Evening.
Wang Yongxin and Yang Yuting came to the small conference room in the corner of the third floor and each sat down in a single-person sofa.
Yang Yuting asked, "Are you regretting not switching to another community in the last game?"
Wang Yongxin smiled, "What are you talking about? I never intended to switch to another community in the first place."
Yang Yuting looked seriously into his eyes, "Really?"
Wang Yongxin nodded somewhat helplessly, "Really. Do I need to hide things from you too?"
Earlier during the ’Conglomerate Nation’ game, Yang Yuting had been wondering whether Wang Yongxin would want to switch to another community.
Although Wang Yongxin had approached Yang Yuting quite early on, wanting to rally players outside their five-person group for self-protection as much as possible, there had still been no progress up to now.
No, it should be said that hope was becoming increasingly dim.
Up to now, the only person they had truly managed to reluctantly rally was Xu Tong, with Jiang He counting as half.It wasn’t that they hadn’t tried with others, but under the current community structure, they really couldn’t pull them over.
Most were in a wavering state, and could even be said to be clearly swaying toward the five-person group.
For example, Qin Yao almost completely stood on Lin Sizhi’s side.
After Ding Wenqiang died, the new doctor Zheng Jie also obviously got closer to Fu Chen.
Su Xiucen originally didn’t care about any community politics, and after she died, the newcomer Luo Wei was initially a target they could have fought for, but after just one game she was gone. The new arrival, Aunt Zhou, undoubtedly had closer relationships with Cai Zhiyuan and Li Renshu.
This kind of progress was indeed somewhat despairing.
So Yang Yuting was worried that Wang Yongxin might want to switch to other communities.
Yang Yuting had such concerns earlier during the game, but at that time Jiang He was present after all, and everyone still had to discuss game strategies. Time was tight and it wasn’t convenient to ask more.
Now back in the community, the two of them could have a proper chat.
Yang Yuting asked, "So what exactly are you thinking now? Is not switching because there temporarily aren’t any good targets, or have you decided not to switch under any circumstances?"
Wang Yongxin thought for a moment, "It’s close to a state of ’not switching under any circumstances.’
"Because for me, even in the current situation, switching would be an action where the risks far outweigh the benefits."
Yang Yuting was somewhat puzzled, "Why? With your intelligence and money-making ability, you could get into the management of any community other than Community 17, right?"
Wang Yongxin shook his head, "That’s not necessarily true.
"Have you read ’Water Margin’? When Chao Gai went up Liangshan Mountain, could Wang Lun tolerate him?"
Yang Yuting was stunned, "Ah? I seem to have watched the TV series, but I’ve completely forgotten it."
Wang Yongxin was momentarily speechless, "You... well, let me explain it another way.
"No matter how weak a community is, by now it must already have a power core.
"Suppose the community I want to go to has a leader who is clearly weaker than me, then I couldn’t possibly listen to him in everything. In this situation, even if I had no intention of getting rid of him, do you think he could tolerate me?
"Conversely, if the community I want to go to has a leader who is clearly stronger than me, confident in perfectly suppressing me, would he particularly need me then? What essential difference would there be between me going there and staying in Community 17?"
Yang Yuting fell into deep thought.
Obviously, Wang Yongxin’s most awkward position lay in the ecological niche he played in the community.
His personality and thinking patterns were more suited to being a leader rather than an advisor.
If he were an advisor or support role, going anywhere would be pretty much the same, as many communities would welcome such players but Wang Yongxin was decidedly not that type because being an advisor meant giving up decision-making power, only offering suggestions, and it didn’t matter whether the decision-maker adopted them or not.
For example, Cai Zhiyuan in Community 17 played exactly such a role.
He would give suggestions to Fu Chen and Li Renshu, but if these two didn’t listen, he also felt it was completely OK, since he wouldn’t be the one responsible in the end anyway but Wang Yongxin wasn’t that kind of person, he was more inclined to be the decision-maker.
If he were willing to be an advisor, the initial structure of the five-person group might have undergone some changes but this kind of ecological niche was innate and couldn’t be changed.
So, if Wang Yongxin were to go to a community that already had a power core, regardless of whether this decision-maker was strong or weak, friction would inevitably occur.
And the consequences of such friction were completely unknown.
In the worst-case scenario, it was entirely possible for him to be "killed for short-term gain" by that community’s people.
Yang Yuting thought about it and said, "But there are other situations besides this, right?
"For example, this community happens to be leaderless, and you going there would undoubtedly make you a core member."
Wang Yongxin sighed, "You mean you want me to drag along eleven others?
"Not to mention whether I could lead them or not.
"I’m switching to make my own life more comfortable, not to do charity work.
"Actually, I hinted at this to Luo Wei, but unfortunately she didn’t listen at all.
"The worst thing about Community 17 is also its best thing.
"It’s hard to stir up trouble in this community, but you also don’t have to worry about being inexplicably targeted.
"In other words, Community 17 is a very stable community, one that is not only relatively strong but almost never infringes on the rights of the weak.
"Being in it, we might not perceive this, but I’m certain that this kind of stability is scarce for most communities.
"Community stability is like air and water, when you have it, you don’t feel it, but if you don’t have it, it could very likely cause catastrophic consequences.
"So, even though not being able to enter the power core makes me feel somewhat stifled, staying in Community 17 is still my best choice at present.
"Unless there appears a community that is completely suitable in all aspects, stable, with reliable companions, and happens to have my ecological niche, only under such extremely special circumstances could I consider switching.
"But obviously, judging from the communities we’ve encountered so far, finding such a community that suits all aspects is very, very difficult."
Yang Yuting nodded, "Hmm... putting it that way, that’s true.
"Community 17’s power core is a small circle, but precisely because it’s a small circle and not ’tyranny of the majority,’ this makes life not too difficult for those who haven’t entered the circle.
"From the current situation, this structure is actually stable enough.
"Luo Wei’s choice to switch was still too hasty."
Wang Yongxin spread his hands, "It’s not just about being hasty.
"Luo Wei’s biggest problem is that as a newcomer, she had no concept of the strength of various communities.
"She thought other communities were all filled with brilliant people, everywhere there were people like me and Lawyer Lin.
"She thought Lawyer Lin was fighting alone, and that our community’s organization being slightly weaker would lead to being completely devoured.
"But in reality, the New World doesn’t specifically select intelligent people from reality, the selection results conform to the intelligence distribution in the real world. It could even be said that stupid people occupy the absolute majority."