Both of them fell silent, because they heard footsteps behind them.
"Officer Cao, Lawyer Lin.
"What are you talking about?"
Fu Chen sat down in an empty seat beside them.
"Heh, couldn't sleep, so I was just chatting with Lawyer Lin about the case."
Cao Haichuan lit another cigarette. He turned his head to look at Fu Chen, and after confirming he was alone, he said, "We were just talking about why the 'King's Judgment' game would set up a 'Farmer's Walk' segment."
It was obvious that as a criminal police officer, Cao Haichuan also had a high degree of sensitivity. This kind of discussion about the case wasn't something he would have with just anyone.
If the person who came wasn't Fu Chen, he might have already ended the topic.
Among the 12 people in the community, although they had known each other for the same amount of time, the trust between them varied.
Just like how Su Xiucen and Ding Wenqiang, as the two oldest people in the community, naturally had a closer relationship than anyone else.
For Cao Haichuan, Fu Chen, Lin Sizhi, and Li Renshu were people he relatively trusted, so he was willing to briefly share some of his thoughts.
Of course, he could also choose not to share with anyone and just ponder on his own, which would be absolutely safe.
But everyone's ability is limited. They must pool their wisdom and efforts to fully utilize everyone's talents.
The players versus the copycat was already an unbalanced confrontation. The copycat's advantage was too great.
If the players chose to fight alone, they had no chance of winning.
Cao Haichuan was certainly aware of this, so many of his speculations ultimately had to be shared with people he trusted more.
Fu Chen obviously hadn't thought that far ahead and followed Cao Haichuan's lead, "The 'Farmer's Walk'? Haven't we already discussed this topic?
"This preliminary game segment is a kind of hint from the game designer.
"It hints that in this game, there's actually a way for five people to clear it together.
"Of course, besides that, I think it has some other implications. For example, every time the player at the front presses the button, it causes the time for the next stage to shorten.
"This is a bit like the exploitation by big data algorithms in food delivery, using the fastest rider to set the standard, forming a kind of involution mechanism.
"This also ties into the judgment theme of this game: letting everyone except Uncle Ding experience the terror of being dominated by big data algorithms and involution.
"At the same time, it's also a test for the first player: if he waits until the countdown is almost over before pressing the button, all players can get a more generous amount of game time, which is also equivalent to breaking the involution environment in a sense.
"Oh, and also, in the original world, the king was 'those who labor with their minds govern others, those who labor with their strength are governed by others,' but the Farmer's Walk game does the opposite, selecting the person with the most physical strength to become king, which is the exact opposite of reality.
"These explanations all make sense, right?"
Cao Haichuan nodded, "Yes, indeed. Then do you think this game is fair?"
Fu Chen was stunned, "How did we get onto fairness again. Didn't Brother Wang say that none of these judgment games are absolutely fair."
Lin Sizhi accurately understood Cao Haichuan's meaning, "Judgment games are indeed not absolutely fair.
"But this game is particularly unfair.
"Officer Cao means that this game, in fact, only has one outcome: Uncle Ding winning."
Fu Chen was a bit confused for a moment, "Huh?"
He frowned and fell into deep thought.
"That can't be right, can it?
"The Farmer's Walk is a game that requires physical fitness. It's normal that Cai Zhiyuan and Brother Wang couldn't beat Uncle Ding.
"But Zhang Peng and Gao Zhankui, in terms of physical fitness, wouldn't necessarily lose to Uncle Ding, right?
"I remember according to your description, Officer Cao, Zhang Peng is an unemployed yellow-haired guy, but he robbed and assaulted Uncle Ding; and Gao Zhankui is a burly food delivery station manager with a fierce face.
"Their physical fitness shouldn't be worse than Uncle Ding's."
Cao Haichuan shook his head slightly, "But in reality, in the 'Farmer's Walk' game, Uncle Ding had a very obvious advantage."
Fu Chen was a bit puzzled, "Why?"
Cao Haichuan explained, "Because of the characteristics of the 'Farmer's Walk' game. It doesn't select the strongest person.
"The Farmer's Walk requires carrying a weight equal to one's own body weight, so, in fact, the lower the body fat percentage, the greater the advantage.
"Although Gao Zhankui has the most strength, he is tall and fat. Being tall means the weight has to be carried higher, and being fat means the weight is heavier.
