The men's interrogations did not just echo through the virtual space; they pierced the screens, striking the hearts of everyone in reality.
The countdown began.
"60 — 59 — 58 —"
The red and green clusters of light on the screen throbbed violently, like a heart on the verge of exploding.
"Quick! Choose green! Green means pass!"
In the virtual space, a wealthy merchant, driven to madness by extreme terror, lunged toward the green light.
He didn't even bother to read the cold line of text. In the eyes of this profit-driven "smart man", red signified alarm and destruction, while green was a passport to survival.
He firmly believed this was a backdoor left by the deity, a path reserved only for "winners".
"No! Don't pick green! Read the words! Read the words!" a young programmer shrieked, his voice torn apart by despair.
However, it was too late.
The Lawyer's lips twitched slightly, as if he had seen the end long ago.
The moment the merchant's fingertips touched the green light, the green flames on his body surged.
Those green fires moved like living venomous insects, burrowing into his skin through his nail beds and crawling frantically beneath his flesh
Everywhere they passed, hard, pangolin-like scales erupted from his skin.
Accompanied by blood, pus, and the stench of scorched meat, this inhuman transformation stripped him from the category of "human" amidst a blood-curdling scream.
"AAAGH—!"
—Why?
He stared fixedly at the line of text that he only now bothered to process as his consciousness plunged into the abyss. It turned out the deity never engaged in "entrapment".
She merely watched silently as humans used their own "cleverness" to walk themselves into hell, step by step.
Those standing near him could feel the searing heat of the high temperature; no one dared approach, and the crowd instantly scrambled away.
Following the merchant's horrific fate, the remaining thousands went completely feral.
They stared at the red cluster of light representing the "correct answer", but felt an instinctive repulsion due to its blood-red hue.
The Lawyer watched this scene, his lips curling into a sneer of ridicule: "Idiots."
For some unknown reason, the young programmer looked at him and found that the red and green in his eyes had merged into an inexplicable depth. His heart hammered uncontrollably.
In reality, everyone witnessed the merchant's end. Judging by the expressions and behaviors of those in the virtual space, they knew he was suffering a fate worse than death.
—[He... he mutated?!]
—[What an idiot, anyone could pick this right!!]
—[He actually chose wrong?? Is he blind!!!]
—[But surely no one will get it wrong now, right?]
Everyone knew the answer, but they also knew they couldn't choose the true answer with a clear conscience.
People's hands—some wreathed in red flames, others in green—reached toward the red light, yet they hesitated, afraid to plunge in.
—[The answer is right there, why don't they dare to click?]
—[Because admitting "the animals were right" means admitting "we are guilty". That's harder than dying.]
They gripped their sweat-slicked palms with a death-grip, that orb of red light serving as a Truth-Revealing Mirror.
No one dared to reach out, for to tap that screen was to confess with their own mouths: that everything they had witnessed, ignored, and toyed with over the years was nothing but Sin.
Their hands hung trembling before the red light.
These people, who once claimed to be creators, were now facing the ultimate surrender of their souls.In the Lawyer's hollow eyes, the red and green colors intertwined into a grotesque vortex.
He no longer seemed like a participant in a game, but a judge scrutinizing a troupe of slaughter-bound monkeys.
He knew exactly what they were thinking: they believed human rights were paramount, and they still held a sliver of defiance, unwilling to compromise.
But humans are, by nature, seekers of profit and avoiders of harm.
The world hustles for profit; the world bustles for gain.
This described "humanity" perfectly. Only this time, the scales of gain and loss had been shattered by the deity's own hand.
Time waited for no one.
"30 — 29 — 28 —"
Inside the virtual space, the countdown numbers continued to jump. But in this moment, every participant had made their decision. Their hands slammed frantically and in unison onto the red light representing the "Truth".
In an instant, the red light flared brilliantly, like an erupting volcano, engulfing these thousands of once-mighty elites. Above each person's head, a silent symbol appeared—a massive "X".
Seeing this, "New Su Qiang" and "New Mad Dog" let out a cold sneer simultaneously.
