Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 290

Min River No. 1 Prison, Prison cell.

In the less than ten square meter dark room, there was a deathly silence. Outside was a doctor carrying the lethal injections.

The tray was clean, and the prison door was already open.

The police outside the door were still waiting for the result, but the prisoner inside no longer had any hope. Qian Bao was sneering, Zhao Yi was very calm, Yan Guiqiu kept headbutting the ground, and Sun Zhen was still glaring at them with defiant eyes. When Huang Ze stepped into the room, this was the scene he saw.

The surroundings were too quiet, without a sound.

But Shen Lian felt a rumble in her ears, as if the blood in her body was about to explode.

She finally felt a sense of anger at being played by Lin Chen. Those four convicts were the strangers next to the railway worker. Lin Chen simulated the second question situation in a more subtle and less noticeable way—a situation that almost certainly had a predetermined outcome.

If she had a knife in her hand right now, she would definitely stab Lin Chen’s heart repeatedly. The female anchor on the TV seemed to not have spoken enough as she continued, “We originally thought there would be a one-sided result, but unexpectedly, after some of the votes at the scene were counted, there was a surprising change. It’s really incredible.”

Like Lin Chen, her nonchalant tone angered Shen Lian, but she still took a deep breath and forced herself to think. “What about those who chose ‘Yes’. Do they also have this so-called moral brake in their heads?”

Lin Chen looked at her with a look of pity. “I’m sorry to tell you, yes.”

“But these people are dead set on exchanging the lives of criminals for medicine!”

“That doesn’t mean they didn’t hesitate when they first saw this question.” Lin Chen looked at the night sky and continued calmly, “Innate morality comes first, so it takes more effort to overcome it. And more importantly, we must explore behavior based on intention. People who made the ‘Yes’ choice—did they make this choice based on personal gain or based on the value of more people’s lives? Did they bow their heads out of fear, or were they willing to carry the moral burden of being indirect killers to fight for the right for more people to live? The same ‘Yes’ represents different value judgments due to different intentions. Do you understand the meaning behind each ‘Yes’?”

Shen Lian scoffed, but Lin Chen seemed to see through her thoughts and continued.

“You don’t have to look down on those who choose ‘No’. These people will inevitably be more numerous because the effect of moral brake cannot be offset by careful thinking. However, they are not cowards who obey the human natural moral mechanism. Behind every ‘No’ choice is kindness, respect for life, maintenance of the social legal system of equality for all, and also the determination to fight against you.”

“All you do is dig out the chicken soup of human kindness. It’s disgusting!” Shen Lian pretended to vomit.

“This is a fact, but it’s also interesting that the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ options often represent different personalities. The former can make decisions quickly and have a hard stance, and the internet is often filled with their comments because they are very eye-catching. The latter need more time to make decisions, often waiting until the last moment to respect their inner choices. This sometimes also reflects that people don’t like to brag about being a good person. People tend to act quietly, and the silent are always the majority.”

Lin Chen said, “And even behind each abstention, there is a struggle of self-morality that cannot be resolved, so whether it’s yes or no, they are all commendable choices. Although this respectability seems ordinary due to its large numbers, it’s really beautiful. You should take a look.”

…..

The Commander Center of Hongjing Municipal Bureau.

This was where all the polling data would be dispatched at the first moment.

Due to a shortage of manpower, most police officers had been working nonstop for over two days and nights. The hall was filled with the smell of instant coffee and strong tea, reminiscent of a heavily loaded truck marching on.

Minister Shen was waiting in the hall for the final result.

Xing Conglian was smoking on the rooftop, not joining the senior officials.

Next to him was the strategist, who had previously criticized Lin Chen. The young man, who always seemed gloomy and cold, was very serious at the moment. “Consultant Lin has a confirmed result in his mind.”

Xing Conglian ignored him.

“I am a staunch ‘Yes’ proponent,” he added. “If more people choose ‘Yes’, we can permanently solve the problems we face.”

Xing Conglian still ignored him.

“But just now, I was suddenly grateful. I found that, although it’s ideal, a society unified with iron-willed determination is terrifying.” He said frankly, “So, I came to apologize.”

The wind on the rooftop abruptly ceased, and the city’s night view seemed especially heavy.

“But this sacrifice is too great,” he finally said.

Xing Conglian, however, had been overlooking the night view all along, without uttering a word.

Under the tall buildings, there were ordinary lights of thousands of households.

At the entrance of the new village, the gatekeeper turned up the volume of the radio so that the residents waiting for the result could hear clearly.

The usually chatty aunties were all silent. Everyone was waiting for the final judgment; therefore, no one noticed the white-collar bank worker standing at the edge of the crowd.

The young man looked up at the floor that he was once very familiar with—the figure of his beloved seemed hazy in the dim light.

He held his phone, wanting to dial that string of numbers.

In the hospital, the emergency building was still operating all night, but most of the wards were quiet.

In the ICU, a frail old lady was still sitting by the bed. Her hair was still neatly combed. She was wearing reading glasses and holding a book in her hand as she flipped through it slowly.

“Hey, this sentence is interesting, and quite sarcastic.” The old lady would read out some paragraphs to her husband.

She said, “It’s absurd to divide people into good and bad…”

For some reason, the person on the bed couldn’t respond.

The TV was on, and so was the lamp beside the bed.

“People are either charming or boring.”

The female anchor began to announce the result.

The old lady looked up at the TV calmly, showing no surprise, but when she turned back to look at her husband on the bed, her eyes were still red.

……

Huang Ze hung up the phone, also holding the final answer.

All the police officers looked at him in unison, and he walked forward along the corridor. The four people in the cell maintained their previous posture.

Huang Ze entered the cell, looked at them, and calmly said, “If it were up to my personal wishes, I hope you guys would die, in exchange for the chance for more innocent sufferers to survive.”

Yan Guiqiu paused his head-banging motion. He slowly raised his head. While his dark eyes still looked desperate, a trace of shock gradually emerged in them.

Huang Ze calmly read the result in his hand. “Out of a total of 49,582,412 valid votes, 65.33% of people believe we should not execute you in exchange for the treatment drugs.” He paused and said, “Congratulations, you can continue to go back to prison.”

This was a normal announcement, but it was like a thunderbolt in Yan Guiqiu’s mind. He was utterly bewildered, wanting to bite his tongue or punch himself to ensure he was still sober, and this wasn’t a hallucination before death.

He turned his head numbly, only to see the faces of his “cellmates” all showed great shock. They looked at each other as if they were morons, startled by a sudden shock.

At this moment, a gray-blue figure suddenly sprang up. Sun Zhen rushed to Huang Ze, grabbed his collar, lowered his voice, and confirmed word by word, “What did you say? Say it again?”

“The result is, more people think you have a right and should live.” Huang Ze responded indifferently. “Why?” Sun Zhen whispered incredulously and then asked again, “Why?”

“Probably because the world is full of unreasonable fools.”

As Huang Ze responded casually, the officers outside the cell left with the execution tools like flowing water, leaving behind the entrance to the cell empty.

The road ahead was completely dark, but Yan Guiqiu felt that he had never seen a clearer path in his life.

In the square, public officials began to pack up the polling points. Inside the police station, the officers, who had been working continuously, were still pressing on.

In the snack bar, people who were shocked by the result clinked their glasses heavily for the first time.

The young man under the tree turned and left, the family members of the victims began to cry out loud, and the family members of patients remained helplessly desperate.

For Yan Guiqiu, the road ahead of him was long, so he walked very slowly. When he was about to reach the gate, he felt Huang Ze pat his shoulder and say to them, “He asked me to apologize on his behalf, but I think he has nothing to apologize for.”

Yan Guiqiu looked at Huang Ze in confusion but seemed to know who ‘he’ referred to.

His eyes were a bit wet, but he didn’t want to cry; he raised his head and bathed in the moonlight. The summer wind was as soft as a woman’s chest, intoxicating.

Tonight, the stars were brilliant.

---

The author has something to say:

“It’s absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or boring.” — Oscar Wilde

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 289

Another night arrived.

Each day was never quite the same as the previous one.

At this point, even a born sociopath like Shen Lian could sense an unusual atmosphere, but her physical defect prevented her from understanding the emotions held by the voters and the meaning behind these emotions.

Therefore, she could only stare at the statistical data being constantly read out on the television with a murderous gaze. The closer it got to the final time limit, the faster the “No” option rose.

The current online voting “ratio” of Yes or No stood at——14,225,264:14,210,754.

Shen Lian stared at the screen for a long time.

This evenly matched result was something she had never thought of before. She was incredibly shocked but still held onto the last hope.

She could still win; she would definitely win. This made her current state much like a drowning person clutching at straws—otherwise, she would really not survive.

Lin Chen looked at the woman across the square table and answered her previous question. “You know, because I bet four lives on it, I believe the result must be that more people choose ‘No’. And you need to expose the inherent selfishness under the guise of kindness in many people, so you need an answer of ‘Yes’.”

“But I won’t lose, Shen Lian. At least in this matter, I won’t lose.”

The chandelier on the ceiling sheds warm yellow light, giving everything an uncertain hue.

The woman across the square table had disheveled hair. The background behind Shen Lian was the vast night. She was no longer the calm and confident figure she was, but she still felt the scales of victory would surely tilt in her favor. “Consultant Lin, I notice you’ve been avoiding a direct answer. Does this mean you actually dare not even admit your inner thoughts?”

Lin Chen glanced at the night outside the window. Time was almost up, so he no longer needed to hide anything.

“Some years ago, psychologists and human behaviorists like Marc Hauser brought the classic trolley problem onto the internet.” He looked at Shen Lian and spoke calmly.

“200,000 respondents from around the world took the survey. That was the famous trolley track problem, which is almost identical to the question that millions of residents in three provinces have been asked today. In the fields of philosophy and psychology, we define such problems as moral dilemmas.”

He seemed as if he were speaking to himself and signaled to Shen Lian with his eyes to stay calm.

“In the survey, the question was asked in two different ways,” he said.

“The first is the original rail dilemma. The question goes like this—

The trolley on the track is out of control and will hit five people ahead. If the trolley continues to move forward, these five people will definitely die. The only solution is for the railman to switch the trolley to another track where there is only one person on the other track. The question is: Should the railman kill this one person to save five?”

He suddenly leaned forward and asked Shen Lian, “What do you think?”

Shen Lian instinctively leaned back into her chair. “You don’t answer me directly, but you expect me to answer you directly?”

“Alright, I’ll tell you the result directly.” Lin Chen said, “The survey result is as follows—regardless of race, age, and group, among 200,000 respondents worldwide, 89% of people believe that the railman should pull the switch.”

On the TV news, the female anchor was reciting the survey results from some place. Her solemn voice sounded just right.

Upon hearing this, Shen Lian had some incredulous emotions on her face, then she slowly started to laugh, very pleased, as if she finally got the expected result.

Lin Chen took in Shen Lian’s triumphant expression. This time, he didn’t give Shen Lian the chance to speak and said, “According to your view, the conclusion of this online survey can actually prove that human nature is selfish; most people would sacrifice a minority for a greater benefit.”

“Consultant Lin, I find your view on human nature is indeed more insightful than mine!” Shen Lian interjected, praising him.

Lin Chen looked at the woman’s face, exuding an air as if she had won, then he looked up at the moon outside the iron window before calmly replying, “Yes, if it weren’t for the existence of a second way of asking and another survey result, your view might be unassailable.”

He suddenly sat up straight, quickly and seriously said, “The second question is as follows—

The situation is the same as the first one. There is still a runaway trolley about to hit five people. You, as the railman, are standing on a footbridge. Next to you is a sturdy stranger. If you push this stranger off the bridge to get him stuck on the track, then the trolley will stop, and although the stranger will die, you can save five people. The question is: Should the railman push the stranger off the bridge to save five people?”

Lin Chen thought his attitude had already been serious enough.

But at this moment, it was still Shen Lian who looked up at him, her face filled with inexplicable emotions, “What’s the difference, Consultant Lin?”

Lin Chen looked at the woman’s ignorant and bewildered gaze illuminated by the moonlight and never felt such a huge gap at this time.

