Chapter 754: Choosing Who Enters

Huang Shengjie couldn't hide his surprise.

Because throughout the entire second stage, both Lu Bingjun and Yao Yuan hadn't actually been especially proactive about entering games. Lu Bingjun had only participated in A Single Word to Settle a Case, and Yao Yuan only in the Prison Factory.

Even though both of them had performed impressively in those respective games, their participation counts fell noticeably short compared to the community's other strong players.

The other two core game players, Lin Sizhi and Ye Lin, had each participated in 3 games by this point.

Lu Bingjun and Yao Yuan's presence in the community had mostly come through debriefs and motion discussions.

But the fact that the two of them had participated in a full 6 games during the first stage, roughly half the total games across that entire stage, was genuinely an impressive workload.

After Wei Changfeng's death, part of the reason Lu Bingjun had managed to defeat Ye Lin and become the new community leader likely had something to do with his performance during the first stage. Even if his current behaviour looked somewhat like coasting on past accomplishments, it had to be said, his record from back then really was substantial.

While Huang Shengjie mulled this over instinctively, the discussion about who would enter the game continued.

Yao Yuan ran through the numbers again to confirm they were correct.

"So, the most pressing thing right now is deciding who takes the voluntary slot."

Hearing this, Shen Bowen's gaze drifted instinctively toward Lin Sizhi.

If the goal was to satisfy both "core game player" and "outstanding physical appearance" at once, Lin Sizhi was clearly a better fit than Lu Bingjun. And in terms of raw ability, Lin Sizhi was also the player who inspired the most confidence, seemingly without any obvious flaws or weaknesses, more like an emotionless, unstoppable problem-solving machine.

But Lin Sizhi had already shaken his head before anyone could ask.

"I'm not particularly interested in this game. I'd rather not participate."

He offered no clear reason, and no one felt comfortable pressing him further. After all, since entering the second stage, Lin Sizhi had already been through three games, same as Ye Lin, both well above Lu Bingjun's single entry. And with Selection-type games carrying a real risk of death, it was only natural he'd prefer to sit this one out.

Lu Bingjun thought it over. "We have two options now.

"If the voluntary slot goes to a woman, it would bump both Lu Qi and Zhou Wanlin out, and one man would automatically move up to fill the gap, either me or Yao Yuan.

"If the voluntary slot goes to a man, it would bump Zhou Wanlin out.

"Going purely by the literal wording of the invitation, Qin Cheng should already satisfy the 'outstanding appearance' clause, so there's no need to force any other male player to meet that standard as well.

"Hmm."

Lu Bingjun fell into thought again, not offering a clear answer right away.

Lu Qi glanced toward Ye Lin with a flicker of hope, wishing she would step forward to enter the game herself. Since this game strictly required 3 men and 4 women, if Ye Lin entered, she would displace Lu Qi's slot directly, sparing her from another Selection-type game with a real risk of death.

But Ye Lin didn't seem inclined to do so, showing no particular reaction either way.

It was becoming clear that most players felt it was now Lu Bingjun's turn. Even though he didn't quite fit the game's appearance requirement, the invitation had only specified "one" male player with an outstanding appearance, and Qin Cheng already satisfied that.

Within Community 2, purely in terms of looks, Lin Sizhi, Qin Cheng, and Huang Shengjie were all reasonably attractive players, though none quite reached Gao Jialiang's level, and the gaps between them weren't especially wide, more a matter of differing style than anything else.

So, from a straightforward roster perspective, Lu Bingjun entering the game made perfect sense.

His reluctance to commit readily might well have signalled some kind of hesitation, some particular reason he'd rather not enter this game at all.

The awkward part was that Lu Bingjun had a hard time finding a legitimate reason to avoid it. Even if Ye Lin had agreed to enter, it would only have displaced a female slot, one of Lu Bingjun or Yao Yuan would still have needed to go in. And Ye Lin didn't want to enter anyway.

Qin Cheng thought it over and spoke up. "Brother Lu, could Yao Yuan enter this game instead?

"I'd like to try leading the team myself this time.

"If Yao Yuan doesn't mind stepping into a supporting role for me, I think the overall composition might actually work better."

Geng Yuxia looked surprised, then a little worried. "Qin Cheng, you're going to lead? Is that really a good idea? You've been through a few games now, but still—"

Lu Bingjun, though, seemed genuinely pleased by the offer. "Good. That takes real courage.

"Honestly, Qin Cheng has already been functioning as a semi-core player in this community for a while now. Since he's automatically slated in for this game and satisfies the requirements anyway, this really is an excellent chance for him to grow.

"Auntie Geng, no need to worry too much. When Ye Lin and I first joined this community, we had zero experience going into our first game either, and we still got pushed straight into the deep end.

"There's no growth without a real challenge.

"So, Yao Yuan, would you enter the game and give Qin Cheng your full support? What do you think?"

Yao Yuan thought it over and nodded. "Alright."

Lu Bingjun summarised. "So the final roster is: Qin Cheng, Yao Yuan, Zheng Chunhua, Shen Bowen, Lu Qi, Geng Yuxia, and He Qinyun.

"That's a fairly well-balanced group. Good luck, everyone."

Huang Shengjie let out a long breath. This game, at least, had nothing to do with him.

He'd genuinely been a little worried earlier, wondering how he'd manage to decline if Qin Cheng ended up naming him for this one too.

But thinking it over afterward, Qin Cheng's choice to bring in Yao Yuan made complete sense. If Qin Cheng wanted to lead as the core player for this particular game, having Lu Bingjun or Ye Lin along, both established core players themselves, could easily create friction in approach once inside the game, given how different each of their instincts and styles tended to be.

Among the players not currently serving in a core role, Yao Yuan was clearly the strongest, and the most skilled at supporting a core player effectively.

With the roster settled, there was still roughly half an hour before the game began.

Lu Bingjun said, "We still have time. It might be worth thinking through some of the challenges you could run into and discussing them now. Could be genuinely useful."

Qin Cheng thought it over. "If I had to point to something, this game just has an unusually large number of players.

"16 communities, 112 players total. That's got to be the largest Selection-type game we've seen so far, hasn't it?"

Yao Yuan nodded. "As far as we know, yes."

Qin Cheng frowned in thought. "With that many people, I wonder if the game will devolve into total chaos.

"Or maybe it'll be structured like the Pain Game, split into a number of separate zones with strict restrictions on moving between them."

He glanced toward Lin Sizhi, who only said, "That depends entirely on what the Imitator has in mind. No one can say for certain what their real intent is. You'll just have to adapt once you're inside."

Yao Yuan added, "No matter how many players are actually involved in a game, the ones who genuinely end up shaping the outcome are always a small handful.

"If you want to win, focus on becoming one of that handful."

No one said anything more, and everyone settled into a quiet wait.

Finally, the countdown on the large screen reached zero.

Yao Yuan's count had been accurate. Seven players vanished from the hall.