"So he couldn't beat Uncle Ding.
"Furthermore, the Farmer's Walk is actually a kind of specialized training. The performance of those who have trained and those who haven't will be worlds apart.
"Zhang Peng might be good at fighting, but he has no experience with prolonged physical labor. Whether it's the way he exerts force when carrying things on his shoulders or in his hands, or the muscular endurance for long-term heavy physical labor, or the tolerance for pain and heavy pressure, he has none of it.
"And Uncle Ding, as a deliveryman who mainly delivers large packages, perfectly meets all the requirements of the 'Farmer's Walk' game."
Fu Chen had a sudden realization, "Oh? So that's how it is."
Cao Haichuan exhaled a puff of smoke and continued:
"Then think about it, the designer of this game must be able to see the files of these five people, right? Even if they don't know the specific height and weight, they can most likely see photos. Even if they can't see photos, they should at least know their age and occupation.
"A deliveryman, a food delivery station manager, an unemployed person, a private enterprise owner, a programmer.
"With these five occupations laid out, according to the rules of the Farmer's Walk, nine out of ten people would guess the deliveryman would win. After all, the deliveryman is the only profession related to 'moving things and carrying things.'
"So, after designing this game, could the designer not have guessed who would win?"
Fu Chen was a bit confused, "So what if they could guess? Does it make a difference to them who wins?"
Cao Haichuan retorted, "If it makes no difference, couldn't they just randomly select a person to be king? Why bother with a hypocritical preliminary game segment to screen them?
"Or they could just directly stipulate that Uncle Ding is the king as soon as he enters. That would be straightforward."
Fu Chen understood.
Obviously, the design of the Farmer's Walk game segment was somewhat self-contradictory from a design perspective.
On the surface, its main purpose seems to be to select the most suitable person to be king, with hinting at player cooperation or other implications being secondary purposes; but this selection process didn't give the other four people any chance of winning. If this game were played a hundred times according to these rules, Ding Wenqiang would always win.
On the surface, it seems to depend on physical fitness, and Zhang Peng and Gao Zhankui also have a chance to win; but a detailed analysis reveals that it doesn't entirely depend on physical fitness, and it cleverly eliminated Zhang Peng and Gao Zhankui.
Lin Sizhi thought for a moment, "Officer Cao, you mean that this Farmer's Walk game segment was designed to predetermine Uncle Ding as the king.
"As for all those other things, they are just packaging, a smokescreen to cover up this real purpose."
Fu Chen's brows furrowed tightly, "Wait a minute, I'm a bit confused.
"This inference is based on one premise: the designer of this game has a very strong sense of purpose. But what if this premise is just overthinking?
"Okay, even if this premise holds, I still don't understand. What's the point for the game designer to predetermine Uncle Ding as the king?
"Could they predict the future, knowing that Uncle Ding would definitely die if he became king?"
Cao Haichuan exhaled a puff of smoke, "It's hard to say.
"Let's make a bold assumption now. Among these five people, who do you think has the highest probability of dying as king?
"Lawyer Lin, I think you're a good judge of character. Why don't you analyze it."
After serious consideration, Lin Sizhi analyzed them one by one.
"First of all, I don't think Cai Zhiyuan would die. He is a very rational person. Whatever he does, he first considers the probabilities. If he were to arrange the prisoners, he would definitely treat all four people equally and punish them very evenly.
"Moreover, if someone reminded him, it's also possible for him to enter a cell himself.
"For example, he could still choose to voluntarily enter cell 1.
"Wang Yongxin is hard to say. Although he always says he's a selfish person, relatively speaking, he generally doesn't act on impulse, nor does he hold grudges.
"As a businessman, he would only consider the choice that maximizes his interests.
"So I think he might throw Gao Zhankui or Zhang Peng into cell 3, forcing them to lose visa time or smash their fingers. He would be lenient with Uncle Ding and Cai Zhiyuan."
Fu Chen interjected, "But the cells in this game have strong symbolic meaning, almost strongly tied to the crimes of these people. Each person has a cell that corresponds best to them.
"In this situation, if the cells are assigned randomly, wouldn't it quickly trigger the mechanism to judge the king?"
Lin Sizhi shook his head slightly, "No, actually the assignment of these cells can be changed. It's not an absolute one-to-one correspondence.