Chapter 66 Critical Region (18)
Bai Ye was surprised; it seemed the prosecutor knew something.
But he didn't say anything, he just nodded slightly, "Okay, I'll speed things up."
As Bai Ye became more skilled in the subsequent trials, he examined all the intangible things inside the urn that Chang Sheng had brought over, which took a total of two hours.
At this point, one-third of the 24 hours had passed.
The boy looked towards the courtroom, where quite a few people were already standing, each holding an urn containing ashes.
"Brother, these are all innocent people who were sent here, there are... thirty of them?"
The boy counted them, was stunned, and then said with a worried tone, "You spent two hours judging just one box, and there are still thirty left. We definitely won't be able to finish."
"more than."
Bai Ye also saw the detachment captains or deputy captains returning one after another, but having worked in the General Affairs Department, he knew that this was not all.
Upon hearing that some had not yet returned, the boy let out a wail, "It's all over, we're really doomed."
"So what?" Bai Ye took the second urn and chuckled softly as he took some out. "Did you choose to give up from the start because of the enormous workload?"
"Huh?"
"Nothing in the world is difficult if you are willing to give up. In fact, you can give up at any time while doing something; giving up is the easiest choice. But after giving up, you have nothing left."
"But brother, even if we don't give up, we can foresee what the outcome will be. We don't have enough time!"
The boy didn't understand: what's the point of persisting in something you know is impossible?
"With your grades, it'll be hard for you to get into a bachelor's program, right? What's the point of studying? Just give up and get into a junior college." Bai Ye retorted.
Upon hearing this, the boy immediately exploded, "How can that be! I promised my grandfather that I would get into university. My grandfather understands university as a bachelor's degree, not a junior college. I'm a man of my word."
At this point, the boy's mood turned somewhat downcast. "Big brother, you don't know how good my grandpa was to me. My parents were always away working, and my grandpa attended all my parent-teacher conferences throughout elementary school. He told me that the teacher praised me for being smart and that I was destined for university. I know the teacher wouldn't praise me because I was very naughty as a child and often got into fights... but I had to do something, right?"
Bai Ye also remembered that high school was particularly tough because he couldn't keep up.
But I just couldn't give up. I always felt that even if I improved by 0.1 points every day, I could improve by 30 points in 300 days. With 30 points, I would have hope of getting into a bachelor's program.
He had said this to his classmates, but they all laughed and thought it was stupid.
"Learning requires brainpower; without brainpower, you won't make progress."
"Bai Ye, stop studying so hard. Look at your two mock exams, you haven't improved at all."
"Forget it, we academic underachievers won't pass the exam anyway. We can get into a junior college with a score of 300, so we don't have to work hard."
Bai Ye did not give up and persisted in her idea of making a little progress every day. Throughout her senior year of high school, she studied clumsily.
When the college entrance exam results came out, he did even better than expected, scoring 50 points above the undergraduate admission line. In other words, he not only exceeded his expectations but also gained some choice in which universities to attend.
To some high-achieving students, this is nothing special; it's just an ordinary undergraduate degree.
But for Bai Ye, it was a qualitative leap.
After all, I used to be a total loser, hovering around 400 points!
"I don't want to give up. I just want to try my best, without thinking about the outcome. Just do it. What if? What if I get lucky and succeed? Wouldn't that be a pleasant surprise?"
"Even if I don't finish, the process of giving it my all will be worthwhile."
Bai Ye fell silent and began a new round of judgment.
Time kept passing, eight hours, ten hours, even fourteen hours...
Everyone could see that Bai Ye had increased his speed during the trial, but no matter how fast he went, there were still dozens of urns left to process. If, as the prosecutor said, the trial only lasted twenty-four hours, it would certainly not be completed.
Chang Sheng was there from the very beginning and witnessed Bai Ye's hard work firsthand. Feeling a pang of sympathy, he quietly walked over to the prosecutor.
"Prosecutor, can't we extend the timeframe?" Twenty-four hours is too short.
The prosecutor smiled and said, "Time will be the test for him; it's not something I can control."
"Prosecutor?"
"You don't need to worry about it. If he can't finish it, that's his failure. I'll take over the rest of the work."
Although the prosecutor kept smiling, he didn't believe that the player could complete this trial.
Is it really possible to do so many intangible things?
As the twenty-second hour approached, everyone in the courtroom, except for Bai Ye who was still working, underwent subtle changes in their expressions.
Even the boy in the doll lost his confidence.
"We can't finish. There are still twelve boxes left, and only two hours are left. How is it possible...?"
The boy sensed something was wrong and opened his eyes wide to look outside. Because he was closest, he could clearly see that the golden light gathered in Bai Ye's palm had grown much larger in an instant.
Are you seeing things? Take another look.