Shen Lian simply can’t perceive it, he told himself.

But the story had to continue. “In fact, this time, 89% of people chose—they shouldn’t.”

Sure enough, after this number appeared, Shen Lian’s eyebrows furrowed, and even her body muscles were obviously tense. Someone as smart as her obviously realized that there was a serious problem here and that the huge voting happening right now was a psychological trap through and through.

She really was going to lose, but she didn’t know where she lost.

“And why is that so?” Lin Chen looked at Shen Lian and explained in a very calm tone, as if speaking to a different kind of person in this world. “Because psychology is science. On the one hand, many of its conclusions come from the results of large-scale experiments and statistical data; on the other hand, behind every psychological phenomenon, you can mostly find corresponding neuropsychological mechanisms.”

Shen Lian looked at him suspiciously.

Lin Chen said, “The two different outcomes of similar problems made neuropsychologists curious. Scientists then scanned the brain activities of the subjects under these two different problems.”

“You work with brain-related drugs, so you should understand this result better.” He gazed at Shen Lian and continued, “In the first situation of whether to pull the track lever, the brain area responsible for reasoning and problem-solving showed increased activity, while in the second situation of whether to kill a stranger to save five people, the brain areas related to emotion and social cognition showed increased activity.”

Shen Lian fell silent for a moment, and then the sound of chains shaking crazily echoed in the interrogation room. The woman was thinking frantically and tried to put her hand in her mouth, a psychological compensation state under extreme anxiety.

“Neuropsychologists have different types of explanations for this phenomenon. One argument is that pulling the track has nothing to do with the individual, so people use the reasoning-related brain area to make judgments; while pushing a stranger is a situation related to a specific individual, where the emotional and social cognitive parts precede; another explanation is…” Lin Chen’s voice overpowered the clanging noises in the room and the voice of the female anchor reporting results behind him. “A common view exists among normal humans—that people think it is acceptable to sacrifice a small part to achieve a greater benefit, but in reality, you cannot force others to sacrifice deliberately.”

Lin Chen’s words were incredibly plain. When he got to this point, Shen Lian suddenly said, “What does this count as, Consultant Lin?”

She burst into laughter. Given that she didn’t have a knife in her hand to stab Lin Chen or force Lin Chen to shut up, she could only rummage through her mind, trying to find all the offensive words to refute Lin Chen. “Hypocrisy! Yes, it’s hypocrisy. Your conclusion makes people look good, but in fact, they can’t hide your cowardly and ugly nature. We are the same!” She shouted.

However, in front of her, the frail Mr. Consultant had no intention of backing down.

“This is morality, Shen Lian.” Lin Chen’s gaze was peaceful and deep, without any boasting. He was just stating facts. “This proves that there is a moral brake commonly present in the human brain, proves that the moral brake will timely start to prevent people from doing certain things, proves that morality is a neural mechanism that definitely exists in the brain and not a mirage, and proves that morality is nothing special but still remarkable, because…” Lin Chen pointed at his head and said, “it’s here.”

After saying that, he pointed to his chest and softly said, “And also here.”

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Not sure if referencing Mark Hauser adds to your argument, considering he was found guilty of scientific misconduct…

What Lin Chen is referring to in the second question is The Fat Man. In the original question, usually up to 90% of those surveyed would pull the lever to save the majority. However, when rephrased by saying: If you were to push a fat man in front of the trolley, stopping it, the majority of people who approve of pulling the lever actually disapprove of pushing the fat man.

This has led to researchers attempting to find a moral distinction between the two cases. Some speculate that while one action wasn’t intended to harm (pulling the lever) and the person being harmed was just a side effect of one’s action, the second case put your action as an integral part of saving the lives on the track (you have to push the fat man in front of the trolley). This makes your action deliberate, so it’s wrong, and that’s why people struggle to make the decision.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 288

It was an abandoned high-rise building.

As the city developed rapidly, unfinished buildings gradually increased. This high-rise seemed nothing but an ordinary, unfinished one among many others. Except for its remote location, there was nothing remarkable about it.

The lower part of the building still had some curtain wall glass attached, while the upper part was entirely empty.

When looking up, one could vaguely see the hollow floors erected by rebar and cement, which looked like a dark nest hiding some sinister creatures. However, unless you rose to the same height, you would never know what was hidden in these hollow floors.

Even if you sent up a drone, you wouldn’t be able to see what was inside. After all, a geek’s den wasn’t so easily spied upon.

In fact, to reach the floors of this abandoned building, one must make a special contribution in a certain field and also avoid being recruited by the government. Such special contributions include hacking into the official website of a country’s Ministry of Defense, and after completing this task, you must publish all the code online. Otherwise, it wasn’t cool enough.

These complicated rules, peculiar interests, and a lack of clear regulations had made this building a holy place for many “special talents”.

However, for Wang Chao, all he had to do to get upstairs was to step into the elevator.

Beside him were constant buzzing of electricity and the sound of wind sweeping past his ears. Sometimes, the wind was so strong that he even had the illusion that he must hold onto the table tightly or else he would be blown away.

Every time this happened, he would yell in anger, “Damn it, why can’t you guys install a few pieces of glass?”

His shouting had the violent temper of a Xing Conglian, which proved that his mood was indeed very bad at the moment.

Meanwhile, someone around him would often appease him in the sycophantic tone of Xing Conglian. “Boss, we need to properly cool down these servers. Didn’t we choose this building because of its gloomy atmosphere?”

Wang Chao wanted to curse, but at this moment he couldn’t spare any mental capacity to scold others. Only he knew how crucial a role he was playing in the whole plan.

Simply put, he had to locate the enemy’s server within 24 hours, and then someone else would be responsible for finding it.

This operation was necessary for three reasons:

First, the behind-the-scenes boss was likely to use the darknet to issue tasks, so controlling the server would cut off the enemy’s communication network. Although this was a temporary solution, it was better than nothing during special times.

Second, locating the hosting server meant finding the enemy’s weak point, where every byte of information was extremely important to them.

Third, if the operation was successful, it would mean that they had developed a deterrent against the enemy.

However, while the ideal was beautiful, unless they could infiltrate the system like the Americans over several years, it would be hard to find an exact way to eliminate a darknet site completely. But almost impossible didn’t mean completely impossible.

In reality, there were some algorithms that could estimate the location of the host based on the linear relationship between latency and geographical distance.

With topology information to reduce location errors and probability statistics to summarize the distribution rule of latency and geographical distance, as well as linear mapping of latency and geographical distance, they might be able to narrow down the server’s location to an area of 50 to 100 square kilometers. After that, it was a matter of exhaustive search.

In the beginning, the national government exerted great effort, and he also utilized all of his and his boss’ connections to lay numerous measurement nodes globally. Although there were still blank areas, they couldn’t care less about that.

To ensure the accuracy of latency measurement, it was best to have an accurate time point, which was why 12:00 noon GMT was chosen.

He remembered when he tentatively asked his A’Chen Gege and got the affirmative answer of “should be able to”.

Damn it, A’Chen Gege really made it happen.

So now all the pressure was back on him. Whether it was useful or not, he had to find the location of that damn server as soon as possible.

Time was ticking away.

He was still immersed in the sea of data streams. Sometimes he even felt that writing an AI program might be easier than locating a dark web server here.

But obviously, he didn’t have time to write an AI program now, let alone time to reassess the difficulty.

All he could do was sort everything out before the enemy got desperate.

But just then, someone gently tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Boss Chao, I must interrupt you. You said you must be informed at this time.”

Wang Chao stood up abruptly.

……

It was a long and vast queue, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Under the scorching sun, an untold number of people were lining up.

People rarely conversed, just moving forward one after another, entering the blue tent to cast their votes before emerging.

This scene was like a well-ordered and massive ant migration, and humans were just another such group.

No one knew exactly when this state of affairs had started.

Many people came out because they were influenced by this scene on the news, while others simply wanted to vote in person at the polling station, only to accidentally hit the peak.

Among those in line, some were young, some were old, some were students in school uniforms, and some were mothers holding their children.

None of them had a particularly unified label that could categorize them, and even their expression and the choices they were about to make varied.

And looking at this scene, one might even think: Are there really so many people in this world?’

What are they here for? To participate in an absurd choice that could only appear in TV dramas and movies?

But when you saw so many people standing right in the middle while you were among them, you realized that, in fact, everyone made choices and judgments every day, and these choices and judgments often became the past in an instant.

So, it was rare to have such a unified moment for everyone to leave their homes and to make a “yes” or “no” decision on a very simple question.

There were, of course, journalists stationed on the scene, but at this moment, they too gave up taking pictures and interviewing.

Initially, it was because many people were silent and shook their heads. Although some people answered the reasons, everyone’s thoughts were very different. Later, even the journalists who wanted to dig deeper didn’t want to disturb this state.

Meanwhile, the family members who were distributing flyers were still doing so, and there were citizens voluntarily helping them, but there were no more cries and pleas at the scene.

The atmosphere here was heavy, serious, somewhat sad, yet extraordinarily resolute—it was difficult to describe in words.

But when people were doing the same thing without any agreement, there would always be an awe-inspiring moment.

What Wang Chao saw was exactly this live broadcast from Yongchuan TV Station.

There were people he knew and didn’t know around him, among whom were geniuses who naturally had a hard time perceiving normal human emotions, but when facing this scene, the entire empty floor was silent. It was like everyone seemed to have lost their ability to speak.

It took a long time for Wang Chao to recover with great effort.

He forced himself to look at another monitor data screen—the government voting website that he coded himself. The figures on it had reached the critical point calculated by Lin Chen before, meaning the real peak of voting; the moment when people had thought carefully and decided to make a choice, had arrived.

Wang Chao felt unprecedented pressure.

To put it in a humorous way, he didn’t have much time left. After all, there was no knowing when that lunatic would realize that this vote was a complete trap.

The vote wasn’t to prove the selfishness or selflessness of human nature. Its only purpose was to force most people to think carefully about moral dilemmas. If one must explain forcibly, solving the initial voting dilemma and delaying time were also its purposes.

And now that the purpose had been achieved—the only matter left was to put it into action!

“What are you all stunned for? Get to it! Are we really going to lose to a bunch of idiots I don’t even look up to?” The teenager roared, rushing back to his computer, and finally looked back at the voting screen, seemingly gaining some kind of strength from this silent operation.

……

On campus, Fang Aizi, who just finished her physical education class, splashed water on her flushed cheeks. She took out her phone from her zippered pocket, opened the page, and chose “No”.

Outside the hospital ward, Mr. Zhai had just parted with Mrs. Su. Despite the gentle lady’s advice not to be too obsessed with this matter before parting, he still took out his phone without hesitation and chose “Yes” before passing by the emergency room.

On the street, Jiang Zhao, who had been maintaining order at the voting site, filled out his ballot. He cut in line and asked a construction worker about to open the curtain to put his ballot in the box for him. He chose “No”.

In the laboratory, the analysis hit a wall again. A bunch of old experts were talking in low voices. Xiao Zhan looked at that pile of chemical bonds, finally made up his mind, and made the bravest choice in his life. He chose “Yes”.

In front of the desk, Zhai Yong, who hadn’t made a choice, still refused to make one.

In the beef noodle shop, the old shopkeeper who was boiling soup ladled out a spoonful of chili oil, and almost uncontrollably, extremely angrily splashed it on the television.

On either side of the square table in the detention center, Shen Lian asked Lin Chen, “So, how would you choose, Consultant Lin?”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 287

The usual breakfast time in prison was generally between 7:00 and 7:30, but today was an exception. This was, of course, due to the special circumstances of the four individuals in “solitary confinement”. Therefore, breakfast time was specifically set at 8.

Throughout the night, Huang Ze didn’t experience the same confusion as others. He was very clear, of course, that some wavering emotions were spreading within the prison law enforcers, but fortunately, they had strict rules in the team, so he was still able to control the situation.

Huang Ze took the extra meal brought by the chef and walked to the iron gate carrying the meal box.

Although the surveillance could clearly show what the four people were doing, he still pulled down the small window on the prison door to look inside.

