Chapter 45: Silence is Golden

By the time Wang Yongxin's trial game ended, Ding Wenqiang had already arrived in front of Cell No. 4.

【Cell No. 4: Silence is Golden】

【The criminal enters an Iron Maiden mechanism, where they will be pierced by needles at random times and in random locations. Any sound exceeding 60 decibels will trigger more needle strikes. Each needle strike grants 1,000 minutes of visa time.】

【In subsequent games, the number and frequency of needle strikes will continue to double.】

Accompanied by a bone-chilling creak, a human-sized Iron Maiden mechanism appeared in the center of Cell No. 4.

It was currently in an open state, revealing a surface covered in dense, various-sized holes.

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

Every so often, a "needle strike" would result in a bloody hole.

Zhang Peng couldn't help but swallow hard. He was starting to feel that Cell No. 3 was quite pleasant by comparison.

As for Gao Zhankui, he had remained silent since a moment ago. Clearly, he was trying to find a way out, but it was ultimately futile.

Under the restrictions of the game rules, no amount of violence would work.

Ding Wenqiang held the Scepter; as long as his demands complied with the game rules, Gao Zhankui had no choice but to obey.

To snatch it? That was highly unlikely.

Even if he managed to grab it, he might trigger a violation and suffer immediate lethal punishment.

Thus, having already fallen into conflict with Ding Wenqiang, Gao Zhankui could only keep his mouth shut and leave his fate to heaven.

Ding Wenqiang took out the last videotape and inserted it into the player.

The scene on the screen looked quite familiar, appearing to be a food delivery station.

Many delivery riders were sitting on electric scooters waiting for orders, while Gao Zhankui was pointing at one of the riders' noses, cursing him vehemently.

【As the manager of a delivery station, your daily work is simple:】

【Lure people in through labor agencies and various channels, then use all sorts of tricks to bleed them dry.】

【Hold formal morning meetings to collect fines in disguise; manipulate order volumes for disliked riders; and pressure injured riders to return to work immediately.】

【Your job description lists "safety advocacy," but in practice, it becomes inciting riders to run red lights.】

【Your recruitment notices promise "room and board," but in reality, you rent cheap dormitories and electric scooters to riders to pocket the price difference.】

【If the platform is the one sucking the marrow from the bone, then you are the one aiding the tiger.】

【You often act like brothers to the riders, but one wonders: in their hearts, compared to that high-and-mighty boss, which one do they desire to kill more?】

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

【Gao Zhankui, Male, 45 years old.】

【Occupation: Delivery Station Manager.】

【Withholding wages from delivery riders, inciting riders to violate traffic rules, and using various means to profit from the price differences of delivery riders.】

【Verdict: Not Tried】

Seeing this, Zhang Peng subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew he was temporarily safe.

Sure enough, the expression Ding Wenqiang directed at Gao Zhankui grew even more disgusted.

Compared to a boss like Wang Yongxin, Ding Wenqiang loathed henchmen like Gao Zhankui even more. Of course, this was common human nature for most people.

What he didn't expect, however, was that Gao Zhankui would be more stubborn than he had imagined.

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

Gao Zhankui actually walked straight into Cell No. 4.

Ding Wenqiang's face darkened, and he raised the Scepter: "Get out! I am the one judging you. Until I tell you to enter, you stay outside and behave!"

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

"Enter."

Only then did Ding Wenqiang use the Scepter to point at Gao Zhankui again, driving him into Cell No. 4.

【The game begins 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 stripped off his shirt and tore it into strips of cloth.

First, he stuffed a strip into his mouth, then he bit onto another strip at the front and tied it tightly behind his head.

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

After this frantic binding, his mouth was completely sealed; even if he wanted to open it to make a sound, it would be difficult.

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

With a "click," the mechanism closed.

As the countdown ticked away second by second, Ding Wenqiang could not see the situation inside the mechanism at all, nor could he hear any significant sound.

Only by pricking up his ears could he faintly hear the occasional muffled groans and the indistinct sounds of heavy breathing coming from within.

However, these sounds clearly did not exceed the 60-decibel limit of the game, so they did not trigger more needle strikes.

...

Through the floor-to-ceiling glass, Lin Sizhi looked toward the arena.

As the game neared its end, a new broadcast began playing through the small speakers audible only to the audience.

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

Lin Sizhi returned to his desk, falling into brief thought.

In terms of game content, it roughly matched Gao Zhankui's behavior of incitement.

He had incited delivery riders to run red lights to save time; therefore, in the game, he had to "learn to shut up."

But the punishment of the game was clearly heavy-handed.

While the first two games caused physical pain to the prisoners, they at least did not cause serious damage during the first attempt.

But in the game in Cell No. 4, no matter how the prisoner played, they would inevitably suffer needle strikes; the only difference was the quantity.

Judging by the thickness of the needles, it was roughly similar to the previous "Farmer's Walk," except that the "Farmer's Walk" mechanism focused on the shoulders, whereas the Iron Maiden covered non-vital parts of the entire body.

One could also tell from the visa time rewards that the game in this cell was far more dangerous than the previous two.

Although, from an emotional standpoint, a henchman like Gao Zhankui who aided the tiger was even more detestable than a true boss like Wang Yongxin, Lin Sizhi instinctively felt the punishment was excessive.

Especially considering that the third cell was still empty, which only heightened this sense of unfairness.

As the countdown was about to end, Lin Sizhi ultimately chose to follow his intuition and pressed "×".

The countdown ended.

【Voting results: √ × × √ × √ √ × √ √】

【Final Fairness Rating: 20】

【Thank you for your evaluation!】

...

The ten-minute countdown ended, and with a piercing screech, the Iron Maiden mechanism opened once more.

A figure stained red fell out of the mechanism.

Although no massive wounds were visible, the blood constantly seeping through the clothes and the holes on the exposed skin demonstrated the brutality of the game to everyone.

Gao Zhankui tore off the cloth wrapped around his head, wiped the dense beads of sweat from his forehead, and gasped for air.

【30,000 minutes of visa time have been settled to the player.】

Ding Wenqiang nodded: "Fine. You're a man, at least."

"Pah." Gao Zhankui tilted his head and spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm. "You're just a piece of shit who got lucky."

Ding Wenqiang's face darkened again, his right hand gripping the Scepter tightly.

But in the end, he said nothing, merely walking to the front of Cell No. 5.

Cells No. 5 and No. 6 had all been unlocked.

【Cell No. 5: Unwarranted Disaster】

【The criminal is fixed onto a 2.4-square-meter target. A nail gun will continuously fire at random areas of the target. Each shot grants 2,000 minutes of visa time.】

【In subsequent games, the number and frequency of nail gun shots will increase significantly.】

【Cell No. 6: Divine Will】

【Randomly selects a game from Cells 1-5.】

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

【Trials completed: 3/10】