Finishing the book means death; I abandoned the whole world.

Anyway, this card will randomly select a victim, and it's so long anyway, I'll just take a nap first.

That's what Liu Tianyong thought. And that's what he did.

While the reviewers' voices were still echoing in the hall, our hapless Yong was already sprawled on the floor, fast asleep. He clutched his red fountain pen tightly to his chest, as if it were a glowing pillow.

"Author?!" Ye Tian's semi-transparent figure flickered wildly, "How can you still be sleeping at a time like this?"

"Shh!" Wu Qu pulled Ye Tian back from rushing over. "Is Brother Yong in a strategic coma? Should we let him rest for a bit?"

"That's heartless!"

But Liu Tianyong was truly asleep, even snoring. The sound of his snoring echoed in the solemn courtroom, transforming into lines of floating text:

【ZZZ……】

[(Turning over) ZZZ...]

The reviewers fell silent. As a highly capable leadership team, they had never imagined such a scene. Even the piece of paper that the prosecutor had been representing seemed slightly embarrassed.

Huang Chaobin couldn't help but laugh: "This Brother Yong is really interesting."

[Courtroom in Dormant Mode Activated]

The random selection process will continue after the defendant regains consciousness.

Several hours later, Liu Tianyong woke up; he was awakened by hunger.

Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and found the floor of the courtroom had become soft and fluffy, like a high-end mattress. The light from the Makado dome had turned into a warm, pale yellow glow, exuding a lazy, "three o'clock weekend afternoon" atmosphere.

"Awake?" Ye Tian drifted over, his expression complex. "You slept for a full six hours!"

Has the process of randomly selecting payers started?

"The program hasn't started yet," Wu Qu said, handing over a steamed bun from the side.

Yong took the steamed bun and started eating it, while the jurors around him scattered around bored.

Huang Chaobin squatted on the ground drawing circles, muttering, "If I don't deliver food for a day, I feel like my life has no meaning..."

Zhang Gou Dan lay on a pile of book pages, his face covered by his floral shorts, snoring loudly.

Hu Qiaozhen, holding her rag doll, was telling a story to a few bewildered readers: "Then the heroine, holding her younger brother's portrait, started farming in the ruins and lived happily ever after with the handsome zombie lord..."

The girl in pajamas, Li Yumeng, and the blond-haired boy huddled together, sharing a pair of headphones. It was unclear what they were listening to, but their expressions were somewhat blank.

"They're all being kept here. The court said that no one involved can leave until all fees are paid. This is the [narrative loop]."

[The fee payment process has begun, and random selection has started.] The reviewer's voice suddenly appeared in everyone's ears.

Zhang Gou Dan suddenly woke up from his sleep. Then he became nervous.

The jurors, who were scattered around, were forcibly pulled back to their seats. Huang Chaobin was dragged over while still in the circling position, leaving a mark on the ground.

Zhang Gou Dan's floral shorts were blown away by the airflow, revealing red underwear with the words "Invincible Under Heaven" written on it.

"Damn it! Give me back my pants!" Zhang Gou Dan struggled in mid-air.

[Selecting...]

The red light spots danced randomly on each person's body. When the red light flashed over Liu Tianyong...

"Wait! Why am I in this too?! Wasn't I the defendant? Wasn't I already innocent? Why do I still have to play this Russian roulette?!"

Yong Ge's shouts went unanswered. The red light flickered wildly, each flicker making everyone's heart race.

The last flickering red dots converged into a large red beam of light, which then landed on Yong Ge…

[Random selection complete. Victim: Liu Tianyong]

"You son of a bitch, are you targeting me?! You son of a bitch!" (Imagine how vile the insults are.)

Before Yong Ge could finish cursing, he felt his "existence" being pulled away by some force.

[Completion Method: Morality is Death. Execute Immediately]

Countless golden characters emerged from the pillar of light, representing a moral higher doctrine even purer than Lin Ruyan's "aesthetics of sacrifice":

You killed Lin Ruyan; your hands are stained with blood!

What gives you the right to live? What gave those who died because of you the right to die?

This is your responsibility, your duty, your destiny!

Sacrificing the individual for the greater good, selfless dedication is the right thing to do!

The golden characters grew more numerous and denser, like a tight headband, gradually burying Yong Ge's resistance.

"Brother Yong!" Wu Qu screamed outside the beam of light, "Don't listen to it! That's all moral blackmail, it was just proven right now!"

"Author!" Ye Tian's body trembled violently. "Imagine what Lord Wang said! Don't let them confirm your ending!"

Liu Tianyong could no longer hear these shouts; lines of text appeared on his skin:

[Liu Tianyong, male, 26 years old, a struggling online novelist, died on the second day after the apocalypse. Cause of death: trial costs.]

His story ends here.

[The End!]

Yong Ge's eyes became vacant, and a strange smile appeared on his lips. It was a smile of being "moved", a smile of "finally finding a home". He slowly raised the red pen, aimed it at his heart, and stabbed it without hesitation.

At this critical moment, the trophy he had obtained from Lin Ruyan suddenly emitted a dazzling red light from his pocket!

The Flawed Heart of the Virgin Mary

[Effect Triggered: Blocks one moral attack]

[Side effect: Reduced intelligence (duration: this chapter and the next chapter)]

A burst of red light erupted, and the golden moral characters seemed to have encountered their natural enemy, emitting a hissing sound.

[Moral blackmail attack detected, reverse engineering in progress]

[Attack Type: Forced Completion through Moral Blackmail]

[Defense activated: Mercy of the Virgin Mary!]

All attacks were absorbed by the [Fragmented Heart of the Mother], whose surface began to expand, crack, and disappear.

[Defense successful, lethal damage negated, item lost]

The pen in Liu Tianyong's hand fell to the ground with a "thud." He blinked, and his eyes began to clear.

The reviewer gave Liu Tianyong a meaningful look, seemingly with a slight smile: [Punishment complete, trial concluded, courtroom dismissed]

Reviewer's thoughts: Interesting, very interesting. I look forward to seeing this young author's future work.

The courtroom and the reviewers have all disappeared, and the readers' gathering place has returned to its previous state. However, the 10 jurors have not disappeared; they have remained in the place.

"Author? Are you alright?!" Ye Tian rushed to Liu Tianyong's side immediately.

Yongge tilted his head and looked at Ye Tian with childlike innocence: "Are you a god? You can fly! That's amazing!" Yongge jumped up excitedly and clapped his hands.

"God, God, can you conjure up a candied hawthorn for me? I really want to eat a candied hawthorn!"

The entire room fell silent. Ye Tian's chin seemed to drop to the ground, if he even had one.

Wu Qu's glasses slipped down to the tip of his pen: "Yong, Brother Yong?"

"Hey? Beautiful lady, are you calling me?" Liu Tianyong was overjoyed.

"Hello, beautiful lady! My name is Liu Tianyong, and I'm five years old! No, wait!" He counted on his fingers. "How old am I again? Never mind, anyway, I'm super awesome! I can write stories!"

"Author, do you still remember who I am?" Ye Tian hadn't yet come to terms with this situation.

"Oh my god! You're a god brother! A god who can fly!" Yong-ge darted around.

"I'm Ye Tian, ​​the protagonist of your book!"

"A book? What book? Is it a comic book? I love it! Sun Wukong Thrice Beats the White Bone Demon!"

As he spoke, he picked up the red pen from the ground and wrote a line of crooked words in the air: [Monster! Take this from Old Sun!]

then

Invalid narrative detected, narrative weight -10

"Oh dear!" Yong looked at the pen with a wronged expression, "The golden cudgel is broken..."