Subverting The World [Cyber] - Chapter 2

Shi Xu caught the scent of rust and damp air. She looked up. Before her stood two massive mechanical angels. Their surfaces were adorned with tarnished gold foil, wings weathered by frost and time, and their hands wielded weapons of dazzling complexity.

A closer look revealed these weapons were plastered with advertisements.

Behind these towering angels was the entrance to the “hanging balance,” marked by two enormous floral emblems bearing the name: Giant Enterprise United Court No. 9.

She should have been inside the game already, yet what she saw suggested otherwise… was this time travel?

What kind of circumstance could cause someone to travel through time twice in quick succession?

Just moments ago, she was a high school senior, freshly out of class. Now, she found herself a prisoner in a futuristic courtroom.

Through the hazy mist, a neon goldfish floated by.

She stood in line outside the courtroom, a queue that stretched endlessly, yet no one pushed or cut ahead.

Because the court was suspended in midair, she stepped onto a conveyor belt that allowed only one person at a time. People were funneled inside like products on an assembly line. Only a select few, traveling in expensive hovering cars, could park directly on the upper level.

Occasionally, some were pushed off the conveyor and dropped to the ground, where groups of alternative-styled youths with distinct uniforms divided them among themselves, while the rest were swept away by garbage trucks.

Shi Xu lowered her gaze. In front of her, a small tablet displayed her alleged crimes and charges.

A video of her criminal record was also ready to play.

When it started, she saw a woman approach a little girl and pull her away from a smiling salesman.

Aside from her brown hair and sea-blue eyes, the woman looked exactly like her—a familiar face in this world.

Having often shared her face with others, Shi Xu found it strange to suddenly possess one that felt uniquely hers.

She pressed play on the video.

“Kid, where’s your mother?” she heard herself say. “Don’t get too close to strangers on the journey of sentient beings.”

The little girl looked confused, then pushed Shi Xu’s leg and said, “Mom ran away.”

The salesman stood up, maintaining his polite smile. “Miss, you’ve passed. Our transaction is clear—goods and money exchanged fairly. I wish you well.”

“Selling life packages to five-year-olds?” The girl stepped forward, her eyes cold like a mountain’s frozen lake. “Can a child truly understand what it means to sell their life?”

“The law permits it, miss.” The salesman flashed a perfect smile. “One million — buys all her future experiences. Play out a predestined script of joy, sorrow, pain, and death in a fate already known. What’s the problem?”

“Do you understand what it means to block a legitimate transaction?”

The “journey of all sentient beings.”

The “life package.”

Shi Xu caught these phrases. When she tried to search for more information online, there was no access. Instead, she found giant ads for Angel Sword boasting about the journey of all sentient beings.

These ads dominated the landscape.

Among the massive conglomerates controlling the world, one of the nine giant enterprises held a crucial role in global life systems. Their operations spanned virtual online games, electronic realities, entertainment, life experiences, and custom life design.

The life package was a buyout service for the entire journey of a person’s life. Pay a million now and acquire all the future experiences and moments of the seller.

Advertisements promised that life sellers gained financial relief, terminally ill youths found hope, and parents unable to work could still care for their children…

But all smiles and happiness froze the moment the transfer took place.

The ads never showed what came after.

Before she could fully understand, she arrived at the courtroom entrance, where the conveyor ended and a steady flow of people streamed inside.

Many bore mechanical limbs; others had blue skin or pointed ears. Some resembled orcs entirely.

Vending machines stood by the entrance.

Shi Xu took a closer look:

【Atonement Roll: 10,000 B per year for prison time, effective immediately, directly sold by God, no trickery.】

【Booster Imp Dung Cigarette: One bite, super addictive, no withdrawal symptoms, free!】

【Forgetting Water: Feeling down about court? One sip and you skip the trial painlessly, going straight to prison!】

Shi Xu silently stepped away.

She refused to install cybernetic eyes or brain implants. The tablet in her hand suddenly spoke in a cold robotic voice: “Defendant, please proceed to Room 1003 of the electronic tribunal.”

Nothing moved as the timer repeated: “Defendant time narrative, please take action.”

Her tablet lit up with a glowing green arrow, guiding her through an iron door and onto the defendant’s platform.