The four people were all sleeping.

The first half of the night was far from peaceful. Yan Guiqiu cried for a long time, Sun Zhen lost his temper and wanted to strangle him, then Qian Bao incited discord, and Zhao Yi kicked the upper bunk bed hard. The four people made a fuss for a long time, with a kind of hysterical madness. But in the second half of the night, probably feeling that the chances of survival were slim, all four quieted down.

The cell finally regained its usual atmosphere.

Huang Ze closed the small window, pushed the door open, and entered. No one opened their eyes to look at him, not even the thief, who used to cry and cling to his legs whenever he saw him.

“Breakfast. Anyone want to eat?” Huang Ze asked.

He said this, but there was no response.

Qian Bao and Zhao Yi slept in the upper and lower bunks, respectively, while Sun Zhen and Yan Guiqiu each occupied a corner. Huang Ze said to the two people on the bed, “This might be your last breakfast of your life; don’t you even want to eat it?” He paused. “If I were you, I wouldn’t protest too much about things that are out of my control…”

As he said this, Yan Guiqiu finally turned over. “Aren’t you annoying, officer!” The prisoner, who always seemed like a rat, rolled over and responded irritably.

Huang Ze felt something different about Yan Guiqiu at this moment. Perhaps a night’s thinking could make people sober, and those who realized the coming of death would always be different. He looked at the other party with pity.

“I deserve to be in prison. You can do whatever you want, just don’t show me your pity,” Yan Guiqiu said to himself, seemingly angry. He suddenly stood up and pointed at the four walls. “This is such a shitty place—I at least made a sacrifice for the people; shouldn’t you arrange some hot girls to see me off? There’s not even a toilet, and you want to dismiss me with a crappy meal. I’m not happy!”

As he said this, Yan Guiqiu got carried away. He abruptly dropped his prison pants, and before Huang Ze could react, he whipped out his dick and aimed it at the camera.

A stream of yellow urine sprayed out.

The prison guards rushed over to knock Yan Guiqiu to the ground. But the urine was flowing everywhere, creating an appalling smell and turning the scene into a chaotic mess.

‘Very well,’ Huang Ze thought. ‘So be it.’

He took a deep breath, feeling that he probably didn’t handle the task entrusted to him by Lin Chen well.

However, at this moment, the prison guard who rushed in violated the rules and began to whisper to Yan Guiqiu. “Guiqiu, don’t be like this. Who knows what the result will be.”

“Lao Zhang, Lao Zhang, don’t lie to me. If you really care about me, promise me—just give me a quick death. Don’t shoot me, I’m afraid of pain!” Yan Guiqiu rolled around on the ground and yelled.

“What are you talking about, Yan Guiqiu? It’s not time yet. Act like a man!”

The prison guard stood in Yan Guiqiu’s urine and talked all the while the live broadcast was still ongoing. Huang Ze turned his head and said coldly, “Officer Zhang, please watch your words.”

Officer Zhang immediately stood up and walked out of the cell, but after a while, he came back in with a mop in his hand, cleaning up the urine on the floor little by little.

Yan Guiqiu crouched down and watched the police mop the floor.

He clutched his hair, his eyes growing redder and redder. In the end, the thief suddenly yelled out, “Lao Zhang, would it be easier if we just killed ourselves?”

At that moment, Huang Ze noticed the gazes of Sun Zhen, Zhao Yi, and Qian Bao all directed at him.

‘How absurd,’ Huang Ze thought.

He didn’t answer. He knew Lao Zhang wouldn’t answer this question either. Lao Zhang walked out the door, and he followed out. The iron door closed heavily.

In a place where the camera couldn’t capture, he unusually patted the shoulder of the prison guard.

“There is no correct answer,” he said to Officer Zhang.

……

The first person to notice that something was amiss was a reporter.

Of course, what he called an issue was based on the expected phenomenon according to theory. After all, theoretically, it was already past eight in the morning, during rush hour, and there should have been many people beginning to vote again.

But what was happening in reality didn’t match theory. The dawn didn’t have much of an impact on voting; the data on the government’s voting website was still slowly climbing, but not fast—at least much slower than expected.

On the dark web, there was overwhelming opposition, as those who wanted to see bloody drama would not be satisfied with this. But nobody cared about the opinions of those dark creatures now.

Shen Ping opened his office computer and began to check the data recorded by the government voting website while munching on a sandwich. He was a very sharp person and noticed an issue with the numbers at a glance—

The total number of voters was 5,561,120.

Yes: 3,559,117

No: 2,002,003

64% of the public still chose to exchange the lives of the four criminals for a treatment plan and a chance for survival.

Although 5.55 million was a very large number, it was far from the total population of the three provinces, 77.2 million, meaning that the actual number of voters only accounted for 7% of the total population, with only a small part of the people making a choice within 12 hours.

Perhaps the middle-aged and elderly people were more willing to go to the polling stations, and many people might not know about this news. Shen Ping thought so, but even considering these factors, with just a little more than 5.5 million votes, it was still too few.

He even suspected that the votes were being manipulated by the government, although this seemed unlikely.

Shen Ping put down his sandwich and thought about the problems. It seemed that many people had changed their choice after sleeping?

He then quickly noted down several key numbers and rushed to the editor-in-chief’s office. He forgot to knock, and when he pushed the door open, he saw the editor-in-chief clearly closing a web page with a click of the mouse, although he couldn’t confirm it as the screen was facing away from him.

“Twelve hours, editor-in-chief!” He stepped back half a step, bowed apologetically, but couldn’t help but say, “The number of voters is far lower than the actual number of the total population of the three provinces. Considering the residents who do not have a household registration in the three provinces but have a residence permit, the ratio is even lower.”

“What are you trying to say?” The editor-in-chief knocked on the table. “Get to the point.”

“A lot of people didn’t vote—um, what are they planning to do?”

“Did you vote?” The editor-in-chief asked him.

Shen Ping was immediately stumped. “I-I’ll go vote right away!”

“What are you planning to choose?”

“That’s personal privacy. Editor-in-chief, will you tell me your answer?” Shen Ping countered.

Of course, the leader had his own art of speaking. He immediately changed the subject and said to him, “Xiao Shen, it’s good that you have doubts. Since you have doubts, as a reporter, you should go and interview ordinary people to find out what their answers are.”

Shen Ping was suddenly enlightened.

But stating positions on the internet with screenshots didn’t count, as one image could be copied and pasted many times.

So Shen Ping immediately rushed downstairs. There was a voting point in the commercial area near the newspaper office.

He didn’t call the cameraman but instead took his phone and went down. When he got there, sure enough, quite a few people were queuing up.

What surprised Shen Ping was that it wasn’t middle-aged and elderly people queuing, but quite a few young white-collar workers.

Although the staff at the polling station were also advising those in line that they could choose to vote online, some were silent and refused to leave.

Shen Ping took out his ID, got a voting slip, and then stood at the end of the line.

He nudged a young man in front of him, who had a bank badge pinned on his chest, and asked, “Can I ask what you plan to vote for?”

The young man glanced back at him, a bit guarded and puzzled. Shen Ping showed his press card and said earnestly, “I’m a reporter. As you can see, I don’t have a camera or recorder. I just genuinely want to interview you. If it’s convenient, can you share your thoughts with me?”

Surprisingly, the young man asked him back, “How about you first? What do you plan to vote for?”

Such a simple question suddenly made Shen Ping feel a lot of pressure. His usually eloquent tongue seemed to have failed him. He could only take out a cigarette from his pocket, intending to give one to the other person, but the young man gestured that he didn’t smoke.

Shen Ping put a cigarette in his mouth and was about to light it when the young man started to respond. “The way you are now is probably how I feel. I thought about it half of last night, and it seemed simple to choose to save more people by sacrificing four. But no matter what, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. That’s when I knew there was a problem.”

The young man calmly explained, “I had to ask myself why. Why, even though it should be a simple choice, did it become so difficult when it came to actually clicking the mouse to vote? Am I being too sympathetic to the criminals? I don’t think so, even accounting for the thief. Honestly, my father’s a police officer. I grew up seeing a lot of these things. I think these people are just wasting social resources, but when it comes to trading their lives, I can’t bring myself to do it… Isn’t that strange?”

“Not strange at all.” Shen Ping shook his head. “I’m a reporter, and even I can’t do it.”

They looked at each other, and the young office worker gave a bitter smile, telling him, “I broke up with my girlfriend over this last night. Of course, she proposed the breakup. I didn’t have the guts.”

Shen Ping’s head shot up. “Damn, man, that’s a big loss!”

“My ex was one of the first to make a choice. As soon as that letter came out, she called me and told me to act like a man. I told her I needed to think, and she said she didn’t expect me to be the kind of person who would sympathize with four criminals.” The young man swallowed, awkwardly.

“But you came here,” Shen Ping said, “Trying to win back your girlfriend?”

“No, I’m here to vote ‘No’,” the young man said solemnly.

“Why?” Shen Ping was surprised.

“I can’t bring myself to do it.”

“But if you can’t bring yourself to do it, why not abstain?”

“Because I suddenly realized last night that if the result comes out and we have to sacrifice four criminals to appease the terrorists, I would regret not having made a choice.”

“But aren’t you afraid of what the terrorists might do? This is much worse than a bomb.”

“Then let it continue. I can only represent myself.” He sighed. “At least, I’m not afraid.”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 286

Even the best TV show would become boring after watching it for over 12 hours, and continuing to watch it would make one irritable.

But since she was the one who asked for the TV, no matter how painful, she must watch till the end.

Shen Lian squirmed unhappily in her chair, while Lin Chen sat across from her, maintaining a pose of half-dressed light sleep, with no intention of talking to her at all.

“Consultant Lin, this is fatigue interrogation, which violates the United Nations Human Rights Convention,” she finally couldn’t help protesting.

Lin Chen half-opened his eyes. His dark and sleepy eyes stared at her, and his words were quite cheeky. “Miss Shen Lian, you should know that I nearly died of sepsis half a month ago, and in order to save you, I was injected with a drug that is very harmful to the nervous system, which has led to high levels of depression and even addiction symptoms. Despite this, I’m still here, accompanying you and talking to you, even though I’m sick. You should be grateful.”

“Then I should just die, so you don’t have to work so hard,” Shen Lian retorted irritably.

Lin Chen closed his eyes but spoke very lucidly. “Before the results come out, you’re not willing to die.”

Shen Lian didn’t know when Lin Chen started speaking so casually to her, but apart from his slow movements, Lin Chen himself didn’t seem to have any signs of depression. She stared at Lin Chen for a while and asked, “Are you upset? Do you want to talk about it to cheer me up?”

Lin Chen shook his head and turned his face to the other side, showing off his fair and fragile neckline, refusing to look at her.

“So, are you actually not confident about the voting results?” She leaned forward and asked, somewhat annoyed.

“You’ve been fretting over the same question so many times. It seems like you’re the one who’s not confident,” Lin Chen said. He straightened up with a self-control that Shen Lian could feel, opened the drawer, took out a file, and threw it on the table. “Since you want to talk so much, let’s talk about the time when you were molested.”

The abrupt change of topic left Shen Lian needing some time to wrap her head around it in order to face the document on the table.

It was an old file, and the name of the principal police officer was signed in the red box on the right bottom of the cover—Bian Yuan.

“Who do you want to talk about first? Chen Jianguo, Bian Yuan, or the old homeless man who saved you?”

Shen Lian knew that they must have thoroughly investigated her past, but when Lin Chen suddenly brought it up, she still found it inconceivable. “You really don’t care if you upset me.”

Lin Chen sat up straight, pointed to the TV, and said, “After all, that’s my biggest confidence.”

The program being replayed was an interview with a family member of one of the criminals. The mother of the murderer, Sun Zhen, was being interviewed. The woman should have been middle-aged, but her temples were gray, and she looked old and pitiful. She kept telling the reporter in front of the camera that her son had drunk too much and accidentally stabbed someone to death.

The judge had sentenced him to life imprisonment, which meant his crime wasn’t punishable by death. Moreover, her son had been very obedient during his imprisonment and would soon have a chance for his sentence to be reduced. The woman kneeled in front of the TV, weeping and begging everyone to give her son a chance.

