Hanging Street Lamp

Compared to Wang Yongxin's bright and shiny office, the scene shown in this frame was messy like a pigsty.

It was clearly Zhang Peng's cheap rental room.

A semi-basement window let in some dim light. Zhang Peng, with his dyed yellow hair, lay on a bed full of trash and picked his toes before lying down again, bored.

[As a lazy parasite who only eats, you only bring destruction to society, with no contribution.]

[Theft, robbery, fighting, even after multiple stints in prison, you will never repent.]

[You have hands and feet, yet you refuse to earn your own living. Instead, you mock those who struggle to get by.]

[Your malice is like a butterfly's wings, turning into undeserved disaster for the innocent.]

[This time, can you still escape judgment unscathed?]

Zhang Peng's video was shorter. Immediately after, the file appeared on the big screen.

[Zhang Peng, Male, 26 years old.]

[Occupation: Unemployed.]

[Lazy and idle, he has committed multiple crimes including theft, robbery, and fighting, and has luckily escaped legal punishment numerous times.]

[Sentencing Result: Not Judged]

Wang Yongxin glanced at Zhang Peng with some disdain. In his opinion, this man was an incorrigible scumbag.

If he absolutely had to choose one, Wang Yongxin couldn't imagine why Ding Wenqiang would choose him.

Zhang Peng also panicked slightly and quickly explained, "Brother Ding, Uncle Ding! There's something wrong with this file. It's like I've never been caught before!

"It doesn't make sense either. Given the public security in our country, the police aren't just sitting around doing nothing!

"I need to clarify, I did rob someone once, but only once! And I was caught very quickly and sentenced to three years.

"The other things were just petty theft, nothing particularly heinous!"

Ding Wenqiang looked at Prison Cell No. 2, then at Prison Cell No. 3.

It was clear he didn't want either Wang Yongxin or Zhang Peng to enter Prison Cell No. 3, because neither of them would do something like smashing their own fingers to help someone else complete the game.

According to the game rules, once you enter a cell, you cannot leave or switch cells.

It was easy to put them in.

But if they entered and did nothing, just letting their visa time tick down to endure it, that would be quite troublesome.

Wang Yongxin had earned at least 200,000 visa time in "Blood Poker," so he could afford to lose it.

As for Zhang Peng, Ding Wenqiang wasn't sure how much visa time he had, but being so young, his initial visa time was likely over a month.

From the perspective of the game's optimal solution, only someone willing to smash their own fingers would be the most suitable candidate for Cell No. 3.

Or at least, someone with very little visa time.

The game rules had repeatedly emphasized that as the King, Ding Wenqiang had to make relatively fair judgments. And simply locking them up to deduct visa time seemed like too light a punishment.

Ding Wenqiang looked at Zhang Peng.

In terms of severity, Zhang Peng was clearly the one who should be judged more.

Wang Yongxin wasn't a good boss, but he hadn't broken the law. Of course, excluding the labor laws that were casually violated everywhere.

Someone like Zhang Peng, lazy and indulging in all sorts of vices, was more like the kind of person who should be judged in this game.

Zhang Peng swallowed. Ding Wenqiang's gaze made him very nervous. It was obvious he had to do something now.

"Uncle Ding! I have something to say, I have something to say!

"In this game, everyone is a sinner. Do we still need to differentiate between levels of sin?

"The game requires sinners to receive appropriate judgment. Just like that programmer guy said before, the meaning of the Judgment Game should match the crime, right?

"I do steal and rob, but that has nothing to do with these games. If you force a connection, it's more related to Cell No. 3.

"Besides, the mistakes I made were nothing more than petty theft. What impact does this small destruction have on society as a whole?

"But he's different!"

Zhang Peng pointed at Wang Yongxin: "He hasn't broken the law, but how many people are exhausted because of him? How many people have died from overwork because of him? How many delivery drivers and couriers have gotten into accidents because of him!

"Those delivery drivers risk running red lights to deliver food. In the end, aren't they just being squeezed dry by him?

"Yes, I'm lazy, but in this society today, can hard work really make you rich?

"Has society become this way because of my laziness and petty theft, or because of these rich people sitting up high?"

Wang Yongxin was stunned. Clearly, he hadn't expected the other party to suddenly start attacking him.

Moreover, this attack was very damaging, almost hitting him where it hurt.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Even if I've wronged my employees and the delivery drivers, what does that have to do with you! Is it your place, a robber, to pass moral judgment on me?" Wang Yongxin was speechless.

Zhang Peng nodded: "Right, that's the difference between you rich people and us common folk.

"The reason you rich people are powerful is that no matter what mistakes you make, you never admit them!

"Because if you don't admit it, you're not wrong. If you admit it, then it's all your fault!"

"At least I'll face legal punishment. What about you? The law has no hold over you!

"The game in this second cell is called 'Hanging Street Lamp.'

"Tell me, who between us deserves to be hanged from a street lamp more?"

Wang Yongxin was stunned.

Ding Wenqiang sighed silently and walked to the front of Prison Cell No. 2, looking at Wang Yongxin. "Go in."

Wang Yongxin wanted to say something more, but ultimately stopped himself, and reluctantly stepped into the cell.

Then, with a self-deprecating laugh, he said, "A capitalist being hanged. Well, I suppose it's a fitting end."

"Click!"

As the lock snapped shut, the mechanism inside the cell automatically activated.

A street lamp-shaped mechanism lowered slightly, and a noose made of thick rope descended from above. Below, a not-so-thick square platform appeared.

[Game starts in 30 seconds. Please place your neck in the noose and remain suspended for 10 minutes.]

[You will receive 1000 minutes of Visa Time per minute. After 10 minutes, the mechanism will automatically disengage.]

Wang Yongxin stepped onto the platform and, after placing his neck in the noose, the mechanism automatically activated.

The noose tightened upwards, and the platform beneath his feet retracted, instantly stretching his body taut.

Wang Yongxin could only desperately stand on his tiptoes, while using his hands to grip the noose and cushion his chin, trying to create a safe space for his neck.

This game, played for the first time, wouldn't kill him, but it would put Wang Yongxin in an extremely uncomfortable state. Any lapse in concentration could cause him to be choked unconscious by gravity, leading to severe consequences.

As the game neared its end, a new broadcast began playing from the small speaker in front of Lin Sizhi.

[Please vote on the fairness of the King's actions.]

Another evaluation segment. After a moment of consideration, Lin Sizhi pressed "√".

The countdown ended.

[Voting result: √√√√√√√√√√]

[Final Fairness Score: 100]

[Thank you for your evaluation!]

The ten-minute countdown ended, and the mechanism activated again. The noose above lowered slightly, and the platform beneath his feet rose a little.

Wang Yongxin finally recovered from the stretched, taut state he had been in. He immediately broke free from the noose and fell to the ground.

"Hiss..."

His calves had cramped from standing on tiptoes for so long. They were still in the same position and continued to twitch.

Wang Yongxin gritted his teeth and kneaded his calf, but it was useless in the short term.

He had no other choice. Even though his calf had cramped halfway through the game, he could only endure the excruciating pain and hold on, because if he lost his footing, he might very well have been hanged to death.

Touching the red mark on his neck, Wang Yongxin felt a sense of having narrowly escaped death.

[10,000 minutes of Visa Time have been settled to the player.]

Compared to Cai Zhiyuan's game, which only gave 150 minutes of Visa Time, this game was much more generous.

Wang Yongxin gave a self-deprecating bitter laugh. "What do you call this? As long as there's enough profit, capitalists will even sell the noose to hang themselves?

"The designer of this game is quite witty.

"But this isn't fun at all."