Great, we're doomed now!

"...Do you plead guilty?"

Lucius's mouth opened and closed, and he felt a strange sense of suffocation, like a fish thrown ashore.

He looked toward the plaintiff's seat; the petite woman was gone, and the lawyer's seat was swallowed by darkness... No one could help him.

"Defendant, do you have anything to say?"

After the judge finished speaking, the amphitheater remained silent for a full three seconds.

Then Lucius spoke, his voice much softer than he had expected, almost drowned out by his own heartbeat.

My lawyer said—

boom!

The sound of the gavel falling didn't come from the judge's bench; instead, an invisible shockwave crashed down from the darkness above, engulfing Lucius. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to his knees within the pillar of light. The sound of bones cracking echoed throughout the arena, like someone smashing a walnut with a hammer; everyone could hear it clearly, and a moment of solemn silence fell.

The judge leaned forward, his wide black robe resembling an unfurled flag.

"This is a dark courtroom. I am a judge created to punish evil, and I abide by a different set of rules, not the ones you bought off with money..."

He paused, his dark golden pupils slightly contracting.

"You are guilty."

Those seated were momentarily terrified; upon hearing the word "guilty," they, too, felt an instinctive fear, like prisoners on trial.

His mind began to flash back to the crimes he had committed.

Lucius, especially, was in the worst condition within the beam of light. He was curled up on the ground like a worm that had been stepped on, his custom-made suit crumpled into a mess, the calm smile gone from his lips, his eyes, once so confident that everything would pass, now filled only with fear.

This was nothing like the trial he had imagined. All the things that had protected him from harm had vanished in this boundless darkness.

Guilty...guilty...guilty!

—Only this sound echoed repeatedly in the amphitheater like a death knell.

chap!

The lampposts went out, and the whole world was plunged into darkness.

Clang!

When the lights came on again, the person in the beam of light had changed.

Chuck Goodman stood in the light, his suit still impeccably pressed, his tie still neatly tied, and the red handkerchief on his chest folded meticulously. He was much calmer than Lucius... at least on the surface.

His lips curled up slightly, revealing a professional, well-honed smile.

“Your Honor,” he said, “I am against this unconventional trial—”

"You are charged," the judge interrupted him bluntly, "with perjury, incitement, bribing jurors, buying witnesses, destroying evidence, obstructing justice..."

The judge's voice did not pause at all, and he even specified the date, place, and amount of each charge.

Goodman's smile vanished, not from fear, but from the realization that the "judge" before him was not truly conducting a trial, as there was absolutely no room for the prisoner to appeal; it was simply an "execution"!

"guilty!"

The darkness began to surge, and although it sounded strange, everything in sight visibly began to fluctuate. Then, projections emerged from the darkness, hovering above the amphitheater, displaying a vast amount of video footage like a giant screen.

Goodman's expression changed:

That evidence is real!

But there are a few things that only he knows, and even the person involved doesn't know who is operating them... Even a hacker couldn't steal records that were never stored!

It's like they've just ripped his brain open and are showing it to everyone!

"These...according to the law, illegally obtained evidence cannot be used as evidence..."

"I am not the guardian of the law, I am the judge of darkness."

I do not abide by the rules of modern society, but by a different, more ancient, and primal truth that existed long before the first laws of mankind were inscribed on stone tablets.

His black robe churned in the darkness, like a pool of black lava boiling.

"Your soul is guilty!"

The giant statue—Bayeri—stands in the depths of darkness, its outline appearing and disappearing in the shadows, like a mountain shrouded in mist. No one can see its true face, but everyone's eyes are drawn to it.

Different images came to mind for each person. Depending on their education, some associated them with mythological gods of the underworld, such as Anubis or Yama, while others linked them to the ancient gods in science fiction.

Suddenly, as if touched by something, two beams of dark red light shot out from the eye sockets of the stone statue, like two red-hot iron swords, piercing the darkness of the amphitheater!

The light swept across the entire theater, from the highest seats to the lowest stone slabs, from the defendant's dock to the audience seats, from lawyers to reporters, and then the amphitheater crumbled into countless fragments in view.

Everything turned into tiny specks of light, dancing in the darkness like fireflies, and then went out.

One sentence echoed in everyone's ears—

The verdict has been reached.

"Well!"

V opened her eyes and looked around in a daze.

Chaos reigned in the courtroom. Some were screaming and vomiting, some were crouching on the ground clutching their heads, and others were rolling their eyes and convulsing. Those whose electronic brains had been hacked were experiencing the aftereffects of a collective nightmare—the evil hidden deep in their memories was being awakened at this moment, causing them immense mental burden even though they were not the ones being punished.

Even V was no exception. Although he had only carried out Arasaka's missions and had not done anything evil from a personal perspective, he couldn't help but feel guilty.

So he subconsciously clenched his right hand, the faint warmth of the Holy Grail mark bringing him some peace of mind... He began to understand the psychology of those believers.

My past was filled with such sins, but that is precisely why I must follow the right path and the guidance of the Holy Grail to atone for my transgressions.