Of course, the middle-aged woman omitted in her narration the history of Sun Zhen’s repeated violent assaults. In her mouth, Sun Zhen was just a little boy who made a mistake once.

Shen Lian snapped back to reality, looked at the file on the table, and had a vague sense of what Lin Chen was about to say.

“Are you satisfied with who you are now?” He asked her, but didn’t give her time to think and continued, “Overall, you’ve caused a lot of trouble, helped your comrades voice their opinions, and it seems you’re doing quite well. But since antisocial personalities are extremely selfish, I want to ask, setting aside the collective, are you satisfied with who you are now, proud and unregretful, feeling like you wouldn’t regret it even if you died right now?”

Stared at by Lin Chen’s cold gaze, Shen Lian found herself unable to move. She really wanted to find something to argue with, but at that moment, her mind inexplicably went blank.

She swallowed and, for a change, wanted Lin Chen to keep going so she wouldn’t have to think about this question.

But Lin Chen, being as sharp as he was, clearly knew how to seize every opportunity.

So he probably gave her about five minutes to think, which was so long that the program had started interviewing the family of the victim in the Sun Zhen case.

“I am very satisfied,” she said forcibly, with a tone of conviction.

Lin Chen nodded. “So, imagine for a moment that nothing happened back then. That man didn’t violate you, the old vagrant didn’t die, you as a girl whose personality differed from others, just stumbled and grew up; how would you evaluate such a you?”

Shen Lian narrowed her eyes, staring coldly at Lin Chen.

Lin Chen interrupted her before she could speak. “Your first reaction is to feel very lucky, isn’t it?” He paused and said, “What I mean is, you think that if nothing happened that night, it would have been the best, right?”

“But it happened.” Shen Lian licked her lips.

Lin Chen nodded. “So, you finally admit that this incident changed your life?” He leaned back in his chair and said seriously, “Just like Sun Zhen’s mother, who spoiled her son, thinking that the moment her son stabbed someone to death while drunk decided everything that followed.”

“Of course not.” Shen Lian looked at Lin Chen’s condescending face. “You see, this is where we fundamentally disagree. Even without this incident, my family, my genes, and my problematic mind would determine that I would inevitably be antisocial and that we would become enemies, Consultant Lin.”

“That’s just your personal view,” Lin Chen said lightly, as if those things were really not important.

Shen Lian laughed. She suddenly felt relieved that she even wanted to thank Lin Chen for his sharp questions that finally made her dare to face these things. “Admit it, Consultant Lin. Although you say it, in fact, born criminals in your society have only one way—a dead end.”

Lin Chen said seriously, “You’re wrong, Shen Lian. This is one of the wrong beliefs he instilled in you. In fact, people are experiencing different events every day, so choices are made every moment. As long as a person is alive, he has choices. Some choices are easy, some are difficult; some people are swayed by choices, some people really make choices.”

……

When Lu Xu was locking the door of the late-night snack bar, it was almost dawn. According to the instructions of the proprietress, he turned left, and the house with the light on not far away was the polling station.

Unlike what he had imagined, the polling station was neither too hot nor too cold, with an inexplicable sense of solemnity fitting the atmosphere of the early morning.

Across half a street, Lu Xu vaguely saw some sleepy journalists squatting at the location of the polling station, but no one had the energy to take pictures.

There were a few elderly people coming out of the polling station, and the only people who could get up and move at this point were the elderly. However, as he got closer, he discovered that those stooped figures he vaguely saw weren’t only early-voting elderly people. There was an old couple distributing flyers.

Lu Xu walked to the edge of the small flower bed at the door and was stopped.

The old woman with a small bouquet of flowers on her head handed him a flyer, but perhaps because he had a fierce face, she looked at him with a subconscious vigilance.

Lu Xu shrugged and walked away without paying too much attention. Under the light of the polling station, he glanced at the flyer.

It was an introduction to four criminals, which he had already seen a lot of on the TV in the shop today. But as he was about to put the flyer in his pocket, he realized that there was a letter written in blood on the back of the flyer.

The letter detailed how the usurer, Zhao Yi, had forced a desperate woman into a corner, eventually leading to her suicide.

The old woman’s crying voice came faintly from the wind. “Zhao Yi drove my granddaughter to death. I beg you, good people, that beast deserves his crime! My granddaughter was in debt to him because she wanted to treat her old grandmother. It should have been me who died, not my poor little granddaughter. I beg you! I beg you!”

The old woman knelt down as she said this, and the old men and women who had come to vote comforted her. The cries, the tragic accusations, and the comforting words were unsettling.

Lu Xu looked at the scene and suddenly remembered that his mother seemed to have knelt down in front of the police station in the same way.

The woman who failed to bribe with her body knelt in front of the police, begging the law enforcers to give her son another chance, but clearly, the strict law wouldn’t change because of a woman’s knees.

But today, it may change due to an old woman’s kneeling.

Lu Xu felt it was very gratifying, but also had a feeling of annoyance that he couldn’t describe. However, he was here for revenge today, so he unhesitatingly chose to walk straight into the polling station, and he must not turn back.

The time was still early, and not many people were in line at the polling station. There was a small, deep-blue tent partitioned off with a rainproof cloth in the farthest area. After lifting the curtain to go in and vote, no one would know what that person chose.

Lu Xu presented his ID to the staff. After it was checked and approved, the staff handed him a simple ballot, with a question he could almost recite backwards.

—I will vote in favor of executing four criminals who were not assigned capital punishment to save more people.

A. Yes
B. No

Lu Xu looks at the government worker next to him, at the old man coming out from behind the curtain, and then back down at the multiple-choice question on the ballot. He felt a sense of reality and absurdity he had never experienced before.

The staff member lightly pushed his shoulder, indicating that he could go in and vote.

He walked into the small tent, dumbfounded, like a marionette.

It was a tiny space that could only accommodate one person standing. The lighting was dim, which felt even more oppressive for someone as fat as him. In front of him was a surveillance camera, a simple pencil on the table, and a locked voting box. He peeked into the voting box, only seeing layers of white paper.

Lu Xu placed the ballot on the table, staring at the blunt 2B pencil, still feeling incredulous. Just by picking up the pencil, he could indirectly decide Qian Bao’s life and death?

He felt there was no reason not to fill in “Yes”, but every time he reached for the pencil, it felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. He realized he didn’t even have the courage to pick it up.

From afar, the faint crying of an old lady made this cramped space even quieter. This might be the first time in Lu Xu’s life that he felt the world was so heavy yet so serene. The quietness made him question: This choice should be a no-brainer, so why can’t he choose “Yes”?

The light was still on, the pencil was still there, no one was rushing him. Time flowed meaninglessly. Gradually, Lu Xu seemed to see his dazed life. He saw the clueless boy standing at the dock facing the police, saw himself being pinned down by the police over and over again, saw the judge speaking time and again, the jail door closing time and again. And then, all these complicated images disappear, freezing at the simplest moment.

A young prison guard patted his shoulder and told him, “Be good and never come back again.”

It was only in such quiet moments that he finally understood the meaning of this phrase he had heard so often. This wasn’t some automated farewell, nor false advice, but a sincere hope.

“Reform and be a good person.”

This was probably the fairest chance the world gave to every criminal who didn’t deserve to die. It was also the maximum goodwill formed when all viewpoints converged. He had enjoyed such forgiveness many times before, but at that time, he didn’t think he still had a chance.

Looking at the paper on the table, Lu Xu felt he didn’t need to think any more.

When he left the polling station, Lu Xu started to cry.

The old man handing out leaflets in the morning light was hunched over and unsteady on his feet.In the distance was a weak sunrise. He raised his head, looking at the hazy daylight, and wished he could tell his 17-year-old self—Don’t go to the docks for 50 yuan, you fool.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 285

The starry sky was bright tonight, a rare clear day at the end of summer.

Many people had gone to bed with their worries, while others considered this just another ordinary day.

Lu Xu, as usual, had a bit of drink while tidying up the tables and chairs at the late-night snack shop. Of course, what he called “as usual” referred to his life in the past month.

After all, he had done some very bad things, and it was only by becoming a tainted witness that he was able to negotiate a plea deal and replace imprisonment with community service. He worked during the day and helped out at the snack shop at night, leading a life of starting anew.

It was almost four in the morning, and the bustling stands were about to close, so there was only one table of customers left in the shop.

However, those customers showed no signs of leaving early. To be honest, even though he had spent most of his time dealing with the wealthy and the powerful, he had also seen plenty of people at the bottom. They would order a plate of peanuts and a portion of smashed cucumber, get a bottle of Red Star Erguotou, and stay in the shop until five in the morning without any remorse.

He wiped most of the tables clean, flipped the chairs over, and swept and mopped the floor, but the two people at that table still hadn’t stopped chatting.

“Lao Zhang, what you’re saying makes sense. We have a distant relative working at the police station. He said there’s a big government action behind all this. Let me tell you…”

Lu Xu really didn’t intend to eavesdrop, but their voices were so loud that every word seemed to be drilling into his ears, unstoppable.

“Lao Pei, you always know so much. You had insider information and didn’t share it. This is not treating your brothers as your own!”

“Hey, this is all inside information that we’re not allowed to talk about. Those four people are actually just ordinary people who offended someone and got thrown in. Otherwise, why was there no sound at all during the live broadcast?”

The middle-aged man raised his small wine cup and, with half-closed eyes, spoke in a mysterious manner.

Lu Xu suddenly froze in place.

The man across the table slapped the table and asked drunkenly, “Brother, are you telling the truth?”

“Absolutely, it’s all true!” As he spoke, he intentionally lowered his voice and pretended to warn, “You mustn’t let this get out. These are life-threatening matters. We might get in trouble if…”

As he was speaking, a dirty rag suddenly fell into the empty cucumber bowl. It didn’t splash any liquids, but the crushed garlic mixed with the dirty rag looked extremely disgusting. The two men turned their heads in unison, angrily looking at the fat man who had been cleaning up the shop.

“I’m sorry, sir, my hand slipped just now.”

The fat man was wearing glasses, and his eyes were bulging, making him look like a greasy toad. Although his eyes seemed kind and humble, he couldn’t hide the shadow of the world that passed through them.

“What are you up to? Picking a fight?” The man slammed down his wine cup. With blood rushing to his head, he stood up and rolled up his sleeves.

At this moment, he heard a pleasant female voice from behind. “Sir, I’m truly sorry. Please, calm down…”

Lu Xu also turned his head along with her. The proprietress, dressed in her nightgown, had just come down from the second floor. She leaned against a pillar with her arms crossed, posing seductively.

Men, faced with such a scene, would undoubtedly have their minds racing.

Sure enough, the men at the table who had been drinking were about to take action. But at this moment, the proprietress said, “My shop isn’t very lucky.”

The two drunken men stopped abruptly.

The proprietress continued, “The last person who drank until five o’clock in my shop was hit by a car on his way home and died.” The woman revealed a chilling, genuine smile. “It was really my bad luck. The family came with a Daoist priest and caused a scene in my shop, saying my shop is unlucky and that it killed their husband. The Daoist opened his heavenly eye and said it was because there were ghosts in my shop, and if a customer stayed past five o’clock, the ghosts would be displeased. It’s already 4:20 now… I… am genuinely concerned for you.”

The two middle-aged men were already quite drunk. The shop was half dark because it was about to close, and outside was pitch black except for the streetlights. At this moment, they were facing a woman who resembled a vixen, the atmosphere was indeed eerie.

Sure enough, the two men looked at each other, sobered up instantly, threw down their cups, and ran out of sight.

Lu Xu watched the proprietress with an ingratiating look, only to hear her say, “The bill will be deducted from your salary.” With that, she began to move gracefully back upstairs to sleep.

Her footsteps seemed to hammer Lu Xu’s heart. He watched her enchanting back, dry-mouthed, wanting to speak but unable to.

At this moment, the woman suddenly turned around and looked down at him from above, asking, “So, what’s going on with you today?”

