“If it were you, do you have any good ideas?” He Fang asked.
Yuan Zhiran pondered for a moment. “Since it’s punishment, then it must make them feel remorseful. If they tried to gain something through crime, then we should make them lose the very thing they were trying to get.”
He Fang was stunned. “What do you mean?”
“If someone stole food, then make sure they have nothing to eat. If they committed robbery for money, then make it so that all their labor earns them nothing, and whatever they stole should be taken from them in an equivalent form. If they formed gangs and factions, then make them forever alone, without the chance to interact with anyone. If they committed an unforgivable crime like taking another’s life, then make them repeatedly experience the sensation of death themselves.”
Yuan Zhiran’s tone was incredibly calm, but He Fang was dumbfounded.
Somehow… this sounded a bit anti-peaceful.
“Isn’t that a bit extreme?” Although Yuan Zhiran didn’t seem to be aware of it, what he was proposing had more than a hint of experimentation to it.
“People have different innate levels of guilt. Especially in an apocalyptic world like this, it’s even more pronounced. Those who feel remorse and those who don’t should be treated differently. We can use lie detectors to tell. For those without remorse, if we truly want them to repent, then we need to make every one of their criminal actions equal to pain. Humans instinctively reject pain. Once that’s established, everything else falls into place.”
“……” It made a lot of sense. He actually couldn’t refute it.
Even in the modern world, after seeing so many outrageous injustices, it still felt like lenient punishments were unacceptable. But if punishment was too severe, there was always fear of backlash.
“Tsk.” He Fang suddenly realized that maybe not everything could be borrowed from modern society. Most people in the apocalypse had never experienced true freedom to begin with, so how could the concept of prison even apply?
Right now, Zhu Yan wasn’t around. He Fang’s own “super brain” was probably already immersed in the sea of knowledge inside the Library. The most suitable person for determining punishment, Sai Gu, was off doing who knows what. That left He Fang feeling stuck.
How exactly should criminals be sentenced? Why did the official team behind “Ruins Without Restart” have to include such weighty topics when making a game?
Law. Law! Since when did infrastructure simulation games require writing actual laws? He couldn’t even copy from something else at this point. It was that bad.
“If City Lord truly can’t come up with anything… how about we just try it out first? Implement it, and revise it as we go?” Yuan Zhiran suggested.
He Fang shook his head, then unconsciously looked up, and suddenly met Yuan Zhiran’s eyes.
Those beautiful eyes were wide open, staring at him. The gaze of a humanoid NPC was no different from a real human’s. Yuan Zhiran stared straight at him, as though deep in thought, but it also felt like he was observing something.
“Are you waiting for me to say something in particular?” He Fang suddenly asked.
Yuan Zhiran froze for a moment, then shook his head and withdrew his gaze. A brief flicker of dazed confusion passed over his handsome face.
He Fang couldn’t shake off the feeling that this all felt… very familiar.
Like the precursor to an NPC quest.
He still remembered how Zhu Yan’s NPC mission and the mission from the Chong brothers had both started with something strange happening. Was this… was this the beginning of Yuan Zhiran’s NPC quest?
However, there was no NPC mission icon appearing.
Was it just his imagination?
“Yuan Zhiran.” He Fang wanted to trigger the quest. No player would ever turn down a hidden mission. “You, you…”
“What is it, City Lord?” Yuan Zhiran asked.
He Fang realized that he didn’t understand Yuan Zhiran very deeply. Every NPC had their own backstory, so Yuan Zhiran must have one too.
He Fang probed, saying, “What if I said… maybe we should trial the legal code first and see how it goes?”
Yuan Zhiran blinked and smiled. “Whatever decision the City Lord makes, everything is good.”
“Really?” He Fang wasn’t quite convinced.
“Yes, City Lord. I have always upheld your every choice. I will absolutely be the most steadfast executor of your decisions.” Yuan Zhiran gave He Fang a solemn military salute. Very formal.
He Fang narrowed his eyes and tried again, saying, “But I don’t think implementing laws right away would be the best idea.”
Yuan Zhiran paused, tilted his head, and asked, “Why not?”
“Carelessly enforcing laws is very irresponsible. We might not be able to judge whether the laws are fair or not, but those affected by them could end up suffering. Lawmaking is something that needs to be handled seriously. My original plan was to go to the government, let them conduct a mass opinion survey to hear what people think, and then revise the laws based on a collection of views,” He Fang said.
Yuan Zhiran looked at He Fang. In his pupils, there was only the reflection of He Fang: “Of course. Whatever the City Lord decides is always the best. I will unconditionally obey your orders. If there’s a place where the Armed Forces Department can be deployed, we will, without hesitation.”
He Fang sighed. So it really was just his imagination about the NPC quest?
