The atmosphere in the hall grew heavy again as this question was raised.
Although many people still hadn't fully figured out the details of the 'King's Trial' game, the biggest point of suspicion was laid bare before them.
And that was the final vote.
According to the game rules, once the hidden mechanism for trying the king was activated, all prisoners could vote. When the execution votes exceeded half of the total number of prisoners, the king would be executed.
In other words, one of them, either Wang Yongxin or Cai Zhiyuan, must have cast an execution vote.
Wang Yongxin's voice was still a bit hoarse. He looked at the crowd and asked, "If I said I didn't vote, would anyone believe me?"
After a few seconds of silence, Yang Yuting said, "I believe you."
Cai Zhiyuan spread his hands and said nothing.
The discussion reached a stalemate.
If it had been any other two people, they might have been arguing heatedly by now, trying to prove their innocence in various ways, or even resorting to personal attacks against the other.
But both Cai Zhiyuan and Wang Yongxin were relatively rational individuals who disliked excessive arguments.
The one who didn't vote disdained to prove their innocence.
The one who did vote wasn't foolish enough to overreact.
Moreover, as direct participants in this trial game, they shared a similar standpoint to some extent, a standpoint that couldn't be voiced.
In the end, both of them chose to remain silent.
Fu Chen disliked the current state of the community, but he was also troubled, not knowing how to move the conversation forward.
He looked at Li Renshu, then at Lin Sizhi.
"Lawyer Lin, you were a participant in this game. What do you think?"
Lin Sizhi was silent for a moment, "I don't think there's any point in discussing this.
"Without evidence, I won't presume guilt.
"Besides, I believe that whoever cast the execution vote, their action is understandable."
Su Xiucen became a little emotional, "Understandable? How is it understandable!
"You clearly could have chosen not to cast an execution vote. As long as you didn't vote, Brother Ding wouldn't have died!
"Do you think he would have used the trial game to kill you if you didn't kill him? But he could have still seen the error of his ways!
"We're all living under the same roof. If we just had a little more trust, couldn't we all have survived?"
The crowd fell silent again.
Clearly, not everyone agreed with Su Xiucen's words, but faced with an emotional elder, most chose not to argue.
As for Wang Yongxin and Cai Zhiyuan, it was even less appropriate for them to defend themselves at this moment.
Lin Sizhi hesitated. Just as he was about to say something, Li Renshu spoke first.
"Auntie Su, please calm down first.
"We knew from the first day we entered the community that people would die in the trial games, and we should have been mentally prepared.
"Any one of us could die, it's just a matter of who goes first and who goes later.
"Cai Zhiyuan and Wang Yongxin are also victims of this game.
"If we must find a culprit, it can only be the designer of this game, that 'God's Copycat Killer'."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
With the blame shifted, Su Xiucen's gaze towards the two softened slightly.
But it was clear that Wang Yongxin seemed to have a different opinion.
He wrestled with his thoughts for a moment and quickly made up his mind.
"Can I say a few words?"
His voice was still a bit hoarse, and as he spoke, he fought the urge to touch the stinging ligature marks on his neck.
Fu Chen nodded, "Of course."
Wang Yongxin pointed a finger at the large screen, "Although you're making the game's designer take the fall for my sake, I still want to say a few words in their defense.
"In this game, they actually gave Uncle Ding more than one chance.
"Uncle Ding didn't seize them himself, so he can't blame anyone else."
The blame that had just been shifted was pulled right back onto Wang Yongxin by his own words.
Su Xiucen instantly glared at him again.
But it was obvious that Wang Yongxin was the type to speak his mind and would never keep these words bottled up just because of Su Xiucen's opinion.
"This game is called 'King's Trial'. Like 'Redemption Roulette', it's a trial game. It's just that the crime the five of us committed was less severe than Wei Xinjian's.
"The five of us together caused the death of that delivery driver, so we must face this trial together.
"Let's not discuss whether the trial in each specific cell was reasonable for now. Just looking at the game's content, Uncle Ding becoming the king after the Farmer's Walk segment actually gave him absolute control.
"Thinking about it in hindsight, I can come up with at least three ways he could have avoided death."
The crowd stopped talking and listened intently.
Wang Yongxin continued to explain, "First, the Farmer's Walk pre-game was a hint from the game designer.
"The person at the very front could have waited until the countdown was almost over before pressing the button. That way, everyone would have had the most ample game time without any loss.
"This was actually hinting that a way for all five to pass perfectly by working together existed.
"Lawyer Lin pointed this out very early on, and I also reminded him, but Uncle Ding rejected the proposal.
"Then there's the allocation of the six cells.
"First, if Uncle Ding had recognized that 'he too was a sinner' and proactively chosen to enter any cell, then the five people would share 10 trial games, two for each person, which would be safe enough to pass.
"Moreover, when arranging the cells, he could have completely avoided the most difficult Cell 5 and not played the nail gun game.
"Second, if Cell 3 was used properly, it could have also greatly reduced the game's difficulty.
"According to the rules of Cell 3, if you break one of your own fingers, you can immediately complete one game for another cell; even if you don't, deducting visa time is also considered completing one game.
"If Uncle Ding had thrown any prisoner into Cell 3, he could have had that cell play a few more times, whether by breaking fingers or deducting time. This would have greatly eased the pressure on the other cells."
Jiang He was stunned for a moment, "Wait, didn't the game rules say that playing the game in these cells for a third time would be life-threatening?"
Wang Yongxin shook his head, "Look at what the rules say again.
"[In most cells, when the 3rd trial is conducted, the prisoner's life will be in danger.]
"Not all cells.
"Both Zhang Peng and I had proactively asked to enter Cell 3, but Uncle Ding didn't agree."
Jiang He was a bit puzzled, "Why? That's strange. Looking at it now, it doesn't seem like a very difficult trap to see through, does it?"
Wang Yongxin sighed, "Because the rules are misleading.
"Uncle Ding completely bought into the identity of the 'King'.
"This game has a lot of psychological suggestions, like the king's crown, the king's scepter, and the rules frequently hinting that the king has almost omnipotent power. The audience also continuously rewards the king, constantly affirming the king's actions.
"Once Uncle Ding fully embraced the role of the king, he fell into two misconceptions:
"First, he believed he should conduct a more just trial for the other prisoners, which is why I was to be sent to the lamppost, and Zhang Peng had to enter the cell named 'Undeserved Calamity'.
"He didn't want to throw us into Cell 3 because he was worried the punishment in Cell 3 wouldn't be enough for us.
"Second, he didn't think he was in any danger.
"No matter how the 10 games were distributed, only us prisoners would die.
"Since he believed he was safe, he naturally wouldn't consider this kind of 'all-member survival strategy'."