As that man said, no matter how many good deeds one does, what has already happened will not disappear. In reality, there is no such thing as good and evil canceling each other out. He did not expect to enter heaven at the end of his life; he only hoped to help people in this world escape hell.

"It's gone!"

"Where did they go?"

Lucius was not in the dock; the restraints were loosely fastened to the armrests, and his suit jacket was draped over the back of the chair. He seemed to have vanished from his clothes.

Not only that, the lawyers' bench was also empty.

Some people in the courtroom had noticed their disappearance, but everyone was busy dealing with their own fears and confusion, and no one had time to pay attention to it.

V stood up, walked through the panicked crowd, and exited the courthouse. Standing on the steps, he took a deep breath of the perpetually stale air of Night City.

What was that just now?

Although he was prepared and sent a message to take action, it was just a very "routine" vigilante action, like the Daredevil in the movie, using vigilante justice to execute criminals.

I never imagined that a "supernatural phenomenon" would occur!

And those who can do this...

hum~

V's bracelet vibrated, and he raised his wrist to see a news notification pop up on the screen.

[Breaking News: Charles Goodman, founder of the law firm Goodman & Howard, is suspected of multiple crimes; the FBI has intervened]

Then there are second, third, and fourth points, which come out one after another like a machine gun.

[Military Technology Company Issues Urgent Statement: All Cooperation with Underwood Family Business Suspended]

[Anonymous Whistleblower Letter Revealed: Family Business Suspected of Providing Cyberpsychotics with Prosthetics, Leading to Multiple Deaths]

Baldwin von Underwood was intercepted at the airport by Kuze United Security personnel while attempting to leave the country on a private plane.

...A few days later, an urban legend began to circulate in Night City.

Some say it was a super hacker with technology a generation ahead, while others say it was a deity worshipped in ancient times, but regardless of the version, they all share the same interpretation:

That power was not born to uphold justice, but to punish evil. Before "He", the color and filth of the soul will have nowhere to hide, and no one can escape judgment!

Unbeknownst to many, a new religion was quietly spreading beneath the neon lights of Night City, and plastic figurines called "Ultraman" began to become children's toys.

-

【Ding! 】

[Destiny Coins +25 (V, David, Arasaka Yorinobu...)]

Twenty-five?

Although they are just "humans" and do not possess any special powers, and there seems to be no such thing as destiny in this world.

But don't forget that in the cyberpunk setting, everyone is deeply enslaved by the system, a slave to fate. As a major character in the world, it's appropriate for him to reveal these things after his life path is reversed.

Ye Shou was no longer concerned about these mere twenty or thirty Destiny Coins. It wasn't that he had suddenly become rich and powerful, but rather that his strength was what it was. For a long time, he hadn't encountered any useful abbreviations. The numbers in his account were constantly increasing, but they couldn't be converted into corresponding strength, which made him slightly anxious.

After all, for capital, only what can circulate is real "money"!

Composing himself, Ye Shou re-examined the giant statue before him. Although it might seem narcissistic, he couldn't help but nod repeatedly.

This is a newly opened, enclosed space beneath the Arasaka Tower, accessible only to a select few.

This statue was made by Ye Shou himself. Just like the ones he placed in "Terryga" and the main world, they are similar to beacons. At critical moments, they can be projected through a method similar to spirit summoning, allowing the statue to temporarily transform into a giant.

...However, this statue is in "Dark Radiance" mode, unlike the others.

And, perhaps for this reason, the statue itself has also undergone some strange changes—

faith.

It's hard to say whether it should be defined this way, but one can certainly feel that numerous "thoughts" are entangled around this statue.

This phenomenon began with that "trial." Ye Shou initially only wanted to create a big news story and leave a deep impression on the public, using this as an opportunity to promote the legal counsel services of [Jiushi United].

In his design, numerous AIs are responsible for intelligence gathering, while companies such as Arasaka, which he has recruited, provide manpower and resources to carry out a legal reform.

In short, it's about re-establishing the most basic moral values ​​of "an eye for an eye" and "a life for a life" in Night City!

The rule of law is the means, morality is the goal!

Ultimately, this system is guaranteed by the "Living Spirit" created by Liuli. This is a judge who extracted Ye Shou's moral standards and values, was given additional high-level privileges, and was implanted into the supercomputer. All cases must be reviewed by it before they can be approved.

(As for why it's based on Ye Shou's standards... that's purely the maid's personal opinion.)

However, the scene was perhaps too large, involving hundreds of thousands of spectators, who in turn influenced even more people in their respective circles, leading to the widespread dissemination of the image of the "Dark Giant" among the population.

Ye Shou underestimated the resentment accumulated by the people of Night City. They usually seemed to accept their fate and go with the flow, but as human beings, they have joys and sorrows. They can't really erase themselves like machines. Once they find an outlet or a spiritual sustenance, they immediately erupt and become uncontrollable!

What really fueled the fire was that these people's prayers, or rather, curses... actually worked!

It should be noted that the stone statue made by Ye Shou has the function of telepathy (otherwise it would be impossible to summon the Ultraman spirit). Therefore, people's imagination of the Dark Giant's behavior naturally becomes a kind of "direction", and all kinds of wishes come one after another.