Lu Xu sat under the lamp, sipping the cheapest rice wine in the store, and began a long and uninteresting narrative.

He never thought of himself as a good person. After all, according to his track record, he could basically be considered total social trash, not much different from those four pieces of garbage now locked in the small dark room waiting to die. But his mood now was complicated and sad, not because of the sorrow of kindred things hurting each other, but because he found fate really strange.

The first time he saw Lin Chen, he was severely beaten because he made a move on him. Later, Lin Chen treated him like a useful dog, leading him to investigate a case. Although it offended many dignitaries in Fengchun, it also gave him a chance to start anew. Now, fate once again linked him with Lin Chen in an unpredictable way, and he probably had to thank Lin Chen again. After all, he became a pile of social trash, all because of Qian Bao.

When Lu Xu got to this point, he looked at the woman across the small square table. It must have been because his story was too uninteresting that the lady boss was drinking on her own and didn’t care about him at all.

He awkwardly picked up the wine cup in front of him and drank it all. The hot and spicy wine slid down his throat in a straight line, giving him the courage to continue the story below.

“Don’t look at me now, being fat and ugly like a toad. In fact, I was terribly poor when I was young.”

“My father died early, and my mother, in order to raise me, messed around with men in the village. I didn’t understand the difficulty of life when I was young, and I just thought she was dirty and stupid.”

“I’m uneducated, and people from families like mine basically have no chance of turning their lives around through education. So after middle school graduation, I took a vocational school exam in a big city. It was my mother who forced me to go there. She thought that since I had relatives in that city, I would be able to graduate and find a good job. The relative was Qian Bao’s father, my distant cousin. My mother slept with him for about a week, and this distant cousin agreed to take care of me.”

As Lu Xu spoke, he felt more and more drunk, and he couldn’t even distinguish between reality and the past.

He said: “It wasn’t until I arrived in Fengchun that I realized that Qian Bao’s father was not really a car mechanic but a car thief. Qian Bao was younger than me and my cousin, but he started school early, so he was already in his first year of high school. Qian Bao wasn’t like his father—he didn’t want to do risky things with low returns, like car theft. Although his car theft skills were better than his father’s in high school, he had big ambitions and always wanted to do ‘finance’.”

He laughed, seemingly mocking but also admiring. “A first-year high school student, knowing how to cooperate with the owner of a video game store, investing in slot machines. I was short and fat at that time, but I had some strength. As his brother, I felt I should take care of my younger brother no matter what, so I helped him watch the venue. He gave me some money. I have been poor since I was young, and that money was astronomical to me. I was so happy that I would do whatever Qian Bao told me. I thought I would live like this for the rest of my life, the best scenario being owning my own small game hall, marrying a wife, until one day…”

When Lu Xu got here, the woman across from him still didn’t move. Her black hair shone lustrously under the light. Lu Xu didn’t know why he became so wordy and messy; it was simply uninteresting. Suddenly, he didn’t want to go on.

Just as he was about to get up, the woman hit the table with her wine cup and called him to continue in a long tone. “Continue, I don’t like to listen to stories halfway through.”

Lu Xu stood still by the table.

He would never forget that day, even though it was nothing compared to what he had done later, but after all, all the first times are unforgettable.

It was a weekend, and as usual, he had to get up earlier than usual to watch the venue for his cousin. However, when he was having breakfast, Qian Bao came in and bought him a delicious beef roll. Although he rejected it, he hadn’t eaten meat for a long time, and he didn’t think about whether there was any conspiracy behind a simple roll. While he was wolfing down the roll while pretending to be reserved, he heard Qian Bao tell him that he didn’t need to go to the game hall.

His beef-swallowing motion slowed down a beat.

Qian Bao said, “There is a new machine coming in today, smuggled goods. Brother, you go and help me carry it, and I’ll give you 50 yuan.”

Even today, he could clearly recall every bit of Qian Bao’s expression and tone change when he was speaking, but these were all meaningless things now.

Of course, he went to the dock later. It was indeed a new slot machine, but there were also other things hidden in the slot machine.

What happened later was a blurry nightmare of life—one that would continue to this day.

The police came, cracked open the slot machine, and found bags of colorful little pills inside. He was familiar with this stuff since Qian Bao often asked him to deliver them. However, it wasn’t until he was interrogated that he realized they were not refreshing mint candies but ecstasy pills.

He tried to turn Qian Bao in, but then he discovered that all along, Qian Bao had been dealing under his name. Even the account for receiving the illicit money was secretly set up in his name. Moreover, since he was the one delivering the goods, both person and material evidence were present, and the police wouldn’t believe any ungrounded accusations.

From the day he got into trouble, he never saw Qian Bao again. His mom did come to the police station to see him, even attempted to seduce the police to save him, which was utterly shameful.

At that time, that was what he thought. Shame, regret, pain, resentment—these intense emotions completely transformed a 17-year-old boy.

He was expelled from school and went to jail.

An elder in jail helped him analyze the situation. It was likely that Qian Bao had received a tip, which was why he had been sent to pick up the goods. In unflattering terms, he was the fish that Qian Bao had baited for the police.

However, all this no longer mattered. He knew he couldn’t go back.

What followed was a cycle of getting out of jail, going back in, getting out again, and going back in. In between, his mom contracted an STD and died. He mixed with the elder he met in jail for many years, struggling step by step to climb up from the gutter. After all, the underworld was a place with strict hierarchies.

Eventually, he became a pimp, having a handful of girls under him. He often abused those boys and girls, doing things similar to what Qian Bao had done to him.

But, he never saw Qian Bao again. He didn’t even know when Qian Bao was arrested and put in jail.

If it weren’t for the live broadcast he saw on TV yesterday, he would have been unable to associate his mischievous cousin, always with a smiling face, with the grim, overweight middle-aged man on the screen.

And now, the wheel of fortune had turned, and he even held a precious vote that could get Qian Bao killed.

When Lu Xu came to this point, somehow, he lowered his head and looked at his own hands. He thought this shouldn’t be difficult at all. Many people waited their entire lives for such a chance to exact revenge. And the only reason he hadn’t voted yet was because he needed to bathe and change clothes—to send Qian Bao to the guillotine with reverence, just as it’s shown on TV.

When he finished speaking, a low and boring voice came from behind.

“Oh…” His boss stood up from the chair, swaying towards the staircase, and as she walked, she said, “Turn left and go three hundred meters out the door, and you’ll find a voting station in the square. Go on.”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 284

The only person who had a clearer understanding of the outcome than Lin Chen was Xing Conglian.

Since being with Lin Chen, he felt that everything he had experienced before was nothing compared to the thrilling and real days he was living now.

He had to watch his beloved take life-threatening risks, and he thought this was an extremely wise and intelligent choice, well-considered. Moreover, he had to endure some idiots questioning it. He never thought his temper could deteriorate to this extent; Lin Chen must have spoiled him.

In front of him, the public opinion expert was still seeking advice, but Xing Conglian knew that it was just a report for Shen Heming. However, when he saw the widely circulated analysis article on the internet, he couldn’t help but feel angry. The article was written by a well-known online commentator named Zhai Yong.

This commentator used to be a famous host and had accumulated a large number of fans during his time in the media platform. Later, he transitioned to self-media because he could always write sharp critical articles that attracted many… as Wang Chao put it, they were like patients with a touch of chuunibyou. The number of such people far exceeded imagination; this was Xing Conglian’s first reaction when he saw the actual number of reposts and comments.

The article mainly explained these viewpoints from the perspectives of legal principles and social contract, reflecting Zhai Yong’s consistent stance.

—This is the responsibility that the government should bear, yet the government merely shifts this responsibility onto individuals, making individuals pay the price for the government’s incompetence. Do we really want to become indirect murderers under the guise of democracy, which is, in reality, a forceful imposition of incompetence?

—Not choosing is a form of protest. It’s not cowardice but rather the optimal choice based on rational analysis.

—Let those who are desperate to make decisions decide. This matter itself doesn’t concern us that much.

These passages roughly explain these viewpoints from the perspectives of the legal system and the government’s responsibility in the social contract, which align with Zhai Yong’s consistent stance.

If Fang Aizi’s classmate, Miss Wang, were to read this article, she would undoubtedly idolize Zhai Yong. Of course, based on the timing of Zhai Yong’s previous Weibo posts in response to the sociopath, it’s also possible that Miss Wang agreed deeply with the content after reading his Weibo and then attempted to convey this viewpoint to more people.

The public opinion expert said, “Minister Shen, the situation is roughly like this. It’s possible that there are online influencers manipulating the situation, but it could also be an expression of public opinion. Based on our calculations, the growth rate of online voting has decreased by 72% compared to the previous hour. Considering the margin of error due to the time difference, we believe that this article is causing more citizens to abstain from voting. Should we take measures regarding this?” He paused for a moment and probed, “If you have a specific desired outcome, perhaps early guidance is necessary. After all… people are easily influenced.”

This statement was extremely cryptic, implying that if they didn’t take the initiative, they would indirectly hand over the initiative to the other side.

Minister Shen frowned, and Xing Conglian knew that the old man might have been full of confidence and willing to take a gamble at some point, but the higher one’s position, the less one could act on a whim. He had to bear more pressure and consider more factors.

Thus, at this moment, Xing Conglian refrained from interjecting to influence the old man’s decision.

However, at this point, the old man looked at him and said, “Conglian, this is really difficult…”

Xing Conglian could fully understand the immense pressure weighing on the old man. In a certain sense, the old man bore more responsibility than him or Lin Chen.

“He probably told you something, like predicting the trend?”

“He did.” Xing Conglian nodded.

“Then why didn’t you tell me?” The old man inquired.

At this moment, Xing Conglian was genuinely puzzled about what the old man was up to. His eyes and facial expression gave away nothing, so he could only answer truthfully, “Because I didn’t want to influence your choice. You have your own considerations and judgments, and I should respect that.”

Upon hearing this, the old man lowered his head as if pondering something, his expression becoming obscure and indecipherable. Just when Xing Conglian was about to add something, the old man suddenly lifted his head and pointed at him with his thumb while addressing the public opinion expert, “Did you hear that?”

Both the expert and Xing Conglian were a bit baffled, and the expert asked, “What do you mean?”

“We always shout about respecting the people, but when it comes to a critical moment, you drop the ball, Xiao Chen. Your organizational consciousness still needs improvement.” The old man sighed lightly, speaking casually.

The strategy expert looked at the old man suddenly, feeling a sense of trepidation from the implications of his words. “Are you saying…”

“Although the world is noisy, it’s quiet late at night. The stillness of the night is so beautiful. So, we don’t have to insist on broadcasting our own foolish ideas to the world. It’s interesting to stay quiet and let everyone think for themselves, isn’t it?”

The old man finished speaking and turned towards the window.

Xing Conglian followed his line of sight and saw the vast and serene starry sky outside.

The room fell silent again.

……

Zhai Yong had irregular sleep patterns.

People like him tend to be active during the night, as that is when their thoughts flow like a spring.

It was past three in the morning when he finished reading those comments on Weibo, analyzing and organizing all the viewpoints, making notes, and preparing to counter them effectively tomorrow. Unlike those who speak for money, Zhai Yong expressed his own views and wasn’t manipulated by others.

It was already very late, or rather too early, and most of the people still engaging in online discussions at this time were probably students from different time zones. Zhai Yong found this group of people intriguing; they were often his most reliable allies and the most challenging enemies to conquer.

For example, the most popular reply to his post said:

—Teacher Zhai has always advocated democracy. Isn’t one person, one vote democratic enough? But when true democracy appears, you suddenly start hating that the government isn’t doing anything to save you. Have you ever thought that the very mechanism you disdain is at work every day, from the teachers who educate your son to the high-ranking officials who make political decisions? Their existence fundamentally helps you share various social responsibilities. Now it’s just returning some of that responsibility and returning to a more straightforward voting system, and you’re scared? How pathetic…

Initially, Zhai Yong was very angry when he saw this comment. It clearly distorted his original intentions and even the significance of his continuous effort to voice his opinions.

Regardless of the social mechanism, there is a need for people like him to speak some harsh words that may sound difficult to hear. False peace and cleanliness hold no meaning whatsoever.

