Infinite spooky game

For twenty-four hours after Siqi's death, all those involved in the operation awaited their fate in a terrifying silence.

Siqi said that after his death, the monsters he controlled would go out of control; Chu Yining brought news that Qisi would return after Siqi's death, just like a monster hunter who cuts open the monster's body and releases an even more terrifying monster.

Over the past two weeks, Siqi, a reckless madman and an evil god born inhuman, has cast too many shadows over this world. Even though his death was so understated, it still makes people suspect that it was just the prelude to another storm.

But gradually, the investigators discovered that nothing had happened.

The death of the deity, besides bringing a spiritually imbued rain, also severed all the strange phenomena of the past and future. After being trapped in Jiangcheng, Siqi naturally lost contact with the strange phenomena he controlled and could not trigger their effects. The so-called "out of control" was nothing more than a fabricated scare tactic.

As for Qi Si, although most people couldn't understand what kind of relationship he had with Si Qi, resurrection always requires a material basis. Si Qi's body had been smashed to pieces in the car accident, and no one could see any possibility of it being fully restored.

Chu Yining's deduction was baseless and likely fell into some kind of misconception. Even worse, because she mentioned "Lin Jue," many investigators suspected that she was cooperating with Lin Jue to spread alarmist rumors in order to prevent a purge by the federal high command.

After three days and three nights of heavy rain, the rain finally stopped, and Jiangcheng and the surrounding areas were revitalized after being washed by the rain.

[Where gods fall, all the strange, mysterious, and bizarre things of the past and future will perish.]

This rule is conceptual; since the anomalies located in the "past" have disappeared, there should naturally be no one who died from the anomalies.

People who died in Jiangcheng gradually came back to life, and those who had been corrupted and transformed into bizarre creatures within the city limits gradually regained their senses.

They had no recollection of death or the eerie events, only that they had vaguely experienced a long, indistinct dream.

People in this era are mostly in a worrying mental state, living their lives in a daze. Now that they wake up, they go out to work or school in a daze, selectively ignoring any abnormalities in the details.

Soon, the memories of everyone except the players changed. They no longer remembered the deaths of their relatives and friends, nor could they recall that Jiangcheng had been occupied by the supernatural. They felt that life was ordinary and uneventful, and the biggest setbacks were nothing more than failing to get into a good school or being laid off.

The shattered city repaired itself at a visible speed, as if time had reversed. The asphalt roads pierced by vines were restored to smoothness, and the cracks disappeared without a trace. Glass shards flew back into the window frames, forming complete windows. Bloodstains faded and disappeared, and broken steel and concrete were lifted back to their original positions.

All restorations are limited to Jiangcheng, but they are already astonishing enough. Many talented people from all over the world have brought their contaminated friends and relatives from afar to seek a living in this cradle greenhouse that is completely free from the eerie.

On May 20, investigators found the three members of Tingfeng, barely alive, in the tunnel. Thanks to the healing effect of the rain, they were still alive. Unfortunately, most of their wounds were from the explosion rather than from some strange occurrence, and could not be fully healed, so they had to seek medical help.

Thanks to the rescue efforts of advanced medical equipment, although the three are destined to spend the rest of their lives in wheelchairs, they have at least survived.

As soon as Yu Jinsheng opened his eyes, he asked in a daze, "Where is Qi Si?"

Li Yunyang, dressed in military uniform, stood expressionless in the ward carrying a fruit basket, representing the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics to express condolences to the senior members of the Listening Wind Guild.

Upon hearing Yu Jinsheng's question, she replied with a strange expression, "I was killed by the god who came to reality during the previous divine descent incident."

Yu Jinsheng paused for two seconds, seemingly realizing that asking about the terrorists' whereabouts as soon as he woke up was inappropriate, and quickly and awkwardly changed the subject: "Where's Lin Jue? I need to have a good talk with him later. That bomb was definitely meant to kill us all, right?"

“That’s right,” Li Yunyang answered truthfully. “His order at the time was indeed not to allow any living thing to come out of the tunnel.”

Yu Jinsheng blinked twice and repeated the question: "So where is Lin Jue? Could it be that he knows he did something wrong and doesn't even dare to look at me? Besides, even if he doesn't come, shouldn't someone at least apologize and make amends?"

Li Yunyang's expression became even stranger, as if he was pondering what language to use to describe something that was not easy to explain.

