Global Collapse-Chapter 669 - 637: Damn, My Dream is to Earn Ten Thousand a Day! _1
At these words, Wang Youcai and the others froze.
Then Ye Weiwei began, "That's right. The ghosts are hindering us."
She explained, looking at her teammates, "The first time a ghost appeared, Screw-head mentioned the 'eighth person' in the victim's dormitory. The ghost appeared a second time after we met Liu Baoma's mother."
Every time they uncovered a clue, the ghosts would interfere.
"'Ever since I realized this, I've been thinking about what the so-called 'correct judgment' in this task might be.' Gu Mian looked at the three people in the other group. 'When you seek the truth, the ghosts will kill you. What does that imply? The ghosts don't want their cases reopened; they want the culprits dead.'"
At this, Ye Weiwei suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. A strange suspicion arose in her heart, and she desperately hoped it was wrong.
"'And our offender,' Gu Mian paused, 'is very gentle and kind, at least the offender in our group is. Even when armed with a machete, he didn't harm any of the neighbors who came to capture him. He must have resigned himself to death before committing the crime.'"
"'However, the victims aren't so gentle. They couldn't wait to strike us merely for searching for clues. Just imagine what would happen if you delivered a verdict that goes against their wishes.'"
Gu Mian had asked Coach Che previously.
If the offender is found guilty, he will be executed on the spot. If acquitted, he will be released on the spot.
"'I questioned my guiding NPC. If the judge finds the criminal guilty, the criminal will die on the spot. You don't need to worry about him immediately becoming an Evil Ghost to seek revenge on you. He hesitated and was uncertain before, but ultimately, he made his choice, prepared to die without regrets. Such a person, regardless of your judgment, will not blame you.'"
At this, Wang Youcai also realized something. He suddenly understood what the 'correct judgment' of the mission meant.
There is no absolute 'right' or 'wrong' in any of their cases. The defendants on trial certainly committed murder, but they had their reasons. The victims weren't entirely innocent either; one could say they brought their deaths upon themselves.
It was a story where right and wrong couldn't be definitively distinguished.
However, for their own survival, they had to make the "correct" choice.
"'So you're saying,' Ye Qianqian took a shaky step forward, 'the way to survive this instance is to find the convict guilty?'"
"'Exactly,' Gu Mian nodded."
Ye Qianqian looked quite displeased.
"'If we deliver a verdict that goes against the victims' wishes, we will face severe retaliation. We might die in this instance before the court even adjourns. But if we sentence the convict to death, harmless as he may be to us, he won't harm us. He is prepared to die. So… we have to send a poor soul, who harbors no ill will towards us, to his death to evade the ghosts' revenge. Because he holds no ill will towards us, because he won't turn into a ghost to harm us even if he dies, we need him to die…'"
As she reached this point, she took a deep breath. "'Isn't this… just bullying the weak and fearing the strong?'"
If they went against the ghosts' wishes, they would face retaliation. But if they sentenced the convict to death, he would just willingly accept it. He wouldn't harm the players. Therefore, he had to die.
Ye Weiwei suddenly felt nauseous. This instance was truly disgusting.
"'This is an instance about choice,' Gu Mian spoke. 'Life or humanity—the instance forces us to choose between the two.'"
Ye Qianqian clenched her fists tightly.
Wang Youcai also looked grim.
"'The path to survival is clear. If you want to leave this instance, you can return to the court now and deliver your verdict.' Gu Mian looked at the three people before him, their faces pale. 'If you don't deliver a verdict now and instead continue to search for clues, the ghosts will likely reappear. You should think it through carefully.'"
The three stood there for a long moment.
Finally, Wang Youcai seemed to have made up his mind. He thanked Gu Mian, then turned to the two female players behind him and said, "We're going back to the courthouse."
Then they quickly left.
Watching them leave, Bai Lu said, "They must be returning to the courthouse to pass judgment, right?"
Gu Mian also looked in the direction they had left. "I don't know."
"'Then... what's our choice?' Asking this, Bai Lu suddenly felt a bit foolish."
