After lunch.
Everyone spontaneously cleaned up, putting the leftover food in the refrigerator, throwing away the trash, and washing the dishes.
Once everything was tidy, some people, clearly still in high spirits, chatted in small groups on the sofas in the main hall.
Others chose to return to their rooms to rest.
Although the red wine wasn't strong and no one was drunk, they had just gone through a game today. The intense tension followed by relaxation inevitably left everyone feeling fatigued.
Yang Yuting yawned, feeling a bit tired herself. So, after saying goodbye to Li Renshu and Xu Tong, she left the hall to return to her room for a nap.
"The entire second floor is like a maze."
Yang Yuting couldn't help but complain again.
She had the same thought when she first arrived.
The community's small building didn't look large from the outside, but it was a different world within. Especially the second floor, which had twelve different rooms, each with its entrance cleverly separated. This made the layout of the entire second floor extremely complex and winding.
Even now, Yang Yuting still had some trouble finding her own room.
However, as she approached her door, she suddenly froze.
Because Wang Yongxin was standing not far away, seemingly waiting for her.
"Sorry to bother you, but I have a few questions I'd like to discuss with you in private."
Wang Yongxin was quite polite, a politeness that made Yang Yuting feel he wouldn't press the issue even if she refused.
But after a moment's consideration, Yang Yuting nodded, "Sure, where should we talk?"
Wang Yongxin pointed to the stairs leading up, "Let's go to the third floor. There are many small, private rooms there."
The two went up the stairs to the third floor and found a secluded small room to enter.
Wang Yongxin glanced around to make sure no one was there, then locked the door from the inside.
This action made Yang Yuting a little nervous, but not overly panicked.
After all, the community rules strictly prohibited any harmful or violent acts between players.
Yang Yuting felt that Wang Yongxin was a smart person, not foolish enough to do something like that.
Of course, the rules didn't seem to forbid soft control methods like deception or mental manipulation, but the use cases for such methods were very limited, and their success rate wasn't high, so there was no need to worry too much for now.
As expected, Wang Yongxin made no aggressive moves. He simply sat down on a nearby single sofa and explained, "Walls have ears. It's better to be careful, just to be safe."
Yang Yuting was a bit curious, "What do you want to talk about? You're being so cautious."
Wang Yongxin had also drunk a fair amount of red wine during the meal, but he showed no signs of intoxication now. On the contrary, he was quite sober.
"I want to talk about the future of our community."
This statement surprised Yang Yuting.
She really didn't understand why Wang Yongxin would bring up such a topic.
This community... did it even have a future to plan for?
By now, most people had reluctantly accepted the fact that they had come to this "new world."
All they needed to worry about was how to get through the next game, how to earn as much visa time as possible, and how to survive in this place for as long as they could.
The community, compared to the dangerous Arcade, was more like a simple safe zone.
Here, people chatted with each other, helped each other, reviewed past games together, and prepared for the next game together.
Or occasionally, like now, they could have a big meal to relieve their tense nerves and support each other moving forward.
Although everyone survived this game, what about the next one? And the one after that?
Perhaps this community would soon lose members, or other unexpected things would happen. Under these circumstances, discussing or planning the future of the community was truly a meaningless act.
After a moment of thought, Yang Yuting said, "I feel like even if we were to consider such a thing, it's not really our place to worry about it, is it?"
Wang Yongxin smiled, "From the current situation, it's true that it's not our place to worry. But that's precisely the problem, isn't it?
"Haven't you noticed?
"Today's proposal added a new rule to the community, a rule that will directly change how we live in the community from now on.
"And such an important proposal was discussed by five people in a small room.
"The remaining seven of us were, in fact, completely excluded."
His expression turned serious, "This proposal, you could say, had a happy outcome for everyone.
"But what about next time? And the time after that?
"Suppose a proposal is made now to divide all your remaining visa time equally, or to require you to hand over 70% of the visa time you earn from each game, and this proposal passes with 7 votes.
"What would happen?
"Don't think it's impossible. It's entirely feasible within the rules."
Yang Yuting was taken aback, "Are you talking about... the tyranny of the majority?
"But... both Fu Chen and Li Renshu seem quite friendly and responsible. They probably wouldn't propose such an extreme plan.
"And even if they did, it would be hard to get seven votes. People aren't that short-sighted.
"If they can vote to divide my visa time today, they can vote to divide someone else's tomorrow. If this continues, everyone will feel insecure, and the mutual trust in the entire community will cease to exist.
"We are a community of shared interests. As long as we understand this simple logic, we won't take that first step down the slippery slope."
Wang Yongxin asked meaningfully, "Does the 'we' you're talking about include me?"
Yang Yuting nodded, "Of course it does."
Wang Yongxin pressed on, "Then are you sure that other people's 'we' includes you?"
Yang Yuting hesitated, "It should, right?"
Wang Yongxin smiled and asked again, "Then why weren't you in that small room this morning?"
Yang Yuting was at a loss for words.
Wang Yongxin stared at her with a calm expression, "Everything you've said boils down to one thing: pinning your hopes on the conscience of others.
"But how do you know what Fu Chen or Li Renshu are really like?
"A very simple question: you don't actually think the five people who discussed the proposal were chosen randomly, do you?"
Yang Yuting fell into deep thought.
"Those five people..."
Fu Chen, Li Renshu, Cai Zhiyuan, Cao Haichuan, Lin Sizhi.
"You mean, Fu Chen, Li Renshu, Cai Zhiyuan, and Cao Haichuan were in the same group in the previous game, so they have a deeper trust in each other and have already formed some kind of small clique?" Yang Yuting guessed.
Wang Yongxin shook his head slightly, "That's only one aspect, but there are other factors.
"Li Renshu is a civil servant, Cao Haichuan is a police officer, and Lin Sizhi is a lawyer.
"Understand now? Their professions make them natural 'managers.'
"Moreover, do you remember when we were first discussing the 'Salvation Roulette' and other games, these few people spoke up significantly more often than others.
"This means that not only do they have better mutual trust, but they also share a common ground in their professions and ideals. Most importantly, they are all relatively influential people in this community.
"So, any proposal that these five people unanimously agree on is very likely to be implemented.
"The opinions of the remaining seven people are actually irrelevant. They either follow closely behind one of these five, or they become marginalized individuals whose 'no' votes are meaningless.
"What happened today has proven this point very well.
"These five people are, in fact, the 'power core' of our entire community.
"This power core was formed in just two or three days. Do you think this is a coincidence?"
Yang Yuting frowned slightly, lowering her head in contemplation.
"But your view... is a bit too... too political."
Wang Yongxin smiled, "Is politics a bad word?
"Where there are people, there is politics.
"What's more, we are in a very special environment right now. 12 people, each of whom can make proposals, and each of whom can vote on them.
"And the content of these proposals is directly related to the vital interests of every one of us.
"In this environment, if you don't care about politics, then politics will definitely come to care about you."