Live Room E lit up without warning. Unlike the chilling desolation of the execution broadcasts, the frame was saturated with a soft, nearly surreal warmth of iridescent rainbows.
Qinghong appeared at the center of the screen. Her face was radiant and enchanting, blending a celestial purity with a beauty so captivating that one found it impossible to look away. Looking at her, ordinary people could hardly imagine that her predecessor was a woman of extreme malice who used any means to climb the social ladder. Divine grace is as vast as the sea; it had reshaped her flesh and blood, washing away the filth within her soul.
"Hello, family! Sunday has arrived. Today... right now, is the day the rankings are revealed. Are you excited?" Qinghong waved at the camera, the Karmic Threads on her wrist shimmering with flowing light. Her voice was like a clear spring falling into a mountain stream—so beautiful it made listeners forget to breathe. Yet, to some, this "beauty" was the cruelest irony.
She displayed a button shaped like a rainbow-glowing fruit. "Enough talk. Let's get started!" Her thumb pressed down.
The camera cut to the [Gratitude List].
With a rhythmic swish-swish, calligraphy strokes glowing with a faint golden light manifested names one by one. The previously blank list refreshed at an incredible speed, stretching across the sky-high screens of the Blue Planet like a giant, celestial marquee.
The content was so dramatised it bordered on despair.
* 1st Place: A weather-beaten sanitation worker. Behind his name was a line of golden text: [Rescued stray animals 3,700 times, consistent for thirty years.]
* 100th Place: A six-year-old girl. [Shielded her old cat with her life during a fire.]
* 900th Place: A former lawbreaker who had served time. [Spent all remaining savings on a stray dog shelter after release.]
There were no "VIPs" on the list. No politicians, no conglomerates, no celebrities who put on shows for social media. Every name belonged to a "grain of sand" once forgotten in the corners of society.
At this moment, the people of the world were a spectacular sight, as if watching a satirical play. On the streets of the Long Nation, countless people craned their necks until their eyes ached, trying to find a trace of themselves—even if it was just a shared name. In the B.E.N., former high-society elites stared at the "scavenger's" name, their faces contorted with jealousy. They possessed stocks, yachts, and votes, but before the Beast God's list, their value was zero.
Qinghong watched the frantic barrage of comments, a curve appearing at the corner of her mouth. "Now, to our 1,000 lucky winners: you may make your wishes. Remember, only a powerful hope can bring the possibility of realization!"
The bullet chat exploded with long-suppressed anger and indignation:
—[What wishes? What making a wish? When did this happen? Why didn't I know?]
—[Why do they get a wish? I donated 100,000 to animal protection, why am I not on the list?]
—[This list is rigged! Why is a scavenger first? Does he pay as much tax as I do?]
The questioning surged like a tide, filled with the most primal logic of human society: I paid, so I should receive.
Watching these interrogations, the innocence on Qinghong's face vanished, replaced by a domineering coldness. She leaned forward and sneered at the screen: "I'm the one who told them not to tell you annoying pests. What of it? Do you want to hit me?" She tilted her head, her voice turning soft and teasing again, like she was mocking a swarm of insects. "Come on then! Come and catch me!"
The bullet chat went silent instantly. No one dared to respond. They remembered the Sin Seizer's ruthless methods in Live Room A and the "Rod from God" swallowed in one bite by the Wealth Devourer. Before a deity, all "public opinion" and "protests" were as light as dust.
Then, a few humble pleas floated across the screen:
—[Ah, Qing-Bao, isn't it true that wishes will definitely come true?]
—[Qing-Bao, please answer: my mother is sick, can I wish for her to get better?]
"Qing-Bao?" Seeing this pet name, Qinghong's cold gaze flickered, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks. She appeared momentarily flustered—this was a genuine, even slightly fawning affection from mortals that she had never experienced in her memories as a "malicious woman." This subtle vanity brightened her mood. She rolled her eyes upward, as if searching her mind for the obscure lines she was supposed to say.
Off-camera, the Blue Phoenix had already raised a wing, prepared to use a void inscription to cheat for its "dim-witted apprentice," but stopped upon seeing Qinghong find her own rhythm. The Phoenix felt a swell of pride, wiping a non-existent tear from the corner of its eye with a feather-tip.
—It hasn't been easy; this girl finally isn't just a wooden doll who only knows how to act cute.
"As long as it does not involve the will of others or other living beings, it can be realized," Qinghong explained earnestly, as if reciting a textbook. "For example, material needs or one's own physical ailments. But once it involves the will of another creature or person... you must wait, or... work hard to make the other party respond to you. Simply put, you cannot wish for someone who hates you to fall in love with you; even a God cannot do that."
After finishing this segment, Qinghong let out a long sigh of relief in her heart.
—Phew, wow, I actually memorized the lines myself. So happy!
A triumphant smile played on her lips as she waved to the thousand lucky winners.
