Chapter 460: Mental Pitfalls! A Single Cent Stumps Heroes!

Upon hearing that phrase, Lin Yang did not immediately refute it, but instead went over in his mind everything that had happened during this period.

After a while, he said, "But… the timeline doesn't match."

"Go ahead and tell me."

"Look, Su Kang died three days before we entered the game, and the time he killed He Zhenlong would have to be pushed back another four days."

"If he were a player, how could he set things up before the game even started?" Lin Yang raised the question.

Su Yang heard that and silently nodded; he had already considered this point.

If a player were pulling strings behind the scenes, it would have to be counted from the moment the game descended.

After all, if the game doesn't start, the player can't "show off his moves."

Moreover, Su Kang is a character within the game's setting, with his own backstory and personality.

Relying solely on Imitation makes it very hard to achieve.

Let alone simulating physique and stature.

"Two possibilities." Su Yang extended a Finger: "This player's Innate Talent is Imitation, deceiving Zi Huai to deliberately draw him into the game."

Then extending another Finger: "Su Kang never actually died; when he was scheming behind the scenes, the player caught him."

Lin Yang furrowed his Brow, "Pure Imitation is too one‑sided; even after evolution it's hard to achieve a unified mind, unless…"

Su Yang's eyes flashed with a strange hue, "Intermediate Omni Recovery Injection!"

"As for the second hypothesis you mentioned, it's not without possibility. Do you still remember the Fourth Death Game?" Lin Yang asked.

"You mean… Zhuang Weilun?" Su Yang raised his Brow.

"Devour Innate Talent, inheriting everything of the original host—including appearance, voice, body type and memories, even… Innate Talent!" Lin Yang stammered.

"A player devouring Su Kang?" Su Yang fell into contemplation.

Indeed, according to this line of reasoning, both are possible.

Comparatively, Su Yang thinks the latter is more likely.

After all, if it's merely pure Imitation, eventually the duration will lapse and the ruse will be exposed.

But if it's a Devour type, he can achieve a hundred percent inheritance with no time limit.

Only…

"Can Devour be used on non‑players?" Su Yang voiced his confusion.

"I think… there should be no difference. Look, our Innate Talent can be used on anyone," Lin Yang said.

"First, Su Kang has no Innate Talent; after inheritance it's only to use his identity. Yet you and I both know Su Kang has no power; his highest title is Six Harmony Association Gang Leader, and that's all," Su Yang said.

"You mean… the player wearing Su Kang's face actually gains nothing?" Lin Yang asked.

"Put yourself in his shoes and you'll see: devouring Su Kang yet gaining no benefit, even skulking in the Dark Place, unwilling to show himself—what's the point?"

"Sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight?" Lin Yang glanced at Su Yang's eyes and continued, "We wait until it's you versus me, then come out to scavenge. After all, he's the leader of the Six Harmony Association, which fits the Domination‑themed gameplay."

"Can't other players do the same? Why does it have to be Su Kang?" Su Yang asked again.

"To lure Zi Huai into the game?"

"That makes it even more far‑fetched: spending all this effort to deal with a shrimp soldier crab general, why not point the spear directly at me?"

"So you think Imitation is more likely?"

"No!" Su Yang shook his head: "Both of our minds are locked, fallen into a logical black hole, becoming empiricists."

"Always searching for traces in past experiences; doing so often leads to pitfalls."

"Innate Talents are varied; so far, the probability of repetition is exceedingly low."

Lin Yang glanced at the map and asked, "What should we do then?"

"Simple: assume Su Kang is also a player, and continue playing according to that habit," Su Yang said.

"I'm a bit curious, what does he actually want?"

"Nothing more than two things—money and power."

"If every move we make is under his surveillance, the transformation matter…"

"Then we must push forward even more; rather than seeking him out, we should force him to reveal himself," Su Yang said softly.

"Alright, your plan." Lin Yang nodded heavily.

The two continued discussing the details of the transformation inside the room.

In reality they were both novices in this area, only grasping the general framework.

In practice it's like feeling for stones while crossing a river; the steps must be taken one at a time.

For example, personnel settlement: currently most "refugees" are staying in ordinary citizens' homes.

As the saying goes, moving from luxury to frugality is hard; first they must absolutely obey orders.

Three or five days is manageable; longer periods tend to get out of control.

To this end, Su Yang proposed "settling" their families properly.

The best way to Control a person is to grasp their soft spot.

With a weakness, things become much simpler.

As for salaries…

Initially they thought ten thousand per month, but Lin Yang thought you can't feed them too much at once.

Providing them room for later advancement can stimulate some motivation.

Regarding training, since Su Yang doesn't have that much time to waste here.

So the courses are all crash classes; basically once they have the form, they must wield real guns.

Therefore, gun control must also be extremely strict.

With only a few hundred members of the Six Harmony Association, trying to control tens of thousands is clearly unrealistic.

So we still have to evaluate positions by performance, so that newcomers feel a sense of belonging.

Once a person has authority, even if they don't stand behind a whip, they will still take the initiative to grab work.

Just like employees in a company, with three thousand bucks, what am I staking my life on?

But after being promoted and getting a raise to become a Supervisor, the mindset changes.

Senior laborers at least have a prefix in front of them.

Moreover, with the current complex situation and soaring prices, being able to offer a job is already a blessing from heaven.

After the discussion, Su Yang and Lin Yang set off directly for Pin Min Ku.

Before embarking on a great undertaking, he wants to conduct a thorough investigation.

Soon, when the two drove there, they found Zhao Xian and others had already set up tables and benches.

To ensure efficiency, they even specially made a simple handwritten banner.

It read — Liuhe Society is hiring.

Only a handful of people stopped by; at most they glanced as they passed and then lost interest.

After all, mixing with the underworld is not a legitimate path for most.

Only those unstudied little Huang Mao would be interested in this thing.

"I say, Zhao Hall Master, why are you pulling laborers here? What is this recruitment thing?" Lin Yang said with interest.

"Then what should we write?" Zhao Xian retorted.

"Just write 'recruit soldiers', give them a simple test, and for each who passes, give a bucket of peanut oil and fifty jin of rice. How long will it take you to get this done?" Lin Yang said.

"There's no money left in the account now; even the relief funds are insufficient," Zhao Xian said with a worried face.

Indeed, a single coin can thwart even heroes.

Su Yang patted his shoulder, "First send out the cake, the redemption time will depend on the situation; after all, we are right here, we can't run away."