The boy continued to stare, and as he looked, his mouth dropped open in astonishment.
The golden light in Bai Ye's hand was not only growing larger, but it was also continuously growing stronger. The golden light was getting stronger and stronger, and finally it burst out from his palm and slowly enveloped the entire trial hall.
"What is this?" Chang Sheng's expression changed, and he immediately became wary.
The prosecutor stopped him, his expression excited. "It's a gift! I never expected to receive a gift."
"Prosecutor?"
"The power of judgment is a gift from heaven, but it is also subject to human intervention. This young man is judging the intangible, and those things seem to be giving back..."
Before the prosecutor could finish speaking, the urns in the hands of the other team leaders opened at the same time, and the invisible entities inside poured out, roaring throughout the hall.
The captains were immediately terrified and drew their weapons to kill them.
Upon seeing this, Gou Xun stepped in front of him, saying, "Don't move, the prosecutor is conducting a trial."
"Trial? With all this stuff out in the open, how can we even have a trial?"
"See for yourself."
Gou Xun turned to the side, pointing straight ahead.
The others looked over and indeed saw strands of golden light scattering out, wandering around the courtroom, yet accurately capturing the invisible objects that had escaped.
The moment those things were enveloped, the roaring stopped, and only a gurgling sound like bubbling remained.
Everyone watched the dazzling golden light for a full half hour before returning to calm.
The courtroom was instantly packed with people, and figures descended from mid-air to thank the prosecutors in front of them.
They rediscovered their former selves and were no longer mindless lumps of matter.
Bai Ye thought for a moment, clenched his right hand, and walked up to the prosecutor.
"Young man, what are your thoughts?"
Bai Ye was startled. Had the other party already guessed before he even said anything?
"Prosecutor, do you know what I'm going to do?"
"Power bestowed by the heavens is a gift from the world, requiring no action. Power given by man is a gift, not entirely yours. Your power of judgment is only temporary; the ideal choice is to make good use of it before it disappears."
Bai Ye nodded, sensing that the golden light might not belong to him forever.
This is similar to, yet different from, the power the prosecutor had previously bestowed.
"Trials should not only be held against the innocent; those who commit sins throughout every corner of Liudaokou should be the ones to be judged."
As Bai Ye spoke, he turned to face the outside of the courtroom, and the light from his palms shone outwards.
Instantly, the golden light pierced through the glass and spilled across the city. In a matter of moments, the entire city of Liudaokou, even the darkest corners, was illuminated by this ray of golden light.
Everywhere you look, you hear wails and screams of terror.
Before the supernatural beings could react, the innocent people crowded in the courtroom had already run to the windows and tried to look out.
“It was him, he killed me. I was crossing the street normally, he ran a red light.”
"I saw my mother waiting for me across the street. I was about to cross over when he rushed at me and hit me."
“Murderer, he’s a murderer! I shouldn’t have died, he ran me over repeatedly…”
The innocent found their own culprits and were filled with righteous indignation.
One of the little girls suddenly turned around and ran to Bai Ye.
"What's wrong?" Bai Ye squatted down.
The little girl had clear eyes, but her tone wasn't naive: "He made a mistake, is judgment all he gets?"
"What?"
What will happen to these people who made mistakes after the trial?
Bai Ye was stumped; he really didn't know about this.
The prosecutor behind him stepped forward and said, "You do not belong to this world. After the trial, whether innocent or guilty, you will be deported. The return plan begins, sending you back to your original world, where your own laws will punish them."
The little girl immediately burst into tears.
She gripped Bai Ye's clothes tightly, refusing to let go, "No!"
"Little friend, this is about order."
"I don't want to. He won't be punished if he goes back."
Bai Ye's heart sank. He wanted to say something, but the innocent people who had been leaning against the window turned around one by one and pleaded.
"Please, punish them here."
“These beasts shouldn’t go back to their original world to continue living freely. They won’t commit serious crimes there.”
"The law does not stipulate that murderers should pay with their lives; the law will only put them in jail."
"Bullshit, those with money can get out of jail. I died for nothing..."
Bai Ye was led by the little girl to the window, where his view became wider, and he could clearly see every corner of Liudaokou city, and the crayfish scurrying around.
Among them are extreme evils stripped from the innocent, but more often they are the sinners themselves.
"Going back won't make a difference."
"I can't see my mother, my mother can't get revenge, the family is destroyed."
"My parents no longer have me, so why can his parents still have children?"
"I want to go to hell and become a demon..."
Bai Ye's heart skipped a beat, and he turned to look at the side.
Gray spots slowly appeared in the little girl's clear eyes.
He realized something, turned to look at the other figures behind him, and sure enough, they all had some gray emanating from them.
This gray...
Bai Ye felt a chill run down his spine. Wasn't this the gray phantom that traveled to various worlds to lure people on the verge of death?
