Arriving at the first Judgement Room, everyone looked around. The setup here seemed very simple.

A female player was locked to the wall, looking at the four with a face full of terror.

Her mouth was also sealed by a mechanism, making it impossible for her to make any sound.

Opposite the female player, there was a judgement stand.

In the top right corner of the stand was a small round platform, seemingly for striking the gavel.

In the center of the judgement stand, there was a sharp dagger inserted, its blade glinting coldly.

The dagger seemed somewhat out of place, disrupting the design of the stand, but no one paid much attention, as many of the game's settings were often meaningless, possibly due to certain peculiar preferences of the Imitator.

The group came to the front of the judgement stand, and the screen on the side began to announce the specific crimes of this Sinner.

[While joking with a drunk male friend, she pushed him into the river and left, leading to the victim's drowning.]

[Punishment Result: Sentenced to 6 years in prison for causing death by negligence, and compensation of 800,000 to the victim's family, has already served the sentence.]

The four looked at each other.

Li Jiang spoke almost without thinking, "Death penalty, what's there to discuss?"

According to the game rules, players can choose from three different verdicts: Innocent, Penalty, and Death Penalty.

In literal terms, Innocent means immediate release.

Penalty would involve some specific punishment, less lenient than Innocent, but not fatal either.

Jiang He disagreed with Li Jiang's viewpoint, "But this is about causing death by negligence! The law already sentenced her to 6 years, and she has already served it.

"Isn't the death penalty a bit too harsh?"

Li Jiang was somewhat speechless, "I don't understand the law, but I don't quite see the difference between this and intentional murder.

"The victim was drunk; even if he could swim, could he make it back after falling into the river? Also, after pushing the victim, she didn't even look back before leaving. If she attempted to save him at all, I'd believe it was an accidental killing."

Jiang He maintained her view, "But this isn't all the records, is it? The law should have conducted a more thorough investigation during her trial, which led to the conclusion of accidental killing.

"She's already served her sentence. Giving the death penalty again isn't fair, is it? If you feel the previous sentence was too light, perhaps a 'Penalty' might suffice.

"Don't forget, the Audience suggested 'saving more people.'

Li Jiang felt a bit deflated, "You're the Chief Judge; judge however you see fit. If you've already made up your mind, don't bother feigning to seek my opinion."

Jiang He frowned, "What do you mean by 'feigning'? Aren't I discussing it with you?"

Li Jiang shrugged, expressing a "whatever" attitude.

Jiang He looked at Yang Yuting and Chen Yumei, "What do you think?"

"Anything's fine."

The two obviously didn't have strong opinions.

Jiang He directly struck the gavel on the judgement stand, "Penalty."

As soon as she spoke, the mechanism sealing the woman's mouth automatically unlocked.

At the same time, spikes emerged from the mechanism restraining her body, piercing her non-vital parts. As she struggled, the wounds deepened.

The restrained woman let out a heart-wrenching scream.

Fortunately, the penalty didn't last long. About ten seconds later, the spikes retracted, and the mechanism automatically unlocked.

The woman collapsed onto the floor with a "thud."

Jiang He stepped forward to ask, "Are you okay?"

The woman, gritting her teeth with tears on her face, replied, "I'm fine."

"What's your name? Which community are you from?"

"Community 5, Bai Yanyan."

Jiang He helped check her wounds briefly. Although mainly on the back and legs, and not hitting any vital parts, she could barely walk, limping, and was indeed injured quite seriously.

[Remaining Fertility Fund: 119,000]

Choosing the penalty deducted 1,000 points from the Fertility Fund. Compared to the 10,000 points deducted for choosing Innocent, it was relatively acceptable.

"Let's go."

The four of them continued walking with Bai Yanyan, but after pushing the door open, they didn't immediately arrive at the second Judgement Room.

It was still the first Judgement Room, merely divided into two parts by a door.

The setup was the same, with another judgement stand, and another dagger inserted atop it.

The only difference was that the person locked to the wall this time was a male.

[While swimming with friends in a reservoir, saw a stranger, and to play a joke, hugged her from behind and jumped into the reservoir, resulting in the death.]

[Punishment Result: Sentenced to 2 years in prison for causing death by negligence, and compensation of 4 million to the victim's family, has already served the sentence.]

Yang Yuting suggested, "Should we test him with the previous nursing question? If he can answer, we could consider..."

Li Jiang reminded, "I'm afraid not. All these criminals have mechanisms blocking their mouths, so they can't answer.

"We must make a judgement before the mouth mechanism unlocks."

Jiang He frowned and said, "That won't work! This person must receive the death penalty."

Li Jiang found it somewhat amusing, "Hey, hey, hey, isn't this the same crime as before?

"Both pushed others into water causing death, so why the death penalty for this one?

"Not to argue, but if it's a death penalty, both should receive it, and if it's a penalty, both should receive it. Double standards aren't fair, are they?"

Jiang He frowned, "It's different.

"Previously, it was an accidental death among friends. We can't understand the exact relationship or the details of their playfulness. Maybe they often played pranks?

"This case involves a stranger.

"Intentionally hugging a stranger and jumping into water is even more illogical.

"And besides, this one was only sentenced to 2 years, much lighter than Bai Yanyan's case, and much lighter indeed!"

Bai Yanyan kept her head down, not daring to speak.

Li Jiang questioned, "Why is there such a difference in sentencing? Because one paid 800,000 and the other 4 million."

Jiang He clearly didn't accept this reasoning, "How can a human life be measured with money? Can paying money reduce the sentence? I'd say, this deserves an added penalty!"

Having said that, she struck the gavel on the judgement stand.

"Death penalty!"

Yang Yuting instinctively wanted to stop her but was too late, and after thinking it over, she realized the death penalty would also gain them 10,000 points in the Fertility Fund, meaning there were different ways to clear the level, whether saving or killing.

Even if there was a hidden Justice judgement in the game, considering the male convict's severe negligence, the justice score shouldn't drop too much.

They all looked at the data bulletin boards in each room, but the amount of the Fertility Fund didn't change immediately, still showing 119,000.

Jiang He originally thought this sinner would immediately suffer a terminal penalty, either injected with a deadly toxin by the wristband or killed by a mechanism.

But nothing happened.

Jiang He was stunned, "What does this mean? Is the game malfunctioning?"

Silence fell over them.

Li Jiang glanced at the dagger inserted in the judgement stand and realized the only possibility, "Perhaps this means... we have to carry out the death penalty ourselves."

He gestured towards the dagger with a "please" gesture, "Please execute the verdict, Chief Judge."

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