Chapter 46: Fairness Vote

Seeing the game contents of Cell 5 and Cell 6, Zhang Peng felt a chill run down his spine.

Looking at these six cells as a whole, they truly became more dangerous the further one progressed.

The target in Cell 5 could roughly be viewed as a large human silhouette; by visual estimation, its area was about four times that of an average person's frontal projection.

In other words, if the nail gun fired randomly within this range, there was nearly a one-in-four chance of hitting a person.

Furthermore, the lethality of the nail gun was entirely different from the Iron Maiden in Cell 4.

The spikes of the Iron Maiden avoided vital areas like the head and major organs, and the spikes themselves weren't particularly thick.

Although Gao Zhankui had been pierced until he was drenched in blood, it was evident that he had not actually sustained any life-threatening injuries.

But the nail gun was different. If it hit a vital spot like the heart, an artery, or an eye, it was absolutely capable of killing with a single shot.

As for Cell 6, it was purely a matter of fate.

Since it involved a random draw, one might draw a relatively simple mechanism, or one might draw a very dangerous one.

If forced to choose between the two, Cell 6 was naturally better, but the good news was that Zhang Peng had an even safer option.

That was Cell 3, which had not yet been used.

Thinking of this, he rubbed his hands together nervously and said cautiously, "Uncle Ding, there's no other way. Let me go into Cell 3.

"Uncle Ding, looking at me, I don't seem like the type of person who can burn through that much visa time. Don't worry, if anyone is truly in danger, I will definitely decisively break my own fingers to save them."

Ding Wenqiang sized Zhang Peng up. "Really?"

Zhang Peng nodded repeatedly. "Of course, Uncle Ding, of course it's true!

"Besides, there are no other choices; we have to enter one of these three cells.

"I may not be a saint, but my crimes aren't death-worthy, right...?"

Ding Wenqiang hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly. "True."

However, just as he was about to send Zhang Peng into Cell 3, a system notification rang out.

【Viewer 1 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 8,000 minutes of visa time, with the message: Cell 4, ten thousand per turn.】

Ding Wenqiang froze, then fell into hesitation.

Zhang Peng’s eyes lit up.

*Right, it can work like this!*

*I wonder which kind soul Viewer 1 is?*

He cast a grateful look toward Viewer 1, but unfortunately, he couldn't see who was behind the one-way glass.

The game only stipulated that ten trials had to be completed; it didn't say they had to be distributed equally among the prisoners.

Theoretically, if a prisoner was tough enough to endure all ten trials alone, that would also count as clearing the game.

As for who the trials would fall upon, it was entirely up to the word of Ding Wenqiang, the King.

Seeing that Ding Wenqiang was still hesitating, Zhang Peng hurriedly lowered his voice. "Uncle Ding, what is there to hesitate about? It's ten thousand per turn!"

Ding Wenqiang’s expression showed some resistance. "But, wouldn't this be somewhat unfair?"

Zhang Peng immediately shook his head. "Fair? Uncle Ding, is there any game in this corridor that is absolutely fair? Huh? Is there?

"Someone in our community earned over a hundred thousand minutes of visa time in a single round of Blood Poker, while I've only earned a little over 30,000. Is that fair?

"In the real world, some people are born inheriting billions in assets and spend their whole lives eating, drinking, and playing without ever running out; others get killed by falling objects just walking down the street.

"Is that fair?

"Besides, what is this game called? The King's Judgment. You are the King.

"On what grounds should a prisoner talk about fairness with a King?

"The rules have already implied it: you hold supreme power in this game. This status is something you won with your own skill. Since the rules allow it, why shouldn't you do it?"

Seeing that Ding Wenqiang was still wavering, Zhang Peng urged, "Uncle Ding, think about it. Why have people like us fallen to the very bottom?

"It's because of that meaningless sense of morality!

"Look at those rich people—would they feel guilty over something like this?"

At that moment, the broadcast rang out again.

