Chapter 2880: Execution
The surname Fan Xiao was very common in the game, and could be found in many districts across various wormhole points. The Fan Xiao family that Nien Fan Xiao was involved with was famous within a small scope—they had committed numerous major crimes in their home district, and the family members were constantly fluctuating in number. The ones who disappeared were mostly killed by players from that district.
They were strange. No matter what they did outside, they would return to their home district every so often to kill people, even if they were already universally reviled there.
As for Nien Fan Xiao, he had killed two families in District 033 using horrifying methods, and was finally captured by the Holy Sword Society.
The Message Collection Terminal did not release the details, only mentioning the number of people he had killed.
Xu Huo entered the execution chamber through the Message Collection Terminal. Nien Fan Xiao, tied upright to the execution frame, looked to be in excellent health, completely different from the image.
Beside him, two players wrapped from head to toe were injecting him with drugs. After the liquid entered his arm through the needle, Nien Fan Xiao visibly became more alert.
Both inside and outside the execution chamber, there were Non-Game Area Simulators. His items and instruments had long been confiscated. His hands, feet, and body were pierced by metal wires—twelve in total—with both ends connected to the ceiling and floor, firmly nailing him to the center of the room.
The awakened Nien Fan Xiao began to laugh. His voice echoed through the city via different terminals, making some of those watching the execution feel uncomfortable.
Words like "increase the punishment" and "let him die quickly" rose and fell one after another.
Nien Fan Xiao stared straight ahead, as if he could see the people on the other end. After laughing for a while, his face suddenly darkened. "I'll kill you all!"
The player in the execution chamber pressed him down and warned, "Behave yourself!"
Nien Fan Xiao was extremely arrogant. "If you don't want me to talk, you should have cut out my tongue first."
The two present didn't respond to him, only saying, "If you keep making noise, we'll have to give you a shot to make you mute."
Nien Fan Xiao almost threw his head back in laughter. "Why be so refined? Since you're torturing a living person to death, why bother with injections? Hypocrites!"
"Not destroying your corpse as much as possible is already the greatest mercy the law can grant you," said the other.
"Falling into your hands is my bad luck. Say whatever you want," Nien Fan Xiao turned back to the front, facing the camera. "Watch closely, remember this. Everything I suffer today will be inherited by the descendants of the Fan Xiao family. In the future, they will use it to kill! To kill even more people! This is our family legacy!"
The player gave him a shot in the mouth. He was temporarily mute. He wanted to speak, but his tongue wouldn't obey, and he drooled incoherently.
The people watching through the terminals couldn't help but cheer. The best way to dispel fear was to let the source of fear show its weak and powerless side.
No matter how vicious a murderer, they were still human. Being human meant they would age, get sick, get injured, lose their strength, be beaten by stronger people until they couldn't fight back, and lie awake at night fearing death.
Xu Huo glanced at the messages on the Message Collection Terminal. Someone had already published Nien Fan Xiao's family tree.
As always, they were really strange. They committed crimes openly, repeatedly provoked others, showed no fear of death, educated the next generation with the same beliefs, yet they didn't avoid the risk of being wiped out. Instead, they painstakingly recorded the names of their scattered clan members.
"These people can never be completely wiped out. Their own district has purged them twice, but soon new clan members pop up again," someone said.
The execution soon began.
After the first dose of medicine was injected, Nien Fan Xiao's entire body tensed up. In an instant, his face flushed red, and the veins on his neck and forehead bulged. But he couldn't make any more sounds, only letting out muffled groans.
Ten minutes later, after he had adapted to the drug's effects, the second injection came.
The intense pain made him tremble and struggle violently. Blood seeped from where the metal wires pierced him. However, he was wearing special clothing, with most of his body covered, so his true state could only be seen from his face and neck.
After the third injection, Nien Fan Xiao's eyeballs bulged, bloodshot veins burst in the whites of his eyes, and blood flowed from under his nose.
The executioner adjusted the dosage and injected him with a stimulant to ensure he wouldn't die from the pain directly, then continued.
After a while longer, tiny beads of blood seeped from Nien Fan Xiao's face... Seeing this, many people exited the execution chamber. At the same time, mechanical notifications sounded in several places:
"Detected significant emotional fluctuation in pedestrians, with potential criminal risk. Please control yourself and return to your residence. Your information has been reported to the District Government. Professionals will arrive shortly to conduct an in-depth evaluation of you."
It wasn't just one place sounding the alarm. Those who were recorded and reported all had gloomy expressions as they hurriedly shut down their personal terminals.
Some felt uncomfortable, while others couldn't control their excitement over the bloody scene.
Emotion detection instruments were common in the game. Xu Huo only briefly diverted his attention before refocusing on the execution.
What followed was basically a cycle of execution, medical treatment, and execution again, ensuring that Nien Fan Xiao experienced enough pain before they let him die.
This process could really last for several hours.
"I wonder if players who commit crimes in District 033 itself are punished in the same way," someone standing outside the Holy Sword Society office said sarcastically.
The Holy Sword Society had a bad reputation, but in the district where they were rooted, they touted that crime would be punished, and used such cruel methods to intimidate other players. It was a complete double standard. If they couldn't restrain their own members outside, could they truly restrain the members in District 033?
There was no one in the office. The hall was empty, so naturally no one from the Holy Sword Society came out to respond.
However, a passing player from the district couldn't help but answer him. "Anyone who kills in District 033 and is proven guilty will be dealt with according to the law. When the execution law was first enacted, the most people executed were Holy Sword Society players."
"If you don't believe me, check the Message Collection Terminal. The published lists and images are still there."
The person who spoke earlier checked and found it was true. But he seemed to have a grudge against the Holy Sword Society and added, "If they really mean what they say, they should arrest all the Holy Sword Society members from other districts and bring them back for public execution."
How could anyone respond to that? In District 033, the Holy Sword Society had the biggest fist.
Those who were caught would be publicly executed. Those who weren't caught were a different story.
This player didn't stay long and soon left.
Xu Huo didn't enter the office either. He found a tea house nearby, sat down, and checked the real-time updates on the Message Collection Terminal.
Someone had publicly placed a bounty on the heads of the Fan Xiao family members. Quite a few players were participating, and even infants less than a year old were on the list.
Skipping over this information, he searched for item transactions again. He selected two well-known trading consultants and inquired whether there were any A-grade instruments or items that could increase speed.