This is the reason why he chose to speak today because, throughout the entire development of the event, he saw the government’s incompetence and lack of guidance. His speech was an act of taking on his social responsibility. What would those young kids who haven’t even grown a single hair understand?

With this thought in mind, Zhai Yong clicked on the image accompanying the comment. It was a screenshot from the government’s voting website.

—I will vote to support the execution of four criminals who were not previously sentenced to death to save more people.

A. Yes
B. No

The person who posted the comment had chosen “Yes”.

Zhai Yong remained silent for a long time. He pushed the keyboard tray and stood up to get a glass of water.

His thin-soled indoor slippers made a soft sound on the floor as he opened the study door. To his surprise, he found someone sitting outside.

“Dad, you’re up early, or you haven’t slept yet?”

His elderly father was sitting in the living room on the leather sofa, with the television on but the volume turned down. The changing light and shadows highlighted the wrinkles on his weathered face.

Zhai Yong’s father didn’t immediately answer him, as he was still watching the TV. So, Zhai Yong took a seat next to the old man, carrying an empty glass of water. At this late hour, there were no live broadcasts on TV, only replays of daytime news.

The scene displayed was from when the clothing market in Meicun had an incident. A large number of ambulances had arrived, and customers and store owners covered in blood were helping each other evacuate. In contrast, medical personnel were moving in the opposite direction, forming a stark contrast in the flow of people.

“I went to see your Uncle Su today.” Zhai Yong’s father began speaking, putting his glasses back on from the coffee table, not as if he genuinely needed to see something clearer, but as if to conceal some true emotions.

“Principal Su?”

“Who else could it be?”

Zhai Yong had indeed heard his mother mention some issues Uncle Su was facing.

But at their age, they often heard about old friends passing away, so they had grown accustomed to such news. So at this moment, he connected the term “Uncle Su” with the old principal of Yongchuan University.

“Didn’t the news say that, due to timely discovery, the large-scale adverse reactions caused by Nao Kangning didn’t fully erupt? It only mentioned that elderly people who took the medication might have hidden safety hazards…”

Zhai Yong’s mind worked quickly, and he seemed to have finally realized the key to a person’s relationship that had been vaguely sensed but never fully understood.

“It’s clear that his good student has been causing him trouble all along. This time he was probably implicated. Xiao Cui said he was fine before going to the university.”

The old man’s tone carried a hidden anger, but more than that, it was a melancholy from being hurt by one of their own kind.

“Lin Chen is Principal Su’s student?” Zhai Yong’s mind was racing. “So, he proposed this new plan really to save President Su…”

“Who knows what that good student of his is thinking,” his father coldly interrupted him. “Based on Lin Chen’s usual approach, he wouldn’t consider his teacher’s life or death in his considerations.”

“Dad, don’t beat around the bush. What do you want to say?”

“Delete your article,” his father said straightforwardly, turning his head to look at him.

He looked at his father in disbelief. This was probably the first time his father asked him since he became an independent writer and in the media industry. And he knew it wasn’t a request; it was a plea.

“We, a few old buddies, have already contacted many friends tonight. Tomorrow morning, the media’s direction will change.” His father stood up, as if he had just finished explaining something unimportant. “If possible, I appeal to more people to vote in favor.”

The old man picked up the remote control and decisively turned off the TV, leaving Zhai Yong stunned and speechless in the living room.

As the room fell into silence, his father slowly walked away. Watching his father’s back, Zhai Yong called out, “Dad!”

“If you can call me dad, then do as I say.”

Zhai Yong stood up. “Do you really believe that as long as the majority votes in favor, this society can exchange the lives of four innocent people for the chance for more to live?”

“Stop talking about society with me. Isn’t this the democracy you advocate every day? Besides, your little knowledge of the law was taught by me, wasn’t it?”

“Dad, this isn’t democracy; it’s lynching. No, it’s even more despicable than lynching!”

“Then you tell me, what is democracy?” The old man exuded a terrifying aura, reminiscent of his days as a lawyer. “Within a certain class scope, democracy means the majority rules over the minority!”

“You are avoiding the most important question: Is it legal to execute criminals by bypassing legal provisions through a vote? This is not a nationwide vote, but only the opinions of three provinces. Even if our three provinces are independent states, we have no right to bypass legal provisions and directly determine the fate of the criminals through a vote. This approach is inherently wrong. Therefore, I believe that not voting is the right stance!”

The old man turned to look at him, his eyes almost popping out, making Zhai Yong feel as if a slap from his childhood might come at any moment.

He subconsciously closed his eyes, but the feeling of pain on his cheek never came.

When he opened his eyes again, his old father had turned back, looking at the dark night outside the window, saying nothing.

“Everyone is selfish,” his father said. “Hasn’t the law always sacrificed the minority to protect the interests of the majority?”

However, Zhai Yong walked to the window and lowered his head. In the dimly lit interior of the high-rise building, he could see the faint outline of the city in the night.

“I suddenly feel that this is indeed a good method.” Some corners of the city were still illuminated, but most places had already darkened. “You have your views, and I have my principles, but we can only represent ourselves.”

He looked at his father and said, “No matter what the outcome is, you will respect the opinions of the majority, right?”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 283

Hongjing Municipal Detention Center.

As a place where the government managed prisoners, it should naturally have a well-regulated routine, much like a psychiatric hospital.

Late into the night, the television broadcast news with a low hum. It was already midnight, and the voting had been ongoing for four hours. In the room where Lin Chen and Shen Lian were having their conversation, the LCD TV continuously displayed the voting results, while Lin Chen kept on drinking water.

During this time, many other news events occurred across different locations. For instance, there was a collective student protest against the arbitrary execution of criminals, and a big fight broke out among powerful inmates in the dark room of Min River No. 1 Prison, which eventually ended with Inspector Huang intervening to break it up.

However, overall, nothing major occurred that night that could overshadow the opening of the voting.

But perhaps due to the lateness of the hour, the voting pace slowed down, and some minor fluctuations appeared. The government’s official website still maintained a high ratio of 1:4, and no one was surprised by this result.

According to a certain statistician, when the sample size was larger, the data tended to stabilize. In other words, by the time one-sixth of the voting time had passed, the final result could be determined with a high degree of certainty.

Shen Lian wasn’t surprised by this outcome. Although she didn’t know the exact ratio that the final result would have, she knew that most people would choose to sacrifice the lives of the four criminals to obtain the antidote, which would save more people. The overwhelming majority would support this decision.

So, what she was most curious about now was what Lin Chen was up to.

“Do you know, Consultant Lin…” She suddenly spoke, causing Lin Chen to pause in his action of holding the water cup.

During this period, their roles seemed to have reversed. She became the one constantly talking and asking questions, while Lin Chen had taken a folding stool, propped himself up on the back of a chair, and was dozing lightly.

Lin Chen raised his eyelids slightly to look at her. His face was extremely pale, showing signs of mental exhaustion.

“You’re thirsty and keep wanting to drink water. It’s also a form of acute withdrawal reaction,” she told Lin Chen.

Lin Chen gave a slight smile, tapping the glass with his fingertips, and his smile seemed forced. “Well then, why don’t you cooperate and give me the antidote so I can rest?”

“Tsk.” Shen Lian chuckled happily. “No way, I find this version of you quite cute. Weren’t you full of confidence earlier?”

Lin Chen coaxed her like one would to a little girl. “I’m still very confident.”

Shen Lian frowned and said, “I really suspect now that you wanted to kill those four people from the beginning to get the antidote. When you guys get ruthless, it’s sometimes even more brutal than us.”

Lin Chen tapped the glass with his fingertips and made a crisp sound. He suddenly looked at her earnestly, his pitch-black eyes full of inquiry. “You always use ‘you guys’ and ‘we’ to separate the human species. What basis do you have for doing that?”

“Huh?” Shen Lian felt surprised. “Wasn’t it ‘you guys’ who separated ‘us’ in the first?”

“That sounds like a tongue twister.” Lin Chen shook his head.

“Criminologists have spent hundreds, even thousands of years studying why a person becomes a criminal, from the earliest phrenology to the present genetic determinism. Aren’t they making great efforts to identify potential criminals?”

“That’s just humans exploring the unknown about themselves,” Lin Chen said.

His face was calm, and this attitude irritated Shen Lian. “Yeah, just like studying human diseases. We need to correct, treat, and, if necessary, remove the parts. You guys treat us as… What exactly do you see ‘us’ as? You already know in your hearts!”

“What do you think it is, hm?” Lin Chen asked rhetorically.

Shen Lian suddenly choked, finding herself unable to come up with the right adjective at the moment.

“Potential criminals, objects that must be eliminated?” Lin Chen struggled to pull the clothes covering his legs and turned to point at the television. “So now, I’ve selected four real criminals. In a more extreme situation, you can see what we really consider you guys to be.”

Although Lin Chen was as weak as an addict, he still spoke so firmly that it left Shen Lian wondering where his confidence came from. “It’s 1:4, bud. You can’t possibly win!”

“In your eyes, what does my so-called winning mean?” It was at this moment that Lin Chen seemed to grasp onto something crucial and, with a somewhat suspicious demeanor, answered his own question, “If I win, those four people won’t die in the end, right?”

Lin Chen stopped tapping the glass, and this pause annoyed Shen Lian even more. But Lin Chen always knew how to provoke her. “You see, Shen Lian, it’s just a very ordinary idea from you, but if I were your therapist, I’d tell you that you’re not even aware of the cognitive issues behind this question.”

“Too bad you’re not,”

Before Shen Lian could continue, Lin Chen interrupted her.

“You’re afraid, yes. It looks like you’re confident, standing there as if you’re about to be the winner and mocking me. But what if I win? How will you handle that? You don’t really care about winning or losing; you care about the ideas symbolized behind it. If you win, it means your previously held beliefs were completely correct. Humans are selfish creatures, and you are just a kind closer to your true nature. But what if I win?” Lin Chen finally revealed a genuine smile, radiating an extremely bright aura. “If I win, what does it mean? Have you truly thought about this question?”

“Shut up. Do you think there’s even a possibility of that happening?” Shen Lian said coldly.

“‘Denial’ is the most basic and primitive psychological defense mechanism. If I were your therapist, I would seize this opportunity to say a few more words. Although ‘winning’ and ‘losing’ are just simple words, from my perspective, this term actually reflects your basic cognitive ability for moral evaluation. You actually have a clear understanding of what opinion you would hold about me. You even fully comprehend the social moral evaluation system. But it simply doesn’t move you, so you choose not to follow, let alone respect it. But deep down inside, you really know what kindness is.”

For a long time, Shen Lian couldn’t find the words to respond, feeling genuinely disgusted and nauseous by Lin Chen’s words. “Lin Chen, congratulations, you’ve succeeded in disgusting me.”

“My pleasure,” Lin Chen said.

Following the usual flow, when Lin Chen finished his concluding statement, the conversation should have come to an end.

But perhaps Lin Chen’s previous words really struck a nerve with her, or maybe it was just some psychological therapist’s technique, she couldn’t help but retort, “Come on, my point was simple. From both the perspective of human selfishness and human conformity, they would vote to execute those four criminals.”

“I’d like to hear the details.”

Lin Chen only replied like this, and regardless of how much or how little he said, it annoyed Shen Lian.

“Previously, I always thought you would create a batch of accounts online to spread grand virtues and goodness, to influence foolish people to make choices, thus reflecting what you call the brilliance of human nature.”

“That’s not beautiful. As I’ve said before, since it’s each individual’s choice, then it should be determined by each person’s free will.”

“But you not guiding doesn’t mean others won’t guide. In group environments, people tend to conform, especially online. Once someone expresses an opinion early, loudly, and it sounds very reasonable, many foolish people will be influenced, keep spreading it, and form fixed ideas.” Shen Lian paused and continued, “And often, those who are eager to express their own views, tsk…”

Lin Chen shook his head, and his feet followed with a little sway, as if expressing his helplessness.

Shen Lian knew that, in a sense, Lin Chen had a clearer understanding of this matter than her, so she had nothing more to say.

