God's imitator

Chapter 174 Two Buttons
We passed through the newly opened iron gate and down the corridor to the first trial area.

He Xiaojun noticed that the structure of the trial game venue was very simple.

It can basically be seen as a purely linear structure, with different venues connected by corridors, so there are no branching paths and you won't miss anything.

The first trial venue looked spacious.

The set here is still an abandoned underground warehouse, but the ceiling is very high, with rusty frame structures and beams, and the scene is surrounded by all kinds of abandoned debris.

In the very center of the venue, there were four unconscious people, two men and two women.

He Xiaojun was very surprised because he knew all four of them.

They were four of his former colleagues.

The four people were locked to four mechanical iron chairs and could not move. Behind the four iron chairs was a special mechanism, locked by a complex gear structure, and a special syringe could be vaguely seen inside.

That must be the so-called antidote.

In the direction these four people are facing, there is a judge's bench.

There are only two different buttons on the judge's bench: red on the left and blue on the right.

"Di-"

As He Xiaojun entered the space, a sharp buzzing sound rang out, and the four people gradually regained consciousness.

They looked around in horror, their expressions varying.

At the same time, the CRT television in the courtroom began broadcasting the relevant rules.

[He Xiaojun, when you were framed, these four people, unaware of the truth, chose to side with the accuser.]

Some of them pressured you to apologize, some morally condemned you, and others chose to comfort and support the accuser.

For everyone present at the time, silence might have been a necessary act of self-preservation, but becoming an accomplice to evil is an unforgivable sin.

On the judge's bench, there are two different buttons.

Pressing the red button will result in a clear punishment for these four individuals: they will be electrocuted for 15 seconds and suffer five penetrating wounds to non-lethal areas.

Pressing the blue button will randomly subject these four individuals to one of the following four punishments: electric shock of random duration, fracture of a random location, stab wound to a random location, or instant death.

In random punishments, the more severe the punishment, the lower the probability of it occurring, but it is never zero.

Now, please complete your first trial and choose the "more appropriate" verdict for them.

He Xiaojun had, of course, already remembered the case from this trial.

This was the most unforgettable lesson of his life, and he could never forget it.

He Xiaojun was just an ordinary office worker, but one day, his female colleague sitting across from him suddenly took out a video and accused him of molesting her under his desk.

He was actually just scratching an itch.

The colleagues in the office area were in an uproar.

Although most colleagues chose to persuade each other or remain silent, the other party persisted and the matter escalated.

These four colleagues played a crucial role in the further deterioration of the situation.

Some of them advised He Xiaojun to apologize and settle the matter peacefully;

Some people have condemned He Xiaojun as "perverted" and "disgusting";
Others have taken a clear stand on the side of the accuser, saying they will support the female colleague in defending her rights and are willing to provide all possible assistance.

In an effort to avoid further trouble, He Xiaojun was forced to record an apology video, which became the first step in his descent into an abyss.

He Xiaojun had kept this secret to himself and had never told anyone in the community. However, he never expected that all the parties involved in the case would also participate in this trial game.

Clearly, although these people were not assigned to the same community as He Xiaojun, they also came to the new world.

After hearing the rules on TV, the four people locked in the iron chairs panicked.

This is a trial game, leaving them no room for intellectual battles.

Their lives and deaths depended entirely on He Xiaojun's decision.

"Little He, no, Brother He, no, Big Brother! Big Brother He! Please press the red button, I beg you!"

"Yes, electric shocks! I'm a slut, shock me hard, I deserve it!"

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, Xiao He, do you remember? I even helped you revise the plan. Please, I don't want to die..."

"Wait a minute, what happens if we don't press the button? Want to try it?" "Shut up!"

The four of them were in complete chaos.

As fellow players in the new world, they had all participated in the games of the arcade and had seen many rules of the trial games.

Most people can quickly realize their current situation.

In the trial game, never try to find loopholes or think, "What if I don't press the button?" Anyone who has such thoughts of escapism will definitely suffer a terrible defeat.

For this game, there are only two choices: either the red button or the blue button.

Clearly, the punishment for using the blue button is much harsher.

Not to mention that one of the four random punishments is instant death, even the fractures and stab wounds in random parts of the body are no joke.

Medical resources in communities are limited, and not every community has a doctor.

No one is certain whether a simple splint can help a fractured area heal and recover normally, and a stab wound to a random location could also be fatal if it hits a vital spot.

In contrast, the red button represents a definite punishment; the high-voltage electric shock will not be fatal, and the five penetrating wounds will not pose a significant problem as long as they are placed in non-lethal areas.

This kind of injury can be easily treated with simple bandaging after returning to the community.

He Xiaojun hesitated.

He looked at the blue button and vaguely felt that in the trial game, any option involving "randomness" was usually a safer choice, because in the gallery's view, random punishment meant leaving one's fate to destiny, which was the least bad form of punishment.

but……

There are several circumstances that could lead to death. Were their crimes truly so heinous that they deserved to die?

The rules of the game state that they should be given the "more appropriate" judgment possible. If they are just stirring up trouble and becoming accomplices to evil, then electric shock and stabbing should be enough, right?

If I actually choose the blue button and then die, wouldn't I be suspected of using the trial game to vent my anger and seek revenge?
There is no absolutely correct option between these two buttons. Which button the antidote is hidden behind largely depends on the copycat's values.

If the copycat offender believes that the four individuals should receive a clear punishment commensurate with their crimes, and that the offenders themselves should bear the responsibility for their trial, then they should not leave it to fate but should select the red button; otherwise, they should select the blue button.

Seeing the four people weeping and pleading, He Xiaojun found it difficult to make up his mind.

In the end, he chose to press the red button and give the four of them their designated punishment.

Although it's possible to be wrong, as long as you make the right choice in any one of the four trials, you can get the antidote.

This means that whether the first trial is right or wrong has little impact; it's better to follow your heart and try to figure out what the copycat's intentions really are.

As soon as the button was pressed, all the iron chairs glowed blue and a buzzing sound of electricity emanated from them!

All four players trembled violently, letting out muffled screams as their eyes rolled uncontrollably upwards and their bodies convulsed violently.

Fifteen seconds, longer than I expected.

The instant the electric shock ended, before the four men could even catch their breath, long steel nails extended from the iron chair again, piercing their non-lethal parts and protruding through their flesh on the other side.

"what--!!!"

The continuous screams made He Xiaojun's body tremble. He instinctively felt uncomfortable and could only lower his head and stare at the judge's bench, trying his best not to look at the miserable state of the four people.

Finally, the screams gradually subsided. The four men were almost completely soaked in sweat, and blood continued to seep from their wounds.

They didn't say anything more, just slumped in their chairs, panting heavily.

He Xiaojun waited anxiously.

Finally, his eyes lit up: the antidote syringe, which had been locked by numerous mechanisms, slowly rose up. Once it reached the top, he could take it.

He Xiaojun hurriedly stepped down from the judge's bench, wanting to get the antidote.

However, the antidote had only reached halfway when the mechanism suddenly closed, crushing it with a "snap".

The life-saving medicine was poured into the mechanism, not a single drop was left.

He Xiaojun stood there, speechless for a moment.

They waited quietly for two minutes. There were no new prompts, and no one spoke. Only the groans of the four sinners could be heard.

He Xiaojun could only leave the exit dejectedly and head to the next trial venue.

(End of this chapter)