God's Imitator-Chapter 176: The Only Fairness

Struggling through the last narrow, crowded corridor filled with debris, He Xiaojun finally arrived at the final judgment venue.
Judging from the time on the wall timer, he had only 8 minutes left.
The layout of this judgment venue was even simpler.
Ahead was a female player locked in a mechanism iron chair. Her mouth was tightly wrapped with cloth strips, unable to make any sound.
On the judgment platform, there were no longer red or blue buttons, only a sharp dagger.
[He Xiaojun, no matter how many chances you’ve already missed, you must remember: you always have one last chance.]
[If the law cannot give you fairness and justice, there’s no need to be discouraged, because choosing to resolve problems with law is not the law giving you a chance, but you giving the law a chance.]
[If the law cannot give you justice, then you must give the law justice.]
[There is only one thing in this world that is absolutely fair: everyone has only one life.]
[Of course, this is your revenge, your judgment, so you can also have the final decision.]
[You can choose to forgive the accuser. Press the button beside the mechanism iron chair, and she will regain her freedom.]
[You can also choose to kill the accuser, but when she dies, the antidote will also be destroyed.]
[You can also use the dagger to give her the punishment she deserves, then press the button to let her regain her freedom.]
[But please note, you can only stab her three times. Beyond that, the mechanism will automatically unlock.]
[Special reminder: No matter what you choose, you will pay a corresponding price.]
[Now, please consider carefully and complete your final judgment.]
He Xiaojun picked up the dagger on the judgment platform. It felt cold and heavy in his hand.
Just then, a scream from the officer faintly came from the distance.
The delayed mechanism had finally activated but He Xiaojun now had more important things to do.
He came beside the mechanism iron chair, looking at the female player locked in it.
Unlike the previous mechanism iron chairs, this female player’s hands were locked behind her back, while a special mechanism was connected to her chest. The pointer on the mechanism kept jumping, also connected to the device holding the antidote behind.
In other words, if her heart stopped beating, the antidote would also be automatically destroyed by the mechanism.
He Xiaojun silently looked into her eyes.
This was the first time he had made such prolonged eye contact with this female colleague who had falsely accused him.
Previously, He Xiaojun had always been afraid to look directly into her eyes. Once aggressively questioned, he could only respond with evasion and avoidance but this time, he finally mustered the courage to see everything clearly, including the fine lines at the corners of her eyes, her smudged eye makeup, and the fear and despair in her gaze.
"Now, I’ve become the perpetrator, and you have no way to defend yourself."
He Xiaojun inexplicably felt that the current scene was very much like when he was falsely accused at the company.
Back then, she had held an invisible dagger and approached him step by step, while he was gagged by invisible cloth strips, unable to say anything.
In this final judgment, their positions had completely reversed.
He Xiaojun hadn’t expected that the rules of the final judgment would be completely different from before.
If he were asked to choose between two buttons again, he would definitely choose correctly.
It was precisely this kind of wishful thinking that had prevented him from making the most correct choices in the previous two judgments, missing two opportunities but the final judgment no longer had buttons.
He Xiaojun could stab her three times. These three stabs could be light or heavy.
Even just one stab could end her life but the rules also made it clear that if she died, the last antidote would also be automatically destroyed.
That is, "no matter what you choose, you will pay a corresponding price."
If He Xiaojun had made the correct choices in the previous two judgments, he wouldn’t need to consider the antidote at all right now but obviously, missing opportunities also meant suffering punishment.
The female player kept struggling in the iron chair. She saw hope for survival.
Obviously, before He Xiaojun arrived, she had also learned the relevant rules.
If He Xiaojun had already obtained the antidote from the previous three judgments, she would certainly die but now, judging from He Xiaojun’s reaction, he likely hadn’t obtained the antidote.
As long as He Xiaojun wanted to survive, he couldn’t kill her. This gave her some room to negotiate.
It was just that with her mouth gagged, she had no way to say any honeyed words. She could only use tears to fight for her last glimmer of hope.
He Xiaojun silently sighed.
"I remember, I also cried at that time, didn’t I?
"I was so anxious I couldn’t defend myself. I cried and begged you to let me go, but it only earned your ridicule and mockery.
"This game is right. There’s only one absolutely fair thing in this world, and that is everyone has only one life.
"I’m also a sinner. It was my own cowardice that made me fall into the abyss step by step. I missed my chances, so now, if I want revenge, I must pay the price, a life for a life.
"This is the only chance for a coward to demand fairness from this world.
"Without daring to pay with life, there is no fairness to speak of."
Under her incredulous gaze, He Xiaojun stared into her eyes and slowly thrust the dagger into her heart with both hands.
His hands were trembling, but without a shred of hesitation.
"Beep—"
The mechanism originally connected to the heart no longer received signals from the heart. The pointer stopped, and the connected mechanism "snapped," crushing the antidote vial.
He Xiaojun expressionlessly withdrew the dagger. The mechanism iron chair made continuous "clicking" sounds as the mechanisms kept unlocking.
The female player’s corpse tilted forward as the dagger was withdrawn, falling to the ground with a "thud."
At the same time, there was another crisp sound.
He Xiaojun was stunned. He saw that in the female player’s hand that had been locked behind her back by the mechanism, she was also gripping a dagger.
In other words, if he hadn’t mustered the courage to perish together at the end, but had instead chosen to unlock the mechanisms on the female player for the antidote, then no matter where those three stabs landed, as long as they weren’t fatal, he would most likely have been killed in retaliation.
Time was running out. He Xiaojun stared blankly at the corpse on the ground, his brain falling into a brief blank.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he hurriedly tried to return but before he could enter the corridor, he saw a figure passing through the pitch-black corridor, stumbling into this judgment venue.
He Xiaojun vigilantly held the dagger in front of himself for protection.
The person who came was Officer Zhang. His left forearm had already been broken by the mechanism and hung limply at his side.
Officer Zhang extended his right hand. In his palm was the antidote syringe.
He Xiaojun silently took it and injected himself.
He didn’t know if the injection method was correct. This syringe didn’t have a long needle, only a sharp tip. It would automatically inject when it pierced the skin.
It should be fine. All props in the Gallery could perform their intended functions 100%.
The two sat dejectedly on the ground, waiting for the final broadcast notification.
[Game over.]