Silence Is Golden

When Wang Yongxin's Judgment Game ended, Ding Wenqiang had already arrived outside Prison Cell No. 4.

[Prison Cell No. 4: Silence Is Golden]

[The prisoner enters the Iron Maiden mechanism and will be pierced by its needles at random times and in random locations. Any sound above 60 decibels will trigger additional needle strikes. Each needle strike grants 1,000 minutes of Visa Time.]

[During repeated games, the number and frequency of needle strikes will continuously double.]

Amid a teeth-grating creak, a human-sized Iron Maiden mechanism appeared in the center of Prison Cell No. 4.

It was currently open, revealing countless densely packed holes across its surface.

The good news was that these holes avoided relatively vital areas of the human body, such as internal organs and the head. The bad news was that the holes were not particularly small.

Every so-called needle strike would leave behind a bloody hole.

Zhang Peng could not help swallowing. Prison Cell No. 3 now looked positively adorable to him.

As for Gao Zhankui, he had not said a word since earlier. Clearly, he had been trying to think of a solution, but it was all futile.

Under the game's rules, any violent means were useless.

Ding Wenqiang had the scepter. As long as his demands conformed to the rules, Gao Zhankui had no choice but to obey.

Snatching it? That probably would not work.

Even if he succeeded, it might trigger a violation and bring immediate lethal punishment.

Thus, having already fallen out with Ding Wenqiang, Gao Zhankui could only keep his mouth shut and leave it to Heaven's Will.

Ding Wenqiang took out the final Videotape and inserted it into the VCR.

The scene on the screen looked rather familiar. It seemed to be a food delivery station.

Many delivery riders sat on electric scooters waiting for orders, while Gao Zhankui pointed at one rider's nose and berated him viciously.

[As the manager of a food delivery station, your daily work is simple:]

[You trick people into joining through labor agencies and various channels, then use all kinds of schemes to squeeze them dry.]

[You hold performative morning meetings, collect fines in disguise, manipulate order volume for riders you dislike, and urge injured riders to return to work immediately.]

[Your duties mention safety education, but in practice, you incite riders to run red lights.]

[Your recruitment ads promise meals and accommodation, but in reality, you rent cheap dormitories and electric scooters to riders to profit from the price difference.]

[If the platform sucks the marrow from their bones, then you are its willing accomplice.]

[You often call the riders brothers, but compared to the lofty bosses, which one of you do they want to kill more?]

Immediately afterward, Gao Zhankui's profile appeared on the screen.

[Gao Zhankui, male, 45.]

[Occupation: Food delivery station manager.]

[Withheld delivery riders' wages, incited delivery riders to violate traffic rules, and profited from delivery riders through various means.]

[Judgment result: Not judged.]

Seeing this, Zhang Peng unconsciously let out a breath of relief.

He knew he was safe for the moment.

Sure enough, Ding Wenqiang looked at Gao Zhankui with even greater disgust.

Compared with bosses like Wang Yongxin, Ding Wenqiang despised lackeys like Gao Zhankui even more. Of course, that was only natural for most people.

What he had not expected was that Gao Zhankui would be even tougher than he had imagined.

"Cut the crap. I'll go in myself."

Gao Zhankui actually walked straight into Prison Cell No. 4.

Ding Wenqiang's face darkened as he raised the scepter. "Get out! I'm the one judging you. Before I tell you to go in, stay outside and behave yourself!"

Gao Zhankui glared at Ding Wenqiang, but he still stepped out of Prison Cell No. 4 and stood at the entrance.

"Go in."

Only then did Ding Wenqiang point the scepter at Gao Zhankui again and drive him into Prison Cell No. 4.

[The game will begin in 30 seconds. Please enter the Iron Maiden and prepare yourself.]

[Each needle strike grants 1,000 minutes of Visa Time. The mechanism will automatically release after 10 minutes.]

Gao Zhankui did not enter the mechanism immediately. Instead, he took off his shirt and tore it into strips.

First, he stuffed one strip into his mouth. Then, he bit down on another strip from the front and tied it tightly behind his head.

Finally, he used another strip to cup his chin and tied it over the top of his head.

After all that haphazard tying, his mouth was sealed tightly. Even if he wanted to open it and make a sound, it would be difficult.

Gao Zhankui still shot Ding Wenqiang a defiant glare before stepping into the Iron Maiden.

With a click, the mechanism closed.

The countdown ticked by second by second. Ding Wenqiang could not see what was happening inside the mechanism, nor could he hear almost anything.

Only by listening carefully could he faintly make out the occasional muffled groan and barely audible panting from within.

However, those sounds clearly did not exceed the game's 60-decibel limit, so they would not trigger additional needle strikes.

Through the floor-to-ceiling glass, Lin Sizhi looked into the room.

As the game neared its end, a small speaker audible only to the audience began playing a new announcement.

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

Lin Sizhi returned to the table and fell into brief contemplation.

Judging from the content of the game, it roughly matched Gao Zhankui's acts of incitement.

He had incited delivery riders to run red lights to save time, so now he had to "learn to keep his mouth shut" in the game.

But the punishment in this game was clearly excessive.

The first two games made prisoners suffer physical pain, but at least during their first playthrough, they would not suffer any serious harm.

The game in Prison Cell No. 4, however, guaranteed needle strikes no matter how the prisoner played. The only difference was how many they received.

Judging by the thickness of the needles, they were roughly comparable to those in Farmer's Walk. The difference was that Farmer's Walk concentrated its mechanism on the shoulders, while the Iron Maiden covered all non-vital areas of the body.

The Visa Time reward also made it clear that this cell's game was far more dangerous than the previous two.

Although, emotionally speaking, a lackey like Gao Zhankui who aided a tyrant was even more hateful than Wang Yongxin, the actual boss, Lin Sizhi still instinctively felt that the punishment was too severe.

Especially considering that Prison Cell No. 3 was still empty, the sense of unfairness became even stronger.

As the countdown was about to end, Lin Sizhi ultimately followed his heart and pressed "×."

The countdown ended.

[Vote results: √××√×√√×√√]

[Final fairness score: 20]

[Thank you for your evaluation!]

The ten-minute countdown ended. Amid a piercing creak, the Iron Maiden mechanism opened once more.

A blood-stained figure fell out of the mechanism.

Though no major wounds could be seen, the blood constantly soaking through his clothes and the holes in his exposed skin displayed the game's brutality to everyone.

Gao Zhankui tore off the cloth strips wrapped around his head, wiped away the dense sweat on his forehead, and panted heavily.

[30,000 minutes of Visa Time have been awarded to the player.]

Ding Wenqiang nodded. "Fine. You've got some guts."

"Pah." Gao Zhankui tilted his head and spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm. "You stinking piece of shit, drunk on your little bit of power."

Ding Wenqiang's face darkened again, and his right hand clenched tightly around the scepter.

But in the end, he said nothing and merely walked over to Prison Cell No. 5.

Prison Cells No. 5 and No. 6 had both been unlocked.

[Prison Cell No. 5: Unforeseen Disaster]

[The prisoner is secured to a 2.4-square-meter target. The Nail Gun will continuously fire at random areas of the target. Each shot grants 2,000 minutes of Visa Time.]

[During repeated games, the number and frequency of Nail Gun shots will greatly increase.]

[Prison Cell No. 6: Heaven's Will]

[Randomly selects one game from Prison Cells No. 1 to No. 5.]

All the Videotapes had finished playing, and all the prison cells had been unlocked.

[Completed judgments: 3/10]