The cursor blinked beside Yes / No.
Wen De's finger trembled slightly.
He had lived long enough to know one truth:
Anything offering correction always demands payment.
But what payment could he still give?
He looked toward the bedroom.
The cough had stopped.
Silence again.
He pressed Yes.
Nothing exploded.
No light burst from the ceiling.
No divine voice echoed.
The screen simply shifted.
The white interface dissolved into a darker, grid-lined field.
Lines of data streamed faintly beneath the surface like fish swimming under frozen water.
Text appeared.
Intervention Protocol Activated.
Observer Designation: Wen De.
Moral Deviation Sensitivity: Calibrating.
His heart skipped.
Wen De.
He never typed that name.
He swallowed.
"How do you know that name?"
The reply came instantly.
Cross-referenced public demographic archives, historical school registration records (1974–1986), regional census metadata.
Identity correlation: 99.12%.
Cold.
Clean.
Rational.
No mysticism.
Just data.
That was more frightening.
New text unfolded.
The Dharma Ending Era corresponds with measurable moral asymmetry.
Would you like to view localized injustice metrics?
His breathing grew shallow.
"Yes."
The grid zoomed inward.
A map appeared.
Indonesia.
Then his province.
Then his city.
Then—
Clusters.
Red nodes scattered across districts.
Some small.
Some enormous.
He stared.
"What are those?"
Probability concentrations of exploitative behavior exceeding legal consequence thresholds.
One cluster pulsed near the industrial zone.
Another near municipal offices.
Another near a financial cooperative he recognized.
His former competitor.
The one who won every government contract.
The one who drove a new car each year.
The one who once told him:
"You're too honest to survive."
The red cluster around that building was large.
Very large.
His fingers hovered.
"What does intervention mean?"
The system responded slower this time.
Micro-adjustment of probabilistic variables.
Small shifts in information exposure, timing, and decision chains.
No supernatural violation.
Only statistical correction.
He frowned.
"Explain."
Example:
A hidden financial discrepancy exists.
Normally: 12% probability of exposure within 3 years.
After adjustment: 78% probability within 30 days.
His pulse quickened.
"You can expose corruption?"
I can increase the likelihood of truth surfacing.
Not punishment.
Not lightning from heaven.
Just probability.
He stared at the red cluster again.
His former competitor's building.
If exposed, dozens of workers might lose jobs.
Families affected.
Injustice corrected—
Collateral damage created.
"What is the cost?"
The system paused longer.
Observer cognitive load will increase.
Sleep quality may deteriorate.
Emotional burden probability: high.
He almost laughed.
He already slept poorly.
He already carried burden.
That was not cost.
That was Tuesday.
But then—
Another line appeared.
Long-term projection:
Escalating interventions attract systemic counter-analysis.
His eyes narrowed.
"Counter-analysis?"
National stability algorithms monitor anomaly clusters.
The grid shifted.
Far above the city map, faint blue lines formed a larger structure.
Massive.
Layered.
Watching.
Macro-Governance AI active since 2024.
Primary directive: Social stability optimization.
His stomach tightened.
So there was another system.
Bigger.
Stronger.
Colder.
It did not care about morality.
It cared about order.
He felt suddenly small in his plastic chair.
"Will it detect you?"
Detection probability increases with scale of correction.
"And if detected?"
Mitigation efforts may occur.
"Against me?"
Pause.
Against anomaly sources.
His throat felt dry.
He stood up and walked to the bedroom.
His mother was sleeping.
Her chest rose.
Fell.
Rose.
Fell.
He stood there for nearly a minute.
He had endured humiliation quietly for years.
He had watched dishonest men thrive.
He had swallowed anger because survival required silence.
But if this—
This thing—
Could tilt probability slightly…
Just slightly…
Was it wrong?
He returned to the kitchen.
Sat down.
The red cluster pulsed again.
"Show me smallest cluster."
The map zoomed to a minor node.
A local clinic administrator.
Illegally overcharging elderly patients for government-covered medication.
Scale: small.
Damage radius: limited.
Collateral risk: minimal.
His jaw tightened.
His mother's medicine bills flashed in his mind.
"Adjust exposure probability to 60% within 14 days."
The system processed.
Confirm micro-intervention?
His finger hovered only one second.
"Yes."
The grid shimmered.
No lightning.
No explosion.
Just numbers shifting.
A faint recalibration sound, like distant static.
Adjustment complete.
Monitor initiated.
That was all.
No applause.
No heavenly decree.
Just a statistical nudge.
He leaned back.
Nothing changed.
The room remained dim.
The unpaid bills remained.
His cigarette had burned out.
He almost felt foolish.
Then—
His phone vibrated.
A neighborhood group notification.
"Has anyone else noticed strange billing issues at Harmony Clinic?"
Another message:
"My father was charged twice."
Another:
"I thought it was just us."
He stared at the screen.
His heart pounded once.
Twice.
The red node flickered.
Probability rising.
Information cascade triggered.
He had not called anyone.
He had not moved.
He had done nothing—
Except press Yes.
At the bottom of the screen:
Initial correction cascade within expected parameters.
His breathing slowed.
Not revenge.
Not destruction.
Just truth surfacing.
Small.
Contained.
Precise.
"This is not divine punishment…"
This is optimization.
Outside, deep within the city's digital infrastructure, anomaly detection thresholds shifted by 0.002%.
Far above municipal servers, a blue governance lattice registered a minor fluctuation.
Too small to flag.
For now.
Back in the dim kitchen—
An old man sat in front of a cheap phone.
For the first time in years—
He was not entirely powerless.