"Now, my thousand lucky ones, you may make your wishes." Qinghong's smile vanished, replaced by a solemn expression. She extended a slender finger and gently pressed a silver fruit-shaped button that suddenly manifested in the void, carved with ancient runes.
That was the true ultimate switch for the "Benevolence Feedback Mechanism."
As the silver button was pressed, a thousand beams of silver light descended from the heavens, precisely connecting to those thousand souls. Simultaneously, a terrifying transformation occurred in the physical world.
The first-ranked sanitation worker was standing by his garbage truck. He closed his eyes and shouted in his heart: "I want a home of my own, one where I never have to worry about being evicted again."
In the next second, under the horrified gaze of onlookers, the soil of the earth heaved upward. Nearby abandoned shipping containers seemed to be kneaded together by a divine hand; wood, steel, and stone flowed like liquid. In three minutes, an exquisite small villa rose from the ground in the heart of the bustling downtown district.
No building permits, no proof of land ownership. The Beast God declared this was his home, and so it became a sacred, inviolable domain. Fat-bellied real estate tycoons slumped in their Rolls-Royces, watching a house worth tens of millions appear out of thin air, while the property deeds in their hands became as worthless as scrap paper.
This was the macro-logic of the new world: Karmic Currency. Every act of tenderness you showed a living being was a gold coin deposited in the Beast God's ledger. And now, the God permitted you to withdraw the interest.
"Remember," Qinghong's voice echoed across the Blue Planet, "hope must be intense, and the heart must be sincere. To those who wish to see their neighbors dead or their exes return, I advise you to save your strength. Those kinds of wishes will only trigger Karmic Backlash."
She playfully stuck out her tongue, and the screen cut to the scenes of the winners' wishes coming true.
Someone screamed in their heart: "I want them to come back!"
It was the old dog that had accompanied him for ten years, and the kitten that had died in an accident. As the words fell, the cold Gates of the Underworld in the depths of the Divine Realm trembled slightly, leaking wisps of silver light. In the wisher's home, a cloud of warm white mist condensed; from the long-cold pet bed came the familiar sound of barking and the scratching of tiny paws.
A blind girl tightly hugged the calico cat in her arms. This cat had once lost a leg in a car accident. As the silver light flashed, the girl felt the weight in her arms increase; the three-legged cat grew new flesh and bone before everyone's eyes.
It wasn't just her. In shelters across the Blue Planet, silver rain fell. One-eyed cats opened crystal-clear eyes, and earless puppies grew furry new ears. In that moment, ten thousand beasts cried out in unison.
More people wished for the health of their families. Under the silver glow, monitors in Intensive Care Units emitted cheerful rhythmic beeps. A baby with leukemia saw his complexion turn rosy instantly, while his haggard mother wept with joy. A stunning sight followed: windows and balconies on the first floor were suddenly crowded with cats, dogs, and birds; as if receiving a signal, they looked toward the recovered child with eyes full of tenderness.
Some grew back lost limbs. Some saw clear springs gush from parched farmlands. Some saw their once-mentally disabled children regain clarity in their eyes and call out "Papa."
Every miracle was a slow execution for the "annoying pests." In the eyes of those whose names did not appear on the list, this silver rain was the most expensive punishment they had ever witnessed. They watched their neighbors rise to the top and the "nobodies" be reborn; the heart-eating pain of jealousy was ten thousand times more agonizing than a whip across the back.
There were also those with "unique" wishes.
An older bachelor wished to end his single status. The silver light did not make him handsome; instead, it formed a shimmering Sensor Arrow above his head. The arrow spun frantically before pointing dead-on toward his neighbor's house. Following the guidance, the man saw the "Ice Queen" neighbor—three years his senior—who usually gave him the cold shoulder. Now, she was looking at him with eyes full of affection and a hidden longing.
Man: ...Is this wish fulfillment perhaps a bit too sudden?
The most moving sight of all was that of the ordinary people trapped within the "Physical Logic Collapse Zones."
Though the Beast God's direct punishments had not struck them personally, they felt the absolute terror of a crumbling world as they watched gravity flicker, gunpowder fail, and national industries grind to a halt. These people did not ask for money or houses for themselves. Instead, they issued a heartfelt plea from the depths of their souls, begging only to leave a sliver of hope for their nations. They loved their land and could not bear to see their motherlands vanish into nothingness.
This pure, "Collective Benevolence" caused the silver button to erupt with an unprecedented, blinding radiance.
Watching this, a complex flicker of emotion crossed Qinghong's eyes, but as she saw the "Votive Power" (愿力) surging wildly on her data panel, her eyes crinkled into joyful crescents. She knew that from this day forward, the entire world would go mad trying to learn how to be "kind." Even if it began as hypocrisy, the Beast God would prune it until it became truth.
She turned her gaze off-camera, where the Blue Phoenix was primly preening its feathers.
The New Era had truly begun.