The way to survive had already appeared; of course, they should take it. This was just an instance. Even if the people in this instance had suffered grave injustices, the players shouldn't have to pay with their lives just to satisfy a momentary desire for righteousness.
However, perhaps it was the judge's earlier actions that gave her a sliver of confidence, because a sense of anticipation began to well up inside her. She found herself hoping they could make a different choice in this instance, even though the path to survival was already clear.
"'Let's go to the hospital to see Li Shu again,' Gu Mian said, not giving her a direct answer. 'There are still some unclear parts about this case.'"
Bai Lu didn't know what to say, so she just nodded.
They quickly arrived at Li Shu's hospital room.
The person on the hospital bed wasn't surprised by the arrival of Gu Mian and the others.
He offered them a smile, which seemed particularly glaring in the sunlight.
Li Shu was still reading, but by now, he had switched to a different book.
Seeing Gu Mian and the others enter, Li Shu casually flipped the book he was reading facedown onto his lap. Bai Lu caught sight of the title on the cover— *Born Psychopath*.
What audacity! Bai Lu's fingers turned white from clenching her fists so tightly. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
"'Your Honor, have you come to me because you've found something new?' Li Shu asked with a cheerful smile, still maintaining his composed and polite demeanor, as if he hadn't done anything wrong."
Gu Mian sat on the bed opposite him, silent. He extended his hand towards Li Shu, then opened his palm in front of him.
Li Shu lowered his gaze and saw a pink bow lying on Gu Mian's outstretched, slender hand.
As if he had expected this all along, not the slightest hint of panic showed on his face. Instead, he smiled at Gu Mian. "'Isn't this Cao Deren's? I remember he ran around to many stores to buy this.'"
"'You also ran quite a distance to take photos beneath Yuan Haotian's apartment building, didn't you?' Gu Mian also chuckled, his smile looking even warmer than Li Shu's."
Li Shu remained silent, merely reaching out to adjust the book lying facedown on his lap.
"'Stop pretending,' Gu Mian said, placing the bow on the black cover of the book on Li Shu's lap. 'We all know. You like playing with fire.'"
"'Oh—' Li Shu's expression suddenly shifted, and he let out a long, drawn-out, peculiar sound."
"'So, you all know.' He suddenly tilted his head, his eyes fixed on Gu Mian, his gaze somewhat horrifying. 'Then you must also know that my two poor, dead roommates have been following you all this time.'"
Bai Lu's scalp tightened.
This person... he knew his roommates had turned into ghosts, knew those two had been following them all along. That's why he was so brazenly unafraid.
"'Why bother investigating so thoroughly?' Li Shu tilted his head again, the calm aura about him completely gone, replaced by a chilling madness and distortion. 'Wouldn't it be better to make a judgment in blissful ignorance? That way, you wouldn't feel any psychological pressure.'"
"'That's right, we were the ones who set the fire at Yuan Haotian's house. Want to know why we did it? Fine, I'll tell you. At first, we just noticed his sister—an innocent, naive little girl, completely unguarded. So adorable, like an Angel. When we threw some newborn puppies into a stinking ditch, she jumped out from God knows where, accusing us of being cruel, despicable, and heartless. Oh, she really had some nerve, managing to annoy me the very first time we met. Naturally, I had to teach her a lesson, teach her not to go around spreading her misplaced saintly compassion when she has nothing better to do. Little girls like that usually aren't very wary. We only had to follow her for a week to find out everything about her. She had parents who loved her and a brother who doted on her. I really wanted to see if this naive little girl could still maintain her compassionate, saintly demeanor if all those people died. I wanted to know if she'd still have the energy to care about some puppy in a ditch after all her relatives were dead. Everything went smoothly. A residential complex with no surveillance cameras, a developer who had skipped town, old apartment doors... we skillfully set another fire in the middle of the night. Though, there was a small mishap. That poor little girl was actually at home; it was her lucky brother who was out at the time. We were quite disappointed that we couldn't see the little girl's grief-stricken face after losing her family. But it doesn't matter. After all, she still has a brother left.'"
As Li Shu said this, the smile returned to his face. Unlike before, the smile on his face now was utterly eerie, like a puppet with a sinister, leering grin.