So, will their resentment materialize?
If I become a phantom, wouldn't I be stuck in this world forever?
"Prosecutor!" Bai Ye squeezed through the crowd, looking anxious.
The prosecutor remained unmoved, saying, "Becoming a shadow of this world is their own choice."
"But……"
“Young man, you have one hour. You can go to the Three Avenues, open the gates, and send them back.”
Bai Ye headed towards the Three Avenues, remaining silent the entire way.
The boy was very excited. "I'm going home soon! It's great to be home. I'll do all my homework as soon as I get back, and I won't put it off until bedtime anymore."
"Brother, you don't seem very happy?"
The boy finally realized what was going on, and said with a grin, "Are you reluctant to part with me? We've only met by chance, you don't need to be like this. I'm going back to my peaceful life, you can continue to dominate the virtual world."
"Bai Ye, are you happy to go back to your original world?" Bai Ye asked the boy.
The boy nodded without hesitation, "Of course! I can go home now. My grandma, my parents, my classmates, my teachers, and I still have the college entrance exam to take."
“Yes, you go back alive, you have a bright future. But for them, they have nothing when they go back.”
"Big brother?"
“The innocent go back with nothing. But the guilty go back alive.”
Those sinners were pulled into the small world of the instance before they died, returning to their original world, but only to return to their original path.
They don't remember anything that happened here, so what sins do they have to bear?
"If I were innocent, I would feel resentful. These beasts should not have gone back."
"Big brother!"
The boy panicked and quickly said, "Brother, don't do anything rash! Think about your mission. If you do this... then you're really doomed."
Bai Ye stopped, stood at the crossroads of the three main roads that had been opened, pondered for a long time, and then waved his hand to close the [door] again.
"Big brother!"
"You should go home."
Bai Ye released the boy from the doll, looked at the familiar face, smiled slightly and said, "Go back and study hard, make a little progress every day, and you will achieve your goal."
After saying that, he pushed the person directly into the door.
The door is completely closed.
Bai Ye turned around and walked back to the General Affairs Office.
He walked up to a group of innocent people and said, "Do you want to personally kill your enemies?"
"think."
"Then I will bestow upon you the power of judgment. The wronged should have their culprits, and the guilty should be held accountable. Go find the sinners who are to blame for your misdeeds."
Bai Ye opened his palm, and the golden light gathered in his palm dispersed, flying towards every innocent person.
But even more light flies to every corner of the city.
Bai Ye saw that the light was scattered on clusters of gray phantoms.
The phantoms were stunned for a moment, then came to their senses and ran off in a frenzy of joy, heading in one direction.
The light in the palm dissipated, and the innocent scattered, searching throughout the city for their own crayfish, that is, the sinners.
Someone has already found it; it broke open its shell and cramped up on the spot, and was hit and thrown around.
Someone suggested that several crayfish should be gathered together and cooked into a spicy dish for themselves.
Some even wanted to impose the punishment of climbing a mountain of knives and plunging into a cauldron of boiling oil, or to repeatedly crush crayfish while holding them.
In short, they used every means possible.
Furthermore, the crayfish can regroup and recover, so this punishment can be carried out countless times.
Bai Ye seemed to hear some laughter.
"Young man, aren't you just encouraging malice by acting like this?"
The prosecutor approached unnoticed. "Isn't the laughter of those innocent people full of evil? If they lose their innocence, they will eventually become the source of evil, no different from those who commit sins."
"No, prosecutor, you're wrong."
"Um?"
The prosecutor turned and looked at the young man.
"Humans are born with evil, but are fundamentally good. Their underlying nature is good; their evil is triggered. Only by completely eliminating their obsessions can we eradicate the deepest evil from their hearts. Furthermore—"
Bai Ye turned his head with a smile, "Prosecutor, I have always kept in mind the rules that should be followed as an Order Keeper: 'The innocent are supreme, and those who do not obey the order will eventually pay the price.' No matter how many hidden missions I have as a player, my basic mission is to become a qualified Order Keeper."
Whether it's sending the young Baiye home or returning the innocent and the guilty, it's all secondary.
As a half-demon, my initial task was singular: to become a qualified Order Keeper and strive to become a full member.
The prosecutor looked at Bai Ye, a smile gradually spreading across his face. "Young man, you've done very well."
"Prosecutor, so am I qualified?"
“As an anomaly, you are not wrong. You have followed the Law of Order and are a qualified Order Keeper.”
Bai Ye's tense heart immediately relaxed; he had made the right bet!
Sure enough, the word "weird" is indeed a trap; every word is a pitfall.
He is the player's day and night, only the boy is the day and night, and that is from the original world.
As a half-demon, I only need to, and must, abide by the rules of the dungeon world.
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