Hanging Street Lamp

Compared to Wang Yongxin's gleaming office, the scene this time was as messy as a pigsty.

It was obviously Zhang Peng's cheap rental.

Dim light filtered in through a half-basement window. Zhang Peng, with his dyed blond hair, lay on a bed covered in trash, picked at his foot, then flopped back down in boredom.

[As a lazy parasite who loved to eat but hated to work, you had brought nothing but destruction to this society, never any contribution.]

[Theft, robbery, brawling—despite being jailed several times, you had never repented.]

[You had hands and feet, yet refused to support yourself, instead mocking those who struggled to make a living.]

[Your malice was like the beating of a butterfly's wings, becoming an Unforeseen Disaster for innocent people.]

[This time, could you still escape judgment by luck?]

Zhang Peng's videotape was shorter. Immediately afterward, a file appeared on the big screen.

[Zhang Peng, male, 26 years old.]

[Occupation: Unemployed.]

[Lazy and idle, he had committed numerous crimes including theft, robbery, and brawling, repeatedly escaping legal punishment by sheer luck.]

[Judgment result: Not judged.]

Wang Yongxin cast Zhang Peng a disdainful glance. In his eyes, Zhang Peng was an absolute piece of trash.

If he had to choose between the two, Wang Yongxin truly could not think of any reason Ding Wenqiang would choose him.

Zhang Peng was also starting to panic and hurriedly explained, "Brother Ding, Uncle Ding! There's something wrong with what this file says. Why does it make it sound like I was never arrested?

"Think about it—that's impossible. With public security the way it is in our country, the police aren't just sitting around doing nothing!

"I need to make this clear. I did rob someone once, but only once! And I was caught soon afterward and sentenced to three years.

"The rest was just petty theft. It wasn't like I did anything especially heinous!"

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

Clearly, he did not want Wang Yongxin or Zhang Peng entering Prison Cell No. 3, because neither of them would ever smash their own fingers to help someone else complete the game.

According to the rules, once someone entered a prison cell, they could not leave or switch cells.

Getting the two of them locked inside would be easy.

But if they went in and did nothing, merely enduring the deductions to their Visa Time, that would really be troublesome.

Wang Yongxin had earned at least 200,000 minutes of Visa Time in Blood Poker. He could afford to have it deducted freely.

As for Zhang Peng, Ding Wenqiang did not know exactly how much Visa Time he had, but at his age, he most likely had over a month of initial Visa Time.

From the perspective of the game's optimal solution, only someone willing to smash his own fingers was suited to enter Prison Cell No. 3.

Or at the very least, it should be someone with very little Visa Time.

The game rules had repeatedly emphasized that, as king, Ding Wenqiang needed to make judgments that were as fair as possible. Simply locking someone up and deducting Visa Time was clearly too light a punishment.

Ding Wenqiang looked at Zhang Peng.

In terms of sheer severity, Zhang Peng was obviously the one who deserved judgment more.

Wang Yongxin was not a good boss, but at least he had not broken the law. Well, aside from labor laws, which were violated everywhere with impunity.

Someone like Zhang Peng—lazy, idle, and rotten to the core—was more like the kind of person who ought to be judged in this game.

Zhang Peng swallowed. Ding Wenqiang's gaze made him panic. Clearly, 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 really have to rank them into different classes?

"The game requires sinners to receive appropriate judgments. Like that programmer guy said before, shouldn't the meaning of the Judgment Game match the crime?

"I did steal and rob people, but that has nothing to do with these games. If you have to force a connection, it has more to do with Prison Cell No. 3.

"Besides, my mistakes were nothing more than petty theft. What did that little bit of damage even amount to for society as a whole?

"But he was different!"

Zhang Peng pointed at Wang Yongxin. "He may not have broken the law, but how many people have been Running in Circles because of him? How many have died from overwork? And how many delivery riders and couriers have gotten into traffic accidents because of him?

"Those food delivery riders run red lights just to deliver meals. When you get down to it, wasn't that because he squeezed them dry and exploited them to the bone?

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

"Did society become like this because of my laziness and petty theft, or because of rich people like them, sitting high above everyone else?"

Wang Yongxin froze. Clearly, he had not expected Zhang Peng to suddenly turn on him.

And this attack was devastating—like a blade driven straight into his vital point.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Even if I wronged my employees and the delivery riders, what does that have to do with you? What gives a robber like you the right to morally judge me?" Wang Yongxin was speechless.

Zhang Peng nodded. "Right. That's the difference between rich people like you and mutts like us.

"What makes you rich people so impressive is that no matter what kind of mistake you make, you'll never admit it!

"Because if you don't admit it, you did nothing wrong. But if you admit it, then everything is your fault!

"At least I'll be punished by the law. What about you? The law has no hold over you at all!

"The game in the second prison cell is called Hanging Street Lamp.

"Tell me yourself—which of us deserves to be hung from a street lamp more?"

Wang Yongxin was stunned.

Ding Wenqiang silently sighed, walked up to Prison Cell No. 2, and looked at Wang Yongxin. "Go in."

Wang Yongxin wanted to say something more, but ultimately stopped himself and stepped into the prison cell with great reluctance.

Then he gave a self-mocking laugh. "Capitalists hung from street lamps. Fine. I guess it's a fitting death."

"Click!"

As the lock engaged, the mechanism inside the prison cell activated automatically.

A streetlamp-shaped mechanism lowered slightly. Above it, a noose made from thick hemp rope descended, while below, a square platform that was not particularly thick appeared.

[The game will begin in 30 seconds. Place your neck into the noose and remain suspended for 10 minutes.]

[Receive 1,000 minutes of Visa Time per minute. The mechanism will automatically release after 10 minutes.]

Wang Yongxin stepped onto the platform and put his neck into the noose. The mechanism activated automatically.

The noose tightened upward, and the platform beneath his feet retracted, instantly pulling his body taut and stretching him out.

Wang Yongxin could only stand desperately on tiptoe while gripping the noose with both hands to cushion his chin, struggling to create a safe space for his neck.

The game would not kill him the first time, but it left Wang Yongxin in an excruciating state. Any slight lapse could let gravity choke him unconscious and bring serious consequences.

As the game neared its end, the small speaker in front of Lin Sizhi began broadcasting a new announcement.

[Please conduct a Fairness Vote on the king's actions.]

It was another evaluation round. After considering it for a moment, Lin Sizhi pressed "√".

The countdown ended.

[Vote result: √√√√√√√√√√]

[Final fairness score: 100]

[Thank you for your evaluation!]

The ten-minute countdown ended, and the mechanism activated once more. The noose above slackened slightly, while the platform beneath him rose a little.

Wang Yongxin finally recovered from the taut, stretched state he had been in. He immediately pulled himself out of the noose and collapsed onto the floor.

"Ugh..."

His calves had cramped from standing on tiptoe for so long. They still remained in their previous posture and kept twitching uncontrollably.

Wang Yongxin gritted his teeth and kept massaging his calves, but it did nothing in the short term.

He had no other choice. His calves had started cramping halfway through the game, but he could only endure the agonizing pain, because the moment he lost his support, he might really be hanged to death.

Touching the red marks on his neck, Wang Yongxin felt as though he had survived a disaster.

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

Compared with Cai Zhiyuan's game, which had only awarded 150 minutes of Visa Time, this one was far more generous.

Wang Yongxin gave a self-mocking, bitter smile. "What was this called? As long as there's enough profit, would capitalists even sell the rope to hang themselves?

"The designer of this game had quite the sense of humor.

"But this wasn't funny at all."