Just as she was about to continue, Lin Chen’s phone rang. Although there was no ringtone, Shen Lian clearly heard the vibration sound.

This was the first time Lin Chen’s phone rang since he entered the interrogation room for so long. Shen Lian knew something must have happened.

However, when she subconsciously stared at Lin Chen, the weak man who had been half-leaning on the chair suddenly stood up, pointed to the hidden door in the interrogation room, and coaxed her, “I need to use the restroom. You stay here for a while, be good.”

It was simply telling a blatant lie, and Shen Lian was infuriated.

…..

The interrogation room’s built-in bathroom was very small.

It only took two steps to reach the end, and when standing to urinate, your back would press against the cold back wall.

The flush toilet and sink were of the lowest quality to prevent any impulsive actions—even the mirror on the wall was covered with a simple layer of cellophane to avoid any danger.

Therefore, when standing in front of the sink and looking at himself, Lin Chen always felt as if he was seeing a ghost.

He turned on the tap and aimlessly let the water flow over his fingers while using his other hand to answer the phone. “Hello.”

“Why is your voice so hoarse? How much nonsense did you say?” Su Fengzi’s voice sounded in the earpiece, slightly mocking, and Lin Chen finally heard the tone of a normal person, which made him feel a little warmth.

“I was discussing psychological defense mechanisms with Shen Lian, and then got into the topic of group psychology. If we went deeper, we would probably get into the field of mirror neurons. Fortunately, you called.”

Su Fengzi was obviously not a conventional normal person. He only said, “Are you interrogating or dating? Does Xing Conglian even care about you?”

“I’m a person with my own opinions; he can’t control me.” Lin Chen laughed helplessly again. He turned off the tap and sat on the toilet with his knees against the wall. It was an uncomfortable posture, but for some inexplicable reason, it made him feel safe.

Su Fengzi probably knew that he had sat down, so he changed the subject. “It’s already so late. Your dear Inspector Huang almost shot someone in the cell. Fortunately, the director cut off the signal in time. Have you found a breakthrough with Shen Lian?”

“No, I haven’t discussed anything about her personally yet,” Lin Chen honestly replied.

“There are still 20 hours left, Lin Chen. You can’t just be direct with Shen Lian?” Su Fengzi said, a little impatiently.

“I’m always gentle with girls.”

“So you asked me to come to Yongchuan Medical College to find something related to Duan Wanshan and can break through Shen Lian’s defenses, but you’re chatting about poems, songs, and life ideals with a little beauty?”

Su Fengzi rarely sounded annoyed like this, and Lin Chen could almost imagine him standing alone under a streetlight, sulking. Although he knew that Su Fengzi deliberately said this to make him relax, he still couldn’t help but laugh. “After all, I’m counting on you, Shixiong.”

“I’ve already looked into it. After so many years, who can remember a small detail from many years ago? You don’t even tell me what aspect the detail might be related to. It’s as difficult as finding another planet with life in the universe.”

“Your analogy is really beautiful, Shixiong.”

On the other end of the phone, Su Fengzi let out a long sigh and finally said, “I’m very worried.”

Lin Chen knew that this wasn’t a joke. He looked at the suppressed wall in front of him and listened as Su Fengzi continued, “If more people really believe that those four should die, will you kill them in exchange for the antidote?”

“Yes.”

“And then?”

“Pay them for their lives.”

“That is meaningless,” Su Fengzi said.

“But what else can I do?” Lin Chen replied calmly.

“I understand,” Su Fengzi said solemnly. “Although I think it’s not worth it, I respect your choice.”

“Thank you.”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 282

Just like the second hand of a clock passing by without any care, the voting began in a moment of intense anticipation yet silent tranquility.

At least when the broadcasting journalist switched the screen back to the .org-ending website, the real-time visitor count at the bottom had already surpassed five hundred thousand, rapidly increasing at a rate too fast for the naked eye to discern.

Somewhere along the line, a small button labeled “View Voting Data” appeared on the website.

Many people instinctively moved their cursors over the slightly raised button, but when it came to actually clicking it, their fingers hesitated over the left mouse button, feeling an unexplained palpitation.

I support the execution of the criminals — 88.5% — 905 votes.

I do not support the execution of the criminals — 11.5% — 118 votes.

“These are the real-time voting results five minutes after the official voting started, which isn’t surprising.”

This was what the male anchor in the live broadcast room of Yongchuan TV news said.

……

Min River No. 1 Prison.

Yan Guiqiu was getting restless; he felt like he had been locked up for at least a day and a night.

If it weren’t for the dim light emitted by the extremely simple light bulb on the ceiling, he would have thought he had entered a grave.

At the beginning, he tried to talk to the other three bosses, but no one responded to him. After all, the prison was a place with a strict hierarchy.

Then he attempted to knock on the iron door of the small dark room, but the police officer surnamed Huang who brought him in had only said, “Shut up and wait”, and ignored him after that.

He could only crouch in the corner of the small dark room, maintaining a not-so-obvious distance from Zhao Yi on the lower bunk, Qian Bao on the upper bunk, and Sun Zhen leaning against the corner.

But this did nothing to alleviate his anxious mood. It was said that those who had committed homicides carried a murderous aura with them, something he didn’t have much understanding of before. However, as time passed meaninglessly, he felt the palpable hostility in this small dark room growing more substantial.

The bosses couldn’t bear it much longer…

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but shudder.

Just at that moment, Zhao Yi, who had been sitting like a king all along, stood up.

Before Yan Guiqiu could react, a pair of large hands descended from above, firmly gripping his neck.

Zhao Yi’s movements were too fast, and Yan Guiqiu’s vision went black as he was lifted up like a little chick and thrown against the iron door with a thud.

His head hit the door hard, causing pain to shoot through him. He couldn’t breathe, and his mind went blank. He couldn’t even muster the strength to struggle; he just felt like he was going to die.

Suddenly, the pressure on his back lessened, and the tightly closed iron door finally opened.

Yan Guiqiu fell to the ground, and Zhao Yi let go of him. His vision was still blurry, and he could only cover his neck and gasp for breath heavily.

In a daze, he saw a pair of black leather boots in front of him, their surface polished to a shine, even reflecting his disheveled appearance after the ordeal. Yan Guiqiu raised his head and saw the cold and indifferent police officer standing there.

The officer held four white envelopes and handed one of them to him.

“Open it.”

He heard the officer say to him.

Huang Ze stood in this small dark room permeated with the smell of cement and faint traces of blood, trying his best to remain calm.

He was well aware of how many citizens were watching the live broadcast through the installed cameras. Every action of his represented the highest position of the police, and it would be reviewed over and over again by the media and the public.

Even he himself would be scrutinized just like these four criminals, and he truly loathed this feeling, but he had no choice. Lin Chen had requested him to be here, executing the most crucial part of the plan: preventing these four individuals from dying inexplicably during the voting process and, after the voting results were out, taking them out of the dark room or executing them.

Of course, Huang Ze never believed that the former result would happen. Therefore, this task was destined to be extremely cruel, and it was suitable for him to carry it out.

Huang Ze sneered inwardly but showed no expression on his face. He took two steps in the dim prison cell and then handed out the remaining three envelopes one by one.

He didn’t understand the meaning of Lin Chen playing this kind of trick with these similar-looking envelopes. Before coming here, he had already opened and read all four letters, and they were exactly the same content.

Perhaps, to show respect for the sacrificial offering, Lin Chen didn’t use a photocopier but copied the letters by hand four times.

In the letters, Lin Chen explained to the four individuals why they were chosen and what would happen to them within the next 24 hours. He even briefly explained the voting rules and fairness guarantee in the letters, which Huang Ze felt was merely adding fuel to the fire.

As expected, during the time he waited for the four to read the letters, someone had already started tearing the paper.

Huang Ze glanced up slightly, and the swindler on the upper bunk exposed his fat head with a cold and evil look. He casually tore Lin Chen’s handwritten letter into pieces and threw the white paper shreds onto Huang Ze’s face.

‘Are you looking for death?!’ Huang Ze thought, but he politely warned Qian Bao, “If I were you, I would try to be gentler and more frugal, seeking the audience’s forgiveness in front of the TV. Maybe they’ll give you a chance to survive.”

He dared to say this because he was completely facing away from the camera, and Lin Chen specifically asked for no audio recording in the small dark room.

The chubby swindler burst into loud laughter, but his tone was terrifyingly cold. “If you have the guts, just kill me.” He faced the camera and flipped his middle finger. “If you don’t kill me, I’ll look down on you all.”

Hearing this, Huang Ze shrugged; criminals were indeed unreasonable.

However, just as Qian Bao’s arrogant laughter echoed in the dark room, Huang Ze heard a faint voice at his feet.

“This… Officer, this must be a mistake, right?” The voice was high-pitched and thin, something you wouldn’t expect from a normal man.

But when Huang Ze looked down at the creature that looked like a black rat at his feet, he could understand why this man’s voice sounded that way.

Greed, cowardice, timidity, terror…

These words almost filled the man’s face, making it disgusting. He believed that the viewers in front of their TV screens would have the same opinion.

Yan Guiqiu held the letter while his hands trembled, and his eyes became teary. He tentatively asked him, “Huang… Officer Huang… Why was I chosen?”

“It’s stated in the letter. It was completely random sampling, and your number happened to be drawn.”

“No… It’s not… Why me? How did it end up being me?” Yan Guiqiu seemed to still be immersed in enormous disbelief, not accepting his fate. He looked at the letter upside down several times in a hurry and urgently said, “I… I was going to be released on parole in a few days. How could I have been chosen? This must be a mistake.”

Huang Ze lowered his head to look at him but remained silent.

“I’m just unlucky. I didn’t steal anything valuable, and I even broke my leg. Why am I so unlucky?” Yan Guiqiu was close to crying, as if he had suddenly thought of something. He grabbed Huang Ze’s pants leg, as if holding onto a lifeline, and pleaded, “Can you change it? Mr. Police Officer, draw again. Please draw again, I beg you!”

The skinny man’s voice was pitiful, but the little bit of sympathy that arose in Huang Ze’s heart vanished after hearing this plea. He didn’t know what hope Lin Chen had left, but he genuinely felt that using these four trash individuals to save other innocent people was the most cost-effective deal in the whole world.

……

Huang Ze wasn’t the only one who shared the same sentiment.

At least on the official website ending with .org, the ratio of “life or death” was approaching 2:8 as the number of voters increased.

Although it seemed like there were more people opposed to killing the criminals to obtain the antidote, considering the rapid expansion in the number of participants, this was still an extremely frightening and significant ratio.

Many citizens were even more shocked to discover that the police, or, more precisely, the government, weren’t joking. Around 8:30 in the evening, some citizen squares and public spots that should have quieted down once again lit up with lights and became lively.

At that time, some aunties and uncles hadn’t completely left the square after their square dance. Some small delivery trucks came to the edge of the square, and well-trained staff who didn’t look like ordinary construction workers carried tents off the trucks and set up several large ones in just five minutes.

These tents looked like they were taken from the government’s reserve supplies, brand new and unopened, and the rainproof fabric shone brightly under the lights.

After setting up the tents, the staff unloaded a few tables and chairs from the truck and then orderly left as if hurrying to the next location.

After seeing the staff leave, the children, who were still strolling around, held their parents’ hands and came to the side of the tent.

Some of them extended their chubby little hands to tentatively poke the iron pole, while the bolder ones had already lifted the curtain and were going in and out of the tent, playing with great delight.

Similar scenes were continuously unfolding in the three provinces. The reason the public sometimes needed the government was because they could be truly powerful.

Many activity centers that had already closed their doors also lit up almost simultaneously. Some people were organizing tables and chairs, while others received thick sealed boxes, looking tired and uncertain as they looked inside at the thousands of blank ballots.

In the dark night, the crowds outside each tent grew larger. Some residents even came downstairs in slippers to see the facilities built within five minutes.

The police hadn’t officially announced the specific process for offline voting through Yongchuan TV, but looking at these tents, many residents could connect them with what had happened today.

