Chapter 733: The Weight of Judgment
by xennovelWhen ordinary Pollution Logic Chains began to fail, there was only one way left to continue the pollution.
A true clash of mental power ensued.
In other words, this was the most potent pollution method that transcended the logic chain—one that only monsters beyond the Third Stage, aside from designated Pollution Sources, could execute using a ‘field’ of mental power.
It was akin to the interrogations of the Midnight Tribunal.
Beyond voluntary confession, there existed another method: coercive conviction.
……
……
Outside the wasteland, at this very moment, the Red Moon shone with an unusual brilliance.
High in the sky, it bathed the earth in light; even the pair of ‘eyes’ in the heavens dimmed slightly.
Above countless executioners, colossal statues—both tangible and illusory—hoisted a heavy, rusted sword from the ground and, with a single hand, pointed it toward Qinggang Satellite City No. 2, as well as Red Moon Elementary School, Lu Xin, Teacher Xiao Lu, and Number Eight.
With that motion, the surrounding air seemed to gain dozens of times its own weight.
Fine ripples began to tremble and spread forward in undulating layers.
“Clatter…”
From Lu Xin’s perspective, the rusted sword now aimed directly at him.
Suddenly, the earth began to churn as black wooden frames burst forth from the soil.
Each frame, over a hundred meters tall, erupted abruptly on the barren land of the wasteland.
Countless ropes dangled from every frame, from which innumerable ‘people’ were suspended.
They hung listlessly in the air like fruit clinging to a treetop.
These wooden frames emerged from the ground, elongating into a towering wall aimed squarely at the Second Satellite City.
The densely clustered figures began to plummet from the frames one by one.
Every falling figure was a mental entity that, upon impact, became entwined in writhing black filaments—transforming into suited executioners carrying silver handcases as they strode toward the city.
They cascaded like an ocean of the damned.
……
……
“They are all souls that have been judged by it.”
Mom appeared at Lu Xin’s side and softly explained, “The judged souls haven’t disappeared—they are hung on the execution frames, becoming part of the force it can command, serving as its executioners…”
“Just as the law needs successful cases to assert its authority,”
“so too does the Midnight Tribunal require these souls to instill fear in the condemned.”
“Of course, like colliding tides that affect everything around them, the impact of ultimate power can sometimes destroy an entire city—even if its target is only a single person.”
……
Lu Xin recalled watching Number Eight’s trial.
That Xiaoyeshan General, after paying the price he owed, also vanished without a trace.
He had been hung on the execution frame.
That, in turn, explained the origin of all these executioners.
It also clarified how Number Eight managed to duplicate himself during hectic times.
No wonder these executioners were entirely heartless.
Most of them were tools created through the replication and storage of memories.
Such tools, being severely polluted entities, naturally lacked a heart.
……
……
“I suppose I shouldn’t have provoked them…”
Lu Xin murmured under his breath.
He hadn’t expected that his actions would suddenly summon so many execution frames.
Through countless trials, the Midnight Tribunal had harvested an incalculable number of executioners, enabling it to command mental power levels in the millions—even higher. How was an ordinary person to withstand such a collision of mental force?
After all, he was merely an ordinary person with a mental power magnitude of ten thousand.
Mom could not help but cast a deep, sorrowful look at Lu Xin before sighing and explaining patiently, “There are two options: one is to use the power of fear to pollute the minds of everyone in the city—even everyone in Qinggang—to amass potent mental power and confront it directly.”
“Of course, that approach means that the clash of mental power will inevitably wreak havoc within their minds.”
“It might even leave behind some minor aftereffects…”
“……”
Lu Xin turned and looked at Mom intently, “Minor effects?”
With an impassive expression, Mom replied, “When facing this level of force, even minor effects are significant.”
Lu Xin shook his head slightly and asked, “And what is the second option?”
Mom regarded him seriously and said, “Illusory Land.”
“But that would truly expose your secrets. The mirror in the sky has been waiting for you to reveal everything—so acting on it is tantamount to feeding our future opponent with our own secrets…”
“……”
Lu Xin glanced at the eyes in the heavens, frowning slightly.