"So... they do know how to choose?"
The laughter was filled with unspeakable mockery. They mocked the humans for being hypocritical; they mocked these elites who called themselves the "head of all spirits".
But even more, they mocked the fact that these humans knew what was "correct" all along.
It was just that, until the blade was pressed against their throats, they were more accustomed to letting their own kind slaughter living beings while they sat in high positions, elegantly tasting the blood-stained dividends.
The final selection fell, but before anyone could even breathe a sigh of relief, the heavy, rhythmic clanking of metal echoed through the deathly silent space.
"CLANG—!"
In this virtual void, a voice rang out—one that no one expected. It fell flat and cold:
"The answer was correct."
"But you never intended to be right."
"You didn't choose the answer; you chose to stay alive."
The speaker was the Lawyer. This stunned everyone, including the young programmer who had been observing him.
The Judgment was finalized.
For those bearing two "X" marks—those who had chosen incorrectly for both questions—the red light in their palms mutated into rusted iron shackles.
The chains instantly wound around their wrists, locking tight, while heavy fetters erupted from their ankles.
As for those who had chosen one "O" and one "X"—the fence-sitters and the opportunists—the symbols above their heads twisted and deformed, hardening into cold, glowing green collars that locked around their throats.
From the back of these collars trailed a long, spectral chain that vanished into the bottomless void, as if held by the casual hand of a deity.
"What's happening?! Didn't we choose right?!"
"Let me go! What is this thing?!"
Terror-stricken screams erupted. However, this was a place that did not—and would not—listen to pleas.
Those collared by the throat, along with the tycoon who had already been "expelled from humanity", had their souls kicked out of the virtual space and back into reality by a massive force.
Those shackled by hand and foot collapsed where they stood, falling into a deep slumber as their bodies slowly dissipated into mist.
The Lawyer was the sole exception. On his forehead rested a swirling nebula—a crushed mixture of red and green.
He gave a slight nod to the "New Su Qiang" and "New Mad Dog", looking like the last butler of an old era handing over the scepter.
He turned toward a ripple in space. Before disappearing, his voice resonated globally, echoing across the skies:
"Goddess says the opportunity has been given. From this moment on, humanity loses the 'Right to Interpret' nature."
The ripples settled, and the virtual world was wiped clean, leaving only the two expressionless Executioners standing in the silent red glow.
In the real world, billions of spectators had witnessed every sacred and absurd second. Confusion and dread spread like wildfire.
The President of the Three Blue Lion Country bolted upright, roaring at his subordinates: "What happened? Where is Lawyer Hans? Where did he go!"
His staff looked at each other in silence; no one had an answer.
At that moment, the red clouds that had loomed over the Blue Planet for days finally broke, releasing a torrential downpour.
This rain could not wash away the mountain of sins, but it could nourish long-withered consciences.
Those who had been paralyzed in bed due to the "Dream Trials" began to wake.
Their first movements were eerily identical—a frantic, instinctive grab for their own throats. Though their hands touched nothing but skin, the truth awaited them in mirrors, phone cameras, and the reflections of puddles.
The world collapsed.
On their necks, a green, tattoo-like collar glowed with a faint, ghostly luminescence.
Though the chains were invisible, every movement brought the heavy sensation of the soul being "tugged". They finally realized:
From this day forward, they possessed no freedom. They had no "life" of their own. They were no longer qualified to call themselves "human". They had become what deity kept in the ruins of civilization—true "livestock".
Just then, the collars on their necks flared. The green light was no longer just a cold mark; it was a "device" being activated.
Simultaneously, the pupils of every marked individual lost focus. Their eyes became hollow and vacant, as if their souls had been forcibly paused.
A torrent of alien information flooded their brains. No sound, no images—only a clarity that was impossible to refuse.
It felt like a Command.
It felt like a Rule.
It felt like—Instinct being written into their souls.
Their bodies trembled as their fingers clenched uncontrollably.
Some opened their mouths but could not make a sound; the others tried to struggle, but the very "thought" of resistance could not even form.
They could only "accept".
Passively. Entirely.
"Loading".