“Damn, pinch me, am I dreaming? Seriously?” A white-collar worker who had just gotten off work pushed his friend next to him and looked incredulously at the tent under the tree through the gaps in the crowd.

“Are you crazy? Online voting is one thing, but doing on-site voting is like a presidential election. It’s a big deal.” His colleague was swiping on his phone, looked up indifferently, and continued chatting with his girlfriend.

In the WeChat chat window, the girl replied: [These are a few bad guys. The police can’t catch them, which is already pathetic. Who could come up with such an idea? Trading four criminals’ lives for an antidote is just losing face!]

[You’re right, honey.] The man typed quickly. [Anyway, it has nothing to do with us. Let’s talk about where you want to go for vacation this weekend…]

As he pressed the send button, some noise seemed to be coming from the front, but it couldn’t attract him to look up again.

A new reply appeared. [My mom has gone crazy. She asked me when she can go downstairs to vote. These middle-aged women in their fifties love to join in the fun.]

[If she really wants to join the fun, you should teach her to vote online.]

Then, an eye-rolling emoji appeared in the chat window, fully expressing the girl’s displeasure. The man playing on his phone smiled in the dark and opened the government’s official website to access the online voting address they had announced.

Outside the park, a completely different set of government vehicles parked.

This time, government office personnel in suits and leather shoes got out of the cars. They wore the national emblem on their chests, each carrying large cardboard boxes as they walked in groups from a distance.

In the dark night, their young faces appeared exceptionally solemn, as if they were about to carry out some tasks that must be completed with strictness. The man who had just registered for online voting inadvertently looked up and saw this scene.

His phone emitted a soft sound, indicating the arrival of a text message with the real-name authentication verification code: 7086, a simple set of four digits.

After entering these four digits and pressing the confirmation button, he would gain the qualification to vote. However, at that moment, in the darkness outside the crowd, he felt his fingers grow heavy, lacking the courage to input the verification code.

The young people in uniform suits opened the tent flaps, shooed away the children, and carried the cardboard boxes inside.

With their movements, the entire area around the tent fell into silence. Everyone stood still, staring blankly as the lights inside the tent suddenly lit up. Then, they realized that the voting was real, and the government wasn’t joking. And precisely because they weren’t joking, it felt even more like a joke.

However, gradually, no one could find it in themselves to laugh.

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Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 281

Noon, 12:00 GMT, which was 8:00 PM local time in China.

Around this time, ordinary working-class families had just finished dinner, and most of them were enjoying happy family time together. Fathers were washing dishes or helping their children with homework, while mothers tuned the TV to the primetime drama channel.

However, today, Yongchuan TV suspended the airing of its usual xianxia* drama and started uninterrupted live coverage of the latest developments in the Nao Kangning adverse reaction and the follow-up mass poisoning case.

*Basically Chinese fantasy involving immortals heavily inspired by Chinese mythology. 

In the studio of Yongchuan TV, more than ten experts and professors had appeared to analyze and comment on the letters from the sociopath and Lin Chen’s reply representing the government. Even the four criminals selected by Lin Chen were thoroughly investigated, and without the need for official disclosure, reporters had already dug into their personal backgrounds and criminal histories.

The well-built man named Zhao Yi was the leader of a criminal gang, involved in running illegal gambling establishments, and had forced debtors to their deaths. He had also injured a police officer during an arrest. He represented the most traditional kind of crime boss.

The dark-skinned man named Qian Bao was involved in fraud. He had a small storefront in a market and ran a P2P fundraising scam, which resulted in an elderly person’s death due to a stroke caused from being swindled.

The man with tattoos all over his head was named Sun Zhen, a murderer who accidentally killed a shop owner during a dispute at a barbecue stall. Before that incident, Sun Zhen’s frequency of visits to the detention center had been alarmingly high.

To be honest, except for Yan Guiqiu, the other three were indeed criminals with a long history of wrongdoing. But among the four, there was Yan Guiqiu, a skinny and foolish petty thief.

The woman leaned back on the sofa and didn’t feel any annoyance at the interruption of her favorite drama. She was genuinely engrossed in the news content.

The female anchor, who had previously read the letter and reply, had taken a break as her on-duty time was too long and was temporarily replaced by a male colleague.

The male anchor said, “Up until now, the police have not received any formal response from the responsible party in the poisoning attack. However, there have been no further cases of poisoning in various cities.” The host continued, “With fifteen minutes left until the appointed time, let’s focus on the latest visit to the online voting website that the police launched at 18:00 sharp.”

The LCD TV displayed a website ending with .ORG, with simple white text on a black background, indicating that it was a simple voting website to decide the life and death of the four criminals. It didn’t belong to the dark web; instead, it was a voting website purely made by the police, and anyone could open their browser and access it.

The host had already demonstrated the specific process of real-name registration and voting to the audience, but since it wasn’t yet the appointed time, they could only report on the real-time visitor count displayed at the bottom of the website.

“Now, it’s 7:48 PM in China, and we can see that the real-time visitor count mentioned in the police’s reply has reached 256,000. As we approach 8:00 PM, the number of visitors is increasing rapidly.”

Just as the host was speaking, the visitor count reached 3 at the beginning, and even the highly professional male anchor widened his pupils and revealed a shocked expression upon seeing this scene.

However, he quickly adjusted his emotions, steadied his breath, and said seriously, “Let’s move on to the next news.” The handsome male anchor looked at the teleprompter and reported, “As of 7:50 PM in China, the Goose Forum website’s public opinion survey shows that over 65% of the people believe that innocent civilians have more reason to live than hardened criminals. The remaining 31% of people cannot decide, and only 4% of people chose the option that the criminals should be allowed to live.”

The man washing dishes in the kitchen was dissatisfied with this and couldn’t help but shout, “I knew there are so many perverts in this society, actually thinking that innocent people have more reason to live than criminals!”

“Why is your voice so loud? Our son is doing his homework. Can’t you lower your voice?” The woman lowered the TV volume and warned the man in the kitchen in a hushed tone.

However, she didn’t realize that her son, who was doing homework in the study, didn’t obediently follow her words. Thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boys were at an age when curiosity was at its peak, and coupled with such a major social event, how could he resist the urge to secretly browse social media?

The boy switched to the mobile browser screen and quickly typed a line of text.

@MugglesEatEggs*: [Excited, excited! Only eight minutes left.]

*I’m pretty sure the Muggles is referencing Harry Potter.

@ComingAndGoing: [Really? Do you guys really think the big boss will agree with the police uncle’s proposal?]

@MugglesEatEggs: [Even if the police are making a fuss, it’s quite fun. In any case, the results will be out soon, and we’ll know in eight minutes.]

@TomatoFriedEggs: [I’ve been squatting on the dark web already (don’t doubt the word order because it’s censored).]

@ComingAndGoing: [OMG, how do you know the specific website address? Great expert, please teach me, I also want to witness history!]

@TomatoFriedEggs: [No.]

……

Similar or completely different discussions were taking place on various social platforms, converging into a massive information flow, pouring into the command center of the Hongjing Municipal Bureau.

19:55.

At this moment, the entire wall of the command hall was filled with projected screens displaying the continuous live broadcast from Yongchuan TV and various major online streaming platforms.

The main part of the screen was all white, but one could still tell it was a full-screen browser window. After all, everyone was familiar with the words “This page cannot be displayed”, which was the web address that was previously used to bet on in the dark web for their surrounding cities—the agreed location between Lin Chen and the other party.

Within a few hours, nothing happened, indicating the other party was also thinking.

However, the browser address part was covered with a thick mosaic.

The officer in charge of the live broadcast was named Zhou Quan, a key member of the Jiangxia Provincial Public Security Department’s Information Technology Division.

After checking the connection lines and systems, ensuring his code was thick enough, he synchronized the system time with the Greenwich Observatory time again and fell into a restless waiting mood as the countdown began.

He rubbed his hands and looked around, realizing that there were still five minutes left. People in the hall were still whispering to each other.

Different discussions filled the room. He nudged his colleague responsible for the live broadcast next to him. “Have you ever thought about why Consultant Lin used Greenwich time*?”

*Is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, counted from midnight. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, including being calculated from noon; as a consequence, it cannot be used to specify a particular time unless a context is given.

“Because the other party may be in a foreign country. Having a unified time point is better,” his colleague replied casually, still focusing on the main screen.

“What kind of reason is that?” Zhou Quan shrugged and scanned the entire hall with a prolonged neck. The atmosphere on-site wasn’t too heavy—at least much better than when they were ordered to enter the command center.

The operators were assigned to another area, and the higher-ups were all waiting in glass rooms. One minute passed, and the footsteps in the hall gradually stopped.

Because of the silence, Zhou Quan finally realized what was missing.

“Where’s that kid?” He remembered the teenager who had been instructing them in internet monitoring. He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he last saw the other person. “His name is Wang Chao, right?”

“Oh, the one from the Network Division of the Hongjing Municipal Bureau,” his colleague from the same department replied casually.

Zhou Quan’s eyes lit up. “He was here earlier. Why isn’t he on duty now? How long has he been gone? Is he on a secret mission?”

Before his “Ah” could be fully spoken, he received a heavy scolding.

The public opinion expert in charge of commanding the entire live broadcast operation glared at him as a warning, making him instinctively shrink his neck and remain silent. But Zhou Quan thought that this seemingly unrealistic guess couldn’t be blamed on himself.

After all, Consultant Lin’s plan was so simple and straightforward. If the mastermind behind the scenes was still playing a magnificent killing game, then Lin Chen was directly handing over a sharp knife gleaming with cold light and asking the mastermind, “Do you want to use it to kill the four criminals?”

Who would be foolish enough to accept?

Zhou Quan’s thoughts drifted far away, filled with various random ideas, and he almost amused himself. He leaned back in his chair. It was 60 seconds away from the agreed time, and there was no sound in the command hall anymore.

Even the busiest people temporarily put down their work and looked up at the coarse-grained image on the display screen.

The air was extremely quiet, which made it seem even more grand.

As the second hand went halfway around the clock, Zhou Quan found that he couldn’t laugh anymore. He had always thought that his mentality was strong, but in these short 30 seconds, he found that his facial muscles were sore from clenching his teeth.

He couldn’t help but relax his jaw, and at that moment, the second hand also passed number 11 without any mercy.

Zhou Quan quickly shifted his gaze to the main display screen, and the atmosphere of the image weighed heavily on his chest.

Clearly, nothing had happened, yet why did it still feel heavy?

As he thought this, the second hand dutifully completed the last grid, and the web page refreshed automatically at its fixed frequency. Zhou Quan blinked lightly.

The words “This page cannot be displayed” were gone.

Unlike the countless scenes they had imagined and anticipated before, the transition of the webpage was very calm and serene, as if the first drop of rain had fallen from the sky, revealing an entirely new picture.

It was a short video, and people didn’t have time to carefully observe what the webpage carrying the video had transformed into. They instinctively stared at the screen.

In the video, there was a fast-forwarded footage showing a patient going crazy on the bed but completely regaining consciousness after being injected with some kind of medication. The hospital room was clean and white, and the video was relatively short and quick, with no significant changes in the lighting outside the window.

Anyone who watched the video could quickly understand its significance—it clearly implied that the detoxifying agent mentioned in Lin Chen’s reply was a real thing.

Zhou Quan’s mind exploded, and a myriad of information raced through his thoughts. He needed strong self-control to eliminate emotional interference and understand what this really meant.

Did it mean that the other side had actually accepted the new voting proposal that even a fool would refuse?

The other side even provided a short video, leaving no room for ambiguity: The four criminals needed to die, and the antidote would be theirs.

But…

Who could prove the authenticity of this video and the effectiveness of the antidote?

Zhou Quan even disregarded the live broadcast signal. He dragged the mouse and thoroughly checked the .onion ending website on his own small screen.

There were no specific descriptions of the therapeutic effects or any experimental reports, nor were there any fancy retro gold coin effects.

Besides this opening video, the website only had a simple multiple-choice question on a black background with white text, written in six languages:

—I believe that sacrificing the lives of four criminals in exchange for a drug that can save more people is worth it.

A. Yes
B. No

The webpage froze at this point.

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