outcome, I will shoot myself."

“I was prepared for this when I first came here.”

Lin Sizhi remained in that position, thinking about many things, but before the countdown ended, he finally pulled the trigger.

The trigger felt heavier than before; on the first pull, I couldn't even turn the hammer properly.

It can subconsciously create the illusion that "live ammunition is right here".

However, Lin Sizhi quickly and forcefully pressed down.

"Click."

It's a blank bomb.

Time seemed to stand still. Lin Sizhi showed no emotion, neither happy nor sad.

A series of clicks rang out, indicating that all the mechanisms on his body had been unlocked, but Lin Sizhi did not stand up immediately.

He stared at the mask on the doll's face and remained silent for a long time.

Finally, he stood up and reached into the pocket of the doll's shirt.

Sure enough, there was a live bullet inside.

Everything was arranged exactly the same as the original "Roulette of Redemption".

However, the underlying meanings of the two games are vastly different.

After a moment's thought, Lin Sizhi inserted the live bullet into the cylinder of the pistol, then quickly turned the cylinder and flicked the pistol to return it to its original position.

In this way, no one knows exactly where the bullet is.

Lin Sizhi placed the silver revolver in the doll's right hand and left it there.

With a "bang," the red emergency exit in the warehouse opened.

Lin Sizhi stepped out of the building, one step at a time.

...[The copycat who designed this game received death threats and acted in ways the players did not expect.]

Players will suffer instant death.

Upon hearing the broadcast, Huang Ming and the other four players all showed expressions of shock.

Only then did they belatedly realize that this was not the only special game; somewhere in the arcade, another game was taking place.

That game was clearly directly related to Tsai Chih-yuan.

No wonder he ultimately chose this cell.

Cai Zhiyuan was not entrusting his life to fate, but was absolutely certain that he could control his own destiny.

But clearly, he lost.

Everyone turned to look at Cai Zhiyuan, but what surprised them even more was that Cai Zhiyuan showed almost no reaction to the outcome, as if he were the one about to suffer an immediate death, rather than some unrelated passerby.

Judging from Cai Zhiyuan's expression, he seemed to have anticipated this possibility.

To be precise, when the rules confirmed that the "super privilege player" was Fu Yujun, he already understood many details of the game and had considered this possibility in advance.

But he didn't accept this outcome until the rules of the game were actually confirmed.

"So, you really shot yourself six times?"

"This was indeed the only possibility I couldn't have foreseen and couldn't accept before designing this game."

"But now, I think I understand a little."

"The last little difference between us is our mindset."

"Or you could say that this is actually the biggest gap?"

"You actually dared to dream of becoming a god, while I only wanted to be the best copycat."

Cai Zhiyuan saw the game scene in "Simple Roulette".

Fu Yujun's expression was somewhat complicated. There were still too many things in this game that he didn't understand, and perhaps only a detailed review afterward could explain them.

But at this moment, he really didn't want to see Cai Zhiyuan suffer an immediate death penalty.

"Didn't your community already activate the immunity voucher? Hasn't the cooldown period finished yet?"

Cai Zhiyuan smiled and said, "This is a 'special game' that uses 100 million minutes of visa time for elimination, so the 'immunity ticket' is not valid."

Fu Yujun was silent for a moment, then asked, "Then... do you have any last words? If I encounter players from Community 17 in the game later, please pass them on to me."

After a brief moment of thought, Cai Zhiyuan shook his head.

"No need. There's someone in our community who knows me very well. He should know exactly what I'm trying to say."

"Moreover, for people like us, life and death have never been the most important things."

Fu Yujun asked, "Then what's important? Winning or losing?"

Cai Zhiyuan shook his head: "The important thing is to confirm 'who I am' and 'who I want to become', and to accomplish it at all costs."

Compared to this goal, life and death, winning and losing, or anything else, are not important.

"Only those who are like this can become the strongest in the 'Arcade'."

"And all those who care about life and death and winning and losing, no matter how smart they are, are in the end nothing more than puppets in the hands of copycats."

Huang Ming didn't understand at first, and he subconsciously wanted to ask more questions, but then he suddenly remembered a sentence in the game rules.

This is a test of will and belief; finding the answer to "Who am I?" is the key to success.

He originally thought that the statement, made in the voice of a copycat, was meant to make everyone guess the copycat's true identity.

But now it seems that this statement is actually a pun.

It can be understood as 'guessing who the copycat is' or 'determining who you are'.

Different perceptions of oneself will ultimately determine the choices made in this game, and will lead to different fates.

—If Tsai Chih-yuan truly believes he is a "hermit," then he can survive the "hermit trial."

But he was never a 'hermit,' but rather an 'ambitious man' disguised as a hermit.

Cai Zhiyuan shifted into a more comfortable position in his chair, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and took one last look at the game scene that had brought him to his death.

"Wish ya'll good luck."

Then, his head drooped, as if he were lost in eternal contemplation.

【game over. 】

(End of this chapter)