“Still, it must be saved…”
After a moment’s thought, he smiled and added, “After all, everything I know now was taught by Qinggang.”
“……”
As he spoke, one execution frame after another appeared around Qinggang Satellite City No. 2.
The enormous black wooden frames formed a dark fence around the city, from which falling mental entities transformed into executioners, while innumerable black ropes cascaded from the sky.
The power of the Midnight Tribunal began to seep into the city.
Whether Qinggang’s residents were sheltering underground or elsewhere, each found a rope dangling before them that stirred up memories of past sins in their minds.
“I confess… I once killed someone, back in the wasteland…”
A transporter began to confess, recounting his sins as the rope tightened around his neck.
The more he spoke, the tighter the rope wound.
“I admit, I took plenty of red packets from clients, using them to hold up their cargo if they didn’t pay…”
Someone from a company chimed in with a confession.
“I confess, every time I saw that motorcyclist while selling vegetables, I would hike the prices…”
“Then he went too far, driving in with a truck…”
An aunt from the street market cried out in regret.
“I also confess, I used to report double meal allowances to the Security Hall even though the mysterious man hadn’t appeared in ages…”
A female officer, rushing along the street to save those who hadn’t reached the shelter, broke down in tears.
……
……
Lu Xin watched as rope after rope descended from the towering execution frames, ensnaring countless residents of Qinggang.
It seemed that only those without sin could escape the clutches of these black ropes.
Yet, in truth, hardly anyone faced these ropes without their conscience being stirred.
Thus, all were choked and even hoisted a little into the air.
“So…”
Lu Xin couldn’t help but question himself, “Was everything I learned in Qinggang not truly good?”
Mom narrowed her eyes at him, unwilling to delve any further into the discussion.
“These matters are all terribly wrong…”
Obediently, Lu Xin stopped the conversation and instead looked up at the night sky over the elementary school.
An invisible field centered on Red Moon Elementary School was spreading throughout Qinggang Satellite City No. 2.
This imbued the entire city with a surreal, dreamlike atmosphere—a pervasive undercurrent of laughter.
It was the sound of children playing happily in the sunshine, yet interspersed with the occasional scream.
Beneath the bright light lay walls stained with blood and rain-soaked nights.
It was as if an editor had spliced footage of carefree children at play with images of their demise, frame by frame, creating a macabre atmosphere.
It was the dream of a broken heart—a relentless alternation of joy and despair.
Teacher Xiao Lu’s ‘evidence’ of guilt.
Polluted by judgment, Teacher Xiao Lu’s inner torment was laid bare.
And because of the citywide executioners and the projection of ‘sword bearers’ beyond its borders, a resonant shock spread among them, overwhelming her with guilt and despair, and forming a unique pollution field.
Everyone was enveloped in this field of desolation.
Lu Xin let out a soft sigh.
The spread of pollution and the clash of mental power each followed their own rules.
To counter this invasive pollution, the solution was found at its source.
Since the pollution began with Teacher Xiao Lu—and it was her encounter with the Midnight Tribunal that triggered this logic…
Then…
Feeling the enormity of the field and the anguish in Teacher Xiao Lu’s heart, Lu Xin sighed deeply.
“None of this was meant to be.”
Contemplatively, he slowly raised his left hand and murmured, “Then let him return to his true form.”
“You were right—we do possess that power.”
……
Black particles began to cover his left hand.
But this time, they appeared strikingly gentler, a stark contrast to their previous violent, terrifying nature.
Lu Xin reached out and touched this ‘field of guilt.’
Because the field was omnipresent, the moment he made contact, it trembled like a vast network of high-voltage calculators, with alternating flashes of light as he indirectly touched all of Qinggang Satellite City.
The black particles quivered, and strands of mental power underwent a cataclysmic transformation.
……
……
Mental Mutation Fifth Stage: Illusory Land.
“Wherever I am, every sentient being will live as I desire.”
There will be no past, no future, no reality—no regard for logical inconsistencies or the rules governing our existence.
Everything will become exactly as I imagine.