He gave up, and asked a bit helplessly, “You don’t have to follow my words so rigidly. I’m not perfect. I get things wrong, and many times I need you all to point it out for me.”
Yuan Zhiran shook his head. “I’m not that knowledgeable. In fact, I’m not very good at thinking things through. I just want to do what everyone believes is the right thing. Obeying orders, that’s what I’m supposed to do, isn’t it?”
“Mm…” He Fang suddenly asked, “Have you ever had strange, recurring dreams?”
Yuan Zhiran froze. “What’s that?”
“Ah, nothing, I’m just talking nonsense,” He Fang laughed dryly. “But you do take everything I say to heart. Sometimes it’s okay to have your own thoughts, too. You, as a person, are important as well.”
Yuan Zhiran blinked, then smiled. His eyes were filled with unwavering trust in He Fang, wholehearted and sincere.
“As long as you’re here, City Lord. As long as you’re here directing us, making decisions, then to me, that’s already a perfect present. That is my will.”
He Fang scratched his head in embarrassment. “Then what if one day I’m not here anymore?”
The moment those words left He Fang’s mouth, Yuan Zhiran froze completely. But He Fang had only said it offhandedly and didn’t notice the change in Yuan Zhiran’s expression.
“Besides, the reason I work so hard to keep this city running is so that it can survive more reasonably and sustainably. I really want this world to develop properly, steadily, forever, even if I’m not around anymore.”
He Fang was being honest. “Ruins Without Restart” was incredibly fun, and what’s more, it even seemed to be helping with his social anxiety. To He Fang, this game was practically a hidden gem. And with how expensive the sensory simulation pod had been, there was no way he could just walk away from it. Even the scenery alone in “Ruins Without Restart” was enough to keep him entertained for a long, long time.
But as a single-player gamer, He Fang also knew very well that no game lasts forever. Just because he poured everything into the game didn’t mean he had no real life. And besides, he’d finally taken a step outside recently… and found that the outside world wasn’t as unbearable as he’d imagined.
He had always meticulously designed the cities and the world within “Ruins Without Restart”. One day, all the Nightmare Beast forests would be completely wiped out, and even the game’s hidden main storyline might be completed. By then, he might not log into the game as often anymore.
Even when he wasn’t around, the city would continue to develop.
He hoped that the world of “Ruins Without Restart” could keep running even without players, just like how Earth kept changing endlessly, and yet humanity still persisted. If that could happen, then this might be the most perfect game he had ever played.
He wouldn’t stop playing “Ruins Without Restart”, but maybe someday he wouldn’t be on as frequently. When that day came, even if time inside the game flew by quickly, he wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore.
Even if… in the future, all of these NPCs would likely have gone through a full generation of replacements.
When He Fang thought about that, he felt a little helpless, like the heart-squeezing realization that the pets he raised would inevitably pass before he did.
He Fang vaguely felt that his thoughts were getting a little sentimental. He shrugged helplessly. He was overthinking it. He should just make more videos, leave more memories for his NPCs. After all, this was the first time he’d encountered such interesting NPCs.
Just as He Fang snapped out of his sentimental train of thought, he suddenly noticed the NPC in front of him staring straight at him with those stunningly beautiful eyes, full of disbelief.
Then, right before He Fang’s eyes, a bright red exclamation mark suddenly popped up above Yuan Zhiran’s head.
He Fang: “……” An NPC mission?!
“Are you leaving?” Yuan Zhiran asked quietly, then suddenly stepped forward and grabbed He Fang’s hand. “You haven’t been able to leave for a long time now.”
He Fang froze. The moment Yuan Zhiran touched him, the mission was automatically accepted, and a line of text appeared above Yuan Zhiran’s head: ‘Minister of the Armed Forces, Yuan Zhiran, has suffered an immense psychological blow and overwhelming fear upon hearing that the beloved City Lord intends to abandon them and leave.’
He Fang was taken aback. No mission? Just a mood introduction? Now that he thought about it, Yuan Zhiran seemed to have said something at the very end just now, but the task acceptance notification had interrupted his train of thought, so he didn’t catch it.
“You… you’ve always been thinking about leaving?” Yuan Zhiran showed a look of panic, as if trying to tightly grab onto He Fang and not let him go. “You haven’t even finished building this place, and you’re already leaving? There’s still so much desolate land, and the enormous Nightmare Beast Forest. Everyone here needs you so much. Why do you want to leave?”
At that moment, various lines of text kept appearing above Yuan Zhiran’s head:
‘Yuan Zhiran is extremely afraid of the City Lord’s departure. His mental state is under stress and showing signs of abnormality.’
‘Yuan Zhiran feels like he’s caught the City Lord, but also feels the City Lord could leave at any moment. His mind is shaken, and his thoughts are in chaos.’
