Chapter 1: A Test

[Hello, Lin Sizhi.]

[Congratulations on receiving an invitation. You are about to become a player in the New World.]

[Before you officially enter the New World, there is a simple test here to determine your special status within it.]

[In another room not far from you, a sinner is currently in a state of unconsciousness.]

[The document on your left contains the criminal record of this sinner, as well as the corresponding verdict.]

[If you believe this verdict is fair and just, or if you feel it is of no concern, please do nothing and wait quietly in this room for 2 hours.]

[After 2 hours, the New World will automatically issue player visas for both you and this sinner.]

[If you believe this verdict is not fair and just, then please look to your right, where you will find a game proposal form.]

[Please design a game to pass a more appropriate judgment on this sinner.]

[You also have 2 hours to complete the design and judgment of the game.]

[The 'Gallery' will review your proposal. Once approved, this sinner will be forced to participate in this game and accept your judgment.]

[Now, the 2-hour countdown begins. Please make your choice.]

1:59:59

1:59:58

Watching the countdown ticking away on the giant screen, Lin Sizhi, who had just regained consciousness, felt a dull ache in his temples.

He pressed his thumb gently against the center of his brow while looking around.

This was a simple, pure white room containing only a long table, a chair, a giant screen, and a red door.

The excessive simplicity of the layout made it feel unreal.

"Where is this..."

Lin Sizhi struggled to organize his chaotic thoughts, recalling what had happened before arriving here.

A car accident, perhaps?

Lin Sizhi was a criminal defense lawyer. In his final memory, he only recalled driving late at night to meet a client, suddenly being enveloped by a dazzling white light coming from the opposite direction, and then his memory cut off completely.

"Am I dead?"

Lin Sizhi looked down to check his physical condition, finding that he was still wearing the standard suit he often wore for work. His body felt healthy, with no wounds whatsoever.

The only thing of note was a black band about two fingers wide on his left wrist. Its material was unknown; it was seamless, smooth, and rounded, clamped perfectly in place and impossible to remove.

Lin Sizhi stood up and walked a few steps around the room, attempting to open the red door, but soon discovered it was firmly locked.

Lin Sizhi had no choice but to return to the long table and sit down. Sure enough, the relevant materials were laid out there

On the left were the criminal record and the verdict, while on the right was a standard proposal form with fields for the game name, number of participants, specific rules, and so on, waiting to be filled out.

Lin Sizhi first picked up the game proposal form on the right to examine it.

It had a specific format.

For instance, the game name, number of participants, rule introduction for the player, the true rules of the game, etc., all had to be filled into the corresponding fields as required.

Some fields even had supplementary instructions, such as

[Rule introduction for the player: You may cleverly conceal parts of the game rules, but you cannot include obviously false information in the rule introduction to deceive the player.]

[True rules of the game: Please write out all the rules of the game as exhaustively as possible to avoid logical loopholes.]

The field at the very top of the proposal was special, as it already contained pre-filled information.

[List of available props (use as needed):]

[1. Firearms: 4, with an unlimited supply of various ammunition.]

[2. Cold weapons: 6.]

[3. Display devices: 3.]

[4. Timers: 5.]

[5. Prop placement platform: 1.]

[6. Chairs: 3.]

[7. Restraint devices: 2.]

[8. Any full set of gambling equipment from a casino: 2 sets.]

[9. Special mechanisms that can be freely designed: 1.]

[10. Other scene props unrelated to the game content: Unlimited.]

[Note 1: Unless otherwise specified, the designer may decide the model and appearance of the props used.]

[Note 2: No props may be taken out of the game venue; otherwise, they will vanish into thin air.]

"Firearms, and special mechanisms that can be freely designed?"

"Doesn't this mean I have absolute power over life and death?"

Lin Sizhi naturally thought of this.

If he were to be extreme, Lin Sizhi could set up a game like this

The unconscious criminal is restrained, and his wrist is connected to a mechanism by a thin thread.

Once the criminal wakes up and moves his wrist, the thread will trigger the mechanism, pulling the trigger of a handgun and killing him.

Of course, there were some limitations in the proposal form; for example, one could not include obviously false information in the rule introduction to deceive the player, nor could one design a game with absolutely no chance of clearing it.

However, Lin Sizhi could also design an extremely harsh clearance rule for this game

If the criminal wakes up and his wrist does not move more than 3cm, and he persists for 10 hours, the mechanism will automatically disengage and the game will end.

This game rule would perfectly comply with the format of the game proposal.

Yet, in reality, it would be a trap that was almost certain to kill.

"Judging by the format of the proposal, I could indeed design such a game."

"But it might not pass the review."

"Furthermore, according to the requirements on the giant screen, I am supposed to pass a 'fair and just' and 'more appropriate' judgment on this criminal, rather than torturing him to death with a cruel game."

"But how should one define what is 'fair and just,' and what is 'more appropriate'?"

"Is there any room for 'vigilante justice' to correct a criminal who has already been judged by the laws of modern society?"

Lin Sizhi fell into deep thought.

A moment later, he picked up the file and the verdict on his left.

[Wei Xinjian, male, 37 years old.]

[Due to business failure, he was speeding on a road in the city center with a 40km/h speed limit, striking and killing a couple on the side of the road instantly.]

[Verdict: Sentenced to 3 years in prison for the crime of causing a traffic accident. Has completed his sentence and been released.]

Lin Sizhi carefully read this simple text over and over again.

Then, he silently picked up a pen and began to write on the game proposal form.

"Scratch, scratch, scratch—"

More than an hour later, Lin Sizhi put down his pen and browsed through the game rules he had written from beginning to end.

He ultimately only used a portion of the available props.

[1. One silver revolver with no way to determine the position of the live round via the cylinder, 1 live round.]

[2. One CRT television.]

[3. One LED electronic timer.]

[4. One square wooden table.]

[5. Two iron chairs with automatic locks on the arms, legs, waist, and neck, welded to the floor, capable of delivering high-voltage electric shocks for punishment.]

[6. One custom-designed special mechanism.]

[7. Decorative scene props: 1 old incandescent lamp, 2 dilapidated shelves, 1 waste wooden crate in the corner...]

After confirming everything was correct, Lin Sizhi wrote the words "Design Complete" in the bottom right corner of the last page.

The information on the giant screen changed.

[The Gallery is reviewing your submitted proposal.]

[Review complete, approved.]

[The Gallery is setting up the game venue according to the contents of the proposal.]

[Setup complete. Please proceed to the game venue and complete the game within the remaining time.]

This information changed very quickly, taking only a few seconds.

This made Lin Sizhi even more certain that this was not reality; perhaps he was already dead, or he had arrived in some kind of supernatural space.

After all, in reality, even with a team on standby, it would be impossible to complete the review of such complex rules and finish setting up the game venue in strict accordance with those rules in just a few seconds.

"Beep."

A prompt sounded, and the red door in the room opened.

Lin Sizhi left the room and walked along the pure white corridor to the end, where a heavy, rusted security door stood before him.

Behind the door was an old warehouse that smelled of mildew.

Everything inside had been set up according to Lin Sizhi's design, including the unconscious criminal fixed to an iron chair by the mechanism.

Lin Sizhi sat down on the other iron chair, took a strip of cloth from the side, bit down on it, and tied it behind his head.

Then, he sat in the standard position and closed his eyes.

"Click" sounds rang out continuously as mechanisms popped out from the arms, legs, waist, and neck of the chair, locking Lin Sizhi in place.

[Game start.]

(End of chapter)