Chapter 584: Something Missing

After dinner.

Lu Bingjun had arranged a simple communal meal, and while it was not as lavish as the welcome dinner, there was still plenty of good food.

The atmosphere was relaxed and informal this time, so after everyone had eaten their fill they drifted away from the long table in twos and threes, some to the lounge area to take a walk after eating, others back to their own rooms to rest.

Huang Shengjie had gone in planning to eat his fill, only to find himself feeling full sooner than expected.

The hall felt oddly stuffy, so he went outside and found an empty corner to sit down, staring somewhat blankly into the dark night.

Before long, Huang Shengjie heard someone call his name.

"Shengjie."

He turned and found Qin Cheng already settling into the outdoor sofa beside him.

Huang Shengjie was mildly surprised, "You're done eating? I didn't notice you eating much. I thought you'd still be at the table. Aren't you hungry? That game took a lot more out of me than I expected."

Qin Cheng shook his head, "My sense of taste isn't particularly developed. It makes no real difference to me what I eat. It's just a matter of meeting the body's basic requirements.

"I have a rough idea of the nutrients I need each day, and once I've had enough, I stop."

Huang Shengjie was quiet for a moment, "Were you like that in high school too?

"I don't think we ever ate together in the cafeteria. I can't remember."

Qin Cheng shook his head, "No. It's a habit I developed in university."

Huang Shengjie let out a sigh, "Either way, running into someone from high school in a place like this is a stroke of luck.

"At least there's always one person I can trust completely.

"How does it feel? Being the Medical Supplies Custodian, you've got a sort of official post in the community now.

"Lu clearly thinks very highly of you."

Qin Cheng did not take the bait on that thread, and instead asked, "Does this community seem a little off to you?"

Huang Shengjie looked puzzled, "Off? How? I don't think so.

"Everything seems fine, doesn't it?"

Qin Cheng was quiet for a moment, "Doesn't it feel like this community hasn't actually finished coming together?"

Seeing that Huang Shengjie's expression was still blank, Qin Cheng continued, "Take today's vote, for instance.

"The first proposal passed 9 to 6. The second passed 10 to 5.

"Those margins don't look extreme on the surface, but Lu Bingjun holds the First Player Identity Card, which means his vote counts as two.

"Subtract his two votes, and the actual results are 7 to 6 and 8 to 5.

"That's already quite poor."

Huang Shengjie frowned, "But Lu said it himself, didn't he? It's perfectly normal for there to be disagreement within the community on something like this.

"Players who didn't participate in the game can't really understand it the same way. They might feel like taking two tablets wouldn't really be a problem..."

Before he could finish, Qin Cheng cut him off.

"I know. But it's not that simple."

Qin Cheng glanced around at their surroundings. No one was approaching. Even so, he lowered his voice.

"When it came to deciding the custodian, Lu Bingjun clearly wanted it to be himself.

"While it was Yao Yuan who proposed it, that can essentially be read as something Lu Bingjun either permitted or quietly indicated he wanted.

"If no one had objected, it might well have been settled just like that.

"But after Shen Bowen raised an objection, He Qinyun, Zheng Chunhua, and Geng Yuxia all fell in behind her.

"Who do you think they originally wanted to nominate?"

Huang Shengjie paused.

He furrowed his brow and thought about it for a while, then finally said, "Ye Lin?"

Qin Cheng nodded, "So doesn't that seem strange to you?

"Lu Bingjun's framing was actually deliberately blurring the real issue.

"He presented the main disagreement as being about how to handle the medications.

"But the actual main disagreement was about who the custodian should be."

Huang Shengjie was still not quite following, "But that doesn't seem like a huge problem, does it?

"Ye Lin is also a core player in the community. She must have helped other players through the First Stage as well.

"If Uncle Zheng and Geng Yuxia have benefited from her help before, supporting her on this issue isn't really that strange.

"And besides, Lu already has the First Player Identity Card. If he also controlled the medications, wouldn't that be giving him a bit too much power?

"From an ordinary player's perspective, wanting some checks and balances is a perfectly natural thought."

Qin Cheng asked, "Do you remember, when we first arrived in the community, Shen Bowen asked a question?"

Huang Shengjie tried to recall, "Yes, I think it was something about how many core players the community had. The answer was two, Lu and Ye Lin.

"And then Lu said that going forward, third and fourth cores could be established based on players' performance in games.

"What about it?"

Qin Cheng explained, "A two-core structure is a very poor configuration. It's not what a stable, mature community should look like.

"In the First Stage, each community had twelve players, and most group games were run in units of four.

"So I privately asked Lawyer Lin and Shen Bowen, and both of them told me their previous communities had three-core structures.

"With only two cores, what happens when a full-community game comes up? What does the group of four without a core player do?

"And three cores are far more stable than two.

"When disagreements arise in a community, a single core or three cores are both easy to handle. Either one person makes the call, or it's two votes against one.

"But with two cores, when the two cores disagree with each other, what then?

"Lu Bingjun is the community's First Player. By rights Ye Lin should defer to him. But that's precisely where the two-core problem lies: without a third party to provide balance, the tension between them will only keep building."

Huang Shengjie thought about it and said, "That seems simple enough to fix. Lu could just get any other player with some standing to side with him, couldn't he?"

Qin Cheng asked, "Wouldn't that effectively be a three-core structure in all but name?

"If you want to pull the community together, the optimal structure works like this.

"First, there needs to be one player with the highest standing, someone whose authority is respected both in community matters and in breaking through difficult games. That player becomes the First Player.

"Then, from among the other stronger players, two are chosen to serve as core players.

"With that structure, the First Player's position is secure, the two core players provide a mutual check on each other, and the overall community structure is stable enough.

"When all three agree, that's ideal.

"When the First Player disagrees with one of the cores, the other core mediates, and in a two-against-one situation, the minority makes the natural concession.

"Of course, every community is different, and sometimes the actual de facto leader doesn't serve as a core player.

"But regardless, a strong community will always settle into a stable structure after enough friction.

"Whatever form that structure takes, it should be able to stand up to scrutiny.

"That was the case in the communities both Lawyer Lin and Shen Bowen came from.

"But our Community 2 has a two-core structure, and we've already seen this many votes in opposition. Doesn't that seem off?

"To put it more plainly, Lu Bingjun as First Player is simply not demonstrating the level of control that role should carry.

"A lot of people don't fully follow him.

"It's just that this structural tension hasn't surfaced in any very obvious way yet."

Huang Shengjie frowned and thought carefully for a moment before saying, "So the most likely explanation is...

"This community originally had a third core player?"