Penal Reform System Monitoring Center.
“Holy crap, the record's been broken!” System Monitor No. 3 suddenly exclaimed, staring at the latest monitoring data from the Desperate Realm.
“Which one? Which one?” System Monitor No. 5 leaned over immediately, a look of pure gossip on his face. “Which Desperate Realm under your watch got its record broken again?”
“Number 444!” Monitor No. 3’s voice rose a few pitches with excitement.
“444?” Monitor No. 5’s voice was filled with disbelief. “You mean that legendary, most infuriating Desperate Realm in history, Number 444?”
“Yeah!” Monitor No. 3 nodded vigorously.
The Penal Reform System had currently developed over three hundred system series, and each series further split into thousands of Desperate Worlds of various sizes.
Among these three hundred thousand Desperate Worlds, the Number 444 Desperate Realm in System No. 3 was singled out as the most infuriating Desperate Realm in history.
It wasn't that this realm was particularly terrifying or excruciating, but rather that it was loaded with traps and landmines at every turn.
It was built on a loop premise, with loops nested within loops—three nested loops in total.
No matter which stage an inmate reached, as long as they triggered a landmine or fell into a trap, they would have to start all over again from the beginning.
Furthermore, if an inmate failed during the third stage, not only would they be sent back to the starting point of the first loop, but their previous memories would also be wiped clean, forcing them to start completely fresh.
Yet even that wasn't the most infuriating part!
The absolute worst part was that, based on the completion criteria of that Desperate Realm, even if an inmate looped through it thousands of times, they might not even manage to deduct ten points of Sin Value upon escaping.
It was completely like trying to plow a field on solid rock—a total waste of effort!
Thousands of convicts had served their sentences inside so far, but those who escaped on their own strength could be counted on two hands.
Many ended up driven to insanity from staying inside for too long before the Desperate Realm Review Panel mercifully released them.
“How many loops did this person do?” Monitor No. 5’s interest was thoroughly piqued.
If he remembered correctly, the previous record-holder had looped twenty-eight times, which included having their memory wiped and starting over from scratch once!
“Seven times!” Monitor No. 3 held up a hand gesture. “And she cleared the final stage in a single try!”
“That badass?!” Monitor No. 5’s eyes widened. “Quick, quick, let me see who this person is!”
Monitor No. 3 immediately pulled up the inmate’s file.
“Ye Li... only nineteen? To be an S-Rank serious felon at such a young age—holy crap, her Sin Value is over ten thousand! What heinous crime did she commit?” Monitor No. 5 asked in disbelief.
Although age had long ceased to be a measure of capability in this era, an S-Rank serious felon this young was still extraordinarily rare.
“No idea.” Monitor No. 3 shook his head. “I can only see basic personal info. The rest of her file is encrypted, so I don't have access.”
He was also immensely curious about this newcomer who had set a record right off the bat, but unfortunately lacked the authorization.
“Why aren't you properly monitoring the data instead of whispering and gossiping over here?”
Just then, Team Leader Zhang of their group walked over, catching the two slackers red-handed.
Team Leader Zhang was a man in his late thirties, tall and burly, with an unsmiling, stern face. Just standing in front of him made people feel immense pressure.
Monitor No. 3 didn't dare hide anything and hurriedly reported the situation.
Team Leader Zhang glanced at the inmate’s personal info, his eyes darkening slightly.
After a moment of contemplation, he gave a low instruction: “Keep a close eye on her data. If she succeeds in escaping three Desperate Realms in a row, come report to me immediately.”
“Yes, Team Leader!”
...
When Ye Li regained consciousness, her mental body had returned once again to the pure white system space. A cold, inorganic mechanical voice resonated in her ears.
【First Desperate World completed.】
【Beginning settlement...】
...
【Settlement complete. Inmate escaped successfully. 50 base Sin Value points deducted.】
Hearing this, Ye Li’s lips curled up, her eyes crinkling into smiles.
Not bad, not bad at all. Her efforts hadn't been in vain.
Fifty base Sin Value points! It almost felt like a bargain!
【Inmate Name: Ye Li】
【Gender: Female】
【Age: 19】
【Crime Level: S-Rank】
【Current Sin Value: 17,698】
【Beginning inmate mental status scan...】
...
【Inmate's current mental status: Normal!】
【Generating Desperate World. Countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...】
...
“Test subject heartbeat and pulse: normal...”
“Blood pressure and body temperature: normal...”
“Preparing for right arm amputation...”
“Chainsaw starting up...”
The moment Ye Li opened her eyes, she found herself lying on an operating table. Her limbs were firmly bound by tough restraint straps, and a bite guard was tightly strapped into her mouth to prevent her from biting her tongue, leaving her like a lamb to the slaughter.
All around her were researchers wearing masks and protective suits, bustling busily around the operating table.
“Begin experiment. Start timer.”
“Bzzzzzt—”
Accompanied by the harsh whine of a chainsaw, Ye Li watched helplessly as a researcher raised the whirring saw and brought it down toward her right arm.
In an instant, an agonizing pain erupted from her right arm, crashing over her nerves like a violent storm.
Ye Li’s vision went dark, and she could barely draw breath.
“Mmph—mmph—”
She cried out in pain uncontrollably, but due to the mouth guard, it turned into powerless whimpers.
Getting abused right off the bat without even a second to prepare—did it really have to be this intense?!
Ye Li’s eyes felt ready to burst.
Her entire body trembled and tensed, cold sweat drenching her completely, with nothing in her ears except the frantic, pounding thrum of her own heart...
“Experiment time: 30 seconds. Heart rate accelerating, blood pressure continuing to rise...”
“Whirrr—whirrr, whirrr—whirrr—”
“Experiment time: 1 minute 20 seconds. Heart rate slowing, blood pressure dropping steadily, test subject’s consciousness slipping...”
“Whirrr—bzzzzt—”
“Experiment time: 1 minute 50 seconds. Amputation complete. Limb sent for testing, incision bleeding continuously...”
...
“Experiment time: 2 minutes 30 seconds. Blood pressure dropped to 50, test subject entering shock...”
...
“Experiment time: 3 minutes 50 seconds. Bleeding at the incision stopped spontaneously, blood pressure rising, blood sample sent for testing...”
...
“Experiment time: 5 minutes. All vital signs of the test subject returned to normal. Experiment concluded!”
...
Rate on N.U.