‘Yuan Zhiran is in deep pain, already foreseeing the terrifying future of losing the City Lord, and is gradually unable to breathe.’
He Fang stared in alarm at the barrage of different fonts above Yuan Zhiran’s head, all indicating his impending breakdown. He was deeply shocked as well.
All he said was that he might leave. Why had Yuan Zhiran gone crazy like this?
“Calm down. Can you calm down a bit?” He Fang had always worried that Yuan Zhiran might be too righteous, but he never expected him to be this fragile. Just one sentence had completely broken him. “I never said I was going to leave. Calm down, Yuan Zhiran. Yuan Zhiran?”
‘Yuan Zhiran hears the Lord’s voice. Normally, it’s the voice that would reassure him, but now it frightens him.’
‘The thoughts of the City Lord abandoning the city and abandoning him swirl in Yuan Zhiran’s mind, leading to terrifying imaginations.’
He Fang’s heart pounded as he looked at the emotional analysis texts floating over Yuan Zhiran’s head. He turned back to glance at the nearby unresponsive NPCs, then looked at Yuan Zhiran again, thinking hard. How could he quickly pull Yuan Zhiran out of this panic?
He Fang looked at him and said, “Yuan Zhiran, can you hear me? Hey? Hey hey hey? I never said I was leaving, okay? Even if you died, I probably still wouldn’t have left, alright? Your son and daughter might even assist me in the future!” According to the in-game timeline, he’d probably get to watch Yuan Zhiran die of old age. There was no need for this, really no need at all.
‘Yuan Zhiran cannot hear the City Lord’s voice. He wants desperately to make the City Lord stay, but has no way to do so.’
He Fang sharply sucked in a breath. Those lines above his head were lethal. What kind of bizarre NPC mission was this?
He Fang thought for a moment and considered imitating what they do in TV dramas, giving the dazed Yuan Zhiran a good slap to snap him out of it. But when he saw that stunningly beautiful face, he couldn’t bring himself to strike it.
After hesitating for a long time, He Fang simply raised his foot and kicked Yuan Zhiran square in the lower abdomen, hoping to knock him over. However, with his poor athletic coordination and shorter height, He Fang misjudged the angle and landed a direct hit on a very sensitive area. Instantly, the string of text that had been endlessly floating above Yuan Zhiran’s head came to an abrupt halt.
All around, there were sounds of people sharply sucking in breath. He Fang whipped his head around and saw that the surrounding NPCs were all standing there with stiff, expressionless faces.
He turned back again and looked helplessly at Yuan Zhiran, who had bent over in pain. That gorgeous face of his was now twisted with agony, unable to hide the contorted grimace.
Above Yuan Zhiran’s head, there was only a single string of text left: ‘Pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain pain……’
As a fellow man, He Fang knew all too well just how deep and bone-piercing that kind of pain was. He immediately felt unspeakably awkward and rushed forward in panic. “Don’t… don’t be scared! It’s fine, it should be fine, I don’t have much strength, really! I’ll take you to a doctor, okay? You! Yeah, you—come carry Yuan Zhiran to the hospital.”
Just as He Fang was pointing at a nearby NPC to give the order, his hand was suddenly grabbed by Yuan Zhiran.
At that moment, a flurry of fonts rapidly flashed above Yuan Zhiran’s head.
‘Hurts too much to speak…’
‘Don’t want to see a doctor… don’t touch me…’
‘My bloodline ends here…’
He Fang really hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.
He anxiously lowered his head, wanting to check on Yuan Zhiran’s condition.
The text above Yuan Zhiran’s forehead had changed: ‘Feels a bit better now. Seems like I’ve recovered a little. Almost died just now. Brain is clear again, hurts so much, hurts so much, bloodline’s broken…’
He Fang’s expression became absolutely unreadable. “S-Sorry, I… I was wrong, I’m really sorry. Let’s just go to the hospital and get it checked, okay? We can’t… can’t let your bloodline really end…”
He Fang worriedly opened Yuan Zhiran’s stat panel, confirming that no label like “Bloodline Severed” had suddenly appeared.
‘Feels better now, seems better… son’s safe.’
He Fang: “……” If the son wasn’t safe, he’d have to ask the GM if there was a way to roll back an NPC’s data. If not… he’d have to forcibly code it in himself…
‘Don’t want the City Lord to leave. If the City Lord leaves… I’ll die…’
He Fang froze, staring at Yuan Zhiran curled up across from him.
‘Without the City Lord, the city will lose all vitality. A city cannot exist without any form of governance. The City Lord is the one and only pillar of this city.’
‘Without the City Lord, there will be no laws; without the City Lord, there will be no government; without the City Lord, there will be no society. There will be nothing left…’
‘I’ll be gone too…’
‘Might as well just die from the pain.’
He Fang was at a complete loss for words.