【Viewer 7 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 6,000 minutes of visa time, with the message: Cell 4, ten thousand.】

Ding Wenqiang finally made up his mind. "You're right. I am the King. I can judge whoever I want!

"For a piece of scum like him, being judged one more time is only reasonable."

With that thought, he returned to the entrance of Cell 4 and pressed the game panel.

Gao Zhankui’s eyes widened in disbelief, but he quickly picked up the cloth strips from the ground and wrapped himself up tightly, just as before.

Ding Wenqiang turned his face away, refusing to look.

The reason he made this decision, aside from Zhang Peng's persuasion and the tips from the two viewers, was another important factor: there were degrees of closeness among prisoners.

Cai Zhiyuan and Wang Yongxin were, after all, players from the 17th Community; they would see each other constantly.

After this game ended, they would inevitably have to work together within the community.

If he caused serious harm to those two, he might very well be isolated within the community.

But Gao Zhankui was different. No one here cared about him.

Even if Gao Zhankui died in the game, Cai Zhiyuan and Wang Yongxin wouldn't say a word; instead, they would be grateful. After all, they would be the direct beneficiaries.

...

【Please vote on the fairness of the King's actions.】

The broadcast rang out again. Lin Sizhi silently pressed '×'.

The voting results were coming out faster and faster. This was likely because most viewers realized that voting didn't actually require much thought; they could just choose based on intuition because there was a lie-detection mechanism.

Thinking too much was not only pointless, but if one voted incorrectly, they would lose visa time—a losing proposition.

【Voting results: ××××××√×××】

【Final Fairness Rating: -80】

【Thank you for your evaluation!】

Lin Sizhi looked at the evaluation results. Although he didn't know who these viewers were, by comparing multiple voting results, he could discern certain patterns.

For example, although Viewer 1 was the culprit who incited Ding Wenqiang, they still considered it unfair.

This indicated that Viewer 1's actions were purely driven by interest.

They had already placed their bets on the King's side; therefore, having Ding Wenqiang kill the prisoner would allow them to gain extra profit.

Viewer 3 was more merciful; seeing criminals suffer heavy punishments made them inclined to vote '×'.

As for Viewer 7, they were quite interesting. They chose '√' but did not trigger the lie-detection penalty, which meant they sincerely believed Ding Wenqiang was doing the right thing—that someone like Gao Zhankui deserved to face judgment twice.

They were the type of person akin to the "internet vigilantes who start with death sentences" crowd.

...

The Iron Maiden mechanism opened once more, and Gao Zhankui fell out, limp and straight.

【60,000 minutes of visa time have been settled to the player.】

This time, he lay face down on the ground for a long time before finally managing to catch a shallow breath.

He attempted to pull the cloth strips from his head, but his blood-soaked hands quickly slumped back down.

According to the game rules, the trial games in each cell became increasingly dangerous with each subsequent round.

The visa time settled for the first round was 30,000; the second was 60,000.

This meant the number of needle strikes had also doubled, increasing from 30 to 60.

Given the current situation, Gao Zhankui's blood loss had reached a critical level.

If another trial were conducted and the number of strikes doubled again, Gao Zhankui would most likely die inside.

【Viewer 7 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 4,000 minutes of visa time, with the message: You did the right thing.】

【Viewer 1 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 2,000 minutes of visa time, with the message: Continue.】

【Viewer 3 has tipped Ding Wenqiang 1,000 minutes of visa time, with the message: Stop.】

The succession of messages made Ding Wenqiang's already chaotic mind even more turbulent.

Fortunately, these messages were not only broadcast but also displayed as text on the large screen for easy verification.

The new tips from Viewer 1 and Viewer 7 were not just conveying messages; they were also paying the balance of their previous promises.

The visa time they had given before and what they gave now added up to exactly 10,000 minutes.

Furthermore, the viewers on the prisoner's side had basically realized one thing

Viewers standing on the King's side clearly had a much stronger desire to tip.

The reason was simple: they could derive more profit from this behavior.

(End of Chapter)