After a moment of silence, she put down the fruit basket and said in a low voice, "The senior is being questioned by the Federation in the interrogation room."

……

The only one who can fight against a madman is another madman, and when one of the madmen reaches the end of his road, the remaining madman has no reason to continue existing.

After all, they are equally dangerous to humans.

Since Siqi, who is trapped in Jiangcheng, cannot mobilize the strange power, then by analogy, Lin Jue, who is also in Jiangcheng, is now just an ordinary person.

This would be the best opportunity to control him; all it would take is a small army to put him in a cage and eliminate any potential risks in the future.

In the Jiangcheng branch of the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation, on the fifth basement floor, in an interrogation room, Representative Brooks, who had died once, sat facing Lin Jue, just like their meeting in Beidu on May 4th.

The difference this time was that Lin Jue was handcuffed and shackled to a chair, with several guns pointed at his head, clearly the attitude one would use to deal with a serious criminal.

Congressman Hayes' smile remained kind, and his gaze upon Lin Jue carried the loving affection of an elder looking at a junior: "To be honest, Lin Jue, I didn't expect you to choose to stay in Jiangcheng instead of taking advantage of the chaos to escape this eerie forbidden zone, this land of fallen gods."

"Why would I run away?" Lin Jue tilted his head slightly and asked in return, "The Bureau of Evil Investigation is here, the final battlefield of the gods will also be here, the final instance is not over yet, and the threat of restarting still hangs over humanity's head. I have no reason to desert in the face of battle."

“But none of this concerns you anymore,” Senator Hayes said with a smile. “To be fair, I must thank you for creating this land of fallen gods. Those capable men who sacrificed themselves in the past have been resurrected one after another in the past few days. It seems that your promises were not just empty campaign slogans. Despite having witnessed death, we still have the same confidence as we did 22 years ago to fight against the supreme rules. However, this time, the leader will not be you.”

Although the effects of the bizarre game have not completely ended, and the White Raven and the Church of the Balance are also eyeing it covetously, it is still better than letting a madman who dares to put all of humanity on the gambling table take power.

This is the consensus of all investigators who oppose Lin Jue, and even if Lin Jue's supporters believe in his original intentions, they cannot refute it.

No matter the reason, it is unacceptable to coerce humanity using supernatural forces.

Thus, Congressman Hayes and a group of veterans from Lin Jue's era returned to the front lines, mobilizing federal troops to surround the Jiangcheng branch. A small nuclear bomb, capable of leveling half of Jiangcheng, was also aimed at the newly reborn city, ready to be launched with the push of a button. Under multiple threats, Lin Jue surrendered, facing a trial whose fate was already sealed.

“Whether you or they believe it or not, I have never felt any resentment about Wade’s death. He was arrogant and mediocre. Even without you, he would have died at the hands of someone else.” Hayes sighed and shook his head slightly. “But you should never have become a ‘puppet master’.”

He took out a stack of pre-prepared A4 papers from his briefcase, on which the federal government's determination of Lin Jue's crimes was clearly written.

He read on, line by line, his thoughts drifting back to when he first entered the bizarre game thirty-six years ago. Back then, Lin Jue was a passionate young man, not as shrewd as he was now, but possessing an extraordinary sense of justice.

He thwarted the plots of the massacre-style players more than once, and gently advised everyone who wavered: "The eerie game will definitely come to an end one day. I hope that we can all maintain the most basic humanity, and at least not wait until the ghosts and monsters have dispersed to find that we have become neither human nor ghost."

All players who have been through the early days of the eerie game cannot help but admire Lin Jue. It's like wandering fearfully across a dark land and suddenly spotting a blazing campfire. No matter how weak or mysterious it may be, the wanderer will be drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

Lin Jue is like a guiding light, a direction and a hope. Despite being incredibly young, he leads everyone out of ignorance with the demeanor of a born leader, giving them the courage to survive and the possibility to fight.

At that time, Hayes was just a marginal figure in the Ark Guild, and he had met Lin Jue a few times. The young man, who always wore a white suit, was approachable, cheerful, and sunny; no one could dislike someone like that.

He was several decades older than Lin Jue, and sometimes when he looked at his good-for-nothing sons, he would think that it would be great if they were half as good as Lin Jue.

Then came the catastrophe known as "Ragnarok" that occurred on January 1, 2014. Whether it was because the Ruins of Sunset couldn't accommodate so many people, or because Lin Jue had foreseen the possibility of failure, Hayes and a group of Ark members did not receive the order to assemble at the Tower of Babylon.

It was three days later when Hayes learned of Lin Jue's sacrifice. Like all the surviving players, he was shocked and saddened, and even organized a private memorial service.

Not long after, Fu Jue, a follower of Lin Jue, stepped forward and became a completely different person. In just one year, he rose to fame and became a high-ranking member of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics as Lin Jue's successor. He also established the Kyushu Guild.

Many who lived through Lin Jue's era had reservations about Fu Jue's rule, much like creatures bathed in sunlight find it hard to accept the chill of twilight. But as time went on, Fu Jue accomplished one practical thing after another, and Lin Jue's influence gradually faded. Many of them tacitly accepted the fact that Fu Jue had replaced Lin Jue.

Hayes, with his political acumen, sensed a hidden connection between Fu Jue and Lin Jue. He had no evidence, but he inexplicably felt that they were like two sides of the same coin, representing two mutually exclusive paths.

Call it conservative and stubborn, or suspicious and overthinking, Hayes always harbored prejudice against Fu Juena and Lin Jue's drastically different ways of doing things.

While ensuring the continuation of a group through sacrifice at any cost may conform to the principles of rationalism, when the cost becomes too great and humanity is suppressed to the point of decay, does such a civilization still have any meaning in its continued existence?
Who can guarantee that the price paid will be rewarded in equal measure? If we control the fate of all humanity with machine-like precision, can we still call ourselves human beings with cold flesh and blood?

Hayes disagreed.

Nevertheless, before the "Holy City" instance began, he disdained to collude with the representatives of the various county branches, and he didn't even send a single person to the trial against Fu Jue.

What truly made him decide to stand against Fu Jue was the discovery of the puppet silk remnants in Wade's corpse.

Fu Jue, the esteemed leader of the Kyushu Guild, is actually the "Puppet Master" of the Xila Guild. What an absurd joke, yet it is an undeniable fact.

Hayes could guess why Fu Jue did this. If his claimed philosophy was true, then he simply wanted to use a banner to gather all the slaughter-style players under his command and minimize the variables.

But why should they trust Fu Jue? The identity of "puppet master" would be enough to label anyone as "mad," "unscrupulous," and "selfish." Even if Fu Jue's ultimate goal is indeed to save all of humanity, who would dare to gamble on it?
Now that he has been brought back to life and quickly learned what had happened in the past few days, and that Fu Jue was Lin Jue, Hayes' heart was completely unmoved.

Perhaps from the moment Lin Jue did not choose to truly sacrifice himself, but instead crawled out of hell as Fu Jue, this statue of the savior was destined to be covered with an indelible stain.

The line between enduring humiliation and being afraid of death is very thin. The distinction between a lone traveler who bears the fate of all mankind and an ambitious dictator is not so clear. No one can definitively say which one Lin Jue belongs to.

The fate of all humanity should not be tied to the good or evil of one person; that would be too impulsive and insane, something only a madman with a genocidal tendencies would do. Hayes cannot allow such a future to occur.

Therefore, Lin Jue, burdened with uncertainty, must be eliminated here.

Congressman Hayes finished reading the three pages of A4 paper filled with charges, then looked at the man bound to the chair: "Lin Jue, in accordance with the authorization of the Federal Criminal Code and related special laws, you are hereby sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity. Do you have any objections?"

Lin Jue remained calm and focused on the front of him throughout, and his voice was equally composed: "I have no objection."

Armed soldiers watched him intently, never expecting that forcing this dangerous man to confess would go so smoothly.

They were all ordinary people who had only recently learned of Lin Jue's name through a global live broadcast on television. In their eyes, he was nothing more than an unscrupulous and ambitious man who, despite seizing power for a short period, ultimately triumphed over good and quickly fell from grace.

His composure and calmness suggest that he may have foreseen this outcome long ago.

The soldiers were slightly puzzled, but they quickly suppressed their irrelevant thoughts and led Lin Jue deeper into the fifth underground level.

After the strange phenomenon disappeared, the containment rooms were all left empty. They were fully equipped and sturdy, making them perfect for imprisoning people.

Lin Jue was pushed into the containment room at the bottom of the corridor. The iron door locked behind him, and the corresponding information appeared on the electronic screen.

【Title: The Fallen Savior】

Type: Human

[Danger Level: S]

[Note: This person's crimes are unforgivable.] (End of Chapter)