Chapter 637: An Extreme Ecology

Zhao Heng smiled, "Did you try to recruit Zhou Xiaoying?

"In the First Stage, she probably would have left without hesitation. But now things are different.

"Have you thought about why?

"Because this is the Second Stage. The arrival of the special medications has completely reshaped the political landscape of every community.

"When it comes to attitudes toward the medications, a community can only be one of two things: either it allows their free purchase and use, or it enforces strict control and prohibits them entirely.

"I'm guessing yours is the latter?

"You assume that's a good thing, but from Zhou Xiaoying's perspective, it isn't necessarily.

"Because no matter how warm your community appears or how well you describe it, Zhou Xiaoying knows perfectly well that she will never truly fit in with you.

"As an outsider, a player who isn't particularly strong, in a profession that isn't urgently needed, and the only drug-dependent player in the community, do you genuinely believe you could accept her wholeheartedly?

"Of course not.

"You're just trying to use her to win this game.

"Of course, through the poaching mechanism, she could guarantee her place in your community. But what comes after? She might be sidelined, treated as an outsider, resented by some of your players.

"For an ordinary player already dependent on the medications, a community that controls them might sound appealing on the surface, but it would only ever be just that.

"She knows that she's already bound deeply to the medications. You could never genuinely accept someone like her.

"Of course, you might be a community that allows free medication use. But in that case, aren't you also controlling players through the medications? Just in a different way to us.

"Every community that uses medications will eventually end up looking more or less the same, so taking the risk of jumping from one to another serves no real purpose.

"And Community 23's cohesion isn't maintained by fear alone.

"There are also very generous rewards.

"Your communities just take whatever visa time was earned in the game and distribute it. But that's far from enough.

"We have considerably more resources to offer: the right to resell medications, and the privilege of having power over others.

"Take Zhou Xiaoying. After she wins this game and goes back, she'll receive more medications than she actually needs, and she'll have complete freedom over what to do with them.

"She can sell them to other players in the community at a premium, or hold onto them for special occasions.

"And if she performs well enough in future games, she could even displace one of the current core members.

"Wu Xiufang is a very good example of that.

"So rather than saying you lost on strategy, it would be more accurate to say you lost to your own arrogance.

"You assumed without question that controlling medications is right, but that's just a conditioned reflex from real-world thinking and social norms. You never seriously thought through how the Gallery changes things or what logic underlies it.

"You wasted precious time and opportunities on pointless recruitment attempts. The result you're facing now is exactly what you deserve.

"This isn't a strategic failure. It's a political one."

Yao Yuan was quiet for a moment, "I'll reserve my opinion on that.

"Building a community's culture and structure is a complex matter. But you seem to have simplified it to an extreme.

"Perhaps achieving a complete monopoly and dictatorship within a community is possible under specific conditions, but forcing it will only backfire.

"You want to use collective punishment, severe discipline, rewards for merit, and drug control to forge an elite fighting force that sweeps everything before it.

"But personally, I'm not particularly optimistic about your social experiment.

"You've planted a very large landmine. The only reason it hasn't gone off yet is that your community's new players are too numerous and too disorganised to detonate it."

Zhao Heng said, indifferently, "Whatever you say. Time will prove me right.

"At least in this game, you've already lost.

"Hmm?"

Zhao Heng noticed that Huang Shengjie had set down the materials in his hands and was walking slowly toward him.

"Yao Yuan, stop wasting words on him.

"We haven't lost this game yet. Why are we standing here listening to his victory speech?"

Zhao Heng was mildly surprised. He watched Huang Shengjie approaching from the side and couldn't immediately make sense of what he was trying to do.

"Young man, are you trying to copy me?

"Trying to attack me and trick me into a violation, putting me in paralysis so your side has time to deliver the Contraband?

"Just like what I did to you earlier?

"I'd advise you to think carefully about the rules and your current situation.

"You've already committed two violations, haven't you?

"If you commit one more, your community members will have to spend a large sum of Gold Pounds to save you.

"I didn't touch you at all last time and didn't commit any violation myself, so my only violation was from inside the cell block, which is one. Our community's other players combined have three.

"I have a very comfortable number of allowances remaining, and if I choose to use them, I can make your life very unpleasant without causing you any permanent harm.

"I've had professional training. Whether it's controlling force output, evasion reactions, or tolerance for strikes, I outclass you in every single one."

Huang Shengjie said nothing and kept walking forward.

Zhao Heng's brow furrowed slightly, "Your behaviour is strange. Have you actually set something up somewhere?

"Have you managed to trick the other players in our community into using up their violation allowances?

"Which would mean that even though I personally still have one allowance, the community's total allowances have already been exhausted?

"Otherwise it's very hard to explain why you're still walking toward me.

"Fine. If that's the case, then there's no need for me to take the risk.

"I won't retaliate. Go ahead and hit me as hard as you can. Let's see whether you can actually hurt me."

Zhao Heng didn't actually believe Community 23's allowances had been exhausted, but decided to hold back for now and observe Huang Shengjie's next move before committing to anything.

His tolerance for physical punishment far exceeded that of the average player. Even standing completely still and taking a punch, he likely wouldn't come to any real harm.

And Huang Shengjie would certainly exceed his violation limit.

If Community 2's players decided to save him, they'd have to spend another 20,000 Gold Pounds, widening the gap between the two communities even further.

Quickly, Huang Shengjie had crossed the distance and was now standing almost face to face with Zhao Heng.

Zhao Heng was several sizes larger, the difference between them striking enough to seem as though they existed on different scales entirely.

Zhao Heng didn't step back. He had no intention of being pushed back this easily.

If he kept retreating, Yao Yuan and Zhou Wanlin would simply follow Huang Shengjie forward step by step, advancing while delivering the Contraband.

But Zhao Heng wasn't dropping his guard either, watching Huang Shengjie's movements with full attention.

His professional training gave him complete confidence in his ability to dodge or block the instant Huang Shengjie moved, avoiding injury while simultaneously causing Huang Shengjie to trigger a violation.

"This punch is from me, on behalf of Zhou Xiaoying.

"Get ready to say goodbye to this world."

Huang Shengjie made his move. His body twisted sharply, his right arm swung in a wide arc from behind and below, driving an uppercut from the lower right!