The chamber was small. The judge’s seat displayed only a screen, behind which a blue-green humanoid creature resembling a goblin sat, labeled “Automatic Trial Procedure No. 1003.”

Prisoners could choose the AI judge’s appearance, but it cost extra. She wasn’t sure who had selected this goblin face.

She planted her feet on the platform, which activated magnetic levitation, lifting her into the air as dazzling advertisements spun around her.

[Paradise Route Law Office at your service!]

[Want to clear your name? Call 2334XXXX…]

[Let Sweeper arrange your last wishes! Fulfill your bucket list in style!]

Spectators watching the live trial had to pay to avoid ads and see the defendant’s face clearly.

Shi Xu noticed a floating hologram on the plaintiff’s side, displaying a suited salesman in leather shoes.

He wasn’t physically present.

“Does the defendant have legal representation?” the goblin judge asked mechanically. “According to regulations, no lawyer will be provided unless paid for.”

Shi Xu, handcuffed, pointed at the colorful floating ads. “Can I contact… these people?”

The judge’s voice was indifferent: “Temporary contact is allowed. Defendants may reach out to lawyers.”

Her words seemed to activate a flood of law firm ads.

Shi Xu tapped one and quickly connected to a law office.

“Hello, our services are charged per minute starting now. Got it? What’s your issue?”

She sent her case details as quickly as she could, unsure how much credit remained.

“Hmm, your case is tough. Just ten minutes ago, the Supreme Council passed the ‘Protection of Minors’ law. The age for independent life trading is now five years old.”

“Well, at five, you can decide your own fate. You’re also charged with interfering with a free trade. Unless the law changes, your chances are slim… Oh, I’ve run out of balance. Bye! Please rate our service: 1 good, 2 very good, 3 five stars.”

Shi Xu felt trapped.

She wasn’t drowning in water, yet it felt like she was sinking in an endless ocean.

The salesman sneered from across, his headset broadcasting every shift in tone.

“See? This is the cost. Sign a contract with me. Sell me your life. Our team of lawyers for the journey of sentient beings will protect you.”

“What’s the catch?” Shi Xu asked calmly, her icy gaze steady. “Will you ensure a good life? Accepting charity is worse than the situation I’m in.”

“Maybe birthing ten kids for a rich man? Someone wants natural birth, not genetic customization. You see, you can get a painless rich child.”

“You should be thankful I don’t choose that,” Shi Xu said coldly, eyes locked on him. “If I gain the power, I will find and kill you.”

She said no more.

She would do exactly as before.

“Well then, good luck,” he shrugged. “Judge, proceed.”

Another sound filled the electronic courtroom. The goblin judge declared blankly, “Defendant’s lawyer refuses to defend. Conviction begins.”

“Preventing others from selling souls, obstructing free trade, threatening the court…” The massive screen listed her charges.

“Guilty. Sentence: 10 years minimum.”

“The auction sentence begins. Three-minute limit. Plaintiff’s lawyers and jury members, bid higher!”

The judge’s voice shifted into a dramatic announcer tone.

“10,000 B per year, starting with one year. Plaintiff bids 100 years! Any more?”

“Add another 100 years! Excellent!”

“It’s rare to see someone offend sentient beings on their journey so boldly!”

“As the price climbs, so does the sentence!”

“The auction ends. Sentence: 900 years.”

【You gain presence. Your current depth increases to 10.】

Why did presence increase now?

Shi Xu suddenly understood.

—This was the real world.

How many people were watching?

She lifted her head, trying to speak, but overwhelming joy stifled her.

To all watching, the expression on her face twisted with indescribable happiness.

She was in her element.

Snowflakes slid in her eyes, and the mountains trembled, shaking the fragile snow cover to reveal vast ranges beneath.

An iron cage suddenly rose from the defendant’s desk, enclosing her like a small cell, then flew out another door of the courtroom.

Dazzling neon lights blinded her as shuttles and hovercars zipped among pipes, cables, and towering gray buildings.

Each prison car bore the name of its penitentiary like sharks hunting prey cast out from the court.

The city lights sank into the sea below as she fell, swallowed by a massive iron-gray beast.

For some reason, everyone watching exhaled collectively.

It was as if they eagerly awaited the world to